"Huff… huff… huff…"
Verena and Mia tore across the dunes, lungs straining, legs burning, their forms blurring into streaks of desperation. They didn't think about direction, nor distance—only escape. Away from the Sand Globe. Away from that storm. Away from its gaze.
They had no time to question. No courage to look back. The idea of glancing over their shoulders felt like suicide. Their world shrank to one thought alone: keep running.
The desert beneath them blurred into nothing more than shifting grains. Every step sank, every push forward felt like wading through mire, yet they didn't stop. They couldn't.
They didn't even notice when the presence of the Sand Globe faded behind them. The terror lingered like a phantom weight pressing down on their hearts, convincing them it was still right there, watching, hunting, ready to turn them into stone if they faltered for even a breath.
Thud—!
