"It is not anything important, but it might help us on our long journey."
Elliot raised an eyebrow at my words before asking,
"What is it?"
"A map," I answered as I opened the paper map and spread it over the table for everyone to see.
It was not like the one we had seen in old man Elias’s house, and of course, not like the one I remembered.
Australia only existed as a few small dots, while part of North America was missing, and the shape of Asia had changed until it became several scattered large islands.
Even the southern part of Africa had changed greatly, while not much had happened to the northern part, nor to Europe.
Well, if we ignored the fact that the sea separating the two continents had somehow disappeared... perhaps the continents had moved closer and merged together.
And there in the middle of Africa was a black dot, with writing beneath it.
"Asfaria."
And from that point, a route stretched toward the far north until it reached where the ruins were supposed to be.
The map focused on the regions the route passed through and showed many kinds of terrain, some familiar to me and some not.
It was not anything particularly special, but it was also a nice favor from the old man.
But how had he managed to draw this... because it looked like a map from long after the rifts had opened, or even after they had closed.
Especially since he had never left the maze, as he said... had he been working on something all those years?
From the short time I spent with him, I could tell that he had been trying to create or achieve something... but what was it?
Unfortunately, there was no answer.
Because everything had vanished from this world.
But the one thing that was certain was that he had not succeeded.
Unfortunately.
The others leaned closer toward the round table while staring at the map.
"So this is what the Ancient Earth looked like." Elliot’s voice echoed, filled with curiosity.
Unfortunately, it seemed the Empires had abandoned their past, while maps showing the shape of the Earth had disappeared and been forgotten because no one had given them any importance.
Perhaps if you searched carefully, you would find a few paper maps, but who would waste time doing something like searching for a map of an old world they would never go to.
Certainly not one of us... even though we had reached that world in the end.
I pointed at the map, specifically the long route heading north.
"As you can see, this is roughly the road we will follow, and it is actually very long."
I thought for a moment to roughly estimate the distance before adding,
"Probably around seven thousand kilometers, more or less."
The route curved a little, so the distance might become even longer than I expected, especially since we might encounter places we would have to avoid.
"Seven thousand..." Izel muttered before continuing aloud, her voice slightly shaken.
"That will take months."
I shrugged.
"Whether it takes days or months or even years, we do not have a choice."
"And we might never leave at all," Leona muttered from the side.
Elliot placed his hand on the table.
"Maybe you guys should stop all this pessimism... we also need some positivity."
I leaned back in my chair while staring at the golden-haired boy.
"Trust me, you will not like it when positivity turns into negativity and makes you drown in the depths of despair, so maybe you should give that up."
He raised an eyebrow.
"So do you want us to think only about the worst things that could happen to us?"
I shrugged.
"No... I only mean we should stay in reality, and not imagine that we have already found the way back."
"Well, the two of you can stop now." Ellen’s firm voice echoed.
Ignoring that, I stood up from my seat and walked toward the sleeping rooms.
"We will leave as soon as I get some sleep, so be ready by then."
...
At the edge of the maze, specifically on the wall overlooking the endless stretch of sand, a lone young man sat with his feet dangling below.
With hair and eyes the color of dark wood, Kyle stared into the distance, unaffected by the hot sunlight and calm as always.
At least on the outside.
Inside his head, however, a group of chaotic thoughts crashed together.
’It has already been two weeks.’
Kyle thought as he counted the time they had spent here.
’I paid five months in advance, so there is still time...’
’Is she looking for me now... did the Axis tell her that I disappeared?’
The questions repeated one after another in Kyle’s mind against his will.
After their previous conversation and learning that they would spend months here, at the very least, he could not help but panic.
At least on the inside.
Well, what had he expected? He had discovered only a few days ago that they were on the Ancient Earth... another world.
’What the hell was I expecting.’
He gritted his teeth, his breathing unconsciously quickening a little.
But he quickly calmed himself and closed his eyes, sinking into some memories.
A memory of a little girl lying on a white bed inside a beautiful hospital room while her dark hair spread across the sheets, and her brown eyes stared at the person beside her with a small smile on her face while her voice, still carrying a trace of childhood, spread through the room.
"Stop putting pressure on yourself, brother. I am fine, and the people here are kind to me."
Her smile widened.
"I even have friends to play with now."
That was the last visit Kyle made to his sister before he ended up here.
He took a deep breath, the hot air entering his lungs, before letting out a long sigh and opening his eyes.
"Just calm down, panic will not help us here," he muttered to himself.
He stood up before beginning to climb down.
His movements were fast and balanced as he jumped from one rock to another and from one crack to the next until his feet hit the sand below.
And there before him in the wall was the opening leading to their shelter.
He entered while feeling the change in temperature, which had become somewhat comfortable.
There, the other five were sitting around the stone table, and it seemed Caius Astroweild had only recently woken up as he took out several meal boxes and placed them on the table.
The moment he arrived, Elliot noticed him and smiled.
"Oh, you came at the perfect time, Kyle. I was just coming to call you to eat before we leave."
"But since you are here, go ahead and sit down."
Without a word, Kyle walked toward the empty chair and sat down.
He was not someone who liked to talk very much, and even after spending several weeks with these people, he still had not managed to get along with them... nor was he interested in doing that in the first place.
He only did what he had to do, whether it was watching, guarding, or fighting.
So chatting and unnecessary conversations were not his specialty, and it was not as if the others were interested in that either.
So without many words, they ate their food, preparing themselves to set out once again on their long journey.
...
Caius Astroweild’s POV
How uncomfortable this chair is.
That thought kept circling through my head while I looked at the others eating their food.
At this rate, I would make millions before we returned to the Empire just from selling these boxes to them.
But really, my supply of food and water was being consumed quickly... it had been meant for me alone anyway, so that was understandable.
Unfortunately, we could not drink the water Elliot produced... because it was not useful to our bodies.
I had planned to take some supplies from Asfaria when we arrived there, but unfortunately I never got the chance.
Anyway, I think we will find a source of water once we cross this barren desert. As for food, that is the easier part.
...
Under a sky filled with stars and the image of the shattered moon, the body of the large worm fell before me while sand scattered through the air.
There, on its stomach, was a huge cut. It had barely escaped becoming two pieces... well, it was going to die anyway.
And from there, blood flowed, staining the yellow sand.
I looked around as I saw many other sand worms lying everywhere without life, with the others around them.
Either resting or absorbing the essence inside them.
It had already been a week since we started moving from the edge of the maze.
And after all these days, we had finally caught sight of the end of this sea of sand.