The Sun-Strider devoured the terrain beneath it. Kaito held tightly to the steering yoke, his hair whipping wildly in the wind as they raced across the desolated expanse. The vehicle's long, mechanical legs moved with a remarkable fluidity, their hydraulic sounds accompanying the engine's steady hum.
The landscape flashed by in a whirlwind of vibrant colors and life. They passed by a herd of gigantic Lumenkins with glowing tusks, identified as Brontusks by the LuminaDrive—powerful creatures that moved like living, breathing continents. A solitary, serpentine figure basked on a vast, shimmering salt flat, its brass-colored scales glimmering. A Solaryn, a rare sight that would mesmerize any player in the game.
Kaito barely took his eyes off the road. "Beautiful," he muttered, his focus quickly returning to the ahead. "Keep moving, Auri. No time for sightseeing."
Auri chirped in agreement from her spot on the dashboard, understanding the urgency just as well as he did.
The LuminaDrive map glowed steadily in his peripheral vision, guiding them toward their destination, while a harsh countdown loomed above it.
[TIME UNTIL NIGHTFALL: 14 HOURS 32 MINUTES]
They had been traveling for four hours, and the sun was already starting its slow descent. Time was slipping away.
"Faster," Kaito urged, pressing the throttle further. The Sun-Strider whined but sped up, its legs adjusting accordingly.
They soon left the plains behind, entering a forest of crystalline trees. Sunlight filtered through the glass-like trunks, casting dazzling rainbows across the forest floor. Bird-like Lumenkins with transparent wings—Veilarks—danced among the branches, making them appear ghostly.
It was stunning, but it slowed their pace. The jagged crystal roots made for uneven ground, forcing the Sun-Strider to proceed cautiously to avoid damaging its legs.
"Come on, come on, come on," Kaito muttered anxiously, gripping the yoke tighter. Each second spent moving slowly in the forest felt like a wasted moment; he could feel the pressure mounting within him, a tight knot growing in his chest. The darkness was approaching, and it wouldn't wait.
At last, they emerged from the trees, revealing the ruins of a vast city—a skeletal labyrinth of fallen skyscrapers and fractured highways, remnants of a world that had perished ages ago.
"Okay, new plan," Kaito said, tension evident in his voice. "We'll stick to the highways; it's the quickest route."
He directed the Sun-Strider onto the crumbling expressway. For a while, everything seemed perfect as they raced through the decaying city, a gray blur surrounding them.
Then, the highway abruptly ended.
It wasn't a gradual decline. A huge stretch of road, about a kilometer long, had collapsed into a deep chasm. The road continued on the other side, a cruel tease.
"No," Kaito gasped, his heart sinking. "No, no, no!"
He slammed his hand on the console. The chasm was too wide to jump across, and the drop too perilous to survive. They were trapped.
His mind raced for a solution until he spotted massive, thick cables stretching across from his side of the chasm to the other. Old highway support cables, covered in rust and moss, yet seemingly intact.
"Auri," he said, his demeanor shifting to calm problem-solver mode. "I have a crazy idea."
He pointed to the thickest cable. "I need you to hit it. But not with a big blast—be precise. Aim where it connects to the other side. Use a small Gleam Dart to weaken the metal enough to fray it. Can you manage that?"
Auri studied the thick cable before meeting his gaze again. She chirped confidently. 'Precision. Yes.'
She took off, like a golden arrow against the gray sky. Hovering near the cable, Kaito held his breath. This was a one-time shot.
A tiny bead of light formed at her beak, smaller than anything he had seen before, and shot out, striking the rusted metal connection spot on the mark. There was no explosion—just a sharp ping and a burst of sparks.
For a moment, nothing seemed to occur. Then, with a groan of protesting metal, the cable snapped, swinging down like a gigantic, rusty pendulum. It crashed into the cliff face below, then swung back up, creating a makeshift bridge at an angle from their side to a point about halfway across the chasm.
It wasn't ideal, and it was terrifying, but it was a way forward.
"Yes!" Kaito shouted, grinning widely. "You're amazing, Auri! Absolutely amazing!"
He carefully maneuvered the Sun-Strider onto the swaying cable, which groaned under their weight. The chasm gaped below them, a shadowy abyss. Kaito avoided looking down, keeping his eyes on the path ahead with steady hands on the controls.
Reaching the end of the cable, they still faced a twenty-meter gap to the other side.
"This is it," Kaito whispered. "All or nothing."
He revved the engine to its limit. "Hold on!"
He pressed the throttle, and the Sun-Strider's legs worked vigorously, gaining speed on the swaying cable. At the last moment, he pulled back on the yoke. The vehicle launched into the air.
For a brief, exhilarating moment, they soared. The Sun-Strider flew, its legs kicking at nothing. Then it crashed onto solid ground on the other side with a bone-jarring thud. The vehicle skidded, spun, and came to a halt a few feet from the chasm's edge.
Kaito sat there, panting, his heart racing in his chest. They had made it.
He glanced at the sun, now a fiery orb, dangerously close to the horizon.
[TIME UNTIL NIGHTFALL: 02 HOURS 17 MINUTES]
He revved the engine again, and they sped off across the last stretch of ruined highway. Then, he spotted it.
In the distance rose a colossal structure against the setting sun: a fortress of concrete and mirrored glass, centered around a massive glowing dome. Lumenreach.
They were going to make it.