Ting! Ting! Ting!
The scorching sun turned the sand beneath into a baking oven. Urth's desert was a hostile land, unfit for human settlement. Yet, you could find the ruins of old cities, swallowed by sand and dunes. Only their highest points were visible, pointed at the sky like jagged teeth.
And among these forlorn witnesses of a different time, figures moved. Covered in beige cloaks from head to toe, there were still people in these ruins. Striking the ruins with pickaxes and cutting the materials with saws, they were urban miners.
The western desert was only abundant with heat and sand, and rock. Ores were rare and hard to find. The surviving people of Lambda had only one source of resources- The ruins of their forefathers.
In the scorching heat, rebars and steel beams were cut and salvaged from the aging ruins and reinforced concrete structures. Heatstrokes happened often, but they were no hindrance thanks to the priests of Kavala.
The ruins close to collapsing were more dangerous, but it only happened to those who were not careful enough. Not like it would ever happen to him, but it was worth the risk. If anything, the constant threat of desert beasts was a concern, but the Knights of the Order were with them. It wasn't like they were risking their lives for mere profit. Kavala needed efforts.
Without their work, their great goddess could not lead them into a brighter future. They were the cornerstone to reclaim their homes that had been stolen by the disgusting mutants. At the thought of bringing divine retribution to these abominations, the heat of the sun was almost cooling. With zealous effort, they relentlessly gathered the materials for their revolution.
"I found some! I found some!" words interrupted the sermon of pickaxes and saws. Human words in this environment could only mean one thing. Someone had found a piece of Sunburned Steel, the most important material in this stretch of land.
"Congrats!" "Well done!" "Good for you!" A wave of congratulations went through the crowd of miner before they returned to their silent sermon. Finding a piece of Sunburned Steel was the greatest find for any of them. It was a lie if he said that he wasn't jealous of the man who found it, but he didn't dwell on it and joined in the congratulations.
Finding a piece meant they would receive a Fox of Kavala, a pendant in the shape of a fox, forged from Sunburned Steel. The pendant was a magical accessory that granted protection and a closer connection to their goddess. Something all of them wanted. It was a blessing to find enough for one, but if the goddess willed it, maybe there was enough so the whole group could get one.
Following the excitement, he returned to his grueling work. Dust and sand found their way into his cloak, caking his sweaty skin, as they crawled and dug deeper in the remnants of civilization. He did like sand. It was coarse, rough, and irritating... and it got everywhere.
Only pickaxes and saws could be heard again until the laborious choir was interrupted once again.
"Gaah! Run!" the scream echoes in the necropolis. His heart dropped. Maybe there was one more reason for a human voice to interrupt the song of tools. A beast attack. The first thing minders learned was to look for a safe place to hide when beasts or monsters appeared.
With practiced hands, he climbed up the rotten concrete pillars of the next highest ruin. These empty facades with gaping window holes and rotten floors were still the safest, most durable hiding place around.
Three stories above the sand, he reached the broken top of the ruin and took a moment to look at the situation. A giant desert spider had emerged from its burrow, hidden in the depths of the ruins, below the sand.
Members of the order had already engaged it, distracting it from the miners; however... It didn't look good. There were only 10 knights of the order, and the beast was the size of a whale. It was hard to imagine that this thing could easily hide in the sand and depths of these ruins. The knights looked like ants, compared to it...
Under his breath, he found himself praying for the Protector to arrive. He quickly shooed away such cultish thoughts. It was a rumor that the more gullible miners believed. Tales of a giant white centipede in the sky, rescuing people in situations like this.
Many called it the Protector of Kavala, a guardian beast that would appear to protect true believers. A small faction of believers even hatched the heretic thoughts that the Protector was a different god. Others argued it could be a secondary aspect of Kavala.
However, Delfaria, the high priestess, had denied a connection with the beast. As he battled his own worries, he watched the knights of the order fall one after another. When even warriors empowered by the goddess couldn't fight such overwhelming evil, then what chances did he have?
Despite knowing it was heresy, he kept hoping the Protector would appear. He couldn't die here. Not when the beasts of Lambda were yet to pay for the death of his family. He would even sell his soul to accomplish his revenge, so the Protector could have it just as well, as long as he helped survive today...
Desperate pleas for help to anyone who was listening left his mouth, sent into the universe and then-
Zoom!
With an unearthly noise, a pillar of light descended from the bright blue sky, piercing the giant, white spider. The thick pillar seared a hole straight through the beast's torso. The creature the knights of the order had so desperately fought and lost to died instantly.
Looking up was like a divine revelation. Up in the sky was a giant, pure white centipede. Its shell was like porcelain and covered in bright golden markings. Its head resembled a golden scarab that half-spread its wings. Each segment had several sharp, golden legs.
In any other situation, this may have been a scene from a nightmare, but right now, this was his savior. It suddenly made sense that people would argue it to be a different god. The holy, pristine aura of the Protector was...breathtaking.
The centipede flew a few more loops above the slain foe before he vanished into the deep blue sky.
...
~It happened again. Another believer converted. Delfaria, we have to stop this. -Kavala spoke to her, increasing her headache. The saintess knew what Kavala meant. What was she supposed to do?
"Oh, Great Goddess, what am I supposed to do?" she prayed to the goddess in her head. She had already done everything they could do in their current situation. They had turned the witness report of the centipede into mere rumors.
They had also muddied the water to have people discuss whether it was a demon or an aspect of Kavala sent to protect the believers. Still, cults had formed, and they were slowly losing believers and non-believers to the creature. They also couldn't use force against the cultists, as their own standing was not strong enough, yet.
~I told you, we have to get rid of the source.- The goddess gave her a revelation. Of course, if they got rid of the beast and it would no longer appear, these rumors would quickly disappear with it.
~Great goddess, you know as well as I that we don't have the power to do so...- the Saintess lamented. In its heyday, it might have been enough to send a divine beast to deal with the centipede. But if they had divine beasts, the centipede wouldn't have had a chance to interfere to begin with.
None of their forces had the power to rival a creature that was clearly a low-ranking god, or close to ascension.
~The years of peace have dulled you, my saintess. Who said that WE have to be the ones to strike it down? Never forget, the strongest weapon of Kavala-
"Is the borrowed dagger?" the saintess finished the sentence. She glanced at the jewel of the desert in the distance, realizing what she had to do.