They moved forward again, side by side now, cutting deeper into the dunes as this level responded with relentless hostility.
More monsters rose from the sand. Mummies, warped beasts stitched from curse and heat, and shapes that barely held form. They lunged forward at them.
The three of them met them with the same ferocity but more controlled mind. Fire, earth, and ice tearing the desert in overlapping waves.
Aesa fought with discipline now. She kept her breathing steady. She restrained her output. She forced her Magic into clean and controlled strikes.
But every kill still punished her.
Each time a monster died and its essence poured into her body, pain followed close behind. It was not just physical pain. But the weight of memory pressed into her chest.
The streets came back again. It was not faint or distant, but clear.
