The Monastery wasn't the World Wonder either. We knew that for a fact, yet we still couldn't help but stand there and touch, press and rub the thing for a while after, still holding on to the faint hope of the Wonder lights somehow appearing. In the end, we were dragged away in tears by a peeved Juavez and Sandy. Right, we have to go back and find a place to spend the night, since it's getting dark. We don't have time to return to the airbike and camp out there, but the hotels are in way closer proximity anyways.

"Geez, we could've been sound asleep in our comfy hotel beds by now." Sandy complained, "But nooo~! You just couldn't accept that that damned monastery wasn't cutting it!"

"Leave them be, garota. They're mourning." Juavez defended us from her anger with a light chuckle.

"Mourning what? The time they wasted?" She shot back, "Cause if that's the case, we're standing next to the same grave!"

Ignore her for now, she's probably just fussy over having to walk so much today. Then again, who could blame her. We walked through the desert from the airbike just to get to this tourist side of the place, then we walked through the Siq Trail to get to the Monastery. Now we're going back down the Siq Trail until we find some place to rest. But hey, looking at it in another way, I guess us stalling until it got dark was a blessing in disguise, cause now we got to see the beautifully illuminated sights we had previously visited under the light of the day.

"Whoa, the Treasury looks sick right now!" Issei pointed out, "I mean, it looked sick before, but now it's like, giga sick!"

"Sick squared." Both Juavez and Sandy added.

"Tomorrow we'll be going down the other trail in hopes of touching something that produces the Wonder light - The Al Kubtha Trail." Freddy gave out the morrow's itinerary, "Rest well, cause it's yet another uphill climb."

"As to be expected of the terrain." I admired the dimly illuminated path we were taking.

"I miss the airbike already..." Sandy sobbed, "Oh my sweet, sweet airbike...!"

"It's MY sweet, sweet airbike. Scrounge up the parts and make your own, Sands." Freddy gave her a sidelong glare, "And even still, do you really think they'd let people fly any vehicles in a dusty old place like this? The raised dust from the propellers would be blinding to the people below, and chances are it'd eventually cause something from these sights to break off or worse."

"I guess that means my hoverboard wouldn't work either." I chuckled, "Well, our legs were made for walking. We'll regret not using them as much as we did when we get old, so best make the most of them while we still can."

"You won't have any legs to use if you keep thinking like that." Issei smirked.

Before long, we had reached the start of the trail and found a hotel for tourists to sleep in. It was pretty bog standard, nothing too expensive nor cheap - A mid grade hotel near the trails for people like us who were just looking for a place to stay after a long trek. That being said, the difference between the outside and inside couldn't be more noticeable. It's got Wi-Fi, air conditioning, beds with what I can only describe as luxury mattresses, and the fridge came packed with all sorts of ingredients to whip up whatever your heart desires (though with added fees, obviously).

"You're a surprisingly good cook, Sandy." I thought to compliment her in order to lift her spirits.

"What do you mean surprisingly? A traveler always has to have a bunch of recipes under their belt!" She snapped back, "Just for that, your portion's gonna come out extra salted, so next time think about your words more carefully!"

I assume she thought that was gonna be like a punishment for me, but I actually like extra salt on my food, so it really turned out to be more of a prize instead.

"I'm gonna go call my parents real quick." Issei announced before going to the bedroom.

"Sure, we'll try to keep our tone low." Juavez nodded.

"Tell them I said hi." Freddy waved.

Itsuo and Asa... Right, Issei has been trying his best to call them as often as possible in these brief moments of downtime, but the times he can do so are definitely way rarer than back when we were traveling through Japan with Ouroboras. Be it because of the time difference, the fact we just can't find a hotel nearby and have to resort to camping outside for the night, or just that he's too tired to even talk on the phone, this trip really does take a lot out of a person. I do feel bad for him, but I'm sure his parents understand and don't give him too much of a hard time. Honestly, just the fact that he regularly calls them is quite the feat in and of itself. I feel like I would forget to do that even if we had smartphones in my world.

"That was quick." I noticed him walk back into the room with us with a sigh, "What's up?"

"Apparently it's the crack of dawn in Japan right now, so I didn't wanna hold them up for too long." Issei reasoned, "So I just told them we're fine and to get some more rest before they go to work."

"That's reasonable." Sandy yawned, "It's 2AM now, so it's gotta be daytime on practically the other side of the world, after all."

"Seriously though, when are they gonna retire?" Freddy clicked his tongue, "They're rich as hell, they did their time, so they're supposed to be resting now."

"So what? My parents are in their 60s too and they're still working." I shrugged.

"That's not something to be proud of, amigo."

"Nah, it's more that everyone in my family is a workaholic." Freddy reclined, "That's why I took the first plane to New York the moment my dad offered me a job there. Well, the job didn't work out, but I did get to live life the way I wanted to."

"I'm not a fan of working either." Issei grinned, "Maybe that's why I always loved visiting you way back when."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Nah, you just wanted free access to uncensored porn." Freddy read him like a book.

