The Sand Stalker finished climbing out of the crack, making the place cave in as it came to its full height. Ethan took it in and came to a realization immediately. This was the alpha. It was fairly easy to tell, considering it was easily three times the size of the others and radiated power. Unlike other Sand Stalkers, alphas were a lot more rare. And were also one of the few creatures that housed a core—on this level.
With that, came two things. One. They had access to mana. Two. They would normally have one or two abilities, to use that mana.
The moment it rose from the sand, three more Sand Stalkers moved with it, spreading just enough to box Ethan in while still staying within range of one another. Ethan glanced to the side, where Leah was still fighting. It seemed he really would have to trust her, because as it was, he was about to become very preoccupied.
Ethan stepped forward to meet them, just as the little ones ran toward him. His greatsword was already in motion as it carved a wide arc through the air. The sheer length of the blade forced two of them to recoil slightly, their bodies pulling back just enough to avoid being caught. However, the third was lagging behind the others, and it didn’t hesitate. It lunged through the edge of his strike, mandibles snapping low, trying to slip inside his reach.
Ethan adjusted, feeling his core tighten as he dragged his blade down and blocked the attack just before it reached his legs. Steel rang out as it collided with chitin, the force traveling up his arms as he held it in place. He felt the ground shift beneath him at the same time, the sand loosening under his boots as the Alpha’s presence spread outward. [Steadfast] locked his body in place just as the second stalker struck. It came from the side, its body whipping across the sand and slamming into his hip with enough force to twist him. His stance broke for a fraction of a second, just enough for the third to capitalize. It surged forward, jaws wide, aiming straight for his midsection.
His blade came around in a tight, brutal counter, the edge catching the third stalker across the head. The strike split through its plating and into the body beneath, carving through and into its flesh. [Keen Sense] flared, Ethan reacted on instinct. Kicking the Sand Stalker back, just in time to look up and see the Alpha moving forward, the ground collapsed further under Ethan’s feet as the sand softened and shifted, dragging at his legs and forcing his balance to constantly adjust. It was like the sand had become a living thing. And after a second Ethan quickly realized the alpha was using an ability.
The two remaining stalkers attacked while he was watching the alpha. One attacked high, while the other tried to get his legs. His blade rose to meet the high strike, catching it with a sharp clash that rang through his armor, while his leg shifted just enough to avoid the worst of the low attack. It still hit. The mandibles clipped his greave and drove into him, the force pushing his leg sideways and throwing his balance further off. The unstable ground didn’t help. His footing slipped, his weight shifting unevenly as the Alpha closed the distance.
It hit him like a hammer. Its head snapped forward, far faster than something that size should have been able to move. Ethan barely got his blade across in time. The impact slammed into him, driving through his guard and forcing him backward. His boots tore through the sand as he tried to anchor himself, but the ground gave just enough that he couldn’t fully hold. The second stalker struck again immediately after, taking advantage of the opening, while the Alpha clicked its mandibles.
Ethan tried to recover, but the sand betrayed him. The Alpha dove head first beneath the surface, Ethan lifted his blade, watching as the sand collapsed in on itself, the Stalker moving through it like water, and heading directly for him. The ground collapsed as its body surged upward, slamming into him from below just as he moved out of the way from its open mouth. Ethan swung his blade, enhancing his strength with [Mana Infusion]. It bit into the alpha’s mouth, but as the rest of its body rose out of the sand, it threw him off his feet entirely. He hit the sand hard, the impact knocking the air from his lungs as his body rolled across the shifting ground. He tried to plant his foot, to push himself up, but the sand moved with him. It dragged at his limbs, loose and unsteady, trying to pull him down and into the earth.
Ethan’s eyes snapped up just in time to see one of the remaining stalkers break away. It didn’t come for him. It angled past, straight toward Leah. She was still fighting her own, already engaged, already pushed to her limit. She wouldn’t see it in time. Mana surged violently through his body as he dumped it into [Mana Infusion], far more than he had been using up until now. It flooded through him, reinforcing every movement as he forced his body to respond.
[Steadfast] anchored what it could. He drove his foot down into the shifting sand, forcing it to hold for just a fraction of a second. Then he moved.
