64 Amber Dunes
The sun hung high in the sky, casting a golden haze across the Amber Dunes. Waves of heat shimmered off the sand, but Moon and Kai pressed forward. The scorching air might have been unbearable, if not for the shoulder holsters they wore—specially crafted by Drew. The holsters used essence energy to regulate body temperature, cooling them just enough to keep moving comfortably.
Moon adjusted his shoulder holster with a low grunt, the strap creaking slightly against the fabric of his shirt.
"This thing was a little or more pain in the ass at first," he muttered, rolling his shoulder. "Always digging in, kept pulling my collar sideways. But now?" He gave a small, appreciative nod, running a hand over the strap. "Now it feels... kinda nice. Smooth. Balanced, even."
Kai arched an eyebrow. "Obviously. It was chosen by the Great Kai himself."
He lifted his hand in mock grandeur, striking a pose as if about to summon a divine revelation. In his imagination, a gust of wind burst behind him—dust swirling, flags billowing high in the sky. Five radiant banners unfurled in the heavens, all bearing his proud silhouette. A legendary warrior. A savior. A fashion god.
Moon squinted at him. "You look like a clown. Stop it."
Kai dropped his arm with a grin and a shrug, his theatrical expression melting back into casual ease.
Moon glanced ahead, then muttered, "You know what's weird?"
Kai tilted his head.
Moon went on, "Today you're being weirdly upbeat. Like... goofy. That's usually my thing. And here I am, being all quiet and serious."
Kai's smirk softened. "Not really. Maybe you're just tired of your own jokes."
Moon chuckled. But Kai's voice dropped slightly, more genuine this time. "Besides, sometimes... humor helps."
A silence passed between them. Moon didn't press further, but he gave Kai a side-eye. He could tell something was off. He'd known his brother too long.
Kai's smile remained, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
Because deep down, behind that smirk and light banter, something coiled tight in Kai's chest.
Last night's vision still lingered—no, clung—to his mind like a shadow in the corner of a lit room. He hadn't told Moon. Not yet.
He had sense something in the middle of the night. Nightmares end. This had been different.
Something had touched his soul. Not physically. Not with hands or claws or blades. Spiritually. Like fingers brushing through the layers of his very essence, peeling them apart with unnatural precision. Something had stared into him. Watched him.
Its presence was heavy. Oppressive. A cold so deep it froze thought itself.
It wasn't an essence creature. He knew that much. It didn't belong to the Shifting Expanse, or to any realm he recognized.
It was something other.
Something that shouldn't exist.
And it knew him.
Trying to shake it off, Moon suddenly muttered, "I miss Kuro."
Kai's steps slowed slightly as he looked over at Moon, the humor from before fading. His voice dropped into something more grounded, almost weary.
"We'll have to sacrifice a little for now," he said, his tone quiet but firm. "Kuro wouldn't learn much out here anyway. Not yet."
Moon didn't respond at first. The distant screech of a skybeast echoed faintly in the background, carried by the dry wind of the Expanse. The terrain around them—endless dunes scattered with shards of old tech and bones of creatures long forgotten—seemed to mirror the weight in Kai's words.
Kai continued, "Besides... he's not exactly alone."
Kai smirked, just a little, the corner of his lip lifting with mischief. "His papa."
Moon blinked. "His papa?"
Kai nodded, deliberately keeping his tone casual, almost teasing. "Yeah. Ruby."
There was a beat of silence. A gust of wind blew past, kicking up a swirl of fine dust between their boots.
Moon let out a loud groan, dragging a hand down his face. "That dumb cub mistook Ruby for his father—and just accepted it .No questions. No second thoughts."
Kai laughed harder now, the memory hitting him in full.
Moon shook his head, a mix of secondhand embarrassment and reluctant amusement.
The mood lightened as they walked, the tension from before melting into warm recollection. The soft crunch of sand beneath their boots accompanied their steps, a steady rhythm in the silence of the Expanse.
For a moment, it was just the two of them again—brothers, side by side, trading stories and laughter like they used to back in their clan days.
But somewhere behind the jokes and smiles, a quiet awareness lingered. They both did not know what was coming. What they were walking into.
Still, for now... they had this moment.
And in a world this vast and uncertain, that was something.
Even though it was midday and the sand was blistering under the sun, the holsters kept their bodies from overheating. The landscape shimmered like molten gold around them. And then—
Moon froze.
