There Ḥamād was, lying underneath his small emergency shelter. Beside him, he made a camp fire to warmed him up. Without it, he could be die due to the freezing cold temperature.
Desert was harsh as always.
He kept one khopesh in his embrace, cautious that maybe there would come a danger while he wasn't aware.
He closed his eyes.
And fell to sleep immediately.
***
"You're finally here, o human from the other world."
"Who's there?!"
In his dream, Ḥamād was standing at the open field full of wheats. It most likely afternoon, when the sun doesn't really burn his skin.
And there he was. A man with a long black hair, tanned skin, fierce blue eyes, and slightly muscular body, standing in front of him.
As soon as he saw him, Ḥamād realized.
"Don't tell me you were the original owner of that body."
He smiled. "Correct."
His face was reddened.
Ḥamād's fists trembled as he landed blow after blow, each strike echoing every pain he got in this world. "You asshole! You're the one who trapped me in this shitty situation!"
Another punch.
Another punch.
And another punch.
The sole imagery in Ḥamād's mind was his last moment with Gāber, when those old djinn strangled him to death. It anger him even more!
Their bodies rolled in wheat field, causing many stalks of wheat ready for harvest to fall down.
Black blood splattered everywhere.
But the man didn't fight back. He didn't even try to avoid the punch that flew at his face. Instead, he took all the beatings with a big smile on his face. As if he knew he deserved it.
Suddenly, Ḥamād's arms trembled, sweat mingling with the crops as he collapsed onto the ground. His fists were shaken, the muscles in his body screamed, an unreasonable feeling of fatigue suddenly took over him.
He stopped his beatings. He rolled away, gasping for breath, burning with unquenchable anger.
He observed his hands carefully.
There was when he realized, this is not the body he used after transmigrated. This is his real body back in his original world!
Strange. I only felt this type of fatigue after beating the shit out of seventeen anubises. Why would I be this tired after beating him up for a moment?
"If we could met in the real world, I would like to let you beat me up as long as you can. But here, in this dream realm, our body had a very strict limits. That's why you tired already."
He said that while sat gracefully.
The panting in Ḥamād's chest not went away yet. It was the same for his anger. But there was something he needed to know. "Why? Why would you choose me?!"
"I'm not the one who choose you, o human from another world. It was God who bestowed his blessings to us." He answered.
"Cut that stupid shit! Who would believe something like that?"
He smiled, his gaze anchored to Ḥamād's. "I wish I was lying to you. But the truth is, I don't even know what happened to us."
Ḥamād shook his hair frustratedly. "Argh! Fuck! Then explain everything you know. I need informations. Even if I could back to life everytime I died, a death is a death. It's painful!"
That man furrowed his bold eyebrows. "Back to life? How could?"
"How the fuck you asked me back, you evil shayṫān?! You were the one who brought me here! I know nothing!"
The atmosphere that was already strange from the beginning, turned even more awkward. Ḥamād with his seemly never ending anger, and that man with his confusion.
Suddenly, the world they were in began to crumble. The sky fell, the ground shook, and a tornado began to appear everywhere.
"Now what?!" Ḥamād stood up, and tried to balance his body so as not to fall. His head began to feel dizzy, along with the increasingly violent shaking of the earth. The dates in his stomach seemed like they would be vomited out soon.
"There must be some danger around our body. You need to awake now." His reaction doesn't really different. He was shocked too. All drawn in his face so clearly. "This is our last met in this dream realm, o human from another world. Bestow me your name."
"What?! You didn't even knew my name?" Ḥamād tried his best to address his anger, but he failed. The earthquake was that intense.
"This filthy shayṫān's name was Ezlām. Who was your name, o human from another world? Be hurry."
"Ḥamād! My name is Ḥamād."
Everything began to fade. But one thing Ḥamād sure about. He need informations. "Tell me something useful!"
"Guide every kind to the right path! That's our role!"
"Fu-."
Before Ḥamād could completely cursed about the information that had such a broad meaning, everything went black. He woke up from his sleep.
***
The first thing Ḥamād felt when he opened his eyes was a pulling sensation in his legs. And the first thing he saw was the clear night skies, that move slowly but surely.
When he checked his condition, he realized that something was dragging his feet slowly. An animal crawling in the cold desert night air, beneath the fresh light of wehlāl.
