Ludi

Sandrock, The Sand handler.

"What...? What is ...? I don't understand ... This is a joke, I'm hallucinating ... I don't feel well ..." 

Quatre sat on the grass, leaning his back against the fountain. His head was spinning, he felt there was nothing he could do, he couldn't wake up, he couldn't come back, he couldn't even stand up. The sun above his head was as real as the young man in front of him, watching him carefully with a touch of compassion and pity. 

"I will explain, young Winner"  WuFei got down on his knees next to the young man, and made a gesture, so that a couple of servants came to place an umbrella on their heads and a carpet, where they put various fruits and vegetables prepared from different ways "As I explain, please feel free to eat whatever you like. As you will notice, we are surrounded by different statues, representations of our gods that, combining their extraordinary capacities, have allowed our existence in this world... they have taught us how to feed ourselves, how to obtain these foods, how to live with each other, and with the rest of the creatures with whom we share in our passage through this life... Among all of them, there is Sandrock, the sand handler ... she was a matriarch of the desert with the amazing ability to filter the unhealthy waters of the oases. Over time, Sandrock discovered that her ability had grown, and she was soon able to remove impurities from contaminated food, and then cleanse the hearts of those convicted of crimes. She was a judge and an executioner ... even if she cleansed their hearts, she could not allow them to be free of sentence just for cleaning their horrors..." Quatre had settled enough to eat what they had offered him "she became a superior soul, capable of all that and more... able to return to us as many times as necessary, either in a creature different from us, or in one from another world... but it was never as necessary as now" 

"What do you mean?" 

"There is a leak that comes from one of the worlds to which we are attached... a leak that leaves our water like this, as we saw at the beginning ... our fields were already affected by this leak, we did everything we could to reverse the situation, but it was too ..." 

Quatre was looking around him, and what he saw was beautiful: a lot of green, palatial landscaping, what WuFei was saying and what he was seeing, were very different things. 

"I don't see anything you talking about..." 

"We are inside the temple ... you will not see anything I tell you ... when you walk through its doors, you will see what I'm talking about. For now, you had better rest ... please forgive me for what I made you do, I had to make sure it was the correct creature..." 

"What about the forest ... the forest where you brought me" 

"It's an illusion" 

"It can't be an illusion; you could feel everything in that place!" Quatre was clearly amazed. They had been hidden in the roots of a tree ... that was real. 

"The forest is an illusion created to protect us. Trees do exist, but not as you think. If you're feeling better, I'd like to show you something" 

WuFei stood up and helped Quatre to his feet. His legs were still weak, and in a reflex act he grabbed onto the young man's arm, who made his body somewhat rigid at the contact. He had clearly become weak after the test, so the guard offered the young man his free hand to assert himself, and released his arm to steady him against his side, around the waist. It felt tense, and Quatre seemed somewhat uncomfortable. And so, embraced at his side, they both walked on the grass, leaving the fountain and the statues behind, approaching some gigantic white granite doors, which had different people and creatures carved. Four people were in charge of opening the doors. 

A light breeze raised a cloud of dust that at times distracted from the horizon in front of them. 

The ground was bare, without grass or vegetables. There were small constructions scattered in the surroundings, and areas covered with black meshes like roofs; and beyond, in the distance, what looked like a great wall of dry logs. 

"Why is there such a high wall?" 

"That's not a wall, young Winner ... that's the forest. The nooks between the roots and the trunks are as real as you and I ... but the vegetation no longer exists ... our power allows us to create illusions that are capable of deceiving the senses, especially those who do not know about it" 

"And that power does not serve to purify the water 

"We can do it ... but of the physical impurities ... what contaminates us at this moment is something else, and only Sandrock can do it" 

WuFei's words echoed in his head… dust collected in his throat and his body began to weigh. He felt very heavy, very eager to vomit. 

"I don't feel well ..." the young man whispered, squeezing the hand with which the guard took his. 

"Young Winner ... let's go back to the temple, it's still not safe for you" 

They both returned inside, and after a few minutes, Quatre began to feel much better. His body was no longer heavy, but his stomach was still sick. 

"I still feel my stomach heavy..." 

"You must rest young Winner ... in this world, every step you take is very valuable ... but your body has to get used to it" 

WuFei led Quatre to the room where he had woken up. He breathed tranquility and that was exactly what he needed, to be able to order in his head everything that was happening at that moment, but his mind began to cloud. 

"Mr. Chang ... I need help ..." 

WuFei gripped him tightly and helped him to the bed, then saw that Quatre couldn't unbutton his clothes, so he pulled his hands away and began to help him to remove his shirt, revealing the pale skin beneath. He was somewhat uncomfortable doing that, but Quatre's embarrassed and gone face made him forget his discomfort. Those beautiful celestial crystalline eyes were far from there. 

