I like to think that surviving the road to Plateaea was only successful for one reason.My camel.We were roaming terrain that had once been buzzing cities now long forgotten and covered in sand, which my camel navigated with patience. I was spare with my water, and tried to preserve it in the best way I could for my camel, but the animal was resilient and needed no water.Also, those are days when loneliness got the better of me.Maia was a companion, but not the best one, especially when it came to fun. I liked her, but I wished she was funnier.We journeyed through the desert for a whole week, riding on my camel as it walked the way. This was when a few funny things happened, which I doubt that I can forget.First was a sandstorm that blew hard on the second night, and without a place to stay to block the storm, I could only stay close to my camel, who appeared to be well adapted to the scenario. I covered my head in my hood and buried myself in the sand where it lay to avoid any i

I grabbed the mirror with both my hands and held it, looking at this reflection. Slowly, my metallic hand crept up to touch my face, but I could not even do so much as feel it, as I could not feel anything with my metallic parts.Nothing mattered anymore.I did not care so much that the desert healer could come and find me holding his mirror. All I could think of was how wonderful it was to see myself again, to see who I was before the night that Mancini scarred me and Debbie broke me.This moment was ruined by the desert healer clearing his throat. Slowly, I turned to look at him, and he stood there, seeming to not know what to tell me.“You know… it's not real, right?” he finally spoke.“What?”“The image in the mirror. It is a dream mirror, and only shows you what you want to see. I use it to pay homage to who I was before I was cursed to be a leper.”“Who were you?”“A prince. Of Odesso.”I felt my heart skip a beat at the thought of the fact that this was the city I had just pass

I came to discover that very often, you plan while the desert surprises.A thick sandstorm the morning after I left the leprous desert healer was ruining visibility, while I had my mind intensely focused on getting through 261.9 kilometres. I wanted to reach Plataea in the fastest time possible, and to get to Level 3.I was riding on my camel, with my hood covering my face as I thought of getting over a tall sand dune when all of a sudden, I was no longer in sight of what my eyes were on, but falling through the darkness and then into a pile of dust with a thud.The first thing I did once I got to my feet was to check my camel. It did not appear to have suffered any injuries, and I felt succour, at least until I turned and saw that we had fallen into some giant, underground temple. Statues lined the sides, with spare bits of light coming in from the roof, and within my chest, an ominous thought made me wonder if this was another trick from Hades. It could just be him.“Where are we, M

“What the—”“Well that's what happens when you cut a Duos python halfway.” Maia said. “As long as you leave a part still attached to the other, best believe it's waking up again.That was when I remembered that a patch of skin was the only thing attaching one head, which had joined the neck. The other neck hung uselessly, the only sign of my victory.“Well it can't be that hard.” I assured myself. “I killed it when it had two heads. I can definitely kill it now that it has one.”Just as I said this, my camel ran off in the direction we had just come from, and I could feel my heart break as the thuds of its feet faded away as it went far off, disappearing in the distance.Now, everything just got harder for me. EVERYTHING.The Duos python, itself unconcerned with the escaped beast, started to come closer when Maia gave me one final warning:“It will have its fast reflexes back now that there is only one head, and not two that you can distract like you did the first time. Make sure to c

The benefit of having the Sand Demons lead my beast was that between managing mere seconds of sleep while sitting in my saddle and trying not to fall off of it, I was still going forward, and not wasting time by sleeping in only one place.When I had my eyes open and sleep was far from me, I was quick to thank the Sand Demons for leading me, which they appreciated with eagerness. Some more time passed, though, before it dawned on me to ask them what they knew about Plataea, while Maia translated their words.“Oh, there. Impressive city.”“And what about the Tomb of the Invincible Soldier?”I saw the Sand Demons shake at the very mention of his name. “What do you have to do with that Invincible Soldier?” “He is essential to my journey.”“Even we Sand Demons ran before him, that towering giant. The moment you looked at him, and at the darkness in his helmet, fear went through even us that are not human. We were careful to steer clear of him, and accepted that he was from among the gods