A big rattlesnake wrapped its tail around Ḥamād's leg, dragging him far away from his emergency shelter.
Calm down, Ḥamād! Calm down! Don't make any stupid move, or this venomous snake would kill you instantly.
But wait.
Since when did rattlesnakes hunt their prey by wrapping around and pulling it? Didn't they use venom to kill their prey? And its body even not that big. How could it dragged me this far?! Nonsense.
'You stupid shayṫān! Use your power, dumb ass!'
There was Gāber scolded him in his imagination.
Really, old fart? You didn't even know me in this life! Why you schooled me out of the blue?!
But wait.
Seems like he was right after all.
He activated his imaginary eyes. Since it was imaginary, the only thing he needed was to "imagine" the eyes. And like that, he could see all astral energies hovering around.
Too simple?
Well, Ḥamād himself admitted that. He even a little worried that he could become too OP in the future. For him, it felt like seeking attention from supreme being in this world.
But anyway.
He could see the black astral energies emitting from the rattlesnake's body. He doesn't really know if this venomous snake was strong or not. In his imaginary eyes, its energy looked like a light fog in the morning.
If I grab its body, it would like to jump to my hand and bite me with its venomous teeth. If I stand, it would bite my feet.
And then, again and again, the image of this old djinn appeared in Ḥamād's imagination. His wrinkled face, his mouth that only spitting curses,...
Hold up. There was something else came out from his mouth. A snake, made of astral energies.
Bet. Sounds like a doable strategy.
He closed his eyes, imagining every drop of astral energies inside his body. The cold sensation chilled his whole body, both imaginary and physical one.
He circulated some of it. But this time, it wasn't like a blood. It was very hard to imagine this type of motion in his stomach. Ḥe felt that his brain could blown up any time!
He gathered that amount of astral energy in his stomach, then rotated it rapidly, creating an unbearable nauseous sensation.
It was stupid.
And gross.
He admitted it.
But he couldn't find any other method in this kind of situation.
When the nausea became unbearable, Ḥamād allowed it to slide towards his mouth. However, before he vomited the energy, he imagined it as a king cobra, a poisonous snake that preys on other snakes as food.
He couldn't really describe the sensation in his throat. The king cobra felt solid, had a physical body, and filled his throat, making it difficult for him to breathe.
It was strange.
And gross.
Ḥamād raised his head slightly, peered at the snake that had stopped moving, and darted quickly to bite his leg.
In a swift movement, he opened his mouth wide and let the king cobra in his throat to slide and devour the rattlesnake.
But the rattlesnake dodged quickly, fleeing to other side. Automatically, it released Ḥamād's feet.
Hamad couldn't pay attention to the details of what was happening. He was too busy throwing up all the dates in his stomach. Even after being in that state for so long, the slimy sensation in his throat didn't go away. Making him even more nauseous.
However, it was an intense battle.
The freezing cold air crackled with tension as the rattlesnake thick-bodied coiled defensively, faced its formidable opponent. Its tail twitched rhythmically, the dry, menacing rattle.
Opposite it, the king cobra stood tall, a magnificent serpent with its iconic hood flared wide, displaying the striking bands of yellow and black. Its dark, intelligent eyes fixed intently on the rattlesnake.
The rattlesnake struck first, a lightning-fast lunge, fangs bared to inject its potent venom. The king cobra, however, was quicker. With astonishing speed and agility, it dodged the attack, its sleek body moving like liquid shadow. It then retaliated with a swift strike of its own, aiming for the rattlesnake's head.
The battle became a blur of motion.
Each serpent tested the other, feinting and striking, the dry rustle of scales and the hiss of breath was the only sounds beside Ḥamād's vomiting.
The king cobra attempted to pin the rattlesnake with its length, trying to subdue it before delivering a decisive bite. The rattlesnake, in turn, sought an opening to sink its fangs and inject its hemotoxic venom.
The king cobra feinted, then struck with lethal precision, its fangs sinking deep into the rattlesnake's skull.
The rattlesnake thrashed violently, its venom was useless against the king cobra's neurotoxins. In moments, the powerful constrictor went still, the king cobra standing victorious, its gaze unwavering as it loomed over its fallen foe.
It went to Ḥamād, bring the rattlesnake corpses. Seems like it was knew what Ḥamād needed in this type of conditions.
The black astral energies to recharge.
***