"Haaaaaa!" I slumped back into the seat with relief as we drove deeper into the Nilelands. The greatest journey of my life was finally starting in a world I knew absolutely nothing about. I wondered what dangers and discoveries were waiting ahead. Honestly… I didn't even need to worry about dying. I'd just get reborn again… probably.
As Jayka stared out of the window, eyes shining like he had just seen paradise, Ariam suddenly turned serious.
"We need to be careful," she said quietly. "The Nilelands are home to some of the most dangerous creatures and banished magic users."
I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of magic users?"
Ariam's eyes flicked toward Jayka for a second, then back to me. "The kind that can either save your life… or delete it from existence. So let's just get there before anything complicated happens."
Jayka, completely ignoring the tension, kept admiring the scenery like we were on vacation.
After a long drive, we finally reached the Nilelands.
And it was… nothing like I expected.
No darkness. No doom. No creepy fog.
Instead, it looked like someone took a giant enchanted forest, stretched it out, polished it, and forgot to make it normal-sized. Everything was… huge. Peaceful. Weirdly beautiful.
As we drove deeper in, Ariam suddenly stopped the truck.
"We walk from here," she said. "The terrain gets unstable. A truck won't survive it."
She said it like she was a legendary explorer who had mapped the entire world. I had to admit… she sounded way too confident for someone my age. Not that I was judging. I just don't understand girls… at all.
We got out and grabbed our bags.
Before anyone could even adjust, Jayka jumped ahead.
"Into the Nilelands we step our foot!" he sang loudly. "I'm a mouse, I have no boots—look at the owl go, crying 'hoot hoot'!"
He pointed at a tree.
An owl blinked back.
He took one step forward… then slowly stepped back like he regretted his entire existence.
Then he screamed.
"OWL!! THERE'S A GIANT OWL!!"
We looked up.
It wasn't just an owl.
It was an owl the size of our truck.
It flapped its wings once… and the entire forest seemed to shake.
And then it locked onto us.
And started charging.
"MOVE! PICK UP YOUR THINGS AND RUN!" Ariam shouted, already sprinting forward.
Jayka bolted after her instantly.
I grabbed my bag and ran like my life depended on it… which it kind of did.
The owl crashed through trees behind us, barely slowed down.
While running, I couldn't help thinking:
"How is something that big even moving through a forest this dense?!"
Ariam, still running ahead, laughed. "Look at the trees! Everything here is oversized!"
That explained absolutely nothing, but somehow also explained everything.
"STOP THINKING AND RUN!" Jayka screamed, practically crying as he sprinted.
I caught up to Ariam, and somehow Jayka jumped onto my shoulders mid-run like I was a taxi.
"Get off me—!" I shouted.
"NO! SAFETY!" he yelled back.
Ariam suddenly jumped over a rock and laughed like this was the best day of her life.
"Hooooo!" she cheered.
I stared at her. "Why are you enjoying this?!"
"I'M NOT!" she yelled… while clearly enjoying it.
We kept running, jumping over roots, sliding under branches, laughing and screaming at the same time like a group of idiots being chased by death itself.
"You're both insane!" Jayka cried.
"The Nilelands are amazing!" Ariam shouted, leaping off a small cliff.
Without thinking, I followed her.
And that was my mistake.
Instead of landing on ground…
We went straight through it.
Like it wasn't even there.
"WAIT—WHAT?!" I shouted.
We were falling.
Not down a hole.
Just… through reality.
Jayka screamed like his soul had left his body. Ariam screamed even louder, which honestly made it worse.
We kept sliding through darkness for what felt like forever.
Then—
THUD.
We landed in a cage.
I groaned and sat up, rubbing my head. "Okay… this is officially getting annoying."
I looked around.
We were surrounded.
Small creatures stood around us, holding spears and staring like they had just caught dinner.
They looked like tiny warriors from a game… except way more real… and way more angry.
"Oh come on…" Ariam sighed, leaning back. "Do we really have to do this now?"
Jayka immediately pointed at her. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"
"Shut up!" one of the creatures shouted. "You are in the territory of the Achans!"
"The Achans?" Ariam tilted her head. "Aren't those supposed to be… the dumb ones?"
The leader stepped forward, furious. "DUMB?! We caught you in a perfect trap!"
He slammed his spear into the ground.
"We are not dumb!"
"Sorry, sorry," Ariam said quickly, waving her hands as if calming a wild animal.
But the Achan kept raging, kicking the cage.
Another stepped forward. "Master… what shall we do with them?"
The leader smiled darkly.
"We will sacrifice them to God Tachuta tomorrow."
Silence.
Then—
"OH NO I KNEW IT!!" Jayka screamed, grabbing his head. "I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"
"All hail God Tachuta!" the Achans shouted as they marched away.
Jayka immediately turned to Ariam. "Witch lady! Use magic! Break the cage!"
Ariam shoved him off. "Stop calling me witch, rodent! And no! Using magic on something this size will drain me completely!"
She pointed at the dark surroundings. "Also, we don't even know where we are!"
Then she looked at me.
"Hey, black boy. You're a human. Use your magic."
Jayka suddenly laughed. "That guy? He can't even control his magic. And it's water magic anyway."
"Hey…" I muttered. "I said I can't control it…"
Ariam sighed. "Great. We're trapped with amateurs."
She stretched, then lay down like we were in a hotel room.
"Anyway, we wait. They'll come back tomorrow. I'll use my power then. But I'll be exhausted, so you'll carry me after."
I stared at her. "Why me?"
"Who else?"
I had no answer.
Jayka sulked in the corner like a betrayed squirrel.
Ariam removed her veil, complaining softly. Her long black hair spilled down her back like a waterfall.
Jayka froze.
His mouth opened.
Then he slowly turned away like he had just seen something dangerous… and lay down dramatically.
"Forget I saw anything," he muttered.
Ariam pulled out a pillow from her bag and lay down comfortably.
I sat there for a while, staring at the dark cage, thinking about this strange world… and Sharon…
Slowly… my eyes closed.
And I fell asleep.