The scorching sun beat relentlessly against my skin as Zhen and I back faced each other, our stances steady, senses sharpened—ready for the attack.
The ground trembled beneath our feet.
Then, without warning, the sand erupted.
A massive sandworm burst forth from the dunes, its monstrous body twisting beneath the blazing sky.
I moved first.
Summoning my blade, I dashed forward without hesitation. With a sharp thrust, I pierced its thick hide—then dragged my weapon along its body, tearing through flesh as sand and blood sprayed into the air.
Zhen followed.
He leapt high into the air, robes snapping in the wind, his gaze locked onto the creature's head. In one swift motion, he struck downward with deadly precision.
A piercing screech split the air.
Blood poured from the beast as its massive form convulsed—then collapsed heavily onto the desert floor, lifeless.
Silence followed.
With a sharp flick, I swung my blade to the side, scattering the blood that clung to its edge.
"That's the fifth sandworm that's attacked us," Zhen said, glancing at the fallen beast.
I exhaled, scanning the endless dunes ahead.
"We need to keep moving."
Zhen gave a firm nod.
And without another word, we pressed forward into the desert.
Each step we took sank into the loose sand,
My hand rose, halting Zhen.
"Wait."
The wind whispered across the dunes, yet the silence that followed felt suffocating—unnatural.
My eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong.
In the next instant, Figures emerged.
Ten disciples rose from the sand, their bodies shedding grains as they revealed themselves. They buried themselves in sand, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
…and ambush.
I didn't hesitate.
Grabbing Zhen's arm, I pulled him sharply to the left—just as a woman darted forward, her fingers reaching for the sigil wrapped around his forearm.
Too close.
I stepped in front of him, crossing both arms as another attacker charged straight at me. The impact slammed into my guard, force rattling through my bones.
Before I could recover, a second came from the side—his fist cutting through the air with brutal speed.
I shifted.
The punch missed by a breath.
"You have an excellent defensive martial technique for a young lady," he said, his gaze slowly sweeping over me from head to toe. A smug smirk spread across his face.
Zhen, standing nearby,—but the faint twitch at the corner of his eye said enough.
Sand scattered beneath my feet as I stepped back, my body twisting with fluid precision. Then, with a sharp turn—
I spun.
My leg whipped through the air and crashed into one of the attackers, the force sending him staggering back across the sand.
The desert, once silent, erupted into chaos.
The wind howled as grains of sand spiraled into the air, blurring vision and swallowing sound. Around us, the disciples spread out with practiced precision—forming a loose encirclement, cutting off every path of escape.
Top of Form
"Zhen—target their sigils," I whispered.
He gave a slight nod beside me, eyes already sharpening with intent.
"I'm glad to do so," he replied, summoning his blade once more.
Across from us, the disciples did the same.
Weapons answered weapons.
Two rushed from the front, blades flashing like silver arcs beneath the sun. At the same time, three more emerged from the flanks, their footsteps light despite the shifting sand.
I stepped forward instead of back.
Steel met steel.
A sharp clang rang out as I intercepted the first strike, my blade sliding along his and redirecting the force with precision. Before he could recover, I stepped in and drove my elbow into his chest, the impact sending him reeling backward.
In that brief opening, my hand shot forward—grabbing the sigil bound at his waist.
I tore it free.
For a heartbeat, his body froze.
Then—it scattered.
His form dissolved into drifting particles, carried away by the desert wind
To my right, Zhen moved like flowing wind.
He leapt, his figure rising above. One of the attackers lunged upward to meet him—but Zhen twisted midair, his sleeve snapping as he struck downward.
The man crashed into the sand.
No pause.
A chain wrapped toward me from behind—one of them had switched to a binding technique. I ducked low, feeling the cold metal pass just above my head, then surged forward.
My blade flashed.
A clean cut severed the chain.
But they didn't stop.
Four came at once.
One high. One low. Two from the sides.
I stepped into the assault.
My body turned, weaving between strikes with razor-thin margins. A blade grazed my sleeve. A fist brushed past my cheek. Then—
I struck.
