>>5326407The world around you ripples and twists as you lay there on the ground, and, the next time you open your eyes, you’re staring into a starry night sky as opposed to a foggy gold.
<span class="mu-i">Ah, did you… did you die?</span>
The sound of your heartbeat in your ear confirms that you are, indeed, still alive.
<span class="mu-i">Does that mean you won?</span> You blearily wonder. Even the ground feels softer and more welcoming– more natural– beneath your body than it did before the guardian exploded.
But you beat the guardian…<span class="mu-i">so now what?</span>
You don’t spend long wondering as you feel a beckoning sort of sensation within your mind that’s pulling you in a single direction.
Begrudgingly, you rise to your feet, and, though you still feel some residual dizziness from the flash of light, the burns have mostly healed.
You hope that this leg of the journey won’t be long– you defeated the guardian, so what else could this intruder possibly throw at you?
Eventually, your proprioception catches the heartbeat of someone else, and, before long, you see the silhouette of another sitting on the soft, sandy ground with his back turned to you.
>(2/3)