The pale walls of Las Noches stretched endlessly, their shadows swallowing the sands beneath. A lone figure walked leisurely beneath them—Su Li.
Behind him, three figures trailed in desperate pursuit.
"Ha… ha…" Nilu gasped for breath, sweat dripping from her forehead as she forced her small frame forward, teeth clenched in stubbornness. "Wait! You can't go there—!"
Two larger shadows stumbled after her, their breath ragged, their bodies drenched in sweat.
"Damn… he's walking so slowly, so why does it feel like he's moving faster than us?!" Peixue's face twisted in disbelief, terror in his eyes as he tried to keep up with the fading silhouette ahead.
"My lungs… are going to burst…" Donde Chaka wheezed, his chest heaving violently.
And yet, as they watched Nilu chasing the boy, both of them forced their legs forward once more. Nilu had once been their master—even if she no longer remembered. Now, she was their sister. They would go wherever she went, swear to follow even if it meant death, swear to stand even if their spines broke.
So the four of them—one boy, one little girl, and two bizarre followers—continued along the wall of Las Noches.
Soon, a faint glow shimmered ahead. Su Li's eyes narrowed slightly. Light. An entrance. Without hesitation, he stepped toward it.
"You can't pass!!" a childish, anxious cry rang from behind.
Su Li ignored it, advancing. Yet within a few steps, his brow furrowed. The sand beneath his feet writhed unnaturally, sucking him downward.
"Ahhh!!" Nilu shrieked. Behind her, Peixue and Donde Chaka cried out as the ground around them began to churn like a living creature.
Su Li rested his chin thoughtfully. "Something's off."
"You dare trespass into Las Noches, ignorant worms?!" A thunderous voice erupted as the sands surged upward, gathering into a towering white giant.
The three froze in horror.
"Wh… White Sand Warden… Lord Lunugangka!!" Nilu's voice cracked, trembling with terror.
The colossus ignored her entirely, its gaze locking onto Su Li. Its massive eyes widened in shock. "A Shinigami…?!"
Fury overtook the giant, his glare falling upon Nilu and her companions. "You pathetic caterpillars dare collude with a Shinigami to invade Las Noches?!" His voice roared like a storm, winds scattering the sand around them.
Nilu trembled uncontrollably. Peixue and Donde Chaka clung to each other, bawling.
"Hmph, so weak… not even worth deceiving. Then be buried beneath the sand for eternity!"
The Warden's voice crashed down as a raging sandstorm swallowed them. The ground gave way, dragging their bodies deeper.
Nilu's screams tore the air, her tears spilling uncontrollably. "We're going to die, we're going to die for real this time!!" Peixue and Donde Chaka wept like children.
And then—
"Oi," Su Li's voice cut through their wailing, tinged with irritation. "You're too noisy."
A flicker of white blurred the air. The cries halted. In the next instant, the three found themselves weightless, lifted into the sky.
Nilu blinked blankly, realizing the boy was holding her under his arm. Peixue and Donde Chaka dangled helplessly in his hands, too stunned to comprehend what had happened. They hadn't even seen him move.
"Che… bastard," Lunugangka growled, his massive face dark with fury. "Die!!"
Sand erupted like a tidal wave, surging toward Su Li.
"Ahh!!" Nilu screamed, while Peixue and Donde Chaka's eyes widened in horror.
But Su Li's expression remained calm. With a single step, his body flickered. The sands missed entirely. In the next heartbeat, he appeared before the Warden's massive visage.
A booming impact resounded. Su Li's foot connected with the giant's face, shattering its upper body into cascading dunes. Sand exploded skyward.
Landing lightly, Su Li brushed his hands. "Done." He set the three down, his expression relaxed.
But their relief evaporated as their pupils shrank in terror.
"No—! He's alive!!" Nilu's shriek tore out as she clutched Su Li's leg.
Scattered sand swirled, pulling together once more. A chilling laugh echoed. "Jiejiejie… Shinigami, killing me isn't that simple!"
Peixue's face twisted in despair. "His body is sand! No matter how many times he's broken apart, he'll resurrect endlessly!"
Donde Chaka bit his fingers, sobbing hysterically. "He's… invincible!"
Su Li tilted his head, gaze flat. "Immortal sand…?" His tone held no surprise.
"Water!!" Nilu tugged desperately at his trousers. "Only water can stop him!"
"Yes! Moves with water—only then can you kill him!!" Peixue cried out.
Su Li's eyes flicked toward them. "And you can do that?"
They froze. Nilu shook her head miserably. Peixue stammered, his face reddening. "N-no… not me…" Donde Chaka sobbed even harder. "I—I can't… I can't even control my tears!!"
Su Li almost laughed. This fool's tears alone could probably drown the Warden.
But the colossus allowed no time for amusement.
"Die, all of you!!" Lunugangka roared, unleashing another storm of sand.
Nilu's face paled, despair flooding her eyes. "We're dead, we're really dead this time!!" Peixue and Donde Chaka clung to each other, bawling louder.
Around them stretched only desert—no water, no salvation. The Warden's ability was absolute.
Su Li, however, rested his chin again, unfazed. "Mm. That works too."
"Run!" Nilu sobbed, clinging to him desperately. "Please, run away!!"
But he only raised his hand slowly, ignoring her pleas. A sphere of light, purple-black and silent, began to form in his palm. Its glow was faint, yet oppressive.
The three stared blankly, unable to comprehend.
Su Li pressed his hand forward. The sphere drifted outward without sound, no explosion, no violent flare—just an eerie, inevitable advance. Wherever it passed, the world dissolved into nothingness, not even dust remaining.
The Warden's sandstorm collapsed, pulled inward, devoured and erased.
For the first time, Lunugangka's eyes filled with fear. That sphere was no water, no ice, nothing he understood—yet within it was death, certain and absolute.
The tiny purple-black orb sank into his massive body.
And the giant knew true terror.
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