---
Far below, the ruler shifted again; a promise of cataclysm yet to come.
A lemon‑pink dawn washed across the dune sea when Kai and Princess Mia finally slid down the jagged vent that had delivered them to the surface. Sand hissed under their claws, cooling still from the night's chill.
Behind them, the vent exhaled faint currents scented of hot stone and mineral dust whispers from the underground labyrinth where Darius was still trying to rank up.
Mia glanced once over her shoulder, eyes narrowing. "He sits on a powder keg," she murmured.
Kai nodded, antennae twitching. "And I will light the fuse, after I am strong enough to face him."
She gave a tired smile, grateful yet proud. Her aura flickered a dim rose: exhausted but unbroken. "Kai, help me gather some star crystals. I'm close to the threshold. I want to rank up. I can't let Thea do whatever she wants. Just because she is one rank higher than me."