A kick drove into one attacker's knee, forcing him down. I followed with the hilt of my blade to another's jaw—bone cracked.
Before he could even hit the ground, my hand shot out—gripping the sigil wrapped around his head like a band. With a swift pull, I tore it free.
His body stiffened—
Then scattered into drifting particles, swallowed by the desert wind.
"Arsi—behind!"
Zhen's voice cut through the chaos.
I pivoted instantly.
A woman was already upon me, her fingers clawing toward my arm—the sigil.
I caught her mid-lunge wrist.
For a split second, our eyes met.
Then I twisted.
A sharp snap echoed as I flung her aside, I Tore her sigil and her body vanished across the sand.
The remaining disciples regrouped, circling tighter now. Their breathing had grown heavier—but their killing intent only sharpened.
Zhen landed lightly beside me, sand swirling at his feet.
""Seems they've planned to ambush every participant in the tournament." he said calmly. "What a dirty tactic"
"They're getting desperate, perhaps."
The wind rose again, carrying heat and tension in equal measures.
Across from us, the disciples shifted into formation—no longer reckless but coordinated. A joint attack.
Zhen smiled faintly.
"Shall we end this?"
I stepped forward, blade gleaming under the ruthless sun.
"Let's—"
Before I could finish, the desert beneath us trembled violently.
The ground split with a deep, rolling vibration.
Then—A massive sandworm erupted from the dune
Multiple forms surged upward at once, twisting through the sand like living mountains.
"What the—" He muttered, stepping back instinctively.
Zhen glanced at them.
Even the ambushers—who moments ago had been circling us with killing intent—froze in place.
Their movements halted.
Their eyes shifted toward the rising dunes.
Horror slowly crept into their expressions.
"…Did we piss those beasts off?"
I narrowed my eyes as the sandworms turned sharply toward us, their massive bodies rippling as they locked onto our position...
"No," I said calmly. "They react to vibration. Once they sense movement in the sand, they're drawn to it."
"Ah…" he paused. "That makes sense."
He glanced at me
"How do you know that?" I didn't even look at him.
"Learn how to read your opponent."
He clicked his tongue.
"Yeah right… I nearly forgot. You're clever enough, Arsi—but laziness always takes over you."
"What?" I shot him with a disbelieving look.
But my attention snapped away the moment a scream tore through the desert.
Without hesitation, I stepped forward, blade rising as the first sandworm plunged toward one of the ambushers.
Steel met flesh-like scale with a deafening impact.
The force of the collision sent sand erupting into the air, the impact nearly shaking my arms numb. I gritted my teeth and pushed back, redirecting the massive creature's momentum just enough to save the frozen disciple.
"Move!" I barked.
The ambusher snapped out of his shock and scrambled backward just as the sandworm crashed down where he had been standing.
Zhen appeared beside me a heartbeat later, calm as ever amid the chaos.
"We have a head-to-head talk," I said dryly, irritation slipping into my tone.
I was kinda pissed at his remark—well, yes, I can be lazy…
…but not all the time. Maybe. Still, I get things done.
"Why?" Zhen replied immediately.
"Talk less. Kill more."
Another tremor rolled through the dunes—this time closer.
The real fight had only just begun.
--
Due to the movement and vibration of the sand more sandworms burst from beneath the surface, their colossal bodies twisting upward like pillars of living earth. The battlefield that was once chaos had now become outright catastrophe.
The ambushers who survived the first wave were no longer fighting—they were running.
"Fall back! FALL BACK!" one of them screamed.
But there was nowhere to retreat.
A sandworm crashed down in front of them, severing their escape route in a single violent collapse. The impact sent a shockwave through the desert, throwing bodies and sand alike into the air.
"This is getting worse."
"No kidding," he muttered. "But I wish we could find the Lost Temple of the Great Lord Royuk, the one said to reside within the deserted dunes —and make shelter in it."
I glanced at him.
"What…?" Zhen said, shrugging as if it were nothing more than a passing thought.
"That's according to an ancient legend. Lord Royuk once ruled over the Deserted Temple. He—"
The ground suddenly shifted beneath us once more.
