Хар Зүүдний Цөл

A tenebrous black steed was flying across the white sands of the Nightmare Desert, pursued by an unseen horror. Sunny was leaning from the saddle, shielding his eyes against the scorching wind as he brandished the Sin of Solace. A hand that shot from beneath the ground was cleanly severed and dissolved into a swirl of ash.

'Curses… that thing is persistent.'

Behind him, a vast swath of the desert was changing. It was almost imperceptible unless one knew what to look for, the minute tremors running through the sand, the slight tilt of the dunes, the subtle shifting of the shadows…

Something enormous was moving beneath the sand, following him.

He had already used four out of his five shadows to augment Nightmare, leaving only one to strengthen the enchantment of the Memory of Fire through the [Underworld Armament]. That allowed him some measure of relief from the unbearable heat of the desert, at least.

But even with the help of the four shadows, his mount was not fast enough to outrun the creature.

Much worse, it was not the only abomination in this part of the desert.

In fact, Sunny was surrounded by Nightmare Creatures.

There were too many of them to count, all moving in the same direction… they were responding to the call, pulled to the blooming Seed of Nightmare by its sweet promise.

Luckily, most abominations seemed to be in a strange state. It was as though they were hypnotized, forgetting about everything except for the goal of reaching the Seed and entering the waking world through it. As long as Sunny did not get in their way, most paid him no attention.

It was deeply disturbing, really.

Sunny had only ever seen Nightmare Creatures in the throes of murderous frenzy. Having them walk past him with detached indifference was somehow more frightening than facing them in a bloody battle.

'Crap, crap, crap…'

The desert was wide and flawlessly white, and the towering figures of abominations were moving across it with measured steps, separated from each other by a considerable distance. Their shadows were like long lines of stark blackness.

The length of the shadows meant that the sun was already low. The night was not far away…

Cursing, Sunny guided Nightmare to the left, aiming at the nearest of the walking figures. From the looks of it, it was a Corrupted Monster… the thing was massive and ghastly, with four mighty paws and a tail like that of a scorpion. Its insect-like eyes were staring at something hidden far beyond the horizon.

The creature was dangerous.

…But Sunny was more dangerous.

As Nightmare flashed past the monster at stunning speed, the Sin of Solace swung, cleanly severing the abomination's head. They shot past the beheaded creature and continued forward without ever slowing down.

A few moments later, countless hands rose from beneath. Rushing away, Sunny turned his head and watched as the hands grabbed the bleeding carcass and pulled it into the sand. Soon, only a few drops of boiling blood remained on the surface.

It was as though the massive monster had never existed.

The unknown horror stopped following him after that, at least, its hunger seemingly satiated by the morbid offering.

'Damnation…'

After a while, he could finally allow himself to slow down.

Stopping Nightmare at the crest of a tall dune, Sunny breathed heavily, then wrapped two more shadows around himself, enhancing the effect of the Memory of Fire. That way, he was almost comfortable.

Summoning the Endless Spring, he drank deeply, allowing the cool water to breathe some life back into his body. Then, he stared at the beautiful glass bottle in his hand.

Suddenly, this dormant Memory of the fourth Tier was the most precious thing in his possession. Who would have thought that it would be so important one day?

Water was important. But usually, there were many ways to procure it, during his Wilderness Survival courses, Sunny had learned many ways of finding or creating drinkable water in a variety of environments.

But none of them would work in this terrible desert.

With a sigh, he dismissed the Endless Spring and looked around.

From the height of the dune, Sunny could see far and wide. He could send his shadows to explore, too, if need be. However, that would be risky… he wasn't sure that he was ready to part with even a single shadow in this dangerous and unpredictable land.

There was no need to, anyway.

There were white dunes around him as far as the eye could see. Countless Nightmare Creatures could be seen, as well, moving in the same direction. There were also black ruins peppering the desert, half-buried in sand.

Those ruins did not really seem like the remains of buildings. Their shape was too strange, and their dimensions were all wrong. The structures, whatever they had once been, all differed in size… a smaller ruin would not be much of a shelter, but some of the larger ones he saw could save him come the night.

…Of course, there was also the black pyramid.

Sunny held his breath as he looked at its ominous silhouette.

The Tomb of Ariel was always in view, far in the distance. However, no matter how long one moved in the direction of the perfectly symmetrical black edifice, it never grew closer, remaining out of touch like a mirage.

'That thing might not even be real.'

…But Sunny felt that it was. He also knew that there had to be a way to get closer to it, Nephis had never seen the black pyramid before, after all, which meant that it could only be seen from certain parts of the desert.

Which also meant that there had to be a path to it.

'Who cares?'

Sunny certainly didn't. He had no ambitions of conquering the Tomb of Ariel. In fact, he wanted to avoid it at all costs.

All he wanted to do was find his friends and escape the cursed desert, as soon as possible.

Grimacing, Sunny chose one of the larger ruins that rose from the sand many kilometers away, and sent Nightmare into a gallop.