I sighed deeply and thought to myself,
"Which path is truly the right one?"
The employer asked,
"Which path do you two think is correct?"
I replied,
"I believe the right path is the correct one."
Reagan, however, answered confidently,
"I think the left is the right way."
The employer said firmly,
"We don't have time for arguments. Reagan, you're strong, so you'll go left on your own. As for me, I'll take the right path with this man."
Without hesitation, Reagan replied,
"Alright, I'll head left."
The employer nodded and said,
"Be careful, Reagan."
After saying our goodbyes, Reagan set off toward the left, while the employer and I began walking down the right path.
The right path was desolate, surrounded by dense trees and a ground blanketed with dry leaves that whispered under our steps. After some time walking, we reached a dark and quiet area where the entrance of a small cave was hidden among rocks and trees. Scattered bones and animal skulls around the cave entrance gave off a chilling impression—this might be the home of some predatory beast.
We cautiously approached the entrance, and that's when I spotted something shiny among the rocks. I reached out and pulled out a golden object, then asked,
"Is this gold?"
The employer looked at me and said,
"I'm no expert in precious metals. To confirm, we'd have to take it to a mineral analysis lab—a place that specializes in testing metals for purity and value."
We continued exploring the area carefully, and eventually reached the end of the right path, with no other passages leading forward.
…
After finding no signs of a monster at the end of the right path, we decided to head back. I took the golden object with me, still holding on to the hope that it might be something valuable.
When we returned to the fork in the road, I looked at the employer and asked:
"Are we going down the left path now?"
He responded seriously:
"We have no choice. We must go."
We began walking down the left path. From the very start, it felt longer than the right one—more winding, more silent. The trees were taller, their shadows deeper, and the wind's whisper softer, as if nature itself was watching us in silence.
After a few moments of walking, I spotted something odd on the ground. At first, it appeared black, but as I got closer, I saw it was dark red... blood.
I froze for a moment, my heart started pounding. I panicked. I silently hoped everything was fine, that neither Marcus nor Reagan had been harmed.
We continued forward, clearly anxious, our steps slowing with every beat. Then, in the distance, we saw something faint... No, it wasn't a thing. It was someone standing in the shadows.
The employer shouted:
"Reagan! Is that you?!"
The figure slowly moved and approached us. His face was still unclear, and his clothes were soaked in blood. My heart nearly stopped. I was terrified… tense… I remembered all those shows and movies where the naive victim calls out to a friend, only to discover too late that it's not a friend, but a killer… or a monster.
Suddenly, the figure threw something to the ground near us…
I quickly looked—It was a skull.
At that moment, I screamed from the depths of my soul:
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
As I trembled in fear, I heard laughter. A familiar voice.
The figure stepped closer, and his features finally became visible through the shafts of sunlight filtering through the trees…
It was Reagan.
"Hahahahahaha! Man, I didn't think you'd get that scared! Oh, you really cracked me up!"
I was furious and embarrassed, looking away as I tried to gather what was left of my dignity—until I noticed Reagan was carrying someone on his back.
I looked closer to see who it was...
Yes—it was Marcus.
But my embarrassment quickly turned into relieved joy when I saw Marcus was still alive. I was about to run toward him, but the employer beat me to it and quickly asked Reagan:
"Where did you find him?"
Reagan answered calmly, like someone who had just finished an exhausting task:
"Deep within this path."
The employer raised his eyebrows and asked:
"And was the monster there?"
Reagan shook his head and said:
"Thankfully, no."
The employer then bent down and gently took Marcus's body from Reagan's back, lifting him with care. Marcus was unconscious, his face pale, and his breathing faint… He was in critical condition.
The employer spoke in a firm tone:
"We need to return now that we've found Marcus."
Then he pulled a shining blue stone from his pocket, held it up before him, and said:
"Transport."
In an instant, I felt that strange sensation again... the air around me began to vibrate, as if the whole world had shrunk into a single blink. The ground vanished from beneath our feet, followed by the trees, the sky, the very air—everything became a swirl of blue, black, and gray colors spinning in a calm vortex.
Then… silence. A light feeling of descent, as if awakening from a dream. My feet touched the ground once more—and this time, it was familiar... We were back.
I looked at the employer, a question burning inside me that I couldn't hold back: How many of those stones does he have? And where does he get them from?
Those stones were, without a doubt, the greatest means of transportation I had ever seen in this strange world.