The moment they stepped into the desert, the heat returned like a held breath finally exhaled.
Heavy and still.
Stone cracked underfoot with every step. The faint breeze that stirred their hair before had vanished entirely, like the air here had been carved from silence.
They started out fast, feet hitting the baked stone with purpose.
No hesitation. No lingering.
The goal was clear: get across.
But it didn't take long for their pace to slow.
Not from exhaustion—
But from what stood directly ahead.
Another slab.
Exactly the same as the others — tall, gray, tilted at a slight angle, half-sunken into the cracked earth.
With silent agreement, they veered off to the right — wide, careful steps, circling it without getting too close. Their gazes never left it.
Just as they passed, a shiver ran down their backs.
Cold. Sharp.
The kind of chill that didn't belong here, in this world of scorching air and dry lungs.
It didn't make sense.
"…Did you feel—?" Yue Lin began.
"Yeah," Riven said quietly.
Neither turned to look back.
They just walked faster.
Faster than when they'd entered.
Like being near it too long would pull something out of them they wouldn't get back.
The heat grew worse with every step.
It wasn't just hot anymore.
It was hostile.
The kind of heat that peeled moisture from skin and breath from lungs.
Their breathing turned shallow. Skin flushed. Muscles sluggish.
Sweat barely formed before it was yanked away, drying mid-drop.
They drank in small sips from their flasks, lips barely wetting as they swallowed.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
Until Riven tilted his flask up again—
Nothing.
He blinked, shook it.
Still nothing.
"…Out," he muttered.
Yue Lin checked hers. A few drops clung to the bottom. Not enough to matter.
They looked at each other.
"We need go faster."
They kept walking.
Each step became harder than the last.
Not to mention going faster.
They even slowed down a little.
The heat pressed down like weight on their backs — an invisible hand trying to flatten them into the earth.
The desert stretched endlessly. No breaks. No shade. No mercy.
At some point, Riven wasn't sure if they were even moving forward anymore.
The landscape didn't change.
Just rippling stone and heat shimmer.
He wiped his brow.
Stopped.
No sweat.
Ahead, the desert seemed to bent at odd angles.
Then—
Yue Lin halted beside him, her eyes narrowing. "There's—"
She didn't finish.
Her gaze snapped forward.
Locked onto something.
And then she moved.
Too fast.
Her body launching sideways with practiced instinct.
Dagger drawn, she spun mid-air, blade arcing clean and sharp—
Straight through empty air.
It hit the ground with a loud crack. Stone and sand exploded outward.
The immediate area trembled faintly.
What.
It looked like she'd tried to hit some kind of invisible enemy.
But there was nothing there.
That's when it dawned on Riven.
They were in a desert.
A mirage.
But before he could think further, a sharp pain shot through his waist.
Yue Lin had stepped forward even more and the chain snapped taut between them as Riven was yanked forward a step, his balance nearly breaking.
"Yue—!"
She froze.
Blinking.
Dazed.
The illusion unraveled in her eyes.
"…Shit," she muttered, breath catching. No sign of elegance. "That wasn't—"
Krrrrr.
The sound slithered through the ground.
A soft vibration.
A groan from beneath.
Riven's body tensed.
Then—
KRRRRRR.
Louder. Closer.
The earth began to shift beneath them.
Stone cracked. Dust spilled from unseen seams.
From the spot where her blade had struck — a bulge was rising.
Twisting. Twitching.
Another nearby. Then another.
Riven turned sharply toward her. "Run."
He was already moving.
Yue Lin followed, no hesitation now.
And behind them—
The desert exploded.
Pale, segmented bodies burst from the sand, circular jaws unhinging with wet hisses.
Worms. Again.
Dozens of them.
But this time—
They were faster. Angrier.
The ground rippled with their movements — ridges of sand and stone heaving like waves.
Drawn by the sound of the impact.
The chain between them loosened as they got closer again, before sprinting over the cracked terrain. Their boots slid on the dust-slick stone. Their lungs burned.
A worm launched from the side — crashing down just behind Riven. The wind from its strike nearly knocked him off balance.
Another burst up ahead, tiny jaws gnashing as Yue Lin twisted aside — she rolled, sprang back up, kept running.
They didn't have time to fight.
Didn't have energy to spare.
It was flight — or death.
They could neither kill the seemingly endless mass of worms or engage them in a fight and risk getting stalled out in this desert.
As they ran, images kept dancing
at the edges of their vision — flickers of shade, pools of water, shapes that looked almost human.
But they couldn't trust any of it.
"Don't trust what you see!" Riven shouted, his voice rasping.
"I wasn't trying to," Yue Lin snapped, panting. "It just— looked real."
Another shriek rose behind them — the worms closing in, the slap and hiss of their movement deafening now.
Riven's legs burned. His vision swam.
Each step now was taken on instinct, not thought — just a string of desperate reactions keeping them upright and moving. The worms were still behind them, swarming like a tide, their slick, pale bodies pulsing against the broken earth. Alone they wouldn't be scary.
But there were too many of these small sand worms.
Each one fast.
Each one vicious.
They hissed and scraped and clicked — a constant, wet chorus of pursuit that kept getting louder.
Yue Lin stumbled again, barely catching herself. She didn't fall. But it was close.
Riven grabbed her arm, half-pulling, half-supporting as they pushed forward.
Then —
He saw something bigger, more solid, in the distance.
A big stone, sticking out like a sore thumb.
They made for it.
Riven didn't think — he just ran, dragging Yue Lin with him as the swarm of worms closed the distance behind them.
Please don't be a mirage.
He let go of Yue Lin's arm as they neared and lunged forward, slapping his palm against the surface of the stone.
Solid.
Rough.
Warm beneath his fingers.
Thank you.
"It's real," he gasped, the words half a laugh, half disbelief.
He vaulted up.
Yue Lin followed close behind as Riven stretched out his arm to help her up.
The stone was big, around two meters high and five meters wide.
Once on top, breathing hard, they turned back, praying that the worms wouldn't follow them.
"If they climb up…" Riven said quietly, voice raw, "don't resist."
Yue Lin looked at him.
"I'll carry you."
She opened her mouth to protest.
Stopped.
"…Alright," she said softly.
She recalled their escape from the Greater Feral Gale Scorpion.
If Riven could use that speed again, he really might be able to get them out.
And while she wasn't sure.
Riven knew he could.
It had been more than a week.
There wouldn't be any issue using Divine Speed again.
The only question would be... could he make it far enough for the worms to not catch up?
Because if he couldn't... Yue Lin would have to carry him along instead.
And he was sure she wouldn't be able to hold out long like that.
But it never came to that.
The worms arrived at the stone and stopped.
None of them climbed up.
Instead they just circled it.
Just waiting.
Riven wiped the back of his hand across his face. It came away dry. His lips were cracked now — Yue Lin's too.
"We can't stay up here forever," Yue Lin murmured, gaze still locked on the writhing sea of pale bodies below.
"I know." Riven's voice was quiet. Flat. "I could get us out…"
She glanced at him.
"…But you don't want to risk it."
He nodded.
They didn't know how far it still was to the other side. The only indicator was the smoke — faint, distant, maybe closer now, maybe not.
And if he couldn't make it far enough…
If the worms kept chasing…
They'd be in a worse position than before.
Their throats already ached. Muscles trembled. And the heat showed no mercy.
A long silence followed. Both of them thinking. Neither finding a way out.
Riven shifted, jaw tight, just about to speak — to say he'd do it anyway and gamble the distance.
But before the words could leave his mouth, Yue Lin straightened slightly.
Her eyes lit up.
"I have an idea."