He stared through the Sand Glass for a long time, as if trying to get him to talk.
But the camp was warm and alive and remained mute. No faces, no Echoes, no memories. Just this emblem. A cross curved like a sickle. Blue, as if burned in the air, not painted.
Ikai Liu knew it was a sign of something he hadn't understood yet. But they were already looking for him. They already knew where he would be.
He didn't leave.
The place, though dead, seemed strangely safe. Shrouded in a foreign presence, but not hostile. Almost like a grave, where the dead don't move but stare up at you.
Ikai carefully unfolded his cloak, laying it out on the cold ground. He placed the Sandglass on a nearby smooth rock, as if subconsciously trying to keep this mysterious artifact within his sight, but not too close.
He didn't think about food, didn't seek water for a bath, and didn't bow in prayer as he had done before out of habit.
His body felt foreign, heavy, and tired, and his mind needed rest.
Finally, for the first time in days of wandering through the desert, he allowed himself to relax, to let go of his worries, and simply closed his eyes, daring to trust his exhausted body to sleep.
***
Ikai Liu was falling. However, this fall was not physical, but metaphorical. His mind, in contrast to his physical existence, was sinking into an abyss, an area that he had stubbornly chosen to ignore.
It was more than just a dream; it was a journey into himself, into a part of his soul that he had carefully hidden from others, and sometimes even from himself.
Gravity, as such, did not exist. Instead, he was in a space filled with shimmering, where the blackness was not empty, but a living, breathing space.
It seemed to be singing, and the sound reminded him of something important. The music that came from the depths of this place was both familiar and alien, like the names that had once been a part of his life but were now just a vague echo.
He remembered how his friends had called him as a child, how they had laughed and shared their dreams. These memories now seemed as distant as the stars in the vast sky.
"Min Jae..."
The name sounded like a challenge.
"Ikai Liu..."
Replied his inner self.
"You're not who you should be."
And there, in the very heart of this timeless chasm, he saw it. It was a dim star that beckoned to him like a mystery waiting to be solved.
Its light was not just bright, but it was also resonant. Every ray of light seemed like a musical note, and its pulsation resembled the rhythm of breathing.
This strange fragment of space, suspended in the air, was surrounded by a mysterious ring engraved with symbols.
These signs were not static; they moved as if they were breathing, as if they had a life of their own.
He reached out to her, hoping to establish a connection with this unusual phenomenon. A mixture of surprise and fear shone in his eyes.
"Who… are you?"
Ikai asked, feeling his voice tremble in the silence.
He didn't hear any words in response, but suddenly, names emerged. They sounded like the whisper of the wind, like a melody filling the space around him.
These names were like a mosaic of melodies and rhythms that called to his essence. Each of them reminded him of long-forgotten experiences, of people who had long since passed away.
He felt that these names were part of something greater than himself, part of the universe.
"Someone lived in this light. Or died or became it."
"They called me. But not by the name I remember… Min Jae. They called Ikai."
Ikai felt a sudden surge of energy. It was as if a powerful current was flowing through his chest and out through his palms, burning his skin from the inside.
His right hand was illuminated by a flash, and a fragment resonated within it. It seemed to be trying to awaken.
A faint silhouette appeared in front of him, with fingers of light, as if his own hand was transforming into something else, almost alive. The outline was gradually taking shape, close to completion, but...
He exhaled sharply and whispered.
"It's still early."
Gritting his teeth, Ikai suppressed the surge. The tension inside his chest eased, and the raging volcano subsided, leaving only fading waves of pain. His pulse returned to a normal human rhythm.
If I accept you here and now... I won't know who you are. I won't understand who I will become.
Somewhere in the darkness, a star glimmered like a pupil observing his every move. In that moment, he sensed that the one who had given him a new life was watching.
***
Ikai Liu woke up in the same camp. Everything around him was the same. Only in the sand next to him was a piece of hematite that was not there before, as if a star had left a mark.
He took it in his hand. It was cold. But it still seemed to be breathing.
"I'm just a human for now. But this isn't a dream anymore."
Ikai continued walking, feeling someone's gaze on him from far away. It wasn't the sun or a star, but something unsettling.
The sands were different. It was as if something had changed, not the external world, but the inner world.
They no longer seemed like just land to walk around, cross, leave. Now every step sounded different.
Ikai didn't look back. There was no point anymore, he realized that someone was slowly watching him and not falling behind.
Ikai knew: it wouldn't come closer.
And yet... he will always be there.
He rolled his cloak around his shoulders. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, not because it was hot. Because something behind him was breathing in time with him. It didn't miss a beat. It didn't speed up. A reflection that doesn't appear in a mirror. A shadow that doesn't cast a shadow.
"If I stop, will it catch up with me? If I speak, will it hear me? Or is it not about me at all? And what about what I did?"
He caught himself thinking less. Not because it was easier, on the contrary. Thoughts began to twist into a tight knot, and it became impossible to separate them.
Everything in him clung together.
As if he had become a mouth. Only swallowing, never sated.
"I'm not even interesting to the one who's after me. I can only be used. Or I can wait for myself to die. A dog without a name. An empty shell. But why then... is he looking at me?"
At some point, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. It wasn't caused by any external stimulus - no sound, movement, or sight caught his attention. No, he stopped simply because his legs refused to carry him any further, as if they had reached their limit and an invisible force had deprived them of their strength.
And then, for the first time, the figure that had been hiding in the shadows moved. It kept its distance, its silhouette barely visible in the dim light, but there was no mistaking the deliberate movement.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, he tilted his head to the side, not out of curiosity or recognition, but with a cold, analytical precision.
It wasn't a study of a person, but a study of an anomaly, a flaw in the pattern, as one might carefully examine a crack in a vase or a stain on a canvas.
"What a strange fellow, at least he's keeping his distance. It gives me the creeps."
The air grew heavier, filled with unspoken tension. The figure didn't approach, didn't speak, didn't reveal its intentions, yet its mere presence sent a chill down his spine.
He froze, torn between physical exhaustion and the primal fear that gnawed at his mind. What was this vision? Who had he become for this? Perhaps it was a mistake, or something worse.
Ikai's fingers twitched involuntarily, and a desperate desire coursed through his veins. He longed to tear off his clothes, to feel the sharp edges of the world against his skin, to let the wind pierce him like a thousand tiny blades.
He wanted to disappear, not as a result of a final death, but in such a way as to disappear from the annals of existence itself. He longed for a journey, a complete erasure from the memories and thoughts of everyone who had ever known him.
And then, as if in response to his inner turmoil, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble slightly. Ikai looked down and, squinting, noticed a crack that was initially barely visible but was growing wider with each passing moment.
It snaked across the ground, heading towards the distant hills, as if summoned by some ancient, invisible force.
He exhaled, not in relief, but simply out of habit. His body repeated the movements, while his mind sank into the depths of his own desires.
"Come on"
He said hoarsely, his voice hoarse with pent-up emotion.
"Amaze me, carrion. Show me what you're made of, will you go where death awaits?"
Ikai Liu wanted the stalker to go with him, where an invisible monster lay in the earth. And he slowly followed the guy.