The Kingdom of Sand
Meanwhile, Alice and Arthur had finally crossed the vast desert and reached human territory.
Both of them wanted to escape this desolate place as quickly as possible.
After all, staying in the desert any longer meant risking their lives.
However, there was one major problem.
There was only one way to leave.
They had to kill the Sand King.
The King of Sand
Long ago, a mighty king ruled over a prosperous kingdom in the middle of the desert.
Despite possessing immense wealth, countless subjects, and absolute authority, the king had only one desire.
Immortality.
One day, he summoned his queen and revealed his deepest wish.
“I want to become immortal.”
The queen looked at him without hesitation.
“My king, I will do anything for you.”
Without wasting any time, she summoned a priest to the palace.
When the priest arrived, the king immediately asked him a question.
“Tell me, priest.
Is there anything in this world that is truly impossible?”
The priest bowed respectfully.
“My king, nothing is impossible in this world.”
The king’s eyes lit up.
“Then tell me how I can become immortal.”
The priest fell silent for a moment before answering.
“My king, please give me one day.”
“One day?”
“Yes.
Give me one day, and I will find a way to fulfill your wish.”
The king nodded in satisfaction.
“Very well.
If you can tell me how to achieve immortality, I shall reward you beyond your imagination.”
With that, he dismissed the priest.
The priest immediately returned to his temple.
He knelt before his master and desperately prayed for guidance.
He begged for an answer, hoping that divine wisdom would reveal a way to fulfill the king’s request.
But nothing happened.
No matter how many times he prayed, no answer came.
As time passed, desperation consumed him.
What was he supposed to tell the king?
He had promised to find a way to achieve immortality, yet he had absolutely no idea how to do it.
Just as the priest was about to leave the temple, a mysterious voice called out to him from the side of the road.
“Priest.”
He stopped and turned toward the voice.
A stranger stood nearby, wearing a faint smile.
“What do you want?” the priest asked cautiously.
The stranger’s smile widened.
“I know how to become immortal.”
The priest’s eyes widened.
“You do?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me!”
The stranger shook his head.
“I will only tell the king.”
The priest hesitated.
Something about the stranger felt suspicious, but desperation soon overwhelmed his doubts.
He had no other choice.
Taking the stranger with him, the priest returned to the palace.
Upon their arrival, he informed the king that he had found someone who knew the secret of immortality.
The king immediately summoned the stranger before him.
“If you can help me become immortal, I will grant you any wish you desire.”
The stranger bowed respectfully.
“My king, what I have to tell you is extremely important.
I must speak with you in private.”
The king’s soldiers immediately stepped forward.
“Impossible!
You cannot be allowed to meet the king alone.
You could be a spy!”
The stranger remained calm.
“Then you will have to trust me.”
The king studied him for a moment before making his decision.
“Very well.”
His expression suddenly turned cold.
“But understand this.
If you fail to tell me how to become immortal, I will have your throat slit before the entire kingdom.”
The stranger bowed again.
“Understood, my king.”
The king dismissed his guards and entered a private chamber with the stranger.
Once they were alone, he sat down and gestured for the man to speak.
“Now, tell me.
No one can hear us here.”
The stranger smiled.
Then he revealed everything.
The king listened carefully, his expression changing several times as the stranger explained the method.
When the man finally finished, the king remained silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“Very well.”
A greedy smile appeared on his face.
“I will do it.”
The Ritual of Immortality
The following morning, the king summoned five thousand people to the palace grounds.
No one knew why they had been gathered there.
The people whispered among themselves, wondering what their ruler intended to announce.
Then the king stepped forward.
His voice rang across the enormous gathering.
“My people!
Today, you shall prove your loyalty to your king!”
The crowd fell silent.
“You must give your lives for me!”
Chaos erupted immediately.
Some people protested.
Others screamed in terror, while many desperately attempted to flee.
But the king’s soldiers had already surrounded the gathering.
No one was allowed to leave.
The king raised his hand.
“Your sacrifices are necessary to please the gods!
Through your deaths, our kingdom will obtain a blessing beyond imagination!”
His words fell on deaf ears.
The people begged for mercy, but the king remained unmoved.
He gave the order.
The executions began.
One by one, the five thousand people were slaughtered.
Their blood stained the ground as their lifeless bodies fell.
When the executions were complete, the soldiers arranged the severed heads in a massive circle according to the instructions given by the mysterious stranger.
The king stepped into the center.
Everything was ready.
The ritual began.
For several moments, nothing happened.
Then—
Black smoke emerged from the corpses.
It rose slowly into the air, twisting and writhing like countless living creatures.