He moved forward, blasting through the unstable ground, his body tearing free from the pull as he crossed the distance in a single explosive burst. His perception lagged behind the sudden speed. The world blurred, movement too fast to track cleanly. He didn’t try. He relied on instinct and his reach. His greatsword was already extended as he moved, angled forward like a spear.
He crashed into the Sand Stalker mid-lunge, the blade driving straight through its body as his momentum carried them both forward. The creature let out a sharp, chittering scream before they both hit the ground. Ethan rolled to his feet, pulling the blade from the unmoving Sand Stalker.
He straightened, his body protesting the sudden strain as the mana burned through his system. Behind him, he heard the final hiss of Leah’s fight end, followed by the dull collapse of a body hitting the sand. He turned just enough to confirm it. Leah stood a few yards away, dagger in hand, her breathing uneven but steady, the corpse of her opponent at her feet.
“Good job.” He called out. “Now come give me a hand.”
A slow, deliberate vibration rolled through the ground beneath them. He turned back fully, his grip tightening on his sword.
The Alpha was watching them. Its massive body was partially submerged once more, the sand around it pulsing and shifting as it moved forward at a slow, controlled pace. Each movement sent ripples through the ground.
Beside him, Leah steadied herself, her breathing was uneven as she reset her stance. The moment didn’t last long. The Alpha let out another low vibration, and the remaining Sand Stalker moved with it.
“Take the little one,” Ethan said, his eyes never leaving the Alpha. “And stay out of range of that thing.”
Leah nodded. “I got this.”
“I know,” Ethan responded, while activating [Mana Infusion] and rushing towards the alpha. He needed to create some distance. Keep him and it away from Leah. Its ability to shift the ground was far too problematic. If Leah was within range, he’d need to help her and fight the two of them. This was the best option. He would just have to hope that Leah could take on another Sand Stalker.
As Ethan reached the alpha, he jumped through the air. His feet leaving the ground as the sand sank away. He swung his blade in a diagonal slash, aiming for one of its mandibles, his strike connected, and he felt it cut deep into the claw, before the alpha dipped its head and dove into the sand.
Ethan came to a stop, bringing his sword up, the blade dripped with a deep red blood. There was a moment of stillness, as the sand stopped moving or sinking. Ethan looked around. Catching Leah engaged with the other Sand Stalker. For a moment he wondered if the alpha had retreated. Until [Keen Sense] warned him of something rapidly approaching from below.
The Alpha reappeared behind him, its body tearing through the sand as it surged upward in a full-body lunge. Ethan reacted immediately, already expecting it, his greatsword whistled through the air as he turned into it. Steel met chitin with a deafening crack, the impact driving through his arms and into his shoulders. The force alone would have thrown him, but [Steadfast] locked him in place, his boots digging into the shifting sand as he absorbed the hit.
The ground began to give out, so Ethan jumped backwards just as the alpha slipped into it once more.
Ethan barely had time to reset before the ground shifted again. He exhaled sharply and pushed more mana through his body, as he waited for it to surface once more.
The ground shifted again but Ethan moved first. He stepped into the movement, driving forward as the Alpha burst upward. His blade came down in a heavy diagonal strike, catching along its side as it rose. This time it bit deeper, carving through one of the joints before the creature twisted violently, pulling away and retreating.
Ethan followed, chasing the disturbance beneath the surface, tracking it through [Keen Sense] and the way the sand shifted. It came up again in front of him, jaws wide, aiming to catch him mid-step.
He met it head-on. The clash rang out as he caught the strike, but this time he didn’t just block. He stepped into it, forcing his weight forward as he dragged his blade down and across its underside. The softer plating gave way, the edge carving a deep, ugly wound that spilled dark fluid into the sand.
The Alpha recoiled violently. The ground around Ethan collapsed further than before, dragging his legs down as the creature retreated beneath the surface. The sand shifted, almost fluid, pulling him off balance as it tried to pin him in place again.
Ethan drove his foot down and forced himself upright, [Steadfast] anchoring him even as the ground betrayed him. His breathing grew heavier, his muscles tightening as the constant adjustments began to annoy him.
Behind him, he could hear Leah still fighting. The clash of blade against chitin, the uneven rhythm of her movements. Ethan didn’t look. He didn’t have time.
