The desert stretched endlessly beneath the burning sun, the air shimmering with waves of heat that made the horizon blur like molten glass. Sand crunched under their boots as Aiden, Kyle, and Lilliane came to a halt at the crest of a dune. Each of them had already drawn their weapons—Aiden's golden sword glimmered like a shard of sunlight, Kyle's blue spear hummed faintly with mana, and Lilliane gripped her wand tightly, her knuckles pale, strands of hair sticking to her forehead from sweat.
Suddenly, panicked cries shattered the silence.
"Run! Run, cultists are here!"
A cluster of students stumbled up the slope toward them, fear etched across their faces, dust trailing behind their frantic movements.
Kyle's brows furrowed sharply, his grip tightening around his spear. "Cultists… here? What's going on?"
Aiden's voice was calm yet resolute, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the shifting dunes. "No time to question it. Let's save them first."