The smoke gathered above the ritual circle before gradually descending toward the king.
The king spread his arms.
The black smoke poured into his body.
Suddenly, he began to laugh.
“Hahahahaha!”
His laughter echoed across the palace grounds.
“I am immortal!”
He looked toward the sky, his face filled with uncontrollable delight.
“From this day onward, I shall never fear death again!”
But then—
Something went wrong.
The king’s laughter abruptly stopped.
He looked down at his hands.
His skin was changing.
It was becoming rough, grainy, and golden.
Sand.
His fingers began crumbling before his eyes.
“What…?”
He desperately rubbed his hands together, but the transformation continued.
His arms turned to sand.
Then his chest.
Then the rest of his body.
The king finally understood.
He had been deceived.
“You…!”
His voice trembled with rage.
“That bastard!”
“Betrayal!”
“I’ll make you pay for this!”
But it was already too late.
His body collapsed into a pile of sand.
The king was dead.
The people who had witnessed the horrifying scene stood frozen in terror.
Their ruler, the man who had promised to conquer death itself, had been reduced to nothing.
Panic spread throughout the palace.
People began running in every direction.
The queen rushed toward the place where the king had fallen.
She dropped to her knees and desperately gathered the sand with both hands.
“My king…”
Her voice broke.
“My king, please…”
Tears streamed down her face as she clutched the sand against her chest.
But then—
The ground beneath her began to move.
Before she could react, the sand swallowed her legs.
“Help me!”
The soldiers rushed forward.
“Save the queen!”
But the moment they stepped onto the shifting ground, they too were dragged beneath the sand.
Their screams echoed across the palace.
The sand continued spreading.
It swallowed the palace buildings, the streets, and the surrounding settlements.
People ran desperately, but no one could escape.
The entire kingdom was sinking.
Buildings collapsed.
Roads disappeared.
Towers vanished beneath the golden waves.
Within a short time, the once-prosperous kingdom had been swallowed by the desert.
Not a single person survived.
And from that day onward, the place became known as the Kingdom of Sand.
The king who had sought immortality had become part of the very desert that buried his kingdom.
And somewhere beneath those endless dunes, something remained.
Something that had never truly died.
Something that would come to be known as the Sand King.
The Only Way Out
After reaching human territory, Alice and Arthur gradually learned the entire story from the people living there.
Arthur listened carefully before asking one of the locals a question.
“So there’s really no way out of this place?”
The man shook his head.
“Many people like you have tried before.”
“And what happened to them?”
“They all died.”
Arthur’s expression darkened.
The man continued.
“Once someone enters this desert, leaving alive is almost impossible.
The Sand King controls this place.
As long as he exists, the desert will remain a prison.”
Arthur fell silent.
He had hoped there might be another route, some hidden passage through which they could escape without confronting the monster.
Apparently, that was wishful thinking.
Alice, who had remained quiet throughout the conversation, finally spoke.
“There is one way.”
Arthur turned toward her.
“What is it?”
Her expression remained cold and emotionless.
“We have to kill the Sand King.”
Arthur stared at her for a moment.
Then he let out a quiet breath.
Of course.
Nothing in this world was ever simple.
And somehow, they had ended up facing another monster that might be far more dangerous than anything they had encountered before.
Still, there was no other choice.
If they wanted to leave the desert, they would have to kill its king.
Nameless
Meanwhile, I was examining my System panel.
Two new abilities had appeared after my awakening.
[Eye of Truth]
[Shadow Blade]
I decided to examine the first ability.
“What exactly can you do?”
The System responded immediately.
[Eye of Truth]
First Skill: Truth Sight
Reveals hidden information that the user does not know, particularly information that may pose a threat or danger to the user.
Warning: This is not a blessing.
It is a curse.
Second Skill: Future Sight
Allows the user to briefly perceive events that are about to happen.
I narrowed my eyes.
Truth Sight could reveal hidden dangers, while Future Sight could allow me to anticipate what was about to happen.
Both abilities sounded useful.
Extremely useful, in fact.
However, the warning bothered me.
This is not a blessing.
It is a curse.
Why would the System describe such powerful abilities as curses?
I couldn’t find an answer.
For now, I decided to examine my second ability.
[Shadow Blade]
A blade that is nothing without its owner.
It can adapt itself to suit its owner’s needs.
Warning: This is not a blessing.
It is a curse.
Second Skill: Shadow Armor
Allows the Shadow Blade to transform between a blade and armor.
Its strength increases alongside its owner’s growth.
Third Skill: Shadow Manipulation
The Shadow Blade’s power increases in darkness.
