After the wolves left, silence fell again—a silence as if the whole world was waiting for the next decision of man. The cold smell of the blizzard still lingered in the air, but the golden sand of the desert poured warmth into it.
The departure of the huge wolf pack seemed to close a chapter in their lives.
Ayes tried to feel the spirituality by holding the sword in his right hand as the wolf had told him. But nothing happened. Everyone stared at him. Everyone whispered what he was trying to do.
He felt the spirituality of the sword better. Slowly the sword became smaller. He couldn't believe it. It became a completely small knife. Which he could easily put in his bag.
Seeing him, Kai and Melissa also tried to do the same. They also succeeded like Ayes. Everyone was surprised that these weapons could be made so small.
Ayes took a deep breath. "Come on," he said in a calm but firm voice. "We must reach the first altar before sunset."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The sand began to harden underfoot.
Before the desert ended, they felt—the smell of the air was changing.
Ovi noticed it first. "Have you noticed? There's an earthy smell in the air. It's been sand and dust all this time... now it looks like it's going to rain." Melissa looked up at the sky and said, "That's a good sign. Maybe the beginning of the forest is near."
After taking a few steps forward, they saw—
a barrier of tall grass right next to the desert.
The grass was waist-high, the leaves bending in a shade of blue. "This is not a grass of the world," Kai said.
Ayes touched the edge of a leaf with his own hand and said,
"It... feels alive. It vibrates."
Indeed—the grasses were moving without wind. As if they felt something. Right next to the small mound of grass they saw—a small, luminous fruit growing at the base of a tree. A light golden glow on the fruit. It looked very beautiful, but strange. The smell was unfamiliar, but very refreshing.
Aimee saw it first. "These are… fruits?" Rezik said, "They look like fruits. The smell is not bad."
Habib carefully walked over and picked up a fruit.
It was the size of an apple, but the skin was soft and the glow was almost like a firefly.
Nila said nervously, "Will it be safe to eat?"
Melissa took the fruit in her hand and examined it closely. "There is nothing strange. The tree is ordinary, but the fruit has energy stored in it."
Ayes said, "We are short on time. If we need to eat something, this seems the safest."
He broke the fruit slightly—the inside was white, soft, and a milky liquid came out.
Ovi said with a smile, "Look! It looks like there is juice inside like coconut!"
At first, everyone was hesitant. But the baby Sara was crying all the time, Nila was tired.
Finally, Ayes took a bite. His eyes widened in surprise. "This... is not an ordinary fruit," he said. Kai immediately asked, "What happened? Poisonous?"
Ayes shook his head. "No. It feels like it's pouring energy all over my body.
The fatigue is easing."
Aimi said slowly, "It could be Energy Fruit."
Then everyone picked the fruit one by one.
Even the child sucked the little juice and calmed down.
A kind of relief appeared on everyone's face.
---
When they crossed the grass and entered the first level of the forest—that's when they came across even more strange plants.
Water stored inside the leaves, like coconuts, food like mushrooms, which sparkle in low light, tubers under the ground, which are like onions or potatoes.
Kai said with a smile,
"It's like nature itself is keeping us alive."
Ovi said, "Maybe it really is. It is amazing, because the fruits here are much bigger than the fruits on earth."
Ayes said, "Nature operates in a different way in this world. Survival here may not only be a matter of body but also of strength."
Everyone started collecting food little by little.
They were hungry, tired—
Now they felt as if they had new strength after getting food.
-...
Finding a small open space in the forest, they stopped.
Everyone cut the fruits together, poured water into the leaves and fried mushrooms (without fire) and prepared a small meal.
The whole child started laughing. Since the day they came to earth and lived—
For the first time, they were calm.
Nila wiped her eyes and said, "It seems... God is looking at us."
Habib said, "Or the creator of this world."
Ayes said, "Anyway, we have to move forward.
Time is running out."
Everyone got new energy after eating the food. No one got sick.
Rather, the body became light and fast with the power of the fruit.
