The Crimson Desert

Before the evening revealed its face, their small boat finally reached the end of the river. They pulled it aside and continued on foot until they reached the edge of the forest.

"Can you walk on your own, Lia?"

"Y-yes. I am still a little scared, but everything is fine, brother."

The terror of La Llorona an hour earlier still left traces of fear among them. Everything had happened so quickly and without warning. Muscle pain only surfaced after the adrenaline faded.

"Enough. There is nothing we can do about it. Let us continue our journey. We must cross the desert of bones before night falls."

Ren and Lia nodded at the same time.

Along the way, something still haunted Ren’s thoughts. What had he done that made La Llorona target him specifically? He truly felt he had never disturbed her or had anything to do with her.

All the questions in his mind dragged back the memory of the faint image of a ghostly woman that vanished when he wiped the photo, and the distant weeping heard in the other video.

Could it be… her?

But he quickly shook his head. Thinking about it only worsened the ache forming in his skull. Xilama suddenly patted his shoulder.

"There is no need to think about it. If you cannot remember, let it be. In the end, time will reveal things or hide them forever."

Ren’s lips lifted faintly. "Thank you. That eases me a little."

"Ohh, look. It seems we have arrived."

Right in front of them, a vast desert stretched as far as the eye could see. Its sand was as red as blood, with dry scattered bones serving as its silent ornaments.

A dark aura crawled across Ren’s skin as he prepared to step forward. If he recalled correctly, this was the same feeling he had when he was cornered that night.

"You feel it, do you not? This desert is one of the places where sinners receive punishment."

Ren frowned. As someone who loved mythology, he felt something off about Xilama’s explanation.

"Wait… I might sound pretentious, but as far as I know from your civilization, are there not at least nine layers for the soul to reach peace?"

"That was long ago," Xilama replied calmly. "After the gods separated themselves from the human world, Lord Mictlantecuhtli reconstructed his domain without us who remained on the surface knowing. He simplified its structure."

"So even in the realm of the gods there are reconstructions?"

Xilama chuckled. "Your reaction is the same as ours. Yes. He made everything simpler and more efficient. Those worthy enter the prosperous village immediately. Those unworthy are sent to the two places of punishment until all their sins are erased."

"But… there are also souls that cannot be saved due to regrets they carried in life. They remain half bound to the mortal world and turn into evil spirits dwelling in the forest. La Llorona we met is one of them."

Ren fell silent, lowering his gaze. But Xilama did not give him time to sink deeper.

"Enough. Do not dwell on it. Look ahead."

Ren squinted toward where she pointed. Right in the center of the desert lay a stretch of black sand forming a long straight path into the distance.

Xilama explained that the red desert was where those who committed great sins but received no fitting consequence in life were sent. Murderers, torturers, thieves of others’ rights, corrupt individuals, and many other grave sinners.

Their souls would be chained there and feel the tormenting heat of the desert until unbearable dehydration overtook them. Their souls would wither and crumble into dust.

Their punishment would only end after their victims completed four to seventeen cycles of reincarnation, depending on the magnitude of their sins in the eyes of Mictlantecuhtli.

Their shattered blood and bones, reforged thousands of times, became the red sand that now sprawled before them.

The straight dark path, however, was the safe route for those who wished to cross toward Mictlantecuhtli’s palace.

Xilama stepped forward first, waving them closer.

Ren swallowed hard. The memory of last night’s horror still clung to him clearly. But Lia was different. The girl who was usually easily frightened stepped forward with newfound courage. She hopped once with a smile brightening her face.

"Brother, come on. It is alright."

Ren clicked his tongue softly. It struck him deeply, seeing his little sister braver than he was. He finally placed his foot on the black sand.

Not bad. Nothing happened. He felt nothing at all.

Xilama smiled and walked ahead, but turned her head again. "Ah, I almost forgot. There are two rules you must follow."

"First, do not touch the red sand. You will feel a part of the suffering the sinners endure. Second, do not help the sinners. If you do, this place may see you as one of them. Understood?"

The siblings nodded in unison.

Their journey continued as they crossed the desert of red sand beneath the blazing black sun hanging above them. A faint wind blew, yet strangely, not a single grain of sand rose.

The heat made Ren clutch his dry throat. He wanted to drink, yet he had prepared no water.

We are walking through the safe path, but its heat already dries my throat. Then what kind of torment do these souls suffer?