He laid him down slowly, took off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants, then covered him with the sheets and under them, just by touch, removed the rest of his clothing. Inadvertently he brushed the tender skin of his crotch with the hard fabrics of his clothes, and with that Quatre escaped a slight moan ... but there was no other type of reaction. 

WuFei thought that young Winner would berate him for being so clumsy, or for being so disrespectful of him, but his eyes were staring at the ceiling. He was not reacting, at least not consciously. 

"Are you feeling good, young Winner?" WuFei was trying to catch his gaze, but he couldn't, he was gone. His first contact with that world had drained him too much. He tried to get his attention again making his face turn towards him "Young Winner, I can help you, I just need your consent… it is not easy for me, but I must do it…" 

Quatre felt the echo of a deep voice far away from him. He felt covered with a strange heaviness, as if the air were thick and suffocating. He could feel a certain warmth that brushed against his body and began to push aside that thickness that had trapped him. 

WuFei had pulled the sheets a bit, just enough to get where he wanted. He rubbed his hands together to make them warmer, and brought them closer to Quatre's head, massaging his temples, then his neck, down his collarbone and chest, circling, while observing a slight reaction in Quatre who closed his eyes with a soft, languid flickering, making his lips open slightly. 

The young man was nervous, very nervous, and didn't know why. This creature made him drop his guard in a strange way, so much so that it was hard for him to reason coldly. His hands trembled slightly and he felt the shame cover his face but he had to continue. He continued to massage his abdomen, and Quatre made a small gesture on his face, letting him know that perhaps he had gone too far. His cheeks had turned slightly red, and he finally managed to articulate a sentence. 

"What are you doing…?" His voice was soft and somewhat raspy, as if it was hard for him to get it out of his throat. 

"I'm reinforcing your aura, so that you get used to the place soon ... if you leave the temple it could be worse" 

"I don't understand ... nh!" Quatre barely covered his mouth with one of his hands, as WuFei continued down the sides of his legs. "Please stop!" 

WuFei stopped in his tracks thinking he had done him some harm… he had been so focused on what he was doing that he did not realize the reaction he had provoked in young Winner. He quickly covered him and turned away from the bed with his back to him. 

"I'm sorry ... you better rest ... we'll talk later" he stammered while he hurried out of the room. 

Quatre was embarrassed and lacked the strength to turn his body and hide his shame, and he stayed that way until he felt like he could sit up and get dressed again after a couple of hours. 

He grabbed some clothes at the foot of his bed, and headed toward where the exit might be. 

What had happened to him? His body had inadvertently reacted… he wasn't interested in men, so he didn't understand his reaction… although he had felt too good… a sensation multiplied by ten. He had no face to speak to WuFei about it, and he inadvertently found him standing by the door, standing guard. 

WuFei quickly knelt before him, and bowed his head. 

"I'm so sorry young Winner! It was not my intention to do what I did ... I beg your pardon!" 

The young man's first reaction was to take him by the shoulder and get him up. He was clearly embarrassed, but with no intention of hiding. 

"Please don't do that ... I need to know ... what you did ..." Quatre was saying, looking away a little. 

WuFei couldn't help but feel kind to the young man… it inadvertently caused him things that he simply wished to ignore, since he could not be involved in any way with him. Being indifferent to Quatre was going to be very difficult. 

"We'll have tea in the music room. There I'll explain you everything" 

They walked through endless corridors beautifully decorated with pillars and vines. The gardens were full of fruit trees where temple servants collected as much as possible and separated it into different baskets. Finally, they came to a huge room with a very high ceiling, with several instruments stacked in a corner and a small table at ground level. WuFei motioned for Quatre to take a seat while some tea and desserts were served. 

"I find it hard to understand everything that is happening ..." 

"Young Winner, I must first apologize... it was not the best of welcomes... I will try to explain everything I can ... as I was saying, we have already verified that you are one of the many incarnations of our goddess Sandrock. As such, you have her abilities ... to purify, even the environment around you ... outside the temple is still very dangerous. You surely absorbed the bad vibes from the environment. Our people are not evil, but they are sad and worried about everything that is happening. We are losing citizens to diseases because they are not eating well, and the same waters are killing us. I keep myself well because I have a great resistance granted by the gods... in addition to manipulating my aura and the aura of other living beings, to a certain extent..." WuFei was somewhat embarrassed and thoughtful for a few minutes "I... what I did It was ... reinforce your aura a little... just by leaning out of the temple you purified a large area without realizing, but the same thing left you to... sensitive..." Quatre recalled the sensations that the young man caused him, and blushed noticeably "you have a very high sensitivity, and by purifying your sensitivity increases" WuFei quickly bowed before him bowing to the ground "I'm very sorry I embarrassed you! My intention was to help you and nothing else! I'm so sorry!!" 

Quatre was obviously embarrassed... nothing had prepared him for something like that... he finally understood many things.