A sound split the desert, so vast and piercing it seemed to come from the bones of the world itself. A howl — low, endless, and strong enough to shake the stars. The dunes buckled beneath the force, rivers of lava spilling violently as cracks tore through the scorched earth.
The nine staggered under the weight of it, grit stinging their faces as the pressure thickened like a crushing tide. The desert itself seemed to bow.
Then — two massive lights opened in the darkness. Twin suns, molten and merciless, gazed down on them from the shadow’s height. Their glow seared against the horizon, their heat pressing against skin and bone alike, threatening to grind them into dust.
The form stepped forward, slow and deliberate. Blackened fur rippled like smoke, glowing faintly as embers flared acro
