Amidst the lively chattering of citizens, whose voices mingled together in a symphony of resilience and camaraderie, the Yan and Chu warriors sprang into action. They thrummed with energy, their limbs and their muscles coiled as they dashed. Through the crimson dust-laden streets of Activia, weaving effortlessly around clusters of onlookers
With a flick of their fingers, streams of water erupted behind them from the barrel. The water glistened in the midday sun, catching and refracting the light in a spray of miniature rainbows as the warriors danced through the chaos. Water swirling around their arms and shoulders, each movement was precise, every leap and pivot was beautiful.
They can create formless threads from their magic that can connect with any object and thing around. This is called formless control and it's something only those with a firm grasp over their magic can achieve. Requiring one to expel the magic in their body through their hands and towards the object to form a connection.
Treating the thread and object as if they were one's own limb, the warriors guided the water with uncanny finesse.
"Follow my lead!" shouted a fierce Yan warrior, her eyes sparkling beneath a mask of crimson dust. With a sweeping gesture, she sent a wave surging over a battered wall, the water crashing down and peeling away layers of crimson grime. Sunlight caught on the clean stone, making it gleam like new.
To her left, a powerful Chu warrior leaped over a cobbled street, a stream of water followed as he spun mid-air. With a twist of his wrist, he sent the torrent of water following him, creating a shimmering arc that crashed down upon the ground with a triumphant splatter. "Don't hold back!" he encouraged, laughter dancing in his voice as the water splashed over a broad stone path, each ripple erasing the signs of chaos left behind.
Over thirty Chu and Yan warriors maneuvered through the densely packed streets, a blur of colors and motion. Each step was choreographed, every arm movement synchronized as they painted the city with a sweeping wave of water. They leaped over obstacles, ducked under low-hanging arches, and skimmed past wide-eyed citizens, their excitement infectious. The city echoed with the slap of wet boots, the gasp of bystanders, and the riotous laughter of the warriors themselves.
"Over here! Finish this corner!" Called out another Yan warrior. She concentrated, directing the stream towards a particularly stubborn patch of crimson powder clinging to a wall.
As they neared the city's towering walls crafted not just of stone. But also massive skeletons from creatures long past, a wave of anticipation coursed through the warriors.
"Prepare for the final arc!"
With a coordinated flurry, they gathered the crimson streams, the water pooling at their feet before rising to form a colossal wave, rising higher and higher with each moment. Unity was their strength.
"Now!"
The great crimson stream shot upward, towering like a torrent of water. It sliced through the air with grace, arcing magnificently over the remains of the skeletal structures.
"Man, I love doing that." Laughed a bulky Chu warrior, shaking droplets from his short brown hair, his grin dazzling.
"Indeed… I guess Prince Lorian won this round. He is venturing through the desert at this moment with a big start." Said a blond Yan warrior, sighing as she surveyed their handiwork.
"He sure did, although we wished he held back a bit." A short-haired woman with blond hair, a Yan Warrior, said with a sigh. "The Council is going to get noisy and annoying."
"Ahh, right. Well maybe I can catch a mission-" A Yan warrior with dark brown hair said, looking around.
"Too late. The lucky ones have already left, before the prince escape" Another Chu Warrior interjected with a chuckle as the Yan Warrior sighed with a pitiful look.
"Gord is going to be enraged when he wakes up," someone quipped.
"He's still knocked out?" A Yan warrior asked, scratching his head in disbelief.
"More like none of the Chu warriors near his unconscious body want to wake him up." At this, the others blinked, then nodded in unison, lips twitching in amusement.
"Sounds about right."
"Well, let's continue our work, only 1/10 section of the city has been cleaned. Hopefully someone wakes up Gord before we're done."
"Indeed."
And with a renewed burst of laughter and energy, the warriors launched themselves back into the fray.
…
Anisa Desert.
After an hour, the sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm golden hue over the vast expanse of the desert. Lorian, Uro, and Selene rode atop their Unicol, the powerful creatures galloping gracefully across the undulating sands. Each stride sent ripples through the golden grains as Lorian eyes glanced around.
His gaze wandered across the horizon, where the jagged silhouette of ancient buildings emerged like ghosts from the sandy expanse. Towering remnants of stone structures loomed ahead, some crumbling but still proud. Their weathered facades told stories of countless lives lived and dreams built long ago. He marveled at the intricate carvings fading into the stone, whispers of artistry that transcended ages.
'So many civilizations were built on these sands yet all of them fell into ruin… But only those civilizations which left something behind are remembered. While the others became nothing, forgotten as if they never existed… A sad and cruel reality.' Lorian thought idly.
In the distance, he spotted a cluster of ruins, half-buried in the desert's embrace. Tall, broken remnants of arches reached skyward, their shapes ravaged by a relentless sun. Patches of vivid desert wildflowers sprouted between the stones, defiantly interrupting the starkness of the terrain.
'Yet these ruins display such an amazing and beautiful sight. That always leaves me in awe and wonder…'
A beeping sound, sharp and insistent, cut through Lorian's reverie, pulling him abruptly from the depths of his thoughts. Just then, the ground trembled behind, the surface shifting like a restless ocean.
A sudden whoosh of air broke the stillness as the sand began to peel back, swirling with a life of its own. A towering, massive arms made of sand rose slowly, showers of sand falling as it did. As the colossal form took shape, two pairs of luminous white eyes ignited at the top, their light flickering like flames.
The Sand Giant's arms coiled with an almost serpentine grace, each finger composed of countless grains that swirled together.
"Anunnakis and it's a Sand Giant one. I thought it would be until after leaving the first town that we would encounter one." Lorian muttered in astonishment.
