“I didn’t expect any other answer from you boys,” she said. “Foolhardy to the last.”
*
Thor marched side by side with the others through the wasteland, squinting into the harsh sun, gasping in the relentless heat. He’d thought he would be thrilled to be rid of the underworld, of its ever-present gloom, of being unable to see the suns. But he had gone from one extreme to the other. Here, in this desert, there was nothing but sun: yellow sun and yellow sky, all beaming down on him and nowhere to go. His head hurt, and he was feeling dizzy. He was dragging his feet, and felt as if he had been marching a lifetime; as he looked over, he saw the others were, too.
They had been trekking half a day, and he did not know how they could possibly continue to keep this up. He looked over at Indra, holding her hood over her head, and wondered if she had been right. Maybe they had been foolhardy to attempt this. But he had vowed to find the Sword—and what choice did they have?
As they went, their feet stirred up clouds of dust, swirling everywhere, making it even harder to breathe. On the horizon there sat nothing but more sunbaked dirt, everything flat as far as the eye could see. There wasn’t the slightest glimmer of structure, or road, or mountain—or anything. Nothing but desert. Thor felt as if they had come to the very end of the world.
As they went, Thor took solace in one thing: at least now, for the first time, he trusted where they were going. No longer was he at the mercy of listening to those three brothers and their stupid map; now they listened to Indra, and he trusted her more than he had ever trusted them. He felt certain they were being led in the right direction—he just didn’t feel certain they would survive the journey.
Thor began to hear a subtle whooshing noise, and as he looked down, he saw the sand all around him swirling in circles. The others saw it, too, and Thor was confused as he watched the sand slowly gather, the circles growing more intense at his feet, then lift up into the sky. There soon arose a dust cloud, lifting off the desert floor, rising higher and higher.
Thor felt his entire body suddenly getting drier. He felt as if every drop of water was being pulled from his body, and he ached for water; he had never been so thirsty in his life.
He reached out in a panic, fumbling for his water skin, and raised it and squirted it towards his mouth. But as he did, the water turned and went upwards, towards the sky, never reaching his lips.
“What’s going on?” Thor yelled to Indra, gasping.
She watched the skies with fear, retracting her hood.
“A reverse rain!” she yelled.
“What’s that?” Elden yelled, gasping as he grabbed his throat.
“It’s raining upwards!” she yelled. “All the moisture is being sucked up to the sky!”
Indra menggelengkan kepalanya dan menghela nafas.
"Aku tidak mengharapkan jawaban lain dari kalian," katanya. "Bodoh sampai akhir."
*
Thor berbaris berdampingan dengan yang lain melalui gurun, menyipitkan mata ke matahari yang terik, terengah-engah dalam panas yang tiada henti. Dia pikir dia akan senang untuk terbebas dari dunia bawah, dari kesuramannya yang selalu ada, karena tidak dapat melihat matahari. Tetapi dia telah berpindah dari satu ekstrem ke ekstrem lainnya. Di sini, di gurun ini, tidak ada yang lain selain matahari: matahari kuning dan langit kuning, semua berseri-seri padanya dan ke mana-mana. Kepalanya sakit, dan dia merasa pusing. Dia menyeret kakinya, dan merasa seolah-olah dia telah berbaris seumur hidup; Ketika dia melihat ke atas, dia melihat yang lain juga.
Mereka telah berjalan setengah hari, dan dia tidak tahu bagaimana mereka bisa melanjutkan ini. Dia memandang Indra, memegang tudungnya di atas kepalanya, dan bertanya-tanya apakah dia benar. Mungkin mereka bodoh untuk mencoba ini. Tetapi dia telah bersumpah untuk menemukan Pedang — dan pilihan apa yang mereka miliki?
Ketika mereka pergi, kaki mereka mengaduk awan debu, berputar-putar di mana-mana, membuatnya lebih sulit untuk bernapas. Di cakrawala tidak ada yang tersisa kecuali lebih banyak tanah berjemur, semuanya datar sejauh mata memandang. Tidak ada sedikit pun struktur, atau jalan, atau gunung — atau apa pun. Hanya gurun. Thor merasa seolah-olah mereka telah sampai di ujung dunia.
Ketika mereka pergi, Thor mendapat penghiburan dalam satu hal: setidaknya sekarang, untuk pertama kalinya, dia percaya ke mana mereka pergi. Dia tidak lagi di belas kasihan mendengarkan tiga saudara itu dan peta bodoh mereka; sekarang mereka mendengarkan Indra, dan dia memercayainya lebih dari dia pernah mempercayai mereka. Dia merasa yakin mereka sedang dipimpin ke arah yang benar — dia hanya tidak merasa yakin mereka akan selamat dari perjalanan.
Thor mulai mendengar suara desis halus, dan ketika dia melihat ke bawah, dia melihat pasir di sekelilingnya berputar-putar. Yang lain juga melihatnya, dan Thor bingung ketika dia melihat pasir perlahan-lahan berkumpul, lingkaran tumbuh lebih kuat di kakinya, lalu terangkat ke langit. Segera muncul awan debu, mengangkat lantai gurun, naik semakin tinggi.
Thor merasa seluruh tubuhnya tiba-tiba menjadi kering. Dia merasa seolah-olah setiap tetes air ditarik dari tubuhnya, dan dia ingin air; dia belum pernah haus dalam hidupnya.
Dia mengulurkan tangan dalam kepanikan, mencari-cari kulitnya, dan mengangkatnya dan menyemprotkannya ke mulutnya. Tetapi ketika dia melakukannya, air berbalik dan naik ke atas, ke arah langit, tidak pernah mencapai bibirnya.
"Apa yang terjadi?" Thor berteriak kepada Indra, terengah-engah.
Dia menyaksikan langit dengan ketakutan, menarik tudungnya.
"Hujan yang turun!" Teriaknya.
"Apa itu?" Teriak Elden, terengah-engah saat dia meraih tenggorokannya.
"Hujan di atas!" Teriaknya. "Semua kelembaban disedot ke langit!"