The legend of the Iron Mountain Sect, the forgotten Deserted Land—a realm where even time itself seemed to erode beneath endless shifting sands.
Clan Lord Royul rose as the absolute ruler of the sect's earliest form, when it was still a war-bound clan forged in exile. Unlike others who sought harmony with nature, Royul chose dominion over it. To him, the desert was not emptiness—it was territory to be conquered.
Under his rule, the Deserted Land transformed. Hidden oases appeared, and massive stone structures rose from beneath the dunes, sustained by formations that bent spiritual energy itself. Even the fiercest sand beasts avoided the central domain where he ruled.
At the heart of it all stood the Deserted Temple—his throne, and perhaps his prison.
But the legend does not end in conquest.
It ends in silence.
Clan Lord Royul vanished without trace. No battle, no betrayal, no record of death—only disappearance, as though the desert itself reclaimed him.
The Iron Mountain Sect that followed fractured over time, preserving only fragments of his teachings.
Yet one warning remains within its deepest records:
The Deserted Land does not belong to those who enter it.
We were surrounded.
Three… no—five sandworms now circled the battlefield, their massive forms moving beneath the dunes like hunting serpents.
One of them lunged.
I barely managed to leap aside as its jaws snapped shut where I had stood, sand exploding upward like a violent tide.
Zhen moved beside me, cutting through a falling mass of debris. "We can't keep this up forever."
"I noticed," I snapped back.
Then—
A sudden shift.
The air stilled for a fraction of a second.
A faint glyph-like circle appeared high above, shimmering against the blazing sky. An unseen force pressed downward, pinning the sandworms' movements for an instant.
Then—three figures descended from above.
Slowly.
Controlled.
As if they were walking down invisible steps carved in the air itself.
They landed on the dunes without a sound.
Yugo.
"Damn… at this point I think I'm starting to befriend him."
I nudged Zhen slightly.
Yugo raised his hand again.
Another glyph circle formed in the air, larger this time. Smaller rings branched out from it like fractals, and in an instant—
Thousands of blades manifested within the formation.
They fell.
Like a rain of steel.
The sandworms screeched as blades rained down upon their massive bodies, piercing through thick hide and forcing them back beneath the dunes.
My body shot forward across the sand, blade drawn low. One sandworm surged up in front of me—I didn't hesitate.
I stepped onto its rising body, used its momentum, and drove my blade downward along its exposed seam.
Blood and sand erupted into the air.
Behind me, the battlefield turned into chaos—blades from above, beasts beneath cutting through.
I looked toward Yugo just as a massive sandworm surged up behind him, jaws wide, ready to swallow him whole.
In the next instant, I was at his side.
Our robes fluttered in the desert wind—my dark sleeves cutting through the light, his white robe catching the breeze. Black and white, shadow and light, moving in perfect contrast.
Yin and yang.
Without a word, we synced.
Yugo shifted first, stepping lightly to the side as the sandworm crashed down. The impact shook the dunes, and the sand exploding upward like a storm. At the same moment, he raised his hand—another formation circle igniting beneath his fingers.
"Hey," I called out. Yugo's sharp eyes shifted toward me.
"Did you perhaps know the Heavenly Resonance Invocation?"
For a moment, he hesitated—then nodded as understanding settled in.
Seems he already guessed what I intended to do.
I exhaled slowly and began channeling my spiritual energy into my hand. Yugo followed without a word.
No explanation.
We exchanged positions again, moving in sync—black and white weaving past each other like yin and yang, perfectly balanced in motion.
Then we both placed our palms into the sand at the same time.
A formation circle ignited beneath us.
Mine dark as ink, heavy and consuming. His golden, sharp, and radiant like condensed sunlight.
I could feel it—the attention of everyone around us locking onto our position.
The sand beneath us began to ripple, no longer behaving like earth but like flowing water under divine command. Patterns spread outward in concentric waves,
Slowly massive structures began to rise.
Pillars emerged first.
Then broken walls.
Then towering gates engraved with ancient runes long lost to time.
The dunes poured away from it like cascading rivers, revealing something
An ancient temple.