The heat was unbearable; every step felt like walking on magma itself burning through the shoes. The sun felt so heavy and scorching that it seemed it didn't want anyone walking beneath it. Each step was a test of will; That he couldn't refuse. But fighting against it was impossible; Hunger and thirst were already consuming his mind and body, and enduring them was the only thing he could to avoid succumbing to his own death.
He kept walking, Dragging each foot through the scorching sand. Tiny grains of sand slipped between his toes, searing and restless. Each breath tasted of dust and heat, clinging to his throat, reminding him of how long it had been since he'd tasted water, any respite and mercy.
The desert seemed to stretch in all ways, an shimmering ocean of gold that seemed to twist and turn with every glance. With every breath and step he took; He thought he'd heard something—Footsteps that followed him, whisper being carried away by the hot air. But whenever he turned around there was nothing in sight, as if the footsteps he heard didn't exist at all. Only dunes shifting in the wind..
Almost as if they were moving closer with each step.
His vision trembled.
Black spots flickered at the edges.
The world pulsed, almost breathing.
Then—he saw it, emerging as the swirling dust parted like a curtain.
A shape lying on the sandy ground, Then faster as an impossible scent reached his nostrils. It was warm, savory, almost conforming. His throat tightened; saliva dripped from his mouth. He didn't question why something like this would be in the middle of nowhere. He didn't want to. His mind wouldn't let him.
There, lying perfectly still, was what looked like a whole roasted pig, golden skin, untouched. As if it had been deliberately placed there... waiting.
Then he collapse besides it. And without thinking—Without breathing— he began to devour it desperately. Frantic, Trembling hands. A hollow mind. A starving body doing whatever it could do to survive.
But then... a chill slid down his spine.The air shifted.
The taste changed to something different. Something inside him froze—not from fear or despair, but something colder, something older. Slowly, he raised his gaze to see what was he actually consuming.
And the illusion was shattered.
It wasn't an animal. Not even close.
Human. Completely human.
The kind of sight that should paralyze a person with horror.
But instead... Yet he felt nothing.
No panic.
No disgust.
Not even a surprise.
Only an acceptance that he gave himself. It was just quiet like as if he had done this before.
Something from someone who had crossed that line a long time ago.Someone who no longer remembered where that line between survival and monstrosity once lay.
The desert watched in silence, the air sliding past without a single sound just heat and dust. And he.. just keep eating, the last bite gone. He just simply stood there, the sun bearing down. And whispered in a voice empty of reason
"At least you're useful now."
He paused, scanning the aground around him. then he noticed something a bag clutched tightly around the body's waist. The bag was just there, it didn't move, it didn't call attention to itself. And yet... his mind told him to grab it. Something instinctive, something primal whispered that it mattered. That it was mean for him
With slow, deliberated movements, he opened the bag..
End of chapter 1