The desert wind had ceased, but the silence that remained in its place was even more eerie. Marcus paced back and forth near the spot where the temple had vanished, muttering to himself as he reviewed his notes and maps.
"This doesn't make sense," he said finally, stopping in front of Richard. "A temple can't just disappear. What did we see? What happened in there?"
Richard, sitting on a nearby rock, avoided Marcus's gaze. He knew he couldn't tell him the truth, not without revealing the system and everything he'd experienced.
"I don't know, Marcus. Maybe it was... a natural phenomenon. Something we don't understand."
Marcus stared at him, a mixture of frustration and suspicion.
"Don't lie to me, Richard. You saw something in there, something you're not telling me."
Richard pressed his lips together, not responding. The tension between them was palpable, and Marcus finally sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
"I can't continue working with you if you don't trust me. This place is too important, and I can't risk anything else going wrong."
Richard felt a knot in his stomach. Although his relationship with Marcus had been brief, he respected and liked him.
"What are you saying?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
"You have to go, Richard. I can't allow you to stay here."
The pain in Richard's chest was evident, but he didn't argue. He knew he had no other choice.
---
The return journey began in silence. Richard sat in the back seat of the jeep, staring out the window as the desert landscape slowly passed before his eyes. The sand dunes seemed endless, and the scorching sun made the air tremble on the horizon.
The driver, a man of few words, tried to break the silence after a while.
"What happened back there?" he asked, without taking his eyes off the road.
Richard hesitated before answering.
"Nothing I can explain. The temple… it just disappeared."
The driver snorted, clearly in disbelief.
"I've worked in this region for years, and I've never seen anything like this. People say these lands are cursed, that there are things that shouldn't be disturbed. Perhaps they're right."
Richard didn't reply. His thoughts were too preoccupied with what had happened and what he had lost. The temple, the inscriptions, the visions… everything seemed to be slipping through his fingers. As they continued, the landscape began to change. The dunes gave way to rockier terrain, with low mountains rising in the distance. The driver turned on the radio, and a soft melody filled the air, but it did nothing to ease the tension in Richard's chest.
"How long until we get there?" he finally asked, breaking the silence.
"About two more hours, if we don't encounter any problems along the way," the driver replied.
Richard nodded, though he wasn't sure he could endure two more hours of uncertainty. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, but images of the temple kept appearing in his mind.
Suddenly, the jeep began to slow down. Richard opened his eyes and saw a black vehicle parked in the middle of the road, blocking his way.
"What the hell...?" the driver muttered, bringing the jeep to a stop.
Before Richard could react, several men dressed in black got out of the vehicle and quickly approached.
"Richard Wonder," one of them said, his voice firm. "We need you to come with us."
The driver raised his hands, clearly nervous.
"Who are you?" Richard asked, trying to remain calm.
"That doesn't matter now. We just want to ask you a few questions about what happened at the archaeological site."
Richard looked at the driver, but he simply shook his head, indicating there was nothing he could do. The men gave him no choice. They escorted him to the black vehicle, leaving behind the jeep driver, who looked as confused as he was.
As the vehicle pulled away, Richard looked out the window, watching the jeep grow smaller and smaller in the distance. He knew something was seriously wrong, but he had no idea what lay ahead.
---
The interrogation began even before they reached their destination.
"What did you see at the temple?" asked one of the men, sitting across from Richard inside the vehicle.
"Nothing. The temple disappeared before I could understand what was happening," Richard replied, trying to sound convincing.
The man stared at him, as if trying to read his mind.
"Don't lie to us. We know you have information. That place didn't disappear by chance."
Richard felt a chill. How did they know so much? Who were these people really?
When they finally arrived at what appeared to be a government facility, Richard began to notice details that didn't add up. The guards wore uniforms without insignia, and the walls of the building were decorated with vaguely familiar symbols, similar to those he had seen at the temple.
That's when it hit him: this wasn't a government agency. It was something else.
---
As he was escorted through the corridors, Richard heard snatches of conversations between the agents. Words like "mana," "lost temples," and "secret society" were frequently repeated.
"They know about the system..." he muttered to himself, feeling anxiety rising inside him.
They took him to an interrogation room, where they left him alone for a few minutes. Richard used the moment to try to come up with a plan. His current abilities didn't give him many options, but he knew he had to escape before they discovered more about him.
Suddenly, the system activated, projecting a message before his eyes:
[New mission available.]
Objective: Escape your captors.
Reward: Skill unlocked: Wind Steps.
Richard read the skill description: it would allow him to move like the wind, but it would consume mana per second. With his current mana, he would only have a few seconds to use it.
[Condition: Recharge your mana to maximum before attempting to unlock the skill.]
Richard closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. He knew he didn't have much time. If he wanted to unlock the skill, he would have to recharge his mana to maximum and carefully plan every move.
That's when he heard footsteps approaching the room. Time was running out.