"Don't forget all the American comic books and M rated games you had stashed up in your collection." Issei reminisced, "John Constantine and Dante are still prime daddy material no matter what anyone says, and had it not been for you introducing their franchises to me, I would have never heard of them."

"You're welcome, nephew." Freddy laughed, "Now come on, everyone. Let's get some rest."

That's Issei's uncle for you. It's still heartwarming how they can be so open with each other, even after years of being apart. More like a familial friend relationship rather than a friendly family one, that's how I'd describe it.

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***

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"Nephew, wake up." Freddy kept trying to nudge him as carefully as possible late into the morning, "It's noon already, come on."

"Mn, let's not go today..." He rolled around in bed.

"Get the hell out of bed, you idiot!" Sandy mercilessly shoved him off.

"Ow! What the-?! Gah, what the hell, woman!?"

"I guess there was no other way to get him to wake up." I chuckled.

"I was willing to slap him at best, but did you really have to push him off like that, Sands?" Freddy asked.

"Be glad she was the one that woke him up." Juavez pointed to his leg, "Cause if she didn't, then I would have had to step in with my capoeira."

"Come on, dude, get up." I helped Issei stand up, "We need to check out and go touch the World Wonder, remember? We're doing this for our wives."

"Seriously, what the hell is your situation even?" Juavez asked once again.

"Ah, I think I figured it out!" Sandy snapped her fingers, "Their wives are in a comatose state, and they wanted to visit the World Wonders with their husbands, so this is them honoring their wishes!"

"......"

"I'm right, aren't I!?" She doubled down.

"Perish the thought." I shook my head with a worried expression.

"Besides, that doesn't at all explain the mystery behind the light." Juavez commented.

"It'd make for a great movie plot, though." Freddy figured, "I should pitch it to Itsuo-nii. Who knows, maybe it'd do well."

"Hey, you better credit me when you do!" Sandy laughed.

Thus, with the day starting off on a high note, we decided to ride that wave further as we began our trek through the Al Kubtha Trail. It was pretty tough hiking up there, but we soon reached a viewpoint that showed the Treasury we visited twice yesterday from a higher angle. It was absolutely stunning, and just marvelous how even when viewed from up top, you can still feel that sense of scale emanating from it. Truly, this place has every right to be a World Wonder.

"The Royal Tombs are a series of large mausoleums carved into the western slope of the Jabal al-Khubtha rock massif." Freddy read from his phone, "It is said that the Nabatean king, Malchus II, is buried here."

"Another tomb. Seriously, all these guys do is die." Sandy noted.

"I'm sure they lived too, they probably just wanted to respect the dead by giving them a proper burial ground." I gave my two cents on the matter, "As someone who buried his ex-wife on our own private honeymoon island, I guess I can relate."

"Whoa, you're just gonna drop that lore bomb on us all of a sudden!?" She jolted.

"A widower, now our garota's theory is looking a lot more plausible..." Juavez thought.

"It's his ex, you guys really don't pay attention." Issei frowned, "I knew her, she was a really incredible woman. Back then I was crashing at their house until I got my footing."

"Heh, we weren't yet a couple back then." I recalled nostalgically, "Actually, you were the one that convinced me to go out with her, though I'm sure Cecily doesn't find that part of the story nearly as appealing."

"You already had a girlfriend back then!?" Juavez, Sandy and Freddy all jumped in unison, "Wait, but Cecily is the name of your current wife, so... Huh?"

"Hey look, the light showed up." I ignored them as I touched the Royal Tombs' walls.

"Oi, don't just ignore us, Luneski!" Freddy grabbed my shoulder.

"Seriously England, you sound way more interesting now that you've shared this tidbit about yourself!" Sandy added, "Go on, tell us the story!"

"I'm highly interested in what went through your mind back then." Juavez lightly scolded me, "Infidelity is a sin, you know."

"Hey, we got the light checked, but we still have the entire day at our disposal." I continued walking down the trail, "Let's see what else this place has to offer."

"He's getting away!" Sandy grit her teeth.

"Don't worry guys!" Freddy reassured them, "The place he's going to right now is called the High Place of Sacrifice, so if he continues to tune us out any more, we'll know what to do."

"Looks like they're planning to throw you off the cliff if you don't regale them with the tragic tale." Issei glanced back at them, "Damned assholes, they know Marina died and they still press you on the matter...!"

"It's okay, they're just curious." I laughed.

"So, you're gonna tell them the full story?"

"Nah, I'd rather get sacrificed to the Nabatean God." I looked at my left hand's ring finger, "There's no way I'm opening that can of worms. Let her rest in peace already, am I right?"

"......I miss Marina." He looked up at the sky.

"....Mn."

The rest of the day was a lot more laid back in comparison now that we got our objective cleared. That being the case, I noticed I was quite less talkative after that. I wonder, is anyone else's dear wife buried among these ruins? What about a child? How did they go? I'd say they should have written something down on the matter, but maybe they too just wanted their deceased loved ones to rest in peace. I wonder though, how would my story differ if Marina hadn't gotten shot back then? If it was me or Ed instead... Perish the thought.