The swamp stretched across a massive area west of the desert.
It was also a place the spirits loved, dangerous and filled with insects.
I figured I’d feel right at home.
But I still had to get there.
The surroundings gradually changed.
The lifeless earth started showing patches of grass.
I touched it for the first time in fourteen years.
Then trees appeared.
A forest.
“Real, living plants.”
I touched the tree trunks with a sense of wonder.
They were simple things, but I’d missed them terribly.
Riding along the trees, I couldn’t stop looking around and taking deep breaths.
Sometimes that helped me spot the local fauna before it spotted me.
“Raaaa!”
A strange bear with a duck bill burst out of the trees.
Its mouth was lined with rows of razor-sharp fangs.
The claws on its paws were probably venomous.
It rose on its hind legs, towering a full three meters.
“Right.” I stared at the creature as something clicked.
“I’m running low on food supplies.”
There were so many new impressions that by evening I was emotionally drained.
I found a relatively open clearing with solid ground.
Flexing my muscles, I raised solid walls with a few hand gestures.
A dome-shaped motion formed a roof over my individual little home.
I made barred windows and entered without a door.
An Earthbender didn’t need one.
“Spacious.”
Earth was the most creative element.
Given time, I could build a whole mansion.
But a one-room shack was enough for me.
For fun, I made a small table and a stone bed.
I covered it with leaves to soften it.
On the table, I ate dried bear meat for dinner.
When Afka returned with a small book in her teeth, I lay down with her on the bed and started reading.
Her soft fur snuggled against my right arm. Find the original chapter at g.com.
She was watching the book with me.
I think this is what happiness feels like.
The wild, sprawling swamp was surrounded on all sides by cliffs and thick vegetation.
You could enter its thickets through an unremarkable mountain canyon.
I walked through the vine-filled, tree-covered gorge with genuine excitement.
Long roots partially blocked the path but weren’t a problem for me.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t meet a single person along the way.
The path I was taking led to the dreaded swamp that everyone without exception tried to avoid.
Once through the canyon, I had to crane my neck up.
The trees here were massive.
Thick undergrowth and swamp water with rare patches of dry land.
Strange horned toads sat on those patches.
Croaking and endless insect chirping came from everywhere.
An atmosphere of life.
But unlike before, I couldn’t just find extra sand anywhere.
I had to rely solely on what was in my gourd.
“The map won’t help me either.” I used sand tentacles to swing myself onto the root of a large tree and looked around.
“Afka, you lead now.”
“Fyrk.” She clearly felt at home here.
Hiding behind a trunk, she reappeared on a neighboring one, weaving through the tangled paths.
Without her, I’d be lost in minutes.
The foliage grew denser, sunlight faded, and the atmosphere grew heavier.
I was always on edge in open but dark places.
Especially when unsettling sounds came from all directions, making me turn around every few seconds.
At one point, as I flew over a stream, something leaped out of the water and tried to bite my leg.
A mustached crocodile, like a giant catfish, opened its massive jaws but was knocked back by a single swipe of my sharp blade.
Unfortunately, some of my sand fell into the water and sank.
“Damn you…
Afka?” Freezing mid-air, trying to spot my little fox in the impenetrable darkness, I swallowed hard.
Leaves rustled.
Frogs croaked.
Nothing else.
Was I unlucky again?
“Stop messing around, you’re a spirit.
You couldn’t have lost me!”
Zzzzz.
I heard a hum at the edge of my hearing.
Purely on reflex, honed over two years, I spun and swung my sand blade. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
A strange mosquito the size of a cat, flying toward me, was sliced in two.
Larvae spilled from its abdomen, dropping into the water.
The aquatic creatures of this place immediately swarmed them.
“Af!” A voice came from behind me.
“Phew.
Afka, don’t leave me like that again…” But when I turned, I immediately stopped.
I saw a large shadow darting through the trees.
And it clearly wasn’t the little fox that fit in my arms.
“Choose:”
1: Run (A chance to survive).
2: Stay and fight (The conditions will force you to develop earth bending.
Survival depends entirely on combat skills).
3: Head toward the silhouette (It’s blocking the swamp exit.
If you run, it won’t follow).
“Run?
Survive?” The hair on my body stood on end.
My pupils constricted.
Who was Anubis talking about with such a serious warning?
And more importantly, where was Afka?
Rustle.
Rustle.
The leaves trembled from someone’s interference.
Shadows appeared not only ahead but on all sides.
Glowing points emerged from the impenetrable darkness.
I was being watched from everywhere.
Unlucky.
Could Afka be with them?
Hovering over the lake, my mind raced.
How should I act?
I clenched my fists.
Then I took off as fast as my abilities allowed.
Because all I heard after that was snapping trees and a noise so unnatural it filled my head.
This THING was faster and more cunning.
A massive silhouette split into many smaller ones, then merged again.
My experience told me to push my muscles to the limit and run.