In the desert,
Within the seemingly boundless Endless Desert, the sky blazed with the splendor and intensity of molten gold. The sun hung high overhead, mercilessly pouring down scorching rays that baked the rolling dunes until they were searing hot. It was as if even the air were burning, rippling with waves of distorted heat.
This was nature at its harshest and most primal. Every grain of sand carried the heat of the blazing sun, too hot for anyone to touch lightly.
Amid this vast expanse scorched by the sun, a caravan stretching several hundred meters slowly made its way across the dunes, adding a different shade to the desert.
"Jingle~"
The camel bells rang out in succession, their clear notes echoing across the desert.
The camels, hailed as the "ship of the desert," bore all the caravan's hopes and burdens. Their steady steps left deep prints in the soft sand. All manner of luggage and goods hung from their sides, swaying gently as they moved and producing dull, rhythmic sounds.
Accompanied by the camel bells, this was the travelers' song, and also their anticipation and longing for the far side of the desert.
The caravan hands followed closely alongside the camels, their faces carved by wind and sand into resolute lines.
To survive in such an extremely harsh environment, merchants could not possibly travel alone. Only by forming a large caravan and helping one another could they minimize the dangers.
In such an extreme environment, every step was exceptionally difficult. Their feet sank deep and shallow into the sand, sometimes plunging into loose ground before they laboriously pulled themselves free. Even so, no one stopped moving forward.
Sweat slid down their foreheads and quickly evaporated in the dry air, leaving behind streaks of white salt that bore witness to