The desert was endless.
By noon, the horizon had blurred into a golden haze, heat shimmering upward like ghostly flames. Every step sank into the sand, fine and hot as ash. Their footprints trailed behind them, erased almost instantly by the biting wind. It felt like walking across a sea with no shore.
Neel trudged in silence, sweat clinging to his neck, the storm inside him beating against his ribs. Sparks ticked along his skin, faint, but constant. He tried to bury them, but the desert seemed to pull them out of him — the storm answering the sun, the emptiness, the endless wild.
Ahead, Kabir moved with unnerving ease. His boots sank no deeper than necessary, his balance flawless on the shifting dunes. The dune wolves padded effortlessly around him, tongues lolling in the heat. The sand panther glided like shadow itself, paws silent. Overhead, the horned vulture circled, a lone dot against the burning sky. Kabir never looked back. He didn't need to.
Shanaya dragged her cloak tighter, scowling at the sand that clung to everything. "Tell me why we're letting wild-man lead us like leashed dogs. Last I checked, the Academy didn't throw us out with him in charge."
Kabir's chuckle floated back. "Because without me, the desert eats you before nightfall. The dunes don't forgive soft hands."
Shanaya scoffed. "Spoken like someone who's never had a bath in his life."
Leela shot her a sharp look. "Shanaya, stop. You saw what he did to the wyrm. We'd be dead if he hadn't shown up."
"And how lucky for him," Shanaya snapped. "He saves us and suddenly he's calling the shots. Tell me that doesn't stink like a setup."
Kabir slowed, just enough to glance over his shoulder. His eyes gleamed, half-amused, half-predatory. "A setup implies I care what happens to you. Don't flatter yourself. I'm here for him." He jabbed a finger at Neel.
The storm sparked violently at the words. Neel clenched his fists, forcing the sparks down. "I'm not a thing you can hunt."
Kabir's grin widened. "Not a thing. A beacon. And the desert loves beacons. Sooner or later, something's going to answer you. And when it does…" He let the silence stretch, heavy. "…you'd better pray I'm still around to stop it."
–––
By late afternoon, their throats burned with thirst. Leela rationed the water carefully, pouring just enough for each to sip. Shanaya complained loudly, but drank anyway. Neel let the water cool the back of his throat, though it did nothing for the storm still raging inside him.
The wind picked up. Grains of sand stung their skin, whispering across the dunes. Neel thought it sounded like voices — faint, indistinct. He stopped, staring into the shimmering horizon.
"Yes," the whisper purred inside his head. "Do you hear it? The chains buried beneath the dunes. The bones of those who tried to hold me. Walk deeper, Vessel. Walk where even kings broke."
He squeezed his eyes shut. "Get out of my head."
"Neel?" Leela touched his arm, worry creasing her brow. "What is it?"
He shook his head quickly. "Nothing. Just… the storm."
But she didn't believe him. Her gaze lingered on him as they walked, soft and pained.
–––
The dunes shifted around sunset, the sand rolling like waves as the heat bled into crimson light. Kabir slowed at the ridge of a tall dune. He crouched, brushing sand aside until the edge of something hard surfaced.
Bone.
It was massive — thick as a tree trunk, ridged like tusk. Half-buried, half-devoured by the desert.
Leela's eyes widened. "What… what kind of beast leaves something like that?"
Kabir's voice was low, almost reverent. "A sand-tusk boar. A monster older than empires. They roam these dunes when the desert is restless." His grin curved sharp. "And right now, the desert feels very restless."
Shanaya tensed. "You're joking. That's not real. The Academy would've told us—"
"They don't tell pampered students everything," Kabir interrupted smoothly. "They'd rather you die thinking the wild is a fairy tale."
Shanaya's fire flared along her fingertips, her voice sharp. "Say that again."
Kabir turned his gaze on her, unbothered. "You've got spark, fire-girl. But out here, spark doesn't matter. Only survival does."
Shanaya would've launched a fireball if Leela hadn't stepped between them. "Stop it! Both of you! We can't afford this."
Neel stood apart, staring at the half-buried tusk. The storm pulsed with recognition. "Yes. That one. Strong enough to test you. Strong enough to bow."
He shivered.
–––
Night fell. Stars spilled across the desert sky, endless and bright. They made camp beneath a dune wall, firelight flickering against stone.
Neel sat apart, staring at his hands as sparks crawled across his fingers. He tried to will them away, but they clung stubbornly, alive as breath.
Leela joined him quietly. She sat close but didn't speak at first, letting the silence stretch. Finally, she said softly, "Don't let Kabir decide who you are. And don't let the whisper decide either."
His throat tightened. "And if I can't fight it?"
"Then I'll fight it for you." Her voice was fierce, certain.
The whisper chuckled darkly. "Sweet lies. She thinks she can save you. But you know the truth, Vessel. You are not to be saved. You are to be unleashed."
Neel buried his face in his hands, the storm sparking wildly around him.
–––
On the ridge above, Kabir crouched in the shadows, his panther by his side. The beast's golden eyes glowed as it rumbled low.
Kabir's grin stretched wide. "The storm burns brighter every day." He stroked the panther's head absently. "Let it burn. The desert will tear him open… and I want to see what crawls out."
Far off, the dunes trembled faintly. Something vast shifted beneath the sand.
