The air was a furnace, breathing grit and the taste of old metal. Under a bruised, purple sky, the desert stretched into oblivion. Silence, heavy and watchful, was the land's only voice.
Jade stood, the bone-white haft of his scythe cool against his palm. A hundred paces to his left, Zero stood equally still, his long odachi resting on his shoulder.
A translucent blue screen materialized in the air before them.
<< SYSTEM NOTIFICATION >>
First Floor: The Scorched Dunes
Instance: Locked
Objective: Annihilate all enemies.
Adaptive Interface Unlocked: Entity Identification active.
You may now perceive the Name and Level of hostile entities.
The screen faded. As it did, the sand fifty yards ahead shuddered. Four mounds swelled, shedding grains like water, solidifying into humanoid forms of compacted sand and stone. Above each one, a small tag now glowed steadily:
< Sand Golem – Lv.1 >
"A welcoming committee," Zero remarked, his voice low and even.
Jade's lips curled into a faint, dangerous smile. "Let's not keep them waiting."
A new screen flashed:
<< PHASE 1/3 INITIATED >>
Jade was the first to move. A blur of white hair and dark cloth, he closed the distance. The lead golem swung a heavy, stone fist. Jade dropped into a slide beneath the blow. As he passed underneath, his scythe swept upward, shearing the golem's arm off at the elbow. The limb dissolved into sand mid-air. He completed his spin, the scythe's blade humming as it carved through the creature's legs, sending it collapsing into a heap.
Zero met his charge head-on. He stood his ground as a golem lunged. At the last possible second, he sidestepped. The golem's fist smashed into the ground where he had stood. Zero's odachi became a silver flash. Shiiing! The blade cleaved through the golem's extended arm and deep into its torso, splitting the core within. It froze, then crumbled.
The remaining two golems attacked in unison. One charged Jade, who parried a wild swing, the impact sending a shock up his arms. He used the momentum to spin, driving the blade's point deep into the creature's back. The last one stumbled towards Zero, who ended it with a simple, precise thrust through its crystalline core.
Silence returned.
Jade stood amidst dissected piles of sand. He turned and saw Zero resettling his odachi.
Crimson eyes met silver-green.
"Efficient," Jade said.
"Thorough," Zero replied.
In that look, an understanding was forged. They were rivals.
The ground trembled. A new screen burned in their vision.
<< PHASE 2/3 INITIATED >>
The sand erupted in twelve different places.
< Sand Golem – Lv.1 >
The number had tripled.
This time, the golems swarmed from all sides. Jade became a storm, his scythe a whirlwind. He parried a blow, ducked under another, and beheaded one creature, only to immediately sweep the legs out from under two more. One caught him on the shoulder with a glancing blow, the impact solid and jarring.
Zero became the unshakable center. He deflected a punch, the force shattering the golem's arm, and in the same motion, reversed his grip to behead another. A golem managed to get inside his reach, but he dropped his shoulder, slammed the pommel of his sword into its face, staggering it, before finishing it with a downward slash.
They were a duet. Jade's wide arcs controlled the space. Zero's precise strikes eliminated any that broke through.
When the last one fell, the silence was heavy with anticipation.
<< PHASE 3/3 INITIATED >>
Objective: Defeat the Sand-Colossus Guardian.
The ground before the fortress gates exploded. A true titan rose, a behemoth of packed earth and jagged rock, standing four times their height. Its eyes were fissures of molten amber. The tag above it pulsed with ominous light:
< Sand-Colossus Guardian – Lv.3 >
It lunged, a fist hammering down. Jade and Zero leaped apart, the impact launching a wave of sand.
The fight was brutal. The Colossus was fast. It swiped a massive hand, forcing Jade to contort to avoid it. He retaliated, leaping and bringing his scythe down on its wrist. The blade sparked against the rock armor. The Colossus roared and backhanded him, sending Jade flying. He twisted, landing in a roll, his side aching.
Zero charged, his odachi flashing. He aimed for the ankle, but the Guardian stomped, the shockwave throwing him off balance. A kick caught Zero in the chest, sending him skidding backward.
"Distract it!" Zero yelled.
Jade moved. He became a ghost, drawing its gaze, dodging, weaving, his scythe constantly scraping against its limbs.
Seeing the creature's attention fixed, Zero focused. He took a deep breath, his grip tightening. He gathered his intent.
The Colossus, enraged, overextended, leaning forward for a two-handed smash.
NOW.
Jade feinted left, then rolled right, creating the opening.
Zero exploded into motion. He crossed the distance and launched into the air. The odachi gleamed with a faint, silver aura—the pure condensation of his will. He brought it down in a perfect, devastating arc.
SHIIING-CRACK!
The blade struck the Colossus's shoulder, shearing through rock, earth, and the magical core within. The amber light in its eyes died. A massive crack spread across its body. It froze, then collapsed in a thunderous roar of dissolving sand and stone.
In the quiet, a large Soul Shard pulsed where its heart had been.
The colossal black gates groaned open.
As one, Jade and Zero stepped across the threshold.
A chime echoed.
<< FLOOR 1 CLEARED. >>
<< REWARDS CALCULATING... >>
<< RETURNING TO SANCTUARY... >>
The world dissolved into gold. The last thing Jade saw was Zero turning to him.
"It seems," Zero said, his voice the last solid thing in the fading world, "we have much to discuss, rival."