The Immortals of Notoriouslandia
Chapter Nine: The Bird, the Blade, and the Sandborn Curse
The Door of Never pulsed again.
It didn't crack this time—it breathed.
And in the silence between pulses, Descentedrain collapsed.
The Vision
He floated in a black sky streaked with constellations he had never seen, stars turning like gears above his head. Below him, stood three figures—wreathed in flame, metal, and stardust.
They were the Immortals of Notoriouslandia.
Arthur, encased in ever-shifting elemental flame.Technical, his body formed from swirling machines and invention-light.Lux, cloaked in a moving galaxy, his eyes pulsing with nebulae.
Their voices spoke together:
"The Door is breaking faster than time permits.""The sword must be found. The blade of truth. The mind-splitter. The wisdom of war.""The Galactic Sword of Wisdom… buried in the heart of Notoriouslandia.""Only our blood may claim it."
A light burst from the stars above. A great bird—feathers of glass and flame, wings that carved the sky—descended and perched near Descentedrain.
"Follow it," Lux said, voice like gravity."It will guide you. But beware… others listen."
The world shattered like a pane of cosmic glass.
The Hearing
Descentedrain awoke gasping. The team gathered fast.
"I saw them," he said. "Arthur, Technical, Lux. They spoke to me."
"A sword," he continued. "A legendary blade sealed in Notoriouslandia, waiting for someone with their blood. They're sending a bird—a celestial one—to lead us there."
Kukranchunlikryting crossed his arms.
"If they carved a weapon into the rock of Notoriouslandia, I say we rip it out."
Mr. Shonk tossed his trident in the air.
"Sword quest? Sounds like a side mission with main mission rewards."
Sapphire, already moving, activated the long-range scanners.
But her eyes lingered longer than needed on Descentedrain.
"Then let's move."
Eavesdropped
Far below in the shadowed depths of his bone-forged base, Joab stood still as an inkwell.
He had heard everything—the vision, the sword, the bird.
Thanks to his new gift from Septiceye—dark resonance tethering—he could pull whispers from across the dimensional fold.
His pen hovered above parchment.
"A sword of wisdom, hmm?" he murmured. "Sounds noble. Let's add some chaos."
He etched a glyph that trembled with ancient sand.
"Wake, golem of cursed grains… servant of silence… grinder of flesh."
Dark lightning rippled through the paper.
A swirling funnel of sand rose in the distance—humanoid, massive, burning with hatred.
The Journey Begins
The celestial bird found them at dawn, hovering just outside the base—a phoenix-like creature with feathers that shimmered like prismatic flame. It cawed once, and the air vibrated with knowledge.
Descentedrain nodded.
"That's our guide."
They took to the skies, following the creature through storm-choked skies, over fallen towers and rusted citadels, riding lightstreams on Kukranchunlikryting's airborne toxic steed and Mr. Shonk's Bontaine-powered platform.
But halfway there—the ground opened.
The Sand Golem Attacks
A roar shook the desert below them.
Rising from beneath—a colossal golem, its body formed from cursed sand and pulsing with dark glyphs. Its arms dragged shadows behind them, and its chest bore Joab's signature: the quill-sigil of betrayal.
It threw a punch of compacted sand faster than sound—barely missing Descentedrain, who spiraled downward in a controlled fall.
Mr. Shonk grunted.
"This looks like a boss fight!"
Sapphire unleashed crystal javelins, piercing the golem's shoulder—but the wounds healed, cursed sand looping like tendrils.
Kukranchunlikryting tossed a bomb of anti-organic toxin, forcing the golem to solidify briefly, giving Mr. Shonk a chance to smash it with his glowing trident.
The golem staggered—but before it could regenerate—
Descentedrain floated down, his body blazing with psychic energy.
"You're just a message," he growled. "Tell Joab we heard it loud."
He collapsed the golem in on itself with a gravitational implosion, turning the cursed sand into a black glass crater.
Silence.
Only the bird remained, circling slowly above.
After the Battle
The team caught their breath. Wounds were shallow, but fatigue was deep.
Sapphire stood near Descentedrain as he wiped blood from his forehead.
She didn't look at him at first.
Then she did.
"You never flinch," she said. "Even when you're falling. Even when the ground opens."
He gave her a glance, tired but sure.
"If I do, someone else pays the price."
There was silence between them.
She moved a little closer.
"Just… don't fall too far, Descentedrain. If you break—""—we all fall with you."
He nodded, unsure of what he saw behind her eyes.
She walked away, but her hand brushed his lightly as she passed.
Just once.
Just enough to be obvious.
The bird screeched overhead—impatient, urgent.
The team regrouped.
Their next destination was Notoriouslandia.
Where the Galactic Sword of Wisdom waited.
And behind them, Joab watched from the shadows.