Unknown Odyssey

As he opened his eyes, taking in his new surroundings, he was stunned. He was no longer surrounded by a vast desert. Instead, what he was looking at was a large field with green grasses and some old collapsed buildings with vines crawling on them. He looked ahead and saw some hills in the distance. Then he sighed and approached the buildings, hoping to find someone he could ask for help or something that could be of use to him.

He groaned as he struggled to push the door of the first building he went to. "I should find another way into the building since the door won't open," he muttered. He quickly found an opening in the back of the building and crawled through the hole. He entered the building, and to him, it seemed mostly intact compared to the rest except for a few broken walls and pillars. It seemed okay. He climbed up a few stairs that led to the upper part of the building. He felt this upper part was unstable and might collapse, so he hurriedly assessed it. It had so many rooms.

"This must have been some kind of inn or hotel," he muttered to himself as he approached one of the rooms. Opening the door, what he saw was a room that wasn't too large. It had a closet with a bed in one of the corners close to the window, as well as a table in one of the other corners. On top of the table was a brown backpack. When Enel saw it, he approached it with careful steps and searched through the backpack for anything of use, but he only saw a lamp and some gems that emitted a faint glow. There were about ten of them, each cylindrical in shape, about the size of his thumb, and five centimeters in length. He was puzzled by the oddness of the gems. It didn't take him long, though, to realize that the gems were for the lamp. He saw an opening under the lamp and slid the gems into the opening, and the lamp was lit. Then he put the lamp and gems inside the backpack.

Next, he went to the closet and opened it. He saw some clothes that were folded and a pair of sandals. He looked through them and, surprisingly, found some clothes that fit him.

"I didn't expect to actually find clothes that would fit me in an inn... Guess some families visited here from time to time," he muttered.

He put on the clothes and the sandals he found at the corner of the closet. However, as he was about to close the closet, he saw a faint glow. Already knowing what it was, he pushed the clothes aside and saw more of the gems he had seen earlier, each emitting the same faint glow. He gathered them, smiling at his luck.

"At least I won't have to be in the dark come night," he said.

As he was about to put them into the backpack, he noticed a crack in one of the gems. Peering into the crack and straining his eyes at the same time, he noticed some green, dust-like material flowing out of the cracked gem. He tried to touch it, but his fingers just passed through. He ran them through again, but the same thing happened. After a few seconds, he looked around and saw that everything appeared more detailed and clearer to him. He saw some wisps like the ones in the desert, but these were different, and there were a multitude of them. Tracing one of the wisps, he saw it led to one of the wooden floorboards. As he looked down, he felt a headache and his nose started to bleed. His vision returned to normal. Taking time to calm his head, he walked toward the floorboard and touched it. It felt hollow. Running his fingers across the floorboard, he felt something and then he pulled on it, and the floorboard opened, revealing a hidden compartment.

As he opened the floorboard, Enel's eyes widened at the sight of what lay beneath. Inside the hidden compartment, he found an assortment of old, weathered items. There was a small leather-bound journal, two pieces of paper, and a scabbard with a knife inside. Placing the gems down near him, he picked up the scabbard and pulled out the knife. He noticed a sudden change in the air around him but couldn't quite place his finger on it. He looked at the knife and saw his reflection on the steel, which was surprisingly still in pristine condition. Swinging the knife around, it made sounds, apparently cutting through the air. He put it back in the scabbard and placed it near the gems, then opened the journal.

Enel flipped through the journal's pages, which were filled with handwritten notes and sketches. Most of the writing was in a language he didn't understand, but some of the drawings depicted the inn and the surrounding area. One sketch caught his eye—it showed a map with detailed markings and annotations. Enel's heart raced as he realized that this map could provide valuable information about his current location.

He set the journal aside and opened one of the pieces of paper. To his surprise, it was another map, this one more extensive and detailed than the sketch in the journal. The map depicted the region he thought he was currently in, with various landmarks and pathways highlighted, but it felt somehow incomplete. Enel traced his finger along the map and found the inn where he was currently at and some pathways. But the map ended at a river, making him think it was the end of the region he was in. Sighing, he picked up the other piece of paper and unfolded it. To his surprise, it was another map. He picked the previous map and joined it with this one, and it formed the whole map. He saw something spectacular happening before him—the maps were giving off faint glows. Petrified, he almost ran away, cursing his luck when the whole upper floor rumbled, reminding him of his need to hurry. Turning back to the map, he saw that the two pieces were merging together, shining with more brilliance. Stunned, he decided to stand and watch in awe. After a few seconds, they stopped glowing. Picking it up with apprehension, he saw the map was rewriting itself. After it was done, he saw it was actually updating itself because the inn was pictured as whole in the previous map, but now it was depicted in its current condition—in ruins.

"Ha, I was actually scared there for a moment," he muttered.

Looking at the map, he saw some hills in the distant part of it and a forest depicted just before the field of ruins. Rolling the map up, he realized he still had other rooms to check out. He picked up the items from the hidden compartment and put them into the backpack, as well as the gems, and went to check the other rooms.

After checking them, he came back down, not really finding anything much except for an empty water bottle and some more of those gems. He looked through the lower level of the inn and noticed there were inscriptions in the same language as the one in the journal. After more snooping around, he headed outside the inn and towards the other buildings.

Enel's mind raced with possibilities. This map could guide him through the region and help him find his way out.

With his newfound knowledge and a sense of readiness, Enel felt a surge of determination. He stood up, his eyes scanning the room one last time. The altered perception from earlier still lingered in his mind, and he wondered what other secrets this place held.

As he prepared to leave the inn, Enel noticed a faint inscription on the wall near the door. The writing was barely visible, but he was able to make out the words: "The path to truth lies within the veiled corridors of time."

"Well, what do you know? This is written in words I can understand. Truth... who said I was looking for the truth? I'm only looking for a way out of this damned place!" he exclaimed.

Enel pondered the meaning of the inscription as he stepped out of the building. The map and the journal were the only means he had of getting out of this place. Sighing, he thought back to the inscription.

"Maybe the veiled corridors or whatever is the way out," he mused as he went to check the other buildings.

As he stood in front of one of the other buildings, he looked at its condition. Half of it was apparently crumbled, looking like a giant had run through it. The other half was barely standing. As he slightly touched the door, it fell down and broke into splinters. Shocked momentarily, he was about to walk into the building when he heard the sound of something chewing and munching on flesh. Realizing it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Oh crap," he whispered