Abandoned Land

The scorching sun made the air incredibly hot. The barren, dry ground, covered in cracks, looked like it would crumble if someone walked on it. Sweat poured profusely, soaking his entire outfit. The man dressed completely in black was now forced to take off his long robe. 

Although some might say it's better to cover the skin with black clothes, he didn't care as long as it reduced the heat.

"The heat might be less, but my skin hurts because of this air," Mahendra grumbled.

Humans will never stop complaining, and Mahendra was a prime example. In stark contrast, the golden-eyed girl beside him seemed perfectly fine, even walking cheerfully as if the heat meant nothing to her. Mahendra began to wonder who this girl was and where she came from.

"Instead of physical endurance, is she using magic or something similar?" Mahendra thought, glancing at the girl with a wrinkled forehead.

The girl smiled as she realized Mahendra was looking at her. Mahendra spontaneously looked away, pretending he didn't know anything. He was too shy to even talk to her, let alone hold her hand, which was difficult for Mahendra to do. Even though Mahendra was a person who was quite concerned and would ask how she was, he didn't because of his pride.

As far as the eye could see, there was only barren land. No food, no water, not even a single plant in sight. The weather in this place was a combination of summer and a very torturous dry season for humans. After walking for a long time, his stamina was quite drained. Mahendra stopped for a moment, wiping away the endless stream of sweat. The girl then came closer and looked surprised, whatever was on her mind, Mahendra seemed to know.

"Why are you surprised? I'm sweating, and you're not. I should be the one who's surprised," Mahendra retorted, honestly feeling a bit envious.

"But is her body okay?" Mahendra's mouth said one thing, but his heart said another. He was truly worried about this girl.

The girl then walked a few steps, pointed forward, and then looked back at him. She stared at Mahendra.

"Are there people?"

Realizing there were people in the distance, they quickly approached them for help. However, what happened was not what they expected. Three people in tattered clothes, sitting and leaning against some rocks, started throwing pebbles at them. Mahendra instinctively embraced the girl to protect her.

"You sinner! Why did you come to this city?! It's you! You're the one who made this city barren so that none of us get any blessings!" The man who looked older than the other two shouted.

The pebbles kept being thrown at them. Mahendra tried to restrain himself from making the ancient spell lose control again. Meanwhile, these people seemed to think that they were sinners who made the land in this city barren. But Mahendra and the girl had just arrived.

"You're all misunderstanding! We just arrived here. We're lost and want to ask for help, but you're throwing stones at us instead!"

"Huh?! Misunderstanding? Look at yourself! Your two eyes prove that you are the sinner mentioned by the gods!" He said that while pointing at Mahendra.

The throwing of pebbles stopped. Mahendra stood in front of the man who had just cursed him arbitrarily. Mahendra's eyes conveyed deep anger, but he held back as long as he could.

"Gods? What does that mean?" With a low, heavy, firm, and emphasized voice, he asked.

"The gods came thousands of years ago just because of the birth of the sinner they were talking about. Our ancestors said that this city is no longer part of the Western Region. It was forgotten by them because of the sinner who has monster eyes like you!"

"That was thousands of years ago, why am I being associated with it?"

"That's precisely our question. You must have been born again after we killed you to make this city suffer eternal punishment."

Mahendra sighed for a moment. It seemed he understood something about this place. This city had bad land not without reason but because of an eternal punishment from the Upper Realm, only the Upper Realm. Then the gods and goddesses from there said that this punishment exists because a figure they considered a sinner was born.

"The Devourer Destiny, I remember that name!" an old woman who was still sitting there chimed in.

"I've only been alive for 20 years, why would people think this is my fault when the sinner they're talking about died thousands of years ago." Mahendra thought to himself.

"You're shameless! Your parents shouldn't have given birth to you!"

Silently, his hands clenched tightly. Mahendra was still holding back his anger for his own safety and wouldn't entertain these people. However, it seemed that just cursing was not enough, they started throwing the pebbles again until they slightly injured his forehead.

"Huh... the wound on my forehead that I don't know why hasn't healed yet, now it hurts even more."

"Still dare to complain after soiling this city?!"

"Hey! I'm silent, it doesn't mean I'm a coward! Besides, I'll prove that I'm not the sinner you're talking about!" Mahendra shouted loudly, then left. No one knew what those abandoned people's words meant. Mahendra's mind was still disturbed and it was very difficult to ignore or forget it. 

Throughout this journey, he kept sighing dozens of times, and the girl accompanying him was also confused.

"After everything they said, aren't you afraid of me?" Mahendra asked.

The girl didn't respond.

"If they were telling the truth, what would you do?" He asked again.

The girl still didn't respond.

"Whatever, you'll be the one to lose if you keep following me," he said in a low, fading voice.

The crusted land had receded, revealing a sandy expanse with some patches of ground showing through. Never before had Mahendra seen a place from a distance. It was all because of the heat haze. A small tavern built from wooden planks stood not far from where he was. Mahendra hoped there would at least be a drink there.

"There must be something there," Mahendra mumbled, putting his cloak back on and covering his head.

The sweltering heat prompted Mahendra to push open the two floating doors in front of him. His heavy footsteps made a loud noise, causing several people inside to jump and turn toward the source. Shielded from the sun, Mahendra finally let out a sigh of relief, even though the air was still incredibly hot.

"It's been a while since we've had a new visitor at our tavern," said a man, who was likely the owner, approaching him with a friendly smile.

"Excuse me, could I...?" Before he could finish his sentence, the man handed him two small wooden cups filled with water.

"Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing for the two of them to join him at the same table. Without hesitation, Mahendra took a seat, while the girl was busy wandering around the cramped tavern.

"You're new here, aren't you? Congratulations on reaching this land full of treasure," the man said.

"Treasure?" Mahendra thought back to the three people outside who were starving, but suddenly the tavern owner was saying this land was full of treasure.

"Forget it. That was just sarcasm. I don't mean to mess with you for too long, especially since you've come all this way."

"People say this land is cursed or something."

"That's right."

The land was so arid that no plants could grow, and even getting water was incredibly difficult. This city was once part of the Western Region, but ever since the Devourer Destiny was born here thousands of years ago, a figure called a god punished the city with an eternal curse.
With the parched land and the endless summer, the lives of the people in this city were never long. Because of that one sinner, they were all branded as sinners, too.

"The Northwest City has become a city for sinners. If a person commits a crime, they will get lost on their journey and end up in this city," the tavern owner explained.

"But, forget about you, who's currently covering your face. The girl over there doesn't look like a sinner. Who are you two, really?" he added, asking a final question.