The desert’s day was too sweltering for animals to be seen outside, but as night fell and the temperature dropped, countless creatures emerged from their caves, heralding a perilous night in the desert.
The scraping sound of scorpions crawling over gravel echoed through the vast sands, a subtle rustling that defined the night. Rattlesnakes, their scales shimmering in the moonlight, slithered through the desert, while the howling of sand wolves carried far and wide, startling a cluster of sand rabbits. The nights in the desolate sands truly lived up to their bleak reputation, intimidating enough that a player of even slightly fainter heart would likely have trouble sleeping in such a place.
After finishing his barbecued meat, Huang Yi leaned back against a large rock to rest. At this time in Thornbush City, he would have already completed the Tower of Pantheons and moved on to the peaceful Sally Garden, to gaze upon the beautiful silhouette of that girl. By contrast, his current surroundings seemed much more desolate. However, the moon here shone brighter, its clear light pouring down from above, the vast starry sky unobstructed overhead, with seven large, blurry Colored Stars surrounding the moon, stunningly beautiful.
It was then that Huang Yi faintly felt something hard behind him. Turning to look, he suddenly spotted a notebook!
More precisely, it was the corner of a notebook, wedged into the crevice beneath the rock, with only a small part visible. Weathered and tattered, it was still just recognizable.
Hidden beneath this inconspicuous boulder in the boundless desert lay a notebook—an unparalleled thrill of discovery. Huang Yi, feeling like he’d uncovered an amusing secret, pulled out the notebook.
The notebook’s cover was the color of desert soil, featuring many creases, and it appeared to have been there for many years. Huang Yi flipped open the first page and immediately saw a line of small print—
"Traveler Sunset·Curtain Call’s Diary"
A traveler’s diary! Huang Yi’s interest suddenly heightened.
Travelers were those who journeyed across the continent year-round, somewhat like bards, although bards mostly roamed inhabited places, like ancient cities, towns, and villages, documenting the legends they heard along the way and spreading the stories they’d collected. But travelers were different; they often ventured into dangerous, uninhabited areas to see sights unseen by the common folk and to study strange, novel things, which meant that traveler’s diaries often contained many fresh, secret tales.
Huang Yi turned the page and, under the moonlight shining over the sandy sea, began to read the diary from a distant past.
"The Undead Army of Dark King Uk’ar ravaged my homeland. At that time, the sky was enshrouded by heavy, leaden clouds, and hordes of skeletal undead poured from the direction of Mount Zoya—a sea of skeletons so dense it engulfed everything, not even sparing the bark on the trees. Where they passed, no sign of life remained: the ground turned black, not a blade of grass grew, rivers stank, and fish and shrimp disappeared, leaving only corpses tormented to death by the Plague. Three days later, when the Undead Army reached the hill behind my home, I hurriedly boarded my treasured hot air balloon and soared into the sky, avoiding that terrestrial Purgatory. I witnessed Sara, who grew up alongside me, torn into five pieces by five skeletons, her skull gnawed on by an Undead Hound. I heard the sound of bones breaking and my own heart shattering. To this day, the memory still sends shivers down my spine..."
Dark King Uk’ar! Seeing this name, Huang Yi immediately knew when this diary was written—30 years ago!
Thirty years ago, one of The Seven Archdemons, Uk’ar, led an Undead Army crawling out from the Abyss of the Undead, unleashing havoc upon this continent. The Plague also started spreading from that time, causing the deaths of countless lives, a painful memory of the continent.
The Seven Archdemons have been the most sinister and malevolent existences throughout history, ravaging the land from time to time, yet no one has ever been able to kill them. Slark also signed a Master-Servant Contract with one of them—the King of the Fallen, Biliev, only after suffering torment, eventually transforming from a human into a Murloc and being forced to leave his homeland.
Huang Yi continued to flip to the next page—
"I fled all the way and finally arrived at Desolate Sands. This desert held no value for the Undead Army to ravage, rather, it spared me from the catastrophe. I began to wander within the desert. I saw terrifying sandstorms, darkening the skies, devouring everything, and I was almost torn to pieces. I saw the ruins of Remote Ancient times, crumbling walls that stretched as far as the eye could see, weathered beyond recognition, a testament to past prosperity. I saw palaces of gold nestled in the dunes, yet no matter how I walked, I could never reach them. At last, I found this oasis filled with dandelions, what a beautifully serene Heaven! I stayed here, it’s time for me to rest properly..."
Reading this far, Huang Yi’s gaze paused!
An oasis filled with dandelions, that was exactly the place he was searching for, it was very likely Slark’s homeland!
Huang Yi quickly read on.
"This oasis is vast, a true paradise in the desert, with birds chirping and fragrant flowers. A gust of wind would bring about a flutter of dandelions. But such a beautiful place is uninhabited. I only saw traces of humans from long ago; someone must’ve lived here in the distant past, but whatever happened to make it this way, to be forgotten, is unknown. I stayed for a few days until one night, I discovered something eerie, and I felt a chill down my spine, hurriedly leaving in the dead of night. This was not Heaven at all, but rather Hell; had I lingered a few more days, perhaps I’d never have been able to leave. The caution inherent in a traveler’s bones saved me."
The diary ended its mention of that oasis there. Huang Yi frowned. The diary did not spell out what was so eerie about the oasis; it remained a deeply hidden secret, strongly tugging at his curiosity. If he hadn’t been planning to go there, he could have just treated it as a tale, but since he was heading there, the matter was already linked to him, and he would have to confront it in the future.
Huang Yi flipped further, but couldn’t find another word about the oasis. It seemed even this traveler was wary of it, reluctant to mention it too much.