The earth trembled.
Sand flew into the sky in a thick wave. From behind the dunes, a roar shattered the stillness like thunder.
ROAAAAARRRR!
Gravelox, the Maw Breaker, charged forward.
Four arms smashed the dunes as it sprinted. Its black glass skin cracked with heat, and green steam hissed from its mouth. Its back was lined with jagged spines that glowed with Conqueror energy.
Behind the ancient ruins of the Temple of Broken Winds, the group stood together.
Eon stepped in front, his cape fluttering behind him. The sun made his golden eyes glow.
Beside him stood Zahid, newly awakened and glowing with Glassfire.
Rin, Ayo, Selene, Layna, and the Sandspike Guild all readied their weapons.
The desert had never felt so alive.
"We don't split up," Eon said. "Gravelox feeds on fear. It attacks the isolated."
"Then we fight as one," Zahid answered, spinning his staff.
The monster came into full view.
Massive. Burning. Unstoppable.
It crashed through an ancient stone wall as if it were paper.
[WORLD BOSS – GRAVELOX THE MAW BREAKER][DANGER LEVEL: A++][RECOMMENDED PARTY: 10+ | TIME LIMIT: 18 MINUTES]
"Time to hold the line," Eon said.
Gravelox opened its mouth and spat green sludge that melted stone.
Ayo rolled to the side. "Gross!"
Selene launched a starlight volley. "Eyes—aim for the joints!"
Zahid pointed his staff. "I'll crack the outer shell!"
Rin stepped between allies, her hands glowing with healing light.
Mila and Kai moved to the flanks with Layna's team, laying traps.
Theo set up defensive glyphs.
Eon dashed forward, flames bursting from his boots.
"Origin Burst!"
His body flared like a comet as he punched Gravelox in the jaw.
The monster reeled, but didn't fall.
Gravelox swung two arms toward Eon.
Zahid leapt beside him, spinning his staff like a wheel.
"Glass Wall!"
A transparent shield blocked the hit—but cracked.
The force shook them both.
"I've got your back," Zahid said.
"Good," Eon replied. "Because this is just the start."
Across a dune, hidden behind rock and shadow, Noctheris watched.
Invisible.
Untouchable.
The serpent-shaped General floated like smoke, its chains dragging across the sand without sound.
It watched Eon closely.
Then turned its gaze to Zahid.
"The Glassfire… how rare," it whispered to no one. "He must not unite with the Origin Flame too long…"
Noctheris remained still.
Waiting.
Planning.
Its strike would come when the light dimmed.
Back in battle, the heat was rising.
Gravelox's body shimmered with lava veins.
BOOM!
It slammed its fists into the ground, sending shockwaves outward.
Layna's guild stumbled.
One of her fighters was hit—tossed like a ragdoll.
"Cover him!" she shouted.
Selene cast a healing ring while Rin gave him a Flame Warden shield.
Ayo zipped across the field, slashing the monster's legs with Voltstep.
"Zahid!" Eon called. "The core—it's inside its chest. Aim high!"
Zahid's hands flared bright.
"Glassfire Lance!"
A spear of clear fire flew toward the chest—but Gravelox swung its arm and shattered it mid-air.
"Too tough!" Zahid shouted.
Eon nodded. "Then we make it soft."
He charged.
---
Eon's Memory – Long Ago
Thousands of years ago—before humans walked the earth—Eon lived among the mountains, watching the stars.
The world was young.
And wild.
Back then, another beast roamed.
Its name: Tharnok, the Flame Devourer.
A creature of ash and mouths, it consumed entire valleys.
Eon, still young in his evolution, knew only one thing: protect life.
He had faced Tharnok not with armies, but alone.
In a burning forest, he drew it in.
Then, he sacrificed his own fire—sealing the beast in obsidian by compressing flame into stone.
That day, Eon learned something.
"Beasts can burn forever… unless something older than flame stops them."
Now, in the present, Eon remembered that moment.
He looked at Zahid.
Then at Gravelox.
"We need to contain it," he said.
Zahid nodded.
They ran side by side.
"Ignite Zone!""Glassfire Pillars!"
Eon set the sand on fire. Zahid raised pillars of sharp glass that cut upward from the earth, stabbing into the beast's legs.
Gravelox screamed, stumbling slightly.
The team saw their chance.
"NOW!" Rin shouted.
Ayo jumped high and stabbed both daggers into Gravelox's back.
Selene rained light from above.
Layna led her team in a direct charge, throwing bombs and blades.
The heat burned, but the monster shook.
Then…
BOOM!!
Zahid's second Glassfire Lance hit the core—cracking it.
"Keep going!" Eon yelled.
"Starfall Cascade!" Selene called.
"Verdant Break!" shouted Rin.
"Twin Voltspin!" Ayo shouted mid-air.
Gravelox screamed—and fell to its knees.
Eon appeared above it.
His hands glowed gold.
"Origin Seal: Core Burn!"
He slammed his palms into the monster's chest.
Light exploded.
The ground shook.
And Gravelox… collapsed.
The Conqueror beast fell forward, steam rising from its mouth.
It didn't move again.
[BOSS DEFEATED: GRAVELOX][XP DISTRIBUTED | ITEM DROPS AVAILABLE][SPARK LEVELS INCREASED FOR ALL]
Everyone fell to the ground, panting and sweating.
Mila laughed. "That thing was a nightmare."
Theo smiled. "But we lived."
Ayo looked at Zahid.
"You're pretty good for someone who trained alone."
Zahid grinned. "I had help this time."
Rin placed a hand on Eon's shoulder. "You've fought monsters like this before, haven't you?"
Eon nodded. "Long before memory."
Selene frowned. "Then this won't be the last."
"No," Eon said. "It's only the beginning."
---
Back across the dunes…
Noctheris floated higher into the sky.
"They grow fast," it hissed. "But I grow deeper."
It opened a small rift in space—and vanished into it, like smoke.
The shadows would strike again.
Soon.