He entered the city and walked for a full hour amidst the rubble until he found himself on a public street. Before him were many tall buildings that had not been touched by damage. They had blue windows that reflected the world around them and a distinctive design that made you appreciate the effort put into their construction.

He also saw some cars parked on the road, which seemed completely empty of people. The streets around him were also empty, and the shops were open, but there was no one in them, anywhere. There was none of the usual sound of cars and people, the noise that always fills cities.

Yassin said, scanning the place with his eyes, "What is happening here? Where has everyone disappeared?"

He did not recognize the buildings, the streets, the signs, and the billboards written in Arabic, nor the trees that filled the streets, adding a magical touch of beauty. He began to call out for the strange voice.

"You stranger, where has everyone gone?"

But he received no answer. He remembered that he had been abandoned, or that this man could only talk to him in that strange tower. He remembered the massive white tower from which he had emerged and said, puzzled, "If I was held in this high tower all this time, how were the competitions held in a place like this? And why did no one else come out of it but me?"

Yassin began to walk through the empty streets, contemplating the city's breathtaking beauty. The sun's disk began to emerge from behind the clouds, revealing a strange blue dome that covered the sky. Yassin marveled at it and felt as if he were in a strange cage.

He told himself that he was still in the race, but the game had changed. This was the most convincing explanation for him. He felt he was in a ghost town. He shouted loudly, grumbling, "Is there anyone here?"

But he received no reply.

He found a shopping mall and remembered his stomach, which was rumbling with hunger. He entered the mall to look for food and to continue his search for anyone inside who might be able to tell him something. He walked through it, looking at the empty shops—clothing stores, electronics stores, and household supplies.

He saw from a distance a canned food store and, without thinking, he rushed into it, eager to silence his hunger. He dashed between the food shelves. The place was empty and filled with dust, as if it had been abandoned for months, which unsettled him more.

He began to check the cans one by one and found some of them spoiled from being there for a long time. He left the open and dust-covered items and went to the refrigerators. He took some carefully preserved food and some soft drinks. He went to a nearby microwave in the area where the cashier would sit, began to heat the frozen food, and indulged in eating it until he felt full.

Then he left the store and went to a home goods store to get some important supplies he might need for his journey, the duration of which he did not know. He took a backpack after dusting it off, then returned to the grocery store. He took some cold drinks and cold foods from the refrigerator and put them in the backpack.

He also took some clothes that he thought looked great, as he was tired of the white patient clothes he was wearing. He changed his clothes to a white coat and black trousers, then put the backpack on his back and left the store. He felt a strange sense of comfort wash over him, but he didn't understand it and couldn't explain it, other than that it seemed like a good thing.

He continued his walk through the mall, heading toward the exit, admiring the carefully laid glass tiles. And suddenly, at the end of the corridor, Yassin found someone standing directly in front of him, staring at him in silence.

***

Noor felt a massive body approaching him. The place around him shook from its immensity and dread, accompanied by the sound of some windows shattering and rocks falling from the surrounding buildings. Noor stole a glance from behind the wrecked car through its shattered glass.

He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing for a moment. Then the features of this body became clear, and fear knocked fiercely on the door of his heart. His heart rate increased so much that he felt his heart had dropped to his feet, as they say.

Noor saw a colossal mechanical spider. It rested its legs on the surrounding buildings and crushed them with its metallic joints, which creaked with every step it took forward, causing some debris to fall with it. Its body was silver, and from the top of its head emerged a single, large eye connected to a rubbery tube. It expanded, rose, and lowered as the spider willed.

The eye illuminated the path around it with a glowing light that emanated from within, while it moved left and right, scanning the area for prey. The huge spider continued to walk down the road, placing its eight feet on the buildings while its body dangled in the middle. It was making strange electronic sounds.

Noor felt as if he were paralyzed in place by tension. He no longer understood anything that was happening around him. Weren't the hounds, the cloaked figure, and all the strange things that had happened since he woke up in that strange tower enough?

Everything seemed like just a bad dream from which he would soon awaken. He knew in his heart that he was not dreaming, but the mind sometimes denies painful truths so as not to be disturbed, placing them in the realm of imagination.

The spider approached him. He ducked down under the car so it wouldn't see him. Then he saw something next to him. He glanced at it and was jolted by the sight of a human skeleton beside him. He gasped loudly but quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

He thought to himself, terror overwhelming him, "What is happening here? I don't understand anything! What happened to the people?"

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