The Alpha moved, forcing him back as it tried to stack pressure on top of his distraction. Its movements grew more aggressive, as it seemed to abandon the surprise attacks it had been trying. Instead it stayed above the sand, one of its mandibles was dangling from in front of its mouth. But it still tried to use the other to attack. Ethan would feel a pulse of mana, softening the sand, before it would try to bite him in two.
Ethan let it, he planted himself. Forcing [Steadfast] to find any kind of purchase it could.
When the next time it came, he was ready. The ground shifted beneath him, the sand pulling as the Alpha attacked. Ethan didn’t move away. His blade rose in a tight, controlled arc, intercepting the strike just before it reached him. The impact slammed into him, but [Steadfast] held. He redirected the force, turning with it as his greatsword slid along its head and down toward the wounded section he had already opened.
Then he struck twice in quick succession. Both blows landed in the same place, widening the wound as the Alpha recoiled again. It tried to dive, to slip back into the sand but Ethan didn’t let it.
Mana surged again, his body screaming as he grabbed its leg. His feet sunk, just as he opened the floodgates to his mana. His muscles screamed as a molten power tore though him. He pulled up, lifting the alpha out of its burrow and throwing it into the rising dune beside them. It hit the dune, making sand cascade. Ethan used the leftover mana in his muscles to close the distance again. Not giving it a chance to recover. His blade came down again, driving into the wound, forcing it open further.
The Alpha thrashed. The sand around them exploded as it tried to escape, its ability flaring in response. The ground shifted violently, pulling at Ethan’s legs, trying to drag him down with it.
He felt his footing break. Felt his balance go, as they were both dragged into the sand.
And still he held. Ethan gritted his teeth and called on his aura. It surged through his body, raw and unrefined, burning as it moved. He forced it outward, pushing it beyond his skin and into the space around him. The moment it left his body, the sand blackened.
The Alpha reacted immediately, to the new presence. Its movements faltered as the aura touched it, the corrupted energy seeping into the open wounds Ethan had carved. It hissed violently, its body spasming as the poison took hold.
Ethan didn’t stop. He forced more of it out, ignoring the strain tearing through his body as he drove his blade down, again and again. The strike punched deep into its body, his poisonous aura following the steel and flooding into the wound.
The sun disappeared as they fell deeper and deeper into the sand. Ethan could feel it piling on him, like ocean waves. But still, he didn’t stop until a notification sounded in his head, telling him it was dead.
—~~—
Leah’s blade sunk into the monster’s neck, slipping between two plates of armor. It tried to snap at her face, opening its wound further and making them both fall to the ground. The monster was on top of her, she could hear its ragged breathing as a warmth spread between her and the two of them and sunk into her clothes.
Everything was so quiet. Wait, why’s it so quiet. Leah pushed the unmoving monster off her. Looking down at the blood that now covered her chest. Before she could even think to care about that, Leah looked up, only to see the space where Ethan had been fighting the larger one, was now empty.
Leah stood up and looked around. Her stomach hurt from a nasty cut the monster had inflicted, so she instinctively put pressure on it.
The sand where Ethan was supposed to be, looked like a tornado had blown through the desert. There was still clear signs of fighting and even fresh blood.
“Ethan?” she called out, taking a step forward and wincing in pain.
“What is that.” She mumbled, looking at the blackened patches of sand.
“Ethan!” she called once more, panic beginning to set in. She knew he was there moments ago. She could feel the sickly energy, so many of the soldiers had been talking about. She could even still feel it faintly.
Leah looked to the blackened sand. And again tried to move closer. She brought her hand up, when the pain was becoming too much. Only to see it covered in blood. Though she wasn’t sure if it was hers or the monster’s.
Just as she was about to call out again, the sand shifted. Leah paused, fear creeping through her body. She reached for her dagger, only to realize it was still embedded in the monster’s neck.
“Fuck.”
Leah pulled her sword free, just in time to look up and see the large alpha emerge from the sand.
“Where’s Ethan!” she screamed at it. Moving towards it despite the pain.
Her steps faltered though, when the monster went airborne. It moved through the air, before falling in a heap on the ground. Clearly dead.
Leah looked back towards where it had come from.
Ethan climbed out of the hole, his armor covered in blood. He reached up, taking his helmet off. His dark hair was sticking to his forehead and sand covered his face. He bent over and spat.
“Fucking sand.”