After exiting the crack, Mira's group started wandering around the desert again. Since following any sort of direction is impossible and there are no landmarks for them to understand where they are, they are forced to just wander around endlessly until they find something.
They don't really have anything that can help them map out the area so the best thing they can do is just rely on Mira's sense of direction.
What they are looking for is any change in scenery or a change in temperature, whether it be hotter or cooler.
Just like how they found that lotus flower, they scoured the desert until something of interest popped up.
***
Just like the rest of their time in the Secret Realm, they haven't encountered a single person. There were over 100 that entered the Secret Realm, but so far they haven't met a single one. Mira was a bit suspicious of this because she felt like they should've encountered at least one, but unfortunately, there is nothing she can do about it.
As Mira was thinking about this, she felt a subtle change in temperature. It wasn't much, probably just half a degree celsius hotter than before, but was able to notice the slight difference.
The other 2 also would've noticed it, but they weren't paying as much attention to the temperature.
Mira stopped them, backtracked a bit to confirm her suspicions, and when she backed up a couple of meters, she felt the temperature drop back to what it normally is.
"What's wrong, Mira? Did you find something?" Maria asked expectantly.
"I'm not sure, but the temperature seems to get hotter in that direction. It could be something or it could be that the desert over there is just hotter. I say we go that way since it's better than wandering around aimlessly." Mira told them what she found and they both got excited.
Maybe they'll be able to find another treasure!
"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Celaine yelled and went towards the direction Mira pointed to.
Maria and Mira followed up and started walking in that direction.
After walking for a few hours, they started noticing that the temperature was increasing at a rapid rate the farther they walked in this direction.
They still weren't able to see anything other than cracked ground for as far as the eye can see which was quite unbelievable. They also noticed that the temperature from the sun didn't change so it had to be caused by an external factor, but if it's already so hot when they can't even see it, how hot will it be when they can?
They stuffed down this feeling of discomfort and continued on with their journey.
With each step, the air became hotter and it didn't take long before the air became as hot as the air around the lotus flower before it bloomed. The source was still out of sight at this point which made the three of them feel like they are walking towards a true hell.
Hours went by and they reached a point where it felt like their skin was melting. It reached around the same degree of heat as the lotus flower after it bloomed, but their destination was still out of sight.
Mira was constantly making ice to alleviate the heat a bit, but it didn't last long due to how hot it was.
They still pushed forward and after walking for a few more hours of walking, the source of the heat finally came into view.
What they saw was a sight that they would never forget even if they died! It was both terrifying and amazing at the same time.
What came into view was countless volcanos lined up parallel to each other. They all had a constant source of lava flowing down from them which all converged at the bottom.
The lava formed a lava lake in the shape of a lava massive dragon that was thousands of meters long. The head of the dragon was spewing lava, forming a river that seemed to flow throughout the area of the desert. Just looking at it gave one the illusion that the dragon was roaring, striking fear into the depths of one's soul. While at the tail-end as well as at the end of the volcanos was a massive glossy black castle with gold and white pillars.
It was like a welcoming for a King and it gave off a sense of Majesty.
Mira, Maria, and Celaine just stood there, stunned as they took in this sight. Even if they weren't able to enter that place, just looking at it would be worth the journey.
But, they didn't come here just to look at it, they came to enter it!
They tried to step forward but were unable to. It wasn't because there was something blocking them from entering, but they themselves. They were unable to move because they were frozen in fear.
They knew that if something lives there, it would be able to kill them with a single finger. No, maybe it wouldn't even take a finger to kill them. If the being breathed a bit too hard they might die.
Even Mira was finding it difficult to move as her body and mind were telling her to get the hell away from this place. Her instincts that she's honed through hundreds of years of bloodshed are telling her that one wrong move equals death.
She calmed her nerves, grabbed Maria and Celaine, and stepped forward, steeling her nerves. If they were to die here then so be it, but they might also get an opportunity that doesn't come around very often.
"Kyaaa-!"
"Kyaaa-!"
Both Celaine and Maria screamed in fright when Mira grabbed them. But they finally awoke from their fear because of this.
"Enough staring. It's time to see what secrets this place holds." Mira said with determination.
Maria and Celaine looked at each other before nodding. They were also curious as to what could be here.
"Let's go! I hope that we get to see something amazing!" Maria yelled with excitement.
"We've been wanding this desert for so long, it's about time we find something interesting," Celaine said still trying to calm herself down.
***
Countless hours passed before they were able to make it to the base of the lava river. They haven't even made it to the dragon lake even after all this time since they kept having to stop and get used to this heat.
Once they reached the base of the lava river, they heard a booming voice resound throughout the area. It seemed to come from the glossy black castle at the other end of the lava dragon lake.
"Welcome, Young Ones, to this Great One's Domain! This Great One hasn't had visitors in thousands of years and since this Great One is feeling especially benevolent, I will allow you to visit this Great One's home! But you'll only be able to make it here if you can survive! Good luck young ones!" The booming deep voice echoed for hundreds of kilometers before stopping.
Then before the three of them can even react, lava pillars surrounded them. They blocked off any exits and there was only one way they can go and that is towards the black castle.
"You have to be fucking kidding me?!" Celaine despaired just thinking about the hellish trek to that black castle.
