The Compass Of Desire

I remained in a state of shock, unable to comprehend anything the Snail King had told me. I struggled to understand the nature of desire—what was the crescent? The gazelle? The dragonfly? As I plunged deeper into my thoughts, desperately trying to grasp what had been revealed to me moments before, I failed to notice Ozzie extending his hand toward my chest without warning.

There, where the crescent tattoo marked my skin, he grasped something hidden—like the handle of a small, invisible door that I couldn't see but could feel moving against my chest. Terror paralyzed me completely; I was too frightened to make any movement, too afraid even to utter a single word.

The strangeness didn't end there. I froze in place as he began to open my chest as if it were a small desk drawer. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I possessed a tiny chamber that looked into the depths of my own being. I stood there, frozen between wonder and fear, watching this impossible scene unfold.

The Snail King's probe plunged deep into my entrails. I could feel it crawling inside me, touching my vital organs—parts of my trachea, my lungs—until it stopped, grasping something within me. It seemed he had found what he was searching for in my depths.

With deliberate force, he pulled it out and showed it to me. It was a gleaming silver object, and I could hear the mechanical sound of its gears moving within, though they clattered against each other in a broken, discordant rhythm—as if damaged and unable to achieve the smooth operation this strange mechanical device was meant to have. The silver object remained connected to me by what appeared to be one of my blood vessels, pumping blood to it and giving it the power to move. Like an engine, it vibrated rhythmically.

Ozzie, the Snail King, pressed a side button on the device. It opened, revealing an interior that looked remarkably similar to a compass from within, but with a deteriorated structure full of empty holes and gaps.

Ozzie: "Do you know what this is?"

A: "I've never opened my body from the inside before, so of course I don't know!"

Ozzie: "This is what we call here the Compass of Desire!"

A: "The... Compass of Desire?"

Ozzie: "This is your only map that will get you out of this place."

A: "I'm sorry, what?"

Ozzie: "Listen, Desire, you cannot continue to exist in this world simply because you were not created to be here. This place was not made for you to inhabit. You are merely a wandering entity, and you must return to the place from which you originally came. What's worse is that you're suffering—you want to sleep, your body feels exhausted, and it shows in your features. The Jellyfish Queen told me that you previously lost consciousness, which is illogical here. Most desires that come here arrive because they are lost, searching for a place to rest forever. Eventually, they will go to 'the place where the sea sleeps.' But I don't know where you'll end up if you continue to stay here. I guarantee this place will consume you. Remember these rules: You are a crescent desire, meaning an anomalous desire. 'The Runner to the Flowers' sent you here. Don't speak with the offspring of kings, and don't interfere in the affairs of kings who haven't spoken to you first, understood? And know one additional thing—trust in the choice of 'The Runner to the Flowers,' even if it seems suspicious or irrational to you."

A: "Alright, though I'm still utterly confused."

Ozzie: "I know, but you'll understand everything in due time. Additionally, we're going to meet another king on our journey to get you home. You must fight and train intensively to be able to get out of here, and this must happen as quickly as possible. If you don't reach there at the designated time, he will devour you. Moreover, you've arrived here during the worst period we've ever experienced. It seems you're quite unlucky, Desire."

A: "Wait—who's going to devour me?"

Ozzie: "He's dangerous, overwhelmingly powerful. His function is to control wayward desires and redirect them. Remember this name well: 'Walnut Eye.'"

Neither of us noticed time passing swiftly inside this transport chamber until we felt the Snake King stop moving on his own—a sign that we had reached our intended destination. The chamber opened automatically, revealing the new area we had reached. I was greeted by an enormous sign.

Ozzie: "The sign says, 'Welcome to the City of Great Beasts.'"

I disembarked from the train and took my first steps along the city's streets. The least that could be said was that this was a kingdom, not even just a great city as the Snail King had previously mentioned. Here, all the races I had encountered gathered, along with many other species whose names I didn't know—amphibious and terrestrial creatures, scales and wings everywhere, plus strange means of transportation that carried the inhabitants.

These were mechanical vehicles without wheels, unlike my previous car, but with mechanical limbs that had joints and muscles made of metal, resembling animal appendages. They were certainly far more advanced than my piece of junk car in any direct comparison.

What was even more remarkable was that not all of them traveled the roads—they could climb buildings with incredible ease. Literally, these were transportation methods that adapted to all difficult, easy, and different environments, whatever they might be. There were even carts that hovered above the city's sky, flying with broad wings covered in feathers connected to their extremities.

Life pulsed through the streets of this city. Life burst forth between neighborhoods and alleys, and the air above us was packed with traffic. I truly felt like a tiny speck amid all this movement.

Ozzie: "Don't lose your focus, Desire!"

Ozzie: "I know you're amazed, but we can't afford to stop and contemplate now."

We began walking smoothly under the Snail King's guidance until we separated from the city's congestion into an isolated alley with less activity. The Snail King emerged from inside his shell, producing two wide brown robes. He asked me to wear one while he also put on the other.

Ozzie: "Walk beside me without drawing attention to us. Move naturally."

I followed the Snail King's orders without question, moving beside him as he requested—quietly, without raising any suspicion. We penetrated deeper and deeper into the alleys and hidden turns of the city, into corners where the residents' conversations couldn't reach, until we arrived at a very quiet residential neighborhood containing few passersby who, like us, concealed their identities with dark robes.

No conversations were exchanged in these suspicious corridors. Everyone here moved with extreme stealth, like shadows. With the silence of this neighborhood, I could hear the sound of my own saliva sliding down my throat. You could sense how tense the atmosphere around us was. The Snail King was excessively focused, and I didn't think it was the right time for conversation. With every moment of our movement through these corridors, I was certain the situation was more than serious.

Ozzie: "We're in a tense and unstable phase here."

A: "What's happening?"

Ozzie: "It's a military conflict between the beasts."

A: "A military conflict! Why?"

Ozzie: "There were severe disputes before you came here. You met me in the Copper City garden because I was heading here before 'The Runner to the Flowers' told me about you, forcing me to bring you along."

Ozzie: "If I had told you about this predicament earlier, you wouldn't have followed me."

A: "On the contrary, I don't know where else to go. I'd rather stay with you than remain alone."

We continued walking, with me following Ozzie as he had requested, when suddenly a dark, randomly appearing figure—massive and tall—collided with me. I could tell it was somewhat intentional. I turned to look at his face and could only see the gleam of his red eyes under his hollow black robe. Our eye contact didn't last long as we took one final turn, stopping in front of what resembled a tavern.

Ozzie: "This is the Snail Swamp Tavern!"

We took our first steps inside the establishment, which from the outside looked like an ordinary brick building, but inside was chaotically traditional—like a hut for entertainment and passing time. We cast our gaze toward the far corner of the spacious tavern, where a tall figure waved at us, raising his hand. It was a sturdy, powerful hand wearing armor on its visible part. Another part of this being's body could be seen covered in fur across the entire surface of his hand, with long claws at the tips of his fingers.