The first scream wasn't human.
It rose from behind them — a shrill, ragged sound like steel scraping bone — and the group broke into a sprint. Sand gave way under their boots, sliding in cascading waves as they tore down a dune.
"Keep moving!" Luke shouted, breath already burning his throat.
Silo stumbled, half-falling before catching himself. Reina grabbed his arm, pulling him along as the shadows behind them crested the ridge. They weren't shapes anymore — they were figures, pale and thin, moving wrong. Too smooth. Too fast.
The moon caught one just long enough for Luke to see the hollow where a face should've been.
"Down there!" Elias pointed ahead — a cluster of ruins, black and jagged, half-swallowed by sand.
They didn't argue.
The howls behind them multiplied, echoing through the dunes. Luke's lungs felt like they were tearing apart by the time they reached the ruins. Old metal towers leaned sideways like dying trees, and a crumbled structure yawned before them — an entryway buried beneath debris.
Silo dove first, disappearing into the shadow. The others followed, scraping through the tight gap until they landed hard on a stone floor below.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
"Everyone here?" Luke whispered, chest heaving.
A chorus of panting replies. Reina's voice was sharp and low: "Don't move. Don't even breathe too loud."
Above them, sand shifted. The faint scrape of something dragging across the ruins sent a chill through the air.
The things were searching.
Luke pressed his back against the wall, hand gripping a shard of metal like a knife. His heartbeat thudded in his ears so loud he swore it would give them away.
Outside, the footsteps came closer — not quite human. They stopped right above the opening. For a long, dreadful moment, there was silence. Then, a slow scraping sound. Like claws tracing the edge of the entrance.
Reina's hand brushed Luke's arm, signaling him to stay still.
The scraping stopped.
A soft, distorted breath echoed through the gap — too close. Luke held his breath until his lungs screamed.
Then, just as suddenly, the presence moved away. The crunch of footsteps faded, replaced by the faint rustle of wind over sand.
Minutes passed.
Only when the desert fell completely silent again did Silo whisper, "They're gone?"
"Not yet," Reina murmured. "Wait another five."
The five felt like fifty.
Only when Luke was sure the night had reclaimed its stillness did he slowly rise. "We move at first light," he said. "No sooner."
No one argued.
---
When morning came, it was merciless.
The light stabbed down across the dunes, pale and harsh. Their tracks from the night before had almost vanished, swallowed by wind.
The four emerged from the ruins cautiously, blinking against the brightness.
Silo stretched, groaning. "Still alive."
Elias said nothing. He was quiet again — calmer, but distant. His eyes flicked often toward the horizon, toward the unseen city behind them.
They started walking again. The walls were barely visible now, swallowed by the haze. Ahead was only sand and ruin — the remains of towers half-buried, shattered vehicles, and twisted fragments of metal that gleamed faintly under the sun.
Luke walked beside Reina. "You've seen them before, haven't you?"
She didn't answer at first. Then, "Not those. But stories like them — yes. The surface isn't empty like we're told. The Nova's walls keep more than the wind out."
Luke frowned. "Then why send people here? Why throw us out if it's just death waiting?"
Reina's lips tightened. "Because that's the point."
They walked in silence for a while after that.
Finally, when the sun hung higher, Luke spoke again. "Reina… back when we worked the mines. What were we really digging for?"
Reina stopped walking. Her shadow stretched long behind her.
"You ever wonder why the Overseers never told you what the vines powered?" she asked.
Luke glanced at Elias, who shrugged.
Reina sighed. "Because they weren't for power. Not really. The vines were remnants—residue. We were searching for something else buried below."
Luke blinked. "Something else?"
"A relic," she said quietly. "The Tessarect."
Silo tilted his head. "That's… a fancy name for a cube."
Reina gave him a look. "Not just any cube. It was said to be a fragment of the first Nova's heart. A source of pure energy, one that once sustained the entire city. Legends say each Nova after him drew strength from it — until the War of the Twelve."
Elias frowned. "The war that killed the other Novas."
Reina nodded. "The last one—our current Nova—was the only survivor. The Tessarect vanished in that battle. They say it was lost somewhere beneath the old city, buried deep before the new foundations were built."
Luke's brows furrowed. "So that's why we were mining like slaves."
Reina's voice was bitter. "Yes. You thought you were digging for light. But you were digging for ghosts."
Silo whistled softly. "And they never found it?"
"No," she said. "But they'll never stop looking. The vines are dead now, drained of everything they once held. But the Tessarect—if it exists—could bring everything back. A new dawn for the city. Maybe even restore what the Novas lost."
Luke stared out toward the wasteland. "So… it could still be out here?"
Reina hesitated. "Maybe. No one knows."
Luke's expression changed then — something between wonder and determination. "Then maybe that's why we're here."
Elias looked up sharply. "What?"
"What if it isn't buried under the city at all? What if it's outside the walls? We've only ever looked in one place. Maybe we were never meant to find it underground."
Reina crossed her arms. "That's a dangerous thought."
Luke smiled faintly. "Dangerous thoughts got us this far."
Elias let out a shaky breath, some of the fire returning to his eyes. "If we find it…" He paused, glancing between them. "If we find it, we could take it back. Show the Nova. Prove we're not just vermin."
Silo grinned. "Yeah! Maybe he'll throw us a parade. Or, you know, not kill us this time."
Reina shook her head but couldn't hide the faint trace of hope flickering in her gaze. "You're talking about searching the surface for a myth."
Luke looked at the horizon again. "A myth built the walls we lived under. Maybe finding one will break them."
He placed a hand on Elias's shoulder. "You wanted purpose? This could be it. We're not running anymore."
Elias stared at him for a long moment. The tension in his jaw loosened. "If we find it," he murmured, "we go home."
Luke smiled. "We'll do more than go home. We'll fix it."
Reina exhaled, rubbing her temple. "You're both insane."
"Probably," Luke said, already scanning the dunes ahead. "But if insanity keeps us alive, I'll take it."
Silo kicked at the sand, looking around. "So where do we start? It's not like there's a giant sign that says 'Magic Cube This Way.'"
Luke pointed toward a cluster of ruins in the distance — low, half-buried structures barely visible in the heat shimmer. "There. Old bunkers, maybe. If something survived the fall, it'll be there."
Reina followed his gaze and sighed. "You're serious."
"Always," Luke said with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Elias adjusted his pack. "Then let's go treasure hunting."
They started walking again, four figures moving across the endless dunes — the city walls shrinking to a mirage behind them.