The hot winds of the desert blew, creating mini storms in areas with large dunes. Small desert animals played in the sand. Cactuses swayed in the wind, their roots planted firmly and deeply into the ground to prevent the wind from uprooting them.
A rattlesnake chased after a small, grey lizard with hunger in its eyes. Its fangs were exposed as it lunged at the lizard. In no ti, the lizard was in its grasp, pierced by its venomous fangs. Just as it gulped up the lizard, a strong pair of claws grabbed it from above. The snake squird and bit, but it was useless as the grip of the eagle tightened around its neck, snapping it clean, and killing it.
That was the rule of nature, and the nature of the Solar Dunes of Ra-Senkeht. It was survival of the fittest, and that was where Team Bahamut had been thrown.
"WHAT THE HELL?! ARE WE IN THE SUN?!" Bahamut exclaid as the scorching heat of the place hit him, and he wasn’t the only one experiencing it. All of them were already sweating, except for Lily.
"Why are you still fine, Lily?" Bahamut walked towards Lily.
"Uh... It’s warm," Lily answered simply, causing Bahamut to stare at her as if she were speaking gibberish.
"Don’t tell your ho is much hotter than here?" Exildra said with a red face.
"We have two suns, so..."
"You are insane!" Ren exclaid as he used his elent to redirect the heatwaves directed at him.
"Guys, let’s look for the town. I am sure there’s a way the people here are surviving this harsh heat, or we would die from dehydration and sunburn," Sel stated as he opened the scroll. The scroll shimred faintly in Sel’s hand, the ink rearranging itself into a crude map of the surrounding terrain. A single marking pulsed.
[Senkeht. Two kiloters.]
It didn’t sound far, but in the Solar Dunes of Ra-Senkeht, it might as well have been a death march.
"Two kiloters," Sel said calmly. Ren stared at him.
You say that like we’re walking through a park." A gust of scorching wind slamd into them like a wall. Sand blasted across their bodies.
"THIS IS NOT A PARK!" Ren screeched.
Bahamut exhaled slowly, already feeling his skin protesting under the relentless heat. The air itself felt alive, burning, pressing, and suffocating.
"Let’s move fast," he said. "No breaks unless necessary."
"Or..." Ren raised a finger dramatically, "We could dig a hole and wait until night."
"We’ll be cooked alive," Sel replied flatly.
"Fair."
They moved. The first step into the dunes felt wrong. The sand shifted unnaturally beneath their feet, sinking just enough to slow them, just enough to drain energy with every step. The sun above wasn’t just hot. It was oppressive, as if it were watching them.
"Bahamut."
"Yeah."
Ren hopped down from his head, landing lightly beside him.
"Maybe we can use our elents to fight the heat."
A small grin ford on Bahamut’s lips.
"Thought you’d never ask."
Their auras shifted subtly. Darkness leaked from Bahamut’s body. It spread low, like a shadow clinging to the ground, swallowing the light around their feet, dulling the glare of the sand.
At the sa ti, Ren’s chaos stirred. It didn’t explode outward, but bent. The air around them warped faintly, distorting the incoming heatwaves, redirecting them, twisting their path just enough to lessen their impact. The result was a moving pocket, a fragile zone of resistance against the desert.
"Oh?" Exildra’s eye flickered.
"That’s... clever."
"Don’t praise him," Ren muttered. "It’ll go to his head."
"Too late," Bahamut smirked. They advanced faster now.
The dunes rose and fell like waves frozen in ti. Each climb burned their muscles, and each descent threatened to drag them down. Sweat poured from their brows, and their breathing grew heavier. Even with the protection, the desert was winning.
A sudden ripple moved through the sand ahead. Sel’s eyes narrowed.
"Stop."
They halted instantly. The ripple grew faster.
"Underground," Gabi muttered. "Big."
BOOM!
The sand exploded upward. A massive creature burst out. It was a scaled, sand-colored beast with jagged mandibles and a body like a fusion between a scorpion and a centipede. Its many legs slamd into the ground, sending vibrations through the dunes. Its eyes locked onto them.
"Of course," Ren sighed. "Why wouldn’t there be monsters?"
It lunged. It was too fast for its size.
"Move!"
Bahamut stepped forward instead as wind gathered at his feet. With a sharp burst, he vanished.
CLANG!
His blade t the creature’s mandibles mid-lunge, sparks flying as the impact echoed. The force pushed him back slightly, but he held.
Sel moved next. A single step and space distorted. He appeared above the creature, his hand slamming downward.
CRACK!
The ground warped as a crushing force drove the creature’s upper body into the sand. Gabi didn’t hesitate. Dark green energy coated his arm as he drove it forward. The mont it pierced the creature’s side, the poison spread rapidly and violently.
The beast shrieked as its body convulsed.
"Finish it," Bahamut said.
Lily blurred in a streak of heat. Her claw tore clean through its neck.
Silence returned. The massive body twitched once and stilled."...Well," Ren dusted imaginary sand off himself, "that was unnecessary."
"You would’ve complained if we ran," Sel replied.
"I am complaining now."
They didn’t linger. The sll of blood in a place like this was an invitation, so they moved again, faster and more alert this ti. The environnt grew harsher, the wind stronger.
At one point, a full sandstorm rolled toward them: a towering wall of swirling sand and heat.
"We go through," Bahamut said.
"Of course we do," Ren groaned.
Darkness deepened, wrapping tighter around them, thicker, and denser. Chaos responded, and the storm bent, parting just enough for them to push through.
The world was reduced to pressure and resistance. Until they broke out on the other side. And there, in the distance, they saw it.
Senkeht.
A desert town carved into the dunes themselves with structures half-buried in sand. Golden stone walls reflecting the sunlight. Large cloth canopies stretched between buildings, creating shade. And at the center, a towering obelisk glowing faintly with inscriptions that shimred under the sun.
"Finally..." Exildra exhaled. Even Sel let out a small breath.
Ren dropped onto the sand dramatically.
"I hate deserts."
Bahamut stared ahead, eyes sharp beneath the blindfold.
"Stay alert."
Because even from here, he could feel it. This place wasn’t safe. Not even close.
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