From a distance, a sharp, echoing cry tore through the still air—raw and primal.
Moon froze mid-step, his posture stiffening. "You hear that?"
Kai had already stopped beside him, eyes narrowing. "Yeah. Sounds like a fight... close."
They exchanged a glance, then crept toward the top of the towering dune nearby. Each step kicked up soft puffs of fine ash-sand, but they moved like trained shadows, practiced and alert.
As they reached the ridge and peered over the crest, both came to a halt. Their eyes widened.
Below, in a shallow basin of the dune valley, a massive white serpent—its body thicker than the trunk of an ancient starpine—was wrapped tightly around an equally colossal creature: a black-furred, elephant-sized mouse.
Yes. A mouse. Or something that once resembled one.
The scene looked like it had been ripped from a forgotten myth. Two titans in a struggle of death. The serpent's pale scales shimmered like moonlight under the sun, while the mouse's shadow-dark fur gleamed with raw muscle and primal fury.
The serpent had the upper hand—its long, muscular coils had ensnared the rodent completely, crushing it with slow, bone-popping pressure. But the beast it had caught wasn't submitting.
The giant mouse snarled, a sound so guttural it vibrated the sand. Its front claws tore at the constricting scales, shredding flesh. Each desperate swipe opened long, crimson gashes along the serpent's body. Its fangs snapped upward, biting deep into the snake's lower neck, drawing blood so dark it looked like ink.
The serpent let out a shriek of pain—high-pitched and hateful—and tightened its coils.
Bones cracked.
The mouse writhed, its legs kicking furiously, its tail lashing the sand into whirlwinds.
Moon felt the tension ripple through his chest. "They're... killing each other."
Kai said nothing. His eyes were locked, calculating, studying.
Then—boom—with a violent twist of its entire body, the mouse braced its hind legs against the dune and pushed.
The coils loosened—slightly. Just enough.
With a thunderous screech, the mouse unleashed one final clawed swipe across the serpent's midsection, slicing deep. Its paw dug through scale, muscle, and sinew—exposing the serpent's pale spine beneath.
Moon winced. "Damn…"
The white serpent reeled back, rearing its upper body like a snapped rope, blood spraying from its open wound. But it didn't collapse. Not yet.
It lunged—its head snapping forward like a whip—jaws wide.
But the mouse, even wounded and half-strangled, was a blur of motion.
It darted left—dust exploding under its paws—then right, twisting beneath the serpent's bite like liquid shadow. The wind howled around them, caught in the momentum of gods.
Then—
SLASH.
A claw arced upward in a perfect motion, raking across the serpent's right eye. The cut was deep. Blood sprayed like a fountain, painting the dunes crimson.
The serpent screamed—its body thrashing wildly, slamming against the sand, gouging furrows in the earth.
Then...
It collapsed. A final tremble rolled through its body.
Stillness.
The black-furred mouse stumbled forward, chest heaving, blood matting its fur. It stood over the serpent's limp form, victorious, broken but defiant. The wind returned, soft and slow, as if acknowledging the end of battle.
Moon let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "That was intense."
Kai nodded slowly, awe in his eyes. "One hell of a fight."
But then—movement.
A twitch.
Subtle. Almost imperceptible. The tail. The ribs.
The serpent's body shifted slightly.
The mouse noticed too. It turned, slowly, muscles tensed. Its nose twitched. It crept closer. One cautious step. Another. It leaned in, sniffing at the serpent's motionless head.
Then—
WHAM!
The white serpent exploded upward—its mouth gaping wide, a hellish chasm lined with rows of curved, glistening fangs.
Before the mouse could react, the serpent's head crashed down with terrifying force.
The entire top half of the rodent was swallowed in one monstrous gulp.
There was no scream.
Only the sickening crunch of bone and sinew.
Then silence.
The serpent's throat bulged grotesquely as it swallowed the rest of the twitching body. A few seconds later, it went limp again—truly still this time. It had used the last remnants of its life force in that final strike.
Moon stood frozen, eyes wide. "...That bastard was playing dead."
Kai's voice was low, respectful. "That was brutal."
Below them, the dunes were quiet once more. Only the soft wind remained, rustling the sands around the blood-stained battlefield. The trail of gore stretched between the coiled corpse and the hollow it had fought in—like a red scar across the face of the desert.
Neither Moon nor Kai said another word for a while.
They simply watched.
Because in the Shifting Expanse, even death had a second breath.
To be continued…