Beyond the corridor of leaning pillars, the ruins dissolved into an endless desert. Sand poured through broken arches like time escaping a forgotten hourglass. Matteo stepped carefully — and the ground moved. What he first thought was a dune began to rise. Segments surfaced one by one, massive and rhythmic. Yellow eyes opened along a long, armored body stretching farther than the eye could follow. Day 12 -The Sand Creeping Worm. Not a mindless burrower — but an ancient traveler. Its many eyes blinked in quiet awareness. Its clawed limbs pressed into the sand, anchoring its enormous weight. When Matteo nearly lost balance on the shifting slope, the creature’s broad head surfaced beside him, steady and unthreatening. It did not attack. It aligned itself with the horizon. The sand around them hardened along its body, forming a stable ridge — a living bridge across the unstable desert. Each segment rose just enough to support a single step. The Cat had tested his choice. Now the Worm tested his endurance. Matteo understood: some paths are not found — they are carried. With quiet resolve, he walked along the creature’s back as it moved slowly forward, reshaping the desert beneath him. Far ahead, beyond heat and distance, something shimmered. Not yet the Philosopher’s Stone. But closer. And for the first time, the journey felt supported — not by force, not by fate — but by balance.