The fourth stage opened not with a sound but with a shift in the world itself. The golden veil that had swallowed Bahamut's blood-stained figure rippled outward like disturbed water. When the light faded, he found himself standing on an endless stretch of scorched sand, a wasteland beneath a burning sky.
The battleground was brutal in its simplicity: a vast crater ringed by fractured obsidian pillars half-buried in the desert. The ground was uneven, seared by some ancient inferno, cracked and shimmering beneath the weight of the sun. Dry, hot wind cut through the air, whispering through the skeletal remains of sandblasted ruins that jutted from the earth like bones.
The dunes were deceptive; smooth on the surface, but something beneath them shifted from time to time, sending subtle ripples through the sand like the pulse of some buried heart. In the far distance, a sandstorm hung over the horizon like a coiled beast waiting to be unleashed.
It was quiet, but it wasn't peace.
The silence here was predatory.
A glowing sigil, etched with looping Egyptian glyphs and ringed with gold, flared briefly beneath Bahamut's bare feet as he stepped forward. His wounds were still there, half dried, streaking his tanned skin. His fox-hide clothes fluttered weakly in the hot wind. Ren perched on his shoulder, ears twitching, whiskers brushing against Bahamut's neck.
"Feels different," Ren muttered, sniffing the air. "Heavier."
Bahamut said nothing, but his jaw flexed.
Then.... BOOM.
It wasn't a physical strike. It was pressure. A crushing wave of mental force slammed into him like a falling mountain, sending the sand around his feet swirling outward in a circular gust. His body instinctively tensed as the weight of the aura bore down on him, heavy enough to squeeze the breath from his lungs.
His bare feet dug furrows into the sand as he resisted the invisible pressure. His bones creaked faintly. A lesser mortal would have fallen to their knees instantly. Bahamut… grinned.
"Strong," he muttered, his teeth flashing faintly beneath blood-streaked lips.
Ren flattened his ears against his skull. "Circle of Mind… this one's not going to be like the wolves."
The air vibrated, a deep rumbling growl, but it didn't come from above. It came from below. The sand beneath Bahamut's feet shifted violently, like something massive slithering through the earth. The ground bulged, cracked, then erupted.
A wall of sand exploded upward in a spiral. From the depths of the dune, a colossal shape burst free, a Sand Wyrm, its scaled hide the color of sunbaked stone, its length stretching dozens of meters.
Its head alone was bigger than a carriage, crowned with jagged, rock-hard horns that cut the air like blades. Rows of teeth glistened wetly inside its gaping maw, and as it reared back, its long, armored body coiled and uncoiled with serpentine grace.
Two glowing golden eyes burned like molten suns, and the aura pouring off it was oppressive, Circle of Mind level. It wasn't just spiritual pressure; it was the beast's will, pushing into Bahamut's mind like claws scraping at the inside of his skull.
The wyrm let out a guttural roar that shook the battlefield, sending sand whipping into the air like a localized storm.
Bahamut's blindfold flapped violently in the wind. His hair whipped around his face, black streaks cutting through the white like ink. He could feel the wyrm's intent, pure, primal dominance.
Ren whispered low, almost grim. "This thing… It's already different from the last ones."
Bahamut rolled his neck until it popped. His aura, still crimson, stirred faintly, like embers in the wind.
"Good," he muttered, crouching low, sand swirling around his ankles. "Then this won't be boring."
The wyrm's body tensed.
The air burned.
The battlefield shuddered as predator and prey locked onto each other, though neither was sure which they were.
The real fight was about to begin.
...
Bahamut crouched low on the ground, his bare feet digging deeper into the hot, shifting sand as if anchoring himself to the battlefield. The air around him trembled with raw power, his crimson aura erupting outward like a living flame. It clashed violently against the Sand Wyrm's own, two oppressive forces grinding and tearing at each other in a silent storm. The collision of their presence sent waves through the dunes, making the sand whip and swirl like a restless sea.
Smoke curled from Bahamut's skin, rolling off his shoulders in dense waves as the last of his wounds knitted together with audible cracks and pops. His body steamed in the blistering air, the only sign of the ferocious battle he had endured moments before. All that remained of his injuries were dark bloodstains that clung stubbornly to his skin and clothes, like war paint.
'System… how long do I have before the Beast Trait skill is back?'
His mental voice was steady but edged with tension. He and Ren had already agreed, there were secrets they'd keep no matter what happened here. The system was one of them. And Ren… Ren wasn't just a bunny, no matter how convincing his little act was. He couldn't just leave Ren behind in the cave, so the rabbit-like creature followed him under the guise of being a pet. It was a perfect cover.
The Beast Trait Manifestation skill was another matter. That one could be explained away. If anyone questioned it, he could simply claim to be a fox beastkin, plausible, believable. The skill allowed him to transform parts of his body into those of beasts he'd killed before, but with strict limitations. It had to correspond: hands to claws, teeth to fangs, legs to talons, tail to tail. No odd mismatching.
And at the moment, he could only manifest one part or a pair at a time. Both hands could become claws, but then nothing else could change. At level one, it came with a three-minute duration and an hour-long cooldown; a damned eternity in combat like this.
[Answering Host... you have 45 minutes]
"Damn it! That's too long!" Bahamut hissed, sand whipping around his legs as the Wyrm's killing intent locked on him like a vice. Its aura felt ancient, coarse like crushed stone, and hot like a desert storm.
[But, the time can be further reduced if the host levels up the skill]
"Why didn't you say that earlier!?"
[I only answered the question you asked]
"Fuck you!" Bahamut snapped aloud just as the Wyrm lunged forward with startling speed. Its massive claw blurred, sand exploding beneath its weight. He twisted to the side, but not fast enough. The tip of its claw raked across his shoulder, slicing through skin like a hot blade through butter. Blood sprayed, steaming in the scorching air.
Pain flared, but his expression only hardened.
'How do I level it up?'
A translucent screen blinked into existence before him:
[Beast Trait Manifestation (Lvl 1)]
Do you wish to level up? Yes / No
"Yes!" he barked.
[Leveling up in progress...]
[Beast Trait Manifestation (Lvl 2)]
'How long now?'
[Leveling up in progress...]
[Beast Trait Manifestation (Lvl 3)]
[Cooldown reduced. New time: 10 minutes. Two body parts can now be manifested. Good luck, Host.]
A savage grin stretched across Bahamut's face. "Now that's more like it."
The Sand Wyrm reared back, its pale yellow scales gleaming under the merciless sun. Bahamut didn't hesitate; he leapt onto its massive back in a single, fluid motion, landing between two ridges of jagged, rock-like scales. With a roar that was half fury, half exhilaration, he drew back his fist and slammed it into the creature's hide.
CRACK!
"FUCK!" He stumbled back as a white-hot pain shot up his arm. His fist dangled limply, completely twisted, bone visibly jutting beneath the skin. The Wyrm hadn't even flinched.
"Why the hell are you that hard?!" Bahamut snarled through gritted teeth, springing off its back just in time to avoid a tail swing that ripped a trench in the sand where he'd stood. The ground shuddered from the impact, grains exploding outward in a roaring wave.
The beast hissed, its cavernous maw opening to release a low, guttural rumble that made the very air tremble. Its eyes glowed like molten gold. The clash between man and monster had only just begun; this was no simple trial anymore. This was a war of dominance.
Bahamut's grin returned, more feral this time. "Alright then… let's play."