The storm beast lay in ruins, its body split by its own lightning. Smoke hissed from cracks in its hide, and the smell of burnt flesh and ozone clung to the air.
The survivors didn't cheer. Nobody ever did. They stood in silence, swaying on their feet, too hollow to celebrate.
Ravi bent over, hands on his knees, pipe dangling from one fist. His chest heaved like a bellows. His hair was still standing from static, and sparks snapped off the iron pipe with every twitch.
"Alright," he wheezed, "that's it. No more gods, no more monsters, no more surprise floorboards tilting me into oblivion. I'm retiring. New life plan: tiny hut, big kettle, unlimited tea. Open mornings, closed during divine disasters."
One of the younger survivors actually laughed, though it was more of a choked sob.
Arjun stood apart, as always, scanning the horizon. The blue wind still lingered faintly around him, curling like smoke, though it was fading.
Ravi shot him a sideways glance. "Don't suppose you'd invest in my tea stall? Silent archer guarding the door, very mysterious, great for business."
Arjun didn't look at him. "You wouldn't survive running a shop."
Ravi smirked, though it was half a grimace. "Probably true. Customers are worse than monsters."
Before anyone could reply, the sky shifted.
The storm above always rolling, always flashing stilled. For the first time since they'd arrived, there was silence overhead. Clouds froze, lightning hung suspended like veins of silver frozen in glass.
Then the clouds split.
The survivors staggered back, shielding their eyes as blinding light tore the sky open.
From the rift, something vast stirred.
A shadow moved across the gap immense, winged, stretching wider than the horizon. Its shape wasn't clear, not fully formed, but every flap of its wings sent tremors through the plateau.
Ravi's throat went dry. "Oh, brilliant. The boss has a boss."
The system text burned across their vision:
[Phase Transition: The Breath of the Storm.]Objective: Endure until the sky closes.]
The shadow exhaled.
Wind screamed across the plateau, sharper than blades. Survivors were thrown from their feet, some hurled screaming into the void. Rocks tore loose and spun like shrapnel.
Ravi slammed his pipe into the ground, clinging tight. The golden current flared around him, holding him steady. Even so, his arms burned with the strain. "What kind of storm breathes?!" he shouted, voice ripped raw.
Arjun crouched low, bow braced against the stone, his cloak snapping in the gale. His eyes narrowed, fixed on the rift above. "It isn't breathing. It's testing."
"Testing what?!" Ravi barked.
Arjun didn't answer.
The gale shifted suddenly, focusing on clusters of survivors. The wind clawed at them, dragging some into the air. Screams filled the plateau. One man was ripped skyward, vanishing into the light.
The system chimed coldly:
[Eliminated: Survivor 24.]
Ravi cursed, ducking his head against the storm. "Great! Fantastic! We're toys in a god's nose-blow!"
The golden current tugged at him again, pulling him sideways. He stumbled, following its lead, and a second later a jagged boulder smashed into the space where he'd been.
Ravi blinked. "Okay. You win. I'll follow the air. You're the boss."
The blue wind wrapped tighter around Arjun, deflecting debris, guiding his steps with surgical precision. He moved like he knew the storm's rhythm, like every gust whispered secrets only he could hear.
Ravi growled as he staggered after him. "Seriously, do you two talk? 'Cause if the weather's your pen pal, I'm gonna start charging rent for being the third wheel."
Arjun's expression didn't change, but his voice carried just enough weight to cut through the storm. "The wind chooses. I listen."
Ravi muttered, "Yeah, well, I'd prefer a god that cooked dinner, but I guess we work with what we've got."
The storm screamed louder, the shadow above descending closer. Its wings spread, blotting out what little light remained. The survivors huddled in clusters, some crying, some praying, some simply staring at the sky as if waiting to be erased.
Ravi's chest burned. His grip on the pipe faltered. He could feel the wind clawing inside him now, testing not just his body, but his will. His failures whispered back the man he killed for Coins, the brother he'd left behind.
His knees buckled.
The golden wind surged around him, pressing warmth into his chest, a steady rhythm that wasn't his own heartbeat. A borrowed strength.
Ravi staggered upright again, teeth clenched. "Not… yet… You don't get to blow me away that easy."
Arjun loosed another arrow into the storm. It vanished into the rift, swallowed by light. The shadow recoiled just slightly but enough to slow the gale.
The system chimed:
[Time Remaining: 00:30.]
The survivors screamed as the final gust tore across the plateau, ripping stone from its foundation. Ravi braced, every muscle on fire. His vision blurred, his arms shook, but he clung to the pipe like it was life itself.
The sky roared then sealed shut.
The storm ceased.
Silence crashed down heavier than the gale had ever been. Survivors collapsed, sobbing, gasping, broken. The shadow was gone. The rift had closed.
System text flickered:
[Condition Completed: Endured the Breath of the Storm.]Reward: +1,500 Coins.]
Ravi fell to his knees, pipe clanging to the ground. His chest heaved, every breath a knife. He laughed, ragged, cracked. "I swear… if the next trial is 'The Storm's Stomach,' I'm checking out."
Arjun stood steady, lowering his bow. His gaze lingered on the closed sky, unreadable.
For the first time, Ravi thought he saw something flicker in those calm eyes. Not fear. Not relief. Something else.
Recognition.
And that mystery was worse than the storm itself.