Aimi said, "This fruit cannot be eaten repeatedly. It is a booster.
After a while, the body will be normal again."
Everyone nodded in understanding. They collected some fruit to eat at night.
As they went deeper into the forest, the darkness in the forest increased. They did not panic because they would find the altar after crossing this forest. Suddenly, Nila and two other people fell into a huge hole. All three of them had broken their legs. This was very bad news for the entire team.
Nila put her daughter Sara on Abyes' lap. Because she could not walk well. Nivea gave her a tree branch. Their speed had slowed down even more than before. Nila said, "You guys go ahead. We will not harm you."
Ayes agreed to her words. He told everyone to move forward quickly. He was walking with three injured people behind him. Seeing him, Kai and Nivea stopped behind. Sara was on Abyes' lap, the other thirteen started walking forward.
The runes are shining from the bark of the trees. The path is mysterious but clean. It seems that this path was prepared for someone long ago.
Occasionally, small marks can be seen on the ground—it seems that other creatures have also walked this path. But everything is intact and peaceful. There are no signs of death or damage.
Melissa said, "All this food, path, light—all prepared for us."
Ayes said, "Or to test."
Everyone woke up.
After a few hours of walking—Kai suddenly shouted,
"Look at the sun!"
Everyone stopped and looked at the sky. The lower part of the sun had touched the horizon. The light of the runes was gradually decreasing. The shadows were getting longer.
Ayes shouted, "Run! The altar is not far away!"
Everyone started running—forgetting fatigue, forgetting pain, forgetting fear.
The light of the altar was right in front of them! But the darkness was slowly approaching from the depths of the forest. The thirteen in front reached the altar. But the six of them still could not reach it.
The altar light was right in front of them! They felt like it was slowly coming from the depths of the dark forest. The thirteen in front reached the altar. But the six of them still couldn't reach it.
There were only a few minutes left. The six of them started walking faster. Ayes and Nila fell further behind the rest. Nila couldn't walk anymore. The other four moved closer to the altar. Suddenly the ground started shaking.
Cracks began to appear in the ground. Everyone inside and outside the altar were scared. The ground started to move under Ayesgebra's feet.
Boom ____
Nila fell into the crack. Ayes grabbed her hand from above the crack. Ayes looked ahead. He saw Nivea and the injured person with her falling into the big crack. She was holding the ground with only one hand. Only four fingers of her hand were visible. The man with Kai was lost in the crack. He wanted to come forward to help the others. But he couldn't muster the courage to jump over the huge crack. So he stood there to help the others. He shouted and told them to climb up quickly.
There was only a moment left before sunset. Except for the altar, all the surrounding ground collapsed. And darkness seemed to be coming out of the crack in the ground.
_ _ _ _
"You hold my hand, I can climb up now,"
Nivea said to the injured man.
"You can't, thank you for your help so far." The man said. "The darkness here is coming out of the crack in the ground. My name is Maxim." The man let go of his hand.
But Nivea held his hand. "I won't let you die like this."
"Stupid girl, you have to save me for me. My wife and children in the world will know that I love them." He put a ring, necklace and diary in Nivae's bag. The man opened Nivae's hand with his other hand. Before he falls into the darkness , he yelled, "There is still time, stupid girl, get up quickly."
Nivae stopped crying and gathered her strength and climbed up well with both hands. She had learned the first steps of martial arts well. In front of her, she saw a huge crack. Seeing Kai in front of the huge crack, she jumped.
_ _ _ _
"Ayes, you take care of my daughter. Keep it. Leave me. Abyes, have my bag . It has everything about my daughter in it."
Nila took Ayes' hand away from hers. And she started falling into the void and said "Tell her that her mother loves her very much. Go to my daughter."
Ayes stood up. He saw two cracks in front of him. And he saw Nivae jumping. He also jumped over the first crack in front of him. He succeeded in crossing the first crack. He saw Nivae and Kai waiting for him in front of the second crack. He jumped again. He could not reach it for a while.
...