A little sympathy crept into his heart as he imagined their fate. But the sinners seemed to see his pity as an opportunity.

After half the distance passed without event, faint shadows of souls began appearing around them. At first they were blurry like light refracting on water, but the farther they walked, the clearer their shapes became.

What had been a quiet domain quickly turned into a sorrowful display of suffering reminiscent of hell.

Many crawled upon the sand. Their bodies had no clothing. Their bones protruded beneath their thin flesh.

Lia almost extended a hand, but Ren pulled her back before she touched the spirit before her.

"Remember what Xilama said. Do not reach out only to end up like them, Lia."

Her gaze softened. Then she nodded slowly. "Alright, brother." Bitterness lingered in her voice. But nothing could be done. Those here were souls unworthy of salvation.

Perhaps that was what Mictlantecuhtli wanted everyone crossing the desert to understand.

One spirit disguised itself as a child, stirring Ren’s pity, but Xilama reminded him that spirits here were deceivers. Never trust what you see.

After she said that, the spirit transformed into the form of a middle aged woman glaring at him with anger. Ren could guess she was a mother who had exploited her child cruelly.

In many developing countries, countless women carried their children to beg for sympathy.

You think they are beings worthy of pity? No. The opposite is true. That is a vile act that must be eradicated.

Such women are not worthy of being called mothers. They violate every right their children should have. The right to play, to learn, and to live freely.

The same goes for those called fathers.

Remembering this made Ren so angry he nearly drew blood from biting his lip too hard.

They were lucky children for not having parents burdened with such sins. Yet after traveling to many places, Ren learned that the things often dramatized in fiction indeed existed in reality.

He had seen them with his own eyes when he reached adolescence. It was also why, when traveling abroad with his late father, the man always tried to hide the darker side of the world from him.

With one final step, Ren crossed the last of the black path. They had successfully passed the desert of bones where the tears of sinners were shed.

Clap.

Suddenly, a hand gripped Ren’s ankle and dragged him into the red sand.

Xilama and Lia panicked and rushed to pull him back. But more hands emerged and tried to seize him.

"W-wait. Let go, you beasts!"

"Brother, hold on… uuuk." Lia pulled with all her strength.

Xilama took off her necklace and struck the hands with it. The necklace was like a talisman. When it touched an evil spirit, they burned and screamed in pain.

One or two hands withdrew, but many more erupted from beneath the sand. Ren fought desperately, kicking and struggling even though he knew it was almost useless. They were too many and too strong.

When the tip of his shoe touched the red sand, his throat dried instantly. Heat surged through every layer of his body. His muscles throbbed as though violently beaten. His scream split the air of the desert.

"Aaaargh!"

"H-hold on, brother."

Lia tried to calm him while Xilama remained occupied with the emerging hands.

So… this is my ending?

A resigned smile softened his expression. "Let go…" he whispered weakly, lips cracked and dry.

"N no. I will not."

"Do not give up, Ren. We still have a chance."

Ren shook his head. "If you force it, you will be dragged in as well." He looked at Xilama with weak eyes. "Xilama… please protect Lia."

Xilama fell silent, biting her lower lip until it trembled. "I understand," she whispered.

She then turned and pulled Lia back. The girl struggled, but in the end she lost against Xilama’s strength, honed from growing up in a mountain tribe. Lia’s hands finally slipped away from Ren.

Ren could only smile one last time and let the hands drag him toward the desert.

But before it happened, a massive shadow spear descended and crushed the grasping hands. The shockwave threw Ren far forward. The spear vanished before he could even stand.

"W-what happened?"

"D-did you do that, brother?"

"If I had supernatural powers, I would have used them earlier."

"Then how do you explain it? Do you think you are Naruto blessed with a thousand plot armors by Masashi Kishimoto?"

All of them stared in bewilderment until Xilama whispered, "It is likely… help from Lord Mictlantecuhtli. He may wish to meet you soon."

Silence enveloped them. Ren pondered her words as countless questions surged in his mind.

Why does Mictlantecuhtli want them to come quickly? Why did he summon them into Mictlan, the Aztec underworld? What does he desire?

But those thoughts were carried away by the wind that brushed softly against their hair. Ren lifted his gaze to the twin cliffs rising before them.

His lips curved faintly.

"Let us continue our journey."