In the dark of night — silent, vast, and deep — a desert lay beneath the freezing winds that cut to the bone.
Amid that endless darkness, faint lights flickered — lonely, enchanting, and mesmerizing.
They shimmered in violet-blue, decorated with golden orbs that floated around them like stars. From that violet glow came a sound.
"REZZZZ!"
A massive sandworm lunged out from beneath the dunes. It was over nine meters long, its mouth wider than two, filled with rings of sharp, blade-like teeth — each one pure white, shaped like curved knives.
Its gaping maw could make anyone who looked at it shudder in terror, disgusted by the sight, as if such a creature shouldn't exist in this world.
Yet, despite its horrifying mouth, the worm's body carried a strange, alluring beauty. Its surface was smooth and sleek, shining with a vivid violet-blue light that glowed faintly across the sand. Tiny bulges swelled across its body — small blisters that burst after a moment, releasing glowing golden motes that drifted upward like little stars.
Those golden stars shone around it, spreading radiant halos of light.
That creature was known as the Radiant Worm, and what it had just done was lure, attract, and hunt its prey.
In that cold, fog-covered night, another spark appeared in the distance — like a torch guiding the blind.
But the worm wasn't only drawing prey toward it. It was waiting for someone — an enemy it knew would appear, no matter what happened.
Vwooo—
A gust of freezing wind swept through, carrying with it a faint shadow hidden within the golden light.
"GRAA~!"
From beneath the sand, a giant lava shark burst upward. Its body was covered in volcanic rock, still glowing faintly with red and gold embers.
It shot through the air, aiming straight for the floating golden motes, jaws wide open, filled with teeth carved from black obsidian.
But the worm had already vanished beneath the sand. In an instant, it struck back — its massive mouth opened wide, and its tongue lashed out.
Though the tongue appeared thin, soft, and fragile, it easily pierced through the shark's thick skin, punching a clean hole through its body.
BANG!
The stone shark crashed to the ground, twisting before exploding before the glowing worm's eyes.
BOOM!
Sand erupted. The night sky tore apart with a deep, thunderous roar that echoed across the desert.
The lava shark shattered into chunks of rock. Some fragments flew into the sky, others embedded deep into the sand — but all of them were connected by molten streams of lava, glowing like fiery glue binding the pieces together.
"GRUUUAHH!"
The worm roared. Its long body blazed with golden light, surrounded by rings of glowing motes. The stars spiraled around it, cutting through the sand in brilliant, dazzling circles.
In an instant, the shattered rocks began to move. They reassembled — massive, mechanical, like something out of a science fiction dream.
Four giant claws made of molten stone burst from the sand, stabbing deep into the ground. The lava shark had transformed — reborn as a stone crab, with veins of molten lava glowing between cracks in its shell. Its outer armor shone red-hot, dripping molten droplets that exploded upon hitting the sand, scorching everything they touched.
The Radiant Worm let out a furious roar. The glowing lumps along its body exploded one after another, scattering countless golden motes into the air. The light struck the crab's shell, cooling its surface and cracking it apart.
But the crab swung its claws down — a violent strike that split the desert.
CRASH!
A line of molten lava cut across the sand, slicing through the worm's glowing body, splitting it clean in half in a single instant.
Sand, fire, and light merged into one — turning the desert into a sea of flames flickering in the dark.
Within that chaotic battle, sounds mixed together — the crash of stone, the roars of beasts, the hiss of molten lava.
Far from the battlefield, a lone figure walked calmly through the darkness.
He wore a black cloak that blended into the night, moving alone and unhurried. In his hand was an old lantern, intricately carved yet covered in rust and marks of time.
The lantern's dim light illuminated the path ahead, revealing a bloodstained scene. Dozens of dead Radiant Worms lay on both sides of the path, their bodies charred, their glow extinguished. They emitted a burnt scent — as if they had been incinerated not long ago.
Their remains were twisted and crushed, showing signs of a brutal battle. Around them lay fragments of rock and cooled magma, frozen solid under the desert's biting cold.
The cloaked figure stepped through the wreckage until he stopped before a metal door half-buried in sand.
Etched on its surface were the words:
(AREA 7)
…
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness.
Deep within the abyss below, sparks of light flashed and disappeared.
Jax was running along the right side of the chaos — no, it wasn't a battle. It was madness, the kind of fight he despised most.
Luckily, he didn't have to join in — not yet. Right now, he had something else to focus on.
He ran through the warzone, past screams, cries, laughter, and the shrieks of the centipedes.
A massive red-gold centipede crawled up from beneath the ground. It was smaller than the others, but still blocked his path.
Jax didn't bother dodging. He stepped on its head, using it as leverage to leap into the air, propelling himself forward.
He couldn't use his full power — too much mana would attract their attention. And that was something he couldn't afford.
"GRUUU~""GUUURRR~"
The roars echoed from the cliffs. Even without looking, he knew who they belonged to.
That was his next opponent — but not yet.
Kicking off a nearby rock, Jax channeled a small surge of mana into its sharp edge. The stone lifted, and he kicked it hard.
It shot forward like a bullet, piercing through the neck of a mountain ape.
But it didn't end there — the wounded ape tumbled into the abyss, dragging hundreds more with it.
"DAMN IT!" Jax shouted. He hated this plan, but he knew it was working.
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the deep pit and jumped straight in — as if his life meant nothing.
"CHASE HIM!!"
A voice roared behind the horde of mountain apes. Without seeing, Jax could already tell — it was Julien.
And, of course, right behind him was Evelyn, hiding in the shadows beneath the apes.
The apes slid down the rocky cliffs, plunging into the abyss one after another. With over a hundred of them, the descent turned into chaos.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The noise echoed through the night — and then, suddenly, everything stopped.
The sounds vanished. The air froze.
Dozens of eyes turned toward the apes crawling down the cliff.
Their noise had drawn attention — from the mad ones.
And now, they were about to face them.
A finger lifted.
A single black wooden puppet stood motionless in the center of the chaos, as the world itself seemed to hold its breath.