The howling and whistling of the wind, accompanied by the dry rustling of sand. A dry but cool texture brushed against his nose.
Kael felt all of it as he slowly regained consciousness.
His eyelids twitched as his gaze landed on the dark, cloudy skies above.
With twitching fingers, he felt the sand beneath him. Slowly, he recalled everything that had happened before losing consciousness in the blinding light.
'My journey begins. Watch over me,' he said internally, as images of his mother, little sister, fiancée, commander, comrades, and kingdom flashed through his mind.
He immediately sat up, his gaze wandering.
"Where am I?" he muttered, glancing around.
He could barely see anything other than himself in the vast expanse surrounding him.
It looked like a desert—but rather than being hot, it was surprisingly cold. And the sand beneath him... was black
The cold hit him even more as he realized his armor was gone, replaced by simple clothes.
He stood up, hoping for a better view—but still, nothing.
"Why did she send me somewhere like this?"
Uncertain of what to do, he began walking in a random direction.
After a few steps, something felt off. His body... felt strange. More importantly—it felt weak.
Kael's hands trembled as he stared at his palms—smaller, smooth, unmarked—wrong. These weren't the hands of a warrior who'd spent years gripping and using a sword. These were the hands of someone who had lived a pampered, lazy life.
He punched the black sand. Once. Twice. His knuckles bruised open, the pain dull compared to the hollow ache in his chest.No calluses. No strength. The wind howled, as though mocking him.
He performed several more actions, and after all this, he came to a horrible realization.
"I've lost nearly all my strength."
He stood completely still, struck with disbelief.
If there was one thing he believed in—something he trusted to get him through this—it was his strength. As long as there weren't enemies as powerful as that last Yel'vani…
But now, even that had been taken from him.
He looked up at the sky. Contrary to what one might expect, no words left his lips—only thoughts.
'Can I really do this? No... I have to. Even if I die in the process. I just hope most people here aren't as strong as I used to be.'
Then, he felt something strange in his chest. Lifting his shirt, he discovered three inscriptions across his left side—ones that hadn't been there before.
He had no idea what they meant, but he hoped they were some sort of aid or blessing from the deities who had sent him.
From the goddess's words, he knew other vessels of Nebula Gods would be here too.
He needed to gather information—quickly.
"The clouds are getting darker. It's probably going to rain soon. I need to find shelter," he muttered, noticing the heavier shadows forming above him.
"Grhhh..."
He heard a low sound from behind.
Slowly, he turned—and his eyes widened.
A beast roughly fifteen meters in length towered in the distance. Its body was coated in layered, stone-like exoskeletons, the same color as the sand. Its outer shell blended perfectly with the terrain. Massive legs were partially buried in the sand. Jagged ridges lined its back, and crystals or hardened minerals protruded from its joints.
Kael's first instinct was to attack—but then he remembered his current condition.
So, he did the next logical thing—he jumped and bolted away to create distance.
'My senses really have dulled. How did I not notice that?' he cursed himself. 'Judging by its appearance, it should be slow. I might be weaker, but I can at least outrun something like this,' he reasoned as he sprinted.
But to his horror, the beast never planned to chase him.
Its massive jaws opened, revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth—and with startling force, a long tongue shot out as fast as an arrow, speeding directly toward him.
In less than two seconds, it crossed the gap between them. Kael's instincts flared as he immediately tried to dodge left. But his body was just too slow.
The tongue coiled around his waist as saliva dropped from it to the ground.
"Shit!" he shouted, mustering all the strength he could to punch the beast's tongue. Its sticky length remained latched onto him.
The punch didn't help. In fact, it only seemed to anger the beast, which began dragging him across the sand.
Grit and grains poured into his clothes, ears, and even mouth as he was pulled forward.
Desperately, he tried to summon any power—anything at all—perhaps something from the inscriptions.
Nothing came.
'Am I going to die… just like this? Not in the battlefield but the belly of a beast?' he thought, gritting his teeth.
Just two meters from the embrace of the beast's mouth—it suddenly stopped pulling.
The tongue released him.
A loud shriek followed.
'Was that my power?' Kael wondered. But watching the creature's behavior, he realized—'No… it wasn't me.'
From behind the beast, a figure in dark clothing emerged—two weapons in hand.
With quick, precise movements, the figure danced around the beast, slashing at every vulnerable spot on its body with surgical precision.
The beast screeched and snapped its tongue toward the attacker.
It almost hit—almost.
But in a movement too fast to register, the tongue fell to the sand in pieces.
The figure moved even faster, more fiercely. Blue streaks of energy trailed behind as they delivered one final barrage of attacks.
Within seconds, the fifteen-meter-long beast crashed to the ground, lifeless.
Its murderer stood on top of its corpse as the wind seemed to dance around him in the applause of this spectacle.
"A waste of time." The mysterious figure sighed seemingly disappointed after the one-sided slaughter. Before sheathing the two blades after the blue energy surrounding them faded out.
Their gaze scanned the area—and landed on Kael, who had remained silent throughout.
Before he could speak, the person appeared right in front of him—one blade already unsheathed and pressed lightly against his neck.
"Wf@γιοαλς"
"What?" He had confusion written all over his face as he couldn't understand what she was saying. But then he felt something strange originating from the area of the inscriptions, which spread throughout his body.
"I said, who are you?"