Chapter 35 We Made It

Chapter 35 We Made It
🌜 Seraphina 🌛

Before Elias could react… say what he wasn't meant to say I quite stepped forward. What I did next was my instinct trying and working its best to protect me. I struck him across the temple with a hard punch. It was not hard enough to harm him deeply, just enough to knock him off balance. His eyes widened in shock, then rolled back slightly as his body slumped.

I caught him as he fell, my arms shaking as I lowered him gently to the floor. His head rested against the floor’s board,his face was so peaceful and it gave me the assurance that I was doing what was best for us both.

Though tears pricked my eyes for no reason. “It’s time,” I said hoarsely, turning toward The Curse Bearer. “We’re ready to go.”

When last had I cried, I couldn't tell and I couldn't remember. I hope this will be one of the best decisions I have made so far.

The Curse Bearer smirked again, showing his readiness and approval for the decision I had made. “How decisive,” he said. “Perhaps there is hope for you yet.”

He gestured toward the lamp, its glow now steady and expectant. “Pick it up,” he instructed softly. “And rub along its body. Three times.”

Oh! It wasn't new to me, I had read of it in the history book and had always thought it was also a new kind of hope for the people given the chance to rub it. It sure was…and it is for me, but still I hesitated. It wasn't mentioned that The Curse Bearer had the access to it, so I could only be reluctant.

I sighed, and then did as he says. I made up my mind already. There is definitely no turning back!

I rubbed once, and the air broke slightly,the second band with a different effect. The light within the lamp began to swirl and flow out rising on golden mist smoke. The third changed everything.

In a span of half a second, the world exploded in a blinding light that poured with an extravagant force from the lamp. It swirls in the air and bursts open the ceilings. Then, it wrapped around us, spiraling upward as it lift us off the ground.

The houses had been destroyed, the ceiling had burst open and the pillars had broken. The house would definitely collapse. Had I cause ruin to get another person…no a family beaming with happiness who just offered us help

My heart became light with no reasonable thought. I looked down from up here in the sky only to see the house…though blur. But I could definitely see what was going on. I saw every house in the village wobbling down on its own.

No no no no. I cannot take responsibility for all those destruction, instead I need an explanation from The Curse Bearer or get it myself.

An idea at that minute, dropped on my mind like a stone. What if the village didn't exist in the first place?

The more I think about it, the more I see the light to my assumptions. I wasn't created to ruin rather to bring justice to everyone and make sure they live a carefree life.

Then, just as suddenly as it began, the spiraling stopped.

The light thickened, curled inward, and folded around us — a golden cocoon bursting into a flash.

And when the brightness faded, we were no longer in the same world.

The first thing I felt was sand. The sand was warm. I touched my cheek hurriedly to know if I wasn't dead yet,the only thing I touched was fine grains. I bet my cheek had become a sack for it, it clung to my lip like it had been glued there. How did it even get there? I didn't even get to earth till my heart content, yet this was there. I couldn't say I was fed on our journey from the sky to here.

I touched my hair that was seeming heavy all of a sudden and it was indeed heavy with grains again. What? Is grains the only food here?

I gasped softly and blinked as a gust of wind brushed over me. And I could see the grains flying over, scattering like a whirlwind of gold and beige across the endless plain.

I looked from my right to my left then ahead but all I could see was sand. Could this be a vast area of land used for farming?....or what was it called. Long endless sand….what was it called.

I wracked my brain tirelessly,yet it didn't come back to me. I just had to let go.

I clicked my tongue when I realized I didn't care to think of the man I had traveled with. I couldn't bear it if he was transported somewhere else.

Then I saw him.

Elias.

He was lying a few feet away, sprawled across the sand, his chest rising and falling shallowly. His hair was tangled, his cloak torn. The golden glow that had carried us here was gone, leaving only the faintest traces of warmth in the air.

“Elias…” My voice came out rough, almost lost in the emptiness.

The air around us was cold, despite the absence of trees, the void was enough to make one fearful and cold from the thought. The sky was turning dark and I was intrigued.

I pushed myself up too fast, stumbling to my feet — but as I did, my boot struck something solid. It rolled with a dull metallic clang.

I froze.

The lamp.

It lay half-buried in the sand, its golden surface glinting weakly under the stark sun. I stared at it for a long moment, my breath caught in my throat.

“How… how did you get here?” I whispered.

My fingers hovered above it — trembling. The last time I’d touched that cursed object, it had ripped us out of reality. I wasn’t eager to see what it could do next.

Then, a voice brushed against my mind. Soft. Intimate. Too close.

You can keep it.

The words weren’t spoken aloud, but they rippled through my thoughts like water disturbed by a stone. My heart skipped.

“No,” I murmured, shaking my head. “No, I’m not listening to you.”

You already are, the voice replied, quieter now, teasing.

A chill trickled down my spine. I looked around sharply — there was no one. Only the endless stretch of sand and the faint, shimmering heat rising from the ground.

The Curse Bearer had followed me here. Not in body, but in mind.

My jaw tightened. I crouched, hesitated for a heartbeat, then reached out and grabbed the lamp. It was warmer than before, almost pulsing with a heartbeat of its own.

I turned — and froze.

There, in the distance, something vast loomed through the haze. A silhouette first — towering, symmetrical — until the light bent around it, revealing edges of carved stone and glittering sigils etched deep into ancient walls.

A temple.

Not just any temple — the kind that breathes with old power. This is the same old temple from the map.

The air around it shimmered with energy, golden mist rising from the base like smoke from incense. My breath caught as recognition dawned.

“The border…” I whispered. “The Still City…”

We’d made it.