Down the trench, the tortoise went, a destination at the end. Unknown, but better than nothing. The sand was tightly packed at the bottom of the trench unlike the sides and was easy to travel on. Not even the tortoise's sharp claws dug too deep into the ground, preventing it from stumbling as much. Progressing along an already developed route was convenient.

The only issue was what created these paths and if they'd come again. Such a well maintained trail would be regularly frequented by some large beast, one that could easily kill the tortoise. It wouldn't even have to be intentional; a large creature could simply crush the tortoise underfoot none the wiser. There were beings in the world that harmed others just by existing and they weren't even demons.

A day passed in the trench and not only did a new day come, but a new month. The tortoise was now a month old. Just a single month since it came into being. It was still a baby, experiencing the world and learning from it despite its demonic inclinations.

When noon approached on this new month, the demon found itself in a predicament. It could not dig a hole properly in this trench and it was exposed to the elements. The walls of the trench? They would crumble down every time he dug at it, threatening to bury it and trap it forever onward. The floor? It was too sturdy and took long periods of time due to how packed it was and rocks just beneath the surface.

With no obvious cover, the demon would just have to endure the pain in the open. No danger to its life was present; it was just a major inconvenience. With ten minutes tops before it got fried again, the demon stopped and just watched the sun. As it did so, a cloud of dust caught the corner of its eye.

Behind, there was something coming, following the trails like the tortoise had. No, it was the thing that had made the trails in the first place. Clouds erupted behind its position, spreading out from behind. These clouds traveled forward with the creature, creating an artificial wind and carrying things forward like waves left behind in the wake of a boat.

Two more appeared, previously hidden by the dust clouds but were now outrunning them. A pack of three were here with one on a collision course with the tortoise. If that could be called a collision with the tortoise just being crushed.

As they came closer, their figures became more distinct. The things approaching had smaller creatures riding on top of them, around three on each of them. And they weren't even alive but vessels for these smaller beings. The best way to describe them were boats that traveled on land.

The one on the path to the tortoise slowed down to a stop instead of running it over. A miniature sandstorm filled the area as the wave behind the three boats caught up to the tortoise's position. The demon closed its eyes to keep the sand out. All it could feel was sand scraping at its body and it heard two loud thumps accompanying the wind's melody.

When the tortoise opened its eyes, a strange being stood before it. Its entire body was covered in cloth instead of scales or feathers. Not even its eyes were visible as glass goggles just reflected the image of the tortoise back at it. This being, human being, spread out its arms in a welcoming way as if the human was offering another path.

This didn't last long as the tortoise's vision switched to the ground and its body felt heavier than usual. A view of two sets of legs and a strong grip on its legs revealed what happened. Rather than an offering, it was a distraction while its friend captured it from behind. A precaution against the tortoise's powerful bite and surprisingly long neck.

If the humans hadn't have done this, it could have—no, would have bitten off a few fingers had one tried to grab it. Alas, it was captured by the humans instead and brought aboard the boat. Before it could get a good look at anything, it was thrown into a box at the back of the boat and cut off from the outside world as a lid swallowed the sky.