As if he had returned to a normal, unique state, Almeida took a step forward. The few ashes on the ground scattered lightly where his foot fell; he blinked for a moment before starting to walk.
Under the Sand King's gaze, the boy walked at a slow pace. He didn't even cast him a glance; he simply passed by on his right and continued on his way toward the mountains, toward the sun hiding on the horizon.
"Hmph," the man let out a soft sound from his mouth. "Leaving so soon?" he asked, curious to hear some kind of answer, but then, he smiled quietly and shook his head, "My fault, asking you that is foolishness."
The Sand King slowly stood up, patted his chest and legs, and clicked his tongue before looking at the boy's back, who had already distanced himself a few meters. "You're leaving," he nodded to himself.
"But..." he focused his sight a bit more on the boy's cloak. Then, he tried to open his mouth while frowning. Finally, he lowered his gaze, looking to his sides before looking at a dried-up apple tree not too far from him, near a ruined hut.
He fixed his gaze on something at the base of the dried-up apple tree's trunk, then focused his sight on one of the tree's branches, which had some ropes tied to it. "Hmm," he closed his eyes for a second before opening them.
"I see," he finally turned to look at the retreating boy. "It's a completely strange reaction. I'd say you're one in a million, or maybe one in a billion. Almeida, we will meet again."
The man's eyes glowed with a distinct white light. The strands of his hair, swaying in the wind, began to slowly disperse, turning into glowing grains of sand that drifted away in all directions.
The same thing happened to his head, his neck, and finally his body itself, carried away by the wind, disappearing as if he had never existed.
"..."
Time passed. Almeida walked. Countless steps, countless time, his mind lost; however, he kept walking just like the first time. His back just as straight, his eyes just as fixed in one direction, his will never wavering.
Touching the rope necklace with his right hand unconsciously, he blinked. He focused his gaze on the sun breaching the horizon, on the distant mountains. The wind swaying his hair didn't distract him, and once again, he set off.
"Bbzzrrpp, strange, the subject has entered a rather particular mental state. This is new. The neurons are moving, they are in a constant cycle of creation and destruction, it is similar to an infinite loop."
"Bbzzrrpp, I must save these anomalies, write them in the log. At least the subject is not a drain on energy, or I would have to unplug him."
Time passed again, countless, immeasurable. The boy's steps repeated in a constant and robotic manner.
Almeida blinked slowly. For a moment the world turned black, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself before a magical city.
Two rows of houses stretched out before him. The first houses had display cases out front featuring the most perfectly crafted food, giving off a rich aroma. One of them had a variety of meat stews: pork, chicken, fish.
The broth shimmered. The chunks of meat were large and had slightly seared edges, along with vegetables that sank into the thick broth. White smoke rose from them.
Almeida, however, moved forward without looking at these things a second time.
"Hello, friend!!" a woman greeted. She had a face covered by a veil and a body draped in a tunic.
"I have been waiti..." Before the girl could continue, Almeida moved forward, his step firm, his gaze on the horizon.
Past the houses with food were some houses with bright, colorful lights, along with young women dressed in scant clothing and bright smiles. They waved with their high-pitched voices and swayed their hips.
"Here you can..." The woman in the tunic didn't finish speaking as the boy kept moving forward without looking back.
"Huh?" The woman's eyes beneath the veil were dull. She stopped there, watching Almeida's back while repeatedly tapping her heel on the ground.
He passed by some houses with exposed gold coins and signs making it clear that anyone could take the coins.
Houses with fawning people, others with elegant men who spoke as if they were slaves. He passed by several houses with the woman in the tunic behind him.
Finally, he reached the end of the neat rows of houses. Almeida didn't utter a word, he didn't doubt, he didn't hesitate; he simply walked forward.
However, before he left, the woman smiled.
"Ah, ah, young Almeida, you are certainly impressive. Or perhaps not? They say one shouldn't praise the fish for swimming nor the human for walking, and yet, one should praise the fish for walking and the human for swimming."
A voice emerged in the boy's mind. He simply stopped for a moment, stroked the rope necklace around his neck with his right hand, and finally, a strange smile appeared on his face.
It wasn't a full smile, but a half-smile, mixed with half-closed eyes and a straighter posture.
"..." The voice went quiet for a moment. "I think I failed, young Almeida. I apologize; I should keep my mouth shut in these matters. Hmph, wait, young Almeida, I don't have a mouth, hahaha."
The boy continued walking, his senses calm, his eyes forward. He blinked for a moment, and the scene in front of him changed again.
He was in a simple room with two chairs and a table in the center. Sitting in a chair, he observed the woman sitting with her back to his sight.
The door wasn't far away and stood open. The landscape behind the door was the one Almeida should remember: a ground covered in ash and a sky painted yellowish-red alongside a sunset.
He was about to get up when he heard a sharp, loud voice. The woman had spoken, "Happy birthday number 0, my son."
He stopped. His expression didn't change; his still body was being bombarded by tiny electrical currents.
Slowly and continuously, he turned his head. His wide, unblinking eyes soon focused on the woman's back.
With the same expressionless face, a body with robotic movements, he stood there, upright and observing that familiar back, that straight black hair being swayed by the wind.
No, his mind couldn't control his body. It was his body that stopped, that forced him to look, that changed his list of priorities.
"Im..." Almeida murmured, barely opening his mouth. "Im..." he wanted to say something. "Impor...tant" escaped his lips like a barely audible whisper.
The woman slowly turned her head without turning her body. As soon as the boy saw a part of her features, his eyes and mouth opened wide. He took a step back unconsciously, his eyes beginning to shine as they recognized that face.