It can attract and manipulate nearby shadows, allowing the user’s body to temporarily assume a shadow-like form.
Fourth Skill: Shadow Movement
As long as the user’s Core remains active, they can travel through connected shadows.
Fifth Skill: Shadow Fragment Detection
Helps the user locate Shadow Fragments.
I stared at the information in silence.
The abilities were far more versatile than I had expected.
An adaptive weapon, defensive armor, shadow manipulation, movement through shadows, and the ability to detect Shadow Fragments.
If I learned to use them properly, they could become extremely valuable.
Especially Shadow Movement.
The ability to travel through connected shadows could provide countless opportunities for both combat and escape.
An assassin who could disappear into the darkness would be a nightmare for anyone who underestimated him.
Slowly, a smile spread across my face.
“Now…”
“The real fun begins.”
“So, what power did you awaken?”
Noctis’s voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
I turned toward him.
“Assassin.”
He stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
“Good!”
I frowned.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing!
Nothing at all!”
He wiped the corner of his eye as though he had been laughing so hard that tears had formed.
“At least now you can run away!”
I narrowed my eyes.
“I’m not running away.”
Noctis laughed even harder.
“Hahahahaha!
You should have seen yourself when I first met you!”
“You looked at me as if I were some kind of idiot!”
I remembered our first meeting.
He had appeared out of nowhere, claimed he could help me awaken, and behaved like a complete fool.
Naturally, I hadn’t trusted him.
And I still wasn’t entirely convinced that trusting him had been the right decision.
But strangely enough, I felt a little embarrassed remembering how suspicious I had been.
I didn’t say anything.
Noctis continued laughing and teasing me.
And for some reason…
I didn’t hate it.
In fact, I found myself feeling strangely happy.
It had been a long time since I had laughed with someone.
Perhaps longer than I could remember.
For a brief moment, I forgot about the desert, the monsters, and the people who had abandoned me.
I simply enjoyed the moment.
Then my passive ability activated.
[Eye of Truth].
My vision suddenly changed.
And I accidentally saw something I absolutely hadn’t intended to see.
Noctis, without his clothes.
My entire body froze.
Heat rushed to my face.
I immediately turned away, my cheeks burning.
Noctis noticed my strange reaction.
“What’s wrong?
Do you have a fever?”
I quickly closed my eyes.
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
Only now did I understand why the System had described my ability as a curse.
This wasn’t useful information.
This was a disaster.
I smiled awkwardly.
“Noctis…”
“Hmm?”
“I can see you even when you’re not wearing clothes.”
Silence.
For several seconds, Noctis didn’t respond.
Then his face turned bright red.
“What?!”
He stared at me in disbelief.
“Are you shameless?!”
I placed my hands behind my head and tried to look as innocent as possible.
“It’s not my fault.”
“It’s my passive skill.”
Noctis looked as though his entire understanding of the world had just collapsed.
“At this rate, no one is ever going to marry you!”
He suddenly pointed at himself.
“You’ll have to take responsibility for me!”
I stared at him.
“Noctis…”
“What?”
“You’re a boy.”
“So what?!”
He crossed his arms indignantly.
“You still have to take responsibility for me!”
I opened my mouth.
Then closed it.
For once, I genuinely had no idea what to say.
So I remained silent.
After a while, Noctis finally stopped talking nonsense.
I let out a quiet breath before asking, “So, what should I do now?”
He looked at me.
“Open your eyes and see.”
I immediately shook my head.
“No.”
Noctis stared at me.
“Then what am I supposed to do?!”
He paced around for a moment, apparently trying to find a solution to the ridiculous situation.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
“I’ve got it!”
He grabbed a piece of cloth.
“Don’t open your eyes.
I’ll tie this around them.”
I frowned.
“Then how am I supposed to move?”
Noctis smiled confidently.
“I’m here.”
He patted his chest.
“I’ll guide you.”
I considered his suggestion.
It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it was better than accidentally seeing things I had absolutely no intention of seeing.
Besides, if my eyes could reveal hidden information without my permission, I needed to learn how to control them.
Until then, keeping them covered seemed like the safest option.
After a moment, I nodded.
“Fine.”
Noctis stepped closer and carefully wrapped the cloth around my eyes.
The world disappeared into darkness.
I could no longer see his expression, the trees around us, or the endless desert beyond them.
Only darkness remained.
Yet somehow, I felt that this darkness was different from the one I had feared before.
It was no longer merely something that concealed danger.
It was something that might one day become my greatest weapon.
And I intended to master it.
No matter what it took.