Looking at the other side of the river, an unclimbable cliff stretched out from the edge of the river and ran along the horizon. It didn't look like I would be able to climb the cliff.

Looking at my side of the river, there was sand everywhere. Sand stretched over the entire horizon, filling my field of view.

'A desert?'

". . ."

*sigh* I heaved a sigh of unwillingness.

There was no other choice than going through the desert.

The river seemed as if it attracted a lot of Creepers in the past with all the dead bodies around it. And I don't want to find out if there are more Creepers along the river.

So, not able to climb the cliff and not able to walk along the river, I was only left with the desert.

I kneed beside the edge of the river, cupped my hands, and took a few mouthfuls of water to drink, knowing that it would be my last ones until I leave the desert.

If I were not so dumb to leave my backpack at the girl's house, I would have packed some water and taken it with me. But it seemed that this wasn't the first mistake I made after I met her.

After having my fill from the spring-clean water, I felt my energy rising up a bit and was ready to go.

Turning towards the desert and facing the sunrise, I walked forward into the barren-brown land of the devil's oven.

. . .

. . .

. . .

'WHERE AM I?' I screamed in my mind and turned in circles. Everything I saw in the horizon looked the same: sand; Lots of sand.

This desert is killing me. I had seen neither human nor monster for hours and had nothing to drink. It was the most desolate place I had ever seen and been in.

It was more lonesome than being in the woods. At least there were some monsters in the woods, but here…

Even the devil's grill couldn't have scorched away the landscape and nature like this place had done: No cactus, no water, no tree, nothing.

The only thing I saw in the last couple of hours was a lonesome tumbleweed. And even that didn't keep me company for long before it was blown away.

The desert hates me.

As far as I could see, everything was roasted and burned. I felt like a steak on a grill which was slowly becoming tastier to eat. Sweat poured out from my pours and drenched all my clothes.

I felt like I started to see hallucinations. I could see prints of hoofs in the sand which made a straight line towards the horizon.

But this led to an internal struggle in me: Maybe this isn't a hallucination and there were really riders here. Or it was the devil wandering through his domain and collecting some snacks.

*Neigh* A cry of a horse knocked at my sun-burnt ears.

'Great! Not only do I see hallucinations, I also hear them now.'

Being in a bad mood from the heat, I kept mumbling curses in my mind and trudged forward through the sand, occasionally kicking the sand away.

*Neigh*

I heard that noise again and gritted my teeth. Swiftly turning around, I saw roughly a dozen people riding on shadow-black horses coming in my direction.

The horses kicked up the sand and left a screen of smoke behind them. Each of their movements sent their mane into motion and made them look as if they came from a fantasy book: proud and majestic.

As the silhouettes drew nearer, I discarded the thought of them being illusions.

With each passing second and them moving nearer, I could see more details of the riders. Every rider had the same clothes and looks. They seemed as if they were clones.

They were clad in complete black. From their black shoes to their black jacket everything was in a deep black. Even their silk gloves and hoods were black. It gave them a devil-may-care kind of feeling. The only part of them which wasn't hidden were their faces.

Their skin was bone-white and the mussed hair, which peeked out from under the black hood, was even whiter than that.

A penetrating gaze came from their fire-red eyes which were wide open and seemed as if they never blinked.

'Are the devil's riders collecting my soul?' I questioned myself.

*Neigh*

They pulled their reins and all the horses stood still like clockwork, not moving a single muscle.

The jaw from their leader clacked open and he roared; "GET HIM!!" in a scratchy and hoarse voice.

Simultaneously, all the riders drew their spears and pointed them at me. Throwing sand into the air, the horses sprinted towards me and weren't afraid of hitting into me in the least. I saw multiple spear tips pointing at my throat and rushing towards it.

Not having a weapon with me, I readied myself to steal one from them.

Everything seemed like it was moving slower and I could see the details of everything in my surroundings. Be it the scratch at the tip of the spear, the blood on the horse's hoof, or the bead of sweat on the horse's head. I saw it all.

I dipped right, grabbed at the nearest spear, and pulled.

The rider flew with the spear from the horse and landed flat on the barren ground.

I stomped onto his back and tore his spear away from his devilish clutches.

Swinging the spear in a circle, I deflected all spear tips which pointed at me.

Without missing a beat, I rammed the spear tip into the ground and used it as a pole vault to jump high into the air.

With my body in the air, I swept a quick glance over my attackers and landed precisely on the horse from the fallen rider.

Slipping the spear through my fingers and letting it dance around my body, I deflected one spear after another. I gave a gentle kick with my foot to the horse and it galloped towards the leader of the troop.

I raised my spear like a lance and pointed it at his throat, intending to pierce him and take him down.

The shadow-black horse wheezed and kept running and throwing dust, moving closer to my target.