–––
The desert was too quiet.
Even the wolves had gone still, their ears pricked, bodies tense. The panther pressed low to the sand, muscles coiled, eyes fixed on the dark horizon. Overhead, the vulture screeched once and wheeled higher into the night sky.
Kabir rose smoothly from his crouch. "It's coming."
The ground trembled.
At first, it was faint — a distant vibration beneath their boots. Then it grew, heavier, like a drumbeat under the earth. The dunes rippled as though something massive swam beneath them.
Shanaya's flames sparked instantly. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."
Kabir grinned, teeth flashing. "Sand-tusk boar. Old blood of the desert. Hungry."
Before anyone could move, the dune exploded.
A monster erupted from the sand, its bulk shattering the slope. Its body was a mountain of muscle and hide, its skin armored with thick ridges of sandstone-like plates. Two tusks the size of tree trunks jutted from its jaw, curving upward, glowing faintly with runes that pulsed like molten veins. Its small eyes burned with feral rage.
The roar it bellowed shook the night, sending flocks of desert birds scattering into the stars.
Leela staggered back, her staff trembling in her grip. "It's enormous—"
Shanaya smirked despite the sweat on her brow. "Finally, something worth burning."
Kabir crossed his arms, unbothered. "Show me what you've got, Vessel. Don't disappoint me."
–––
The boar charged.
Sand sprayed in a violent wave as the beast thundered down the slope, tusks gouging the earth. Neel barely had time to throw up a shield of lightning before the monster slammed into it. Sparks exploded, a shockwave blasting through the camp. The shield cracked, forcing him to his knees.
"Neel!" Leela raised her staff, sending a torrent of water to the side. The stream hardened into ice, spikes jutting upward. The boar barreled through them, tusks shattering ice like glass, but its momentum slowed.
"Go low!" Shanaya shouted, flames wreathing her arms. She leapt, fire spiraling around her body as she slammed onto the boar's back. Heat seared its hide, flames clinging to the sandstone armor. The beast bellowed in fury, bucking violently.
Shanaya held on, teeth gritted. "Move, Neel! Hit it now!"
The whisper surged like a storm tide in his skull. "Yes. Burn it. Break it. Make it bow."
Neel thrust his hands forward. Lightning roared from his palms, arcing across the boar's body. The flames on its back ignited brighter under the charge. The beast screeched, crashing sideways into the sand, its tusks gouging trenches.
For a moment, Neel thought they had it.
But the boar rolled, thrashing violently. Shanaya was thrown clear, hitting the sand hard. The beast's tusk slammed down where she had landed — missing her by inches.
"Shanaya!" Leela screamed. She sent a wall of water crashing into the boar's face, forcing it back.
Neel's storm clawed at him, demanding more. "Kill it. Take its strength. Let it serve you."
He clutched his head, teeth grinding. "Get out of my head!"
Kabir's voice cut through, calm and sharp. "If you can't control it, Vessel, the desert will kill you. Choose. Now."
–––
The boar turned its rage back on Neel. It lowered its head, tusks glowing with heat, and charged. The ground shook with every step.
Neel felt the storm inside him snap. He roared, thrusting his hands outward. Lightning erupted, not in a beam, but in a stormfront — bolts raining down like falling stars, striking sand and tusk alike. The dunes lit up blue-white.
The boar screamed, tusks cracking, armor splitting under the force. It collapsed to its knees, sand hissing as molten cracks ran along its body.
But the power didn't stop. Neel's storm kept pouring, surging wild. The beast writhed, shrieking. Its tusks shattered, fragments scattering across the dunes like meteors. The smell of ozone and burning flesh filled the air.
"Neel, stop!" Leela ran forward, her hands on his arm. "You'll kill it— you'll kill yourself!"
Her voice broke through the storm. Just enough.
The lightning faltered, flickering, then died.
The boar collapsed, smoking, its chest rising in shallow, ragged breaths. It was alive, barely, its tusks broken, its body scarred — but not dead.
–––
Neel fell to his knees, gasping, sparks still crawling uncontrolled.
Shanaya limped back to her feet, hair wild, blood at her temple. She spat into the sand. "You almost fried us with that stunt." But her smirk was grudging. "Not bad, Vessel. Not bad at all."
Leela knelt beside Neel, eyes wide, hands trembling. "You stopped yourself. You pulled back. That means you're still fighting it."
Kabir strode forward, his wolves padding at his side. He crouched beside the wounded boar, pressing a hand to its hide. The beast shuddered but did not resist. Slowly, its breathing eased under his touch.
Kabir's grin widened. "Barely acceptable. But you made it bow." He glanced at Neel, eyes glinting. "The desert has acknowledged you."
Neel looked away, his chest still heaving. "I don't want its acknowledgment."
Kabir chuckled low. "Want has nothing to do with it. The wild doesn't care what you want. It only cares what you are."
–––
That night, as the others slept, Neel sat awake, staring at the broken tusk half-buried in the sand. Sparks crawled across its surface, answering his storm.
The whisper purred, soft as silk. "You see now. Even monsters bow. Even the wild kneels. Soon, the chains will too."
Neel closed his eyes, fists trembling.
And in the shadows, Kabir watched, his grin feral. "Good," he murmured. "Burn brighter, Vessel. I want to see you burn."
–––