Icy water dripped from the cave ceiling, jolting Valenius from his slumber.

His chest tightened, and his hand felt numb as an icy cloud formed from his breath.

Glancing around, Valenius’ eyes widened as he realised he was in a cave.

Looking down, Valenius noticed he was sitting on a bed with a desk in the middle. Muttering under his breath, “What am I doing here again?” but he noticed the desk was white and in a different location than the last cave.

Valenius rushed over, hoping to find some notes.

His heart sank when all he found was a knife mark with a chilling message: “You are sentenced to die here. I lost so much; why can’t I go back home? This world will consume you and take away everything that you love from you. It’s cruel; we have no control. We aren’t meant to be here. Why are we here?”

Breathless, Valenius examined the style of handwriting, and it appeared that different people wrote the sentences.

As he breathed again, he pondered how many had come to this place, how many survived, and how many ever returned home. He wondered why he was sent back here after a short while of being back home.

Gazing down at the ground, he lowered his head, contemplating the struggles of those who carved their thoughts into the desk.

In the corner of his eye, he noticed a drawer in the desk.

Rushing towards it, he smiled when he found another parchment rolled up.

Valenius quickly opened it, immediately went to the end to see if there was a name he recognised and, to his relief, it was Val who had written it.

Sitting on the bed, he read the letter.

And it read:

To whoever reads this letter, you have likely read my previous letters.

You may have been here for days, months, or even years.

I am uncertain why I continue writing these letters; it has been many years since I lost count of how many letters I wrote and the advice I’ve given.

I have little new to say. I believe I keep writing to connect in some way with others from my real home, attempting not to forget where I am from.

As I write this, I have noticed that the details of my home on Earth are becoming vaguer with time, and I am finding myself forgetting where I am from. Writing is the only way to make me forget less. Thank you to those reading this; you are helping me not to forget, even though we will never speak.

One piece of advice I haven’t shared concerns this room. You will notice it’s very similar – a cave, bed, and table, nothing more. This room is a safe haven, where you have a fighting chance. You can focus, rest, or do whatever you need before exiting the cave and entering the location the game chooses.

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Usually, it would be the last place where you were before returning to Earth, but not always.

So, make sure you don’t leave this cave until you are ready, and no sooner, as you don’t know where you will be or who or what you will see once you leave the cave.

Safe travels,

Val.

After Valenius finished reading the letter, he paused and looked around the icy cold cave.

Focusing on his feelings, he felt rested.

Before standing up, he carefully put Val’s letter in his pocket. Writing for Val reminded him of Earth, and for Valenius, holding the letter brought him comfort, reminding him he is not alone here and people do survive here like Val. #

So, Valenius put the letter in his pocket before exiting the cave.

The next thing he saw when his eyes opened, to his relief, was back in the Salintus tent.

He heard footsteps, and Salintus appeared from the tent entrance and said, “We must leave now.”

Valenius sighed and muttered under his breath, “Fine.”

As Valenius walked past Salintus, Salintus grabbed Valenius by the arm, and Valenius’s gaze went to Salintus quickly.

Salintus said, “Before you go, I want to show you how to use the Gauntlet more.”

Salintus pressed and held a black button on the Gauntlet, and as the map appeared, areas around it had different shades of red.

“You see, there are areas that are darker red; these are areas that are dangerous and mean sudden death for you. So, make sure you keep looking back at this map to avoid those areas.”

Salintus pressed another button, and a marker appeared. “Here is the place you should go. These people will help you learn survival skills that will aid your survival. That is all I can do for you now. I will escort you out to the end of the forest, past my camp, and then you are on your own. Now, we must leave.”

With that, Salintus and Valenius exited the camp.

As they walked by the Salintus people, Valenius could hear whispers and mutters, and every time Valenius looked at them, they either immediately moved their gaze or quivered a bit.

Valenius walked to Salintus side and spoke. “Why do people seem off with me? Did I do something?”

Salintus spoke, his gaze fixed straight ahead, “My people are wary of people from your world. Few are as helpless and innocent as you. Some of your people have hurt mine, so that is another reason I want you gone.”

Salintus stopped and returned to Valenius, staring sternly at him. He spoke, “Now, this is where I leave you, and I am sorry I can’t help anymore. Best of luck.”

With that, Salintus turned and returned to his people without looking at Valenius.

Valenius watched as Salintus was out of view and turned his gaze forward, staring straight ahead into the open, wide forest.

With that gaze, Valenius took a big gulp.

***

Eleantra’s gaze was still fixed on Olenius, who wore a half-white and half-blue mask.

Olenius demanded, “You need to gain the boy’s trust, whatever it takes. But in the meantime, I would like to have a little fun with the Earth boy. Itinious, go find the boy.”

With that, a blue light from behind lit up from the shadows and disappeared.

Eleantra gasped and then shouted back, “Itinious will kill the boy, what have you done?”

Olenius laughed, “Well, if he dies, there will be one less Earth boy to worry about.”

Eleantra commented, “Xansitus will not be happy if he dies.”

Olenius responded, “I don’t care.”

Eleantra scoffed, and with that, she turned, clicked her fingers, and transformed into an eagle, flying out of the stone-bricked room.