I moved forward with determination, holding my hope tight in my mind cause physical body already given up on those. As I reached a safe distance, the scenery began to reveal itself.
At first glance, it seemed that the houses were buried underground and that the figures among them appeared as if made of sand. But on closer inspection, I realized they were people—buried and muffled by the sand which were covering there whole body like a petrified state. That sight just worsen my naked loneliness.
I continued moving forward, studying them. Most of them were frozen in strange positions, as if they had been running from something. Nearby, only a few broken statues hinted at what they might have been fleeing but I couldn't make sense of it.
Getting a good look at the houses was a struggle. They were filled with sand—inside, I could tell they were simple three-story buildings, buried deep beneath the desert.
With my already battered left hand, I lifted my gaze to Ateria—the ever-watching star—in hopes of a miracle. And then, as if in answer to my silent prayer, everything began to stir. The whole place started moving, and the people seemed to come back to life—or so I thought, lost in a haze of possibility and my own hallucinations in this hell.
The only thing that happened actually was the p pain returned with and sting more as I looked towards my hand.
I explored further, and it felt like I was wandering through a haunted place. The statues around me seemed as if they might come to life at any moment, but all I saw was pure fear and sadness etched on their faces. I noticed scenes of parents trying to protect their children, while others appeared frozen mid-flight, as if in a desperate attempt to escape. Even the guards seemed locked in a battle against an unseen enemy, their struggles preserved forever in the white sand—a one-sided war that filled my heart with sorrow.
After a short while, I discovered a spot where I could finally enter without having to dig through the sand. Above ground, there was an old, hatch-like wooden door that looked like it belonged to an odd civilization. Without a second thought, I jumped down through it—only to realize that I needed a torch, as the place was wide and open and dark despite the outer walls sinking deep into the sand and as an idiot I was stuck here.
Now what? I just push through it with one hand, I managed to push myself up—barely, but the walking stick helped lighten the effort. Scanning the area, I soon spotted a dead tree nearby.
Crafting a torch with one hand was a real challenge. But after so long in the Abyss, I had picked up a few tricks. I carefully angled my stick against the tree and, with a mix of determination and resourcefulness, managed to fashion a crude torch. With that light in hand, I moved forward to explore the place further.
The first thing I noticed were the strange symbols etched into the stone walls. They didn't make any sense to me, but they seemed to be part of a some language—as they were everywhere, or so I hoped.
Continuing my exploration, I discovered a new passage that led deeper underground. This area was a bit covered in sand; one of the walls had broken, forming a natural ramp. I navigated carefully along it, and what I found next brought a smile on me—a library, the heart of this long-buried town was right in front of me.