"It seems one traveled over here. But as always, it's hard to tell their movements. Fortunately it's only an Apprentice level." Uro said, eyes still staring ahead even as the Sand Giant closed in on them.
Sand swirled around the sand giant, and its body shined from the sun rays. Its hulking form lacked legs, yet it glided effortlessly atop the dune's rippling surface, crossing distance in a heartbeat. In less than four seconds, its shadow swallowed them whole. It raised one of its massive arms before blasting out with a fist towards them, encompassing all three Unicols.
Selene simply turned around and then slowly began bowing her head towards the sant giant.
[Ruler - Kowtow.]
The Sand Giant body froze, a formless and invisible force grasped it.
Then its limb began twisting and contorting, cracks began appearing on its luminous eyes and limbs. Intricate patterns of intersecting cracks grew from its eyes, across its entire body before then a shattering sound rang out. The Sand Giant body erupted, sand splashing all over as Selene moved her body up, not fulfilling the bow.
"Good work, Selene!"
"Unfortunately, there is more." Uro says as his eyes ignore the shaking of ground, focusing on four swirls of sands before them.
Two on the right and left.
"Not to worry, we will-" Selene's eyes narrowed before she changed her words. "Continue moving, they didn't come out to fight."
Lorien and Uro's expressions change after hearing her words, both quickly urging the Unicols to quickly speed up. The trio rushed past the emerging sand giants, releasing a roar before they began chasing after.
The four Sand Giants figures were bigger than the one Selene destroyed, and they continued growing bigger as seconds passed. Towering over Lorian and his companions, their arms raised, over their heads outwards. Lorian glanced up, he saw their figures melded into each other, growing even more massive.
As they combined, the ground beneath them trembled violently, the sandy surface. With a deafening roar, the mass of sand erupted into a swirling tsunami, a monstrous wave of shifting grains that surged forward like an avalanche ready to engulf anything in its path.
"Freeze!" Selene shouted, each syllable laced with commanding authority.
[Ruler - Control Freak!]
In an instant, the roaring wave stilled.
Every swirling grain, every gust, every trembling shift in the dunes halted under her decree. Seizing the moment, the Unicols darted clear of the looming shadow. Just as ten seconds passed, everything began moving again.
The sand tsunami collapsed in an earthshaking roar, the dunes fracturing and rising plumes of dust skyward. Vibrations pulsed through the desert floor as chunks of dune tumbled like tidal waves. Lorien risked a backward glance at the wasteland behind them, witnessing the vast, silent ruin left in the wake of the Anunnaki's deadly power.
The Anunnaki were believed to be a beast that had a natural affinity for the natural phenomenon and forces of Cosmos. But where they differ is that Anunnaki are creatures that only appear to either attack or when they are at the end of their lifespan. At the end, their body burst into the disaster they originate from. Which is why the Sand Giant bodies burst into a massive tsunami and produce earthquakes. They were believed to form from earthquakes in the world and sand tsunamis.
'Since they move through the sand, the compass can't pick up their movements. And their magic only shows after they rise up… On the positive side, it looked pretty amazing.' Lorian hummed to himself, turned his head.
"Seems like an Apprentice level one close to Adapt level. But this should delay the search team that comes after us from the lack of tracks." Uro said, glancing at the rolling sand.
Based on the range, that tsunami could easily engulf and destroy an entire town and village.
"That's true… Speaking of them, how many Ascendants do you think they will send?" Lorian asked with a faint smile.
In the world of Luminous, the people who broke through the limits of ordinary humans were called Ascendants. They have superhuman characteristics ranging from a strong body to improved mind and even faster thinking speed and cognition. All made possible from the Magic that flows through the world of Cosmo, spun inside of their body - granting them the powers of the Archetypes.
Uro held his chin. "Normally the Councils would send a squad of thirty with at least one Expert Ruler Ascendants, two or more Adept as Magician, Warrior and Lover with the rest being a mix of Apprentices and Novice. All from the Chu Warriors for a retrieval mission."
Lorien fell into thought, realizing it had been a while since he thought of the Archetypes. All Ascendants strength were broken up into six ranks of Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master and Legendary. A ranking category created for simplicity but based on how well one understands themselves and how strong they were.
Ascendants are divided into the groups of Ruler, Magician, Warrior, and Lover pathways.
'Only problem is… The names the ancient text had for them…' Lorian thought in amusement as he opened his mouth. "So the biggest problem is the one Weakling Ruler and the two Hero, Precious Child or Oedipal Child, huh?"
"Most likely."
Selene let out a pleasant hum. "They would send more because it's the retrieval of the young master." Uro and Lorian nodded as Selene continued. "But at most it will be a team of eight or ten."
Uro nodded with a smirk. "A lot of Activia warriors were sent to the various towns in the empire border. Right now, they should still be helping with the beast tides around those areas."
"While multiple groups were sent to the Fortress of Nelihali and with the Council to Ortiva." Selene continued softly.
Uro eyes slightly narrowed at Selene words. "They will have to send a small group, a squad. As the rest will be focused on guarding and keeping the city safe… But the squad would be prepared to counter us by the Council review."
Lorian's eyes shifted to the hill on the right; near the base he spotted a peculiar collection of stones clustered together. Each one etched with mysterious symbols and writings, he couldn't see them clearly but knew the language was already lost. Still, he always enjoyed seeing how the desert was filled with remnants of the past.
As if the desert itself was one giant record keeper.
"Don't worry too much Uro, everything will be fine." Lorin raised the compass, "let's continue picking up the pace."
"Your right, Nuya isn't far. But it is still a more than an hour ride."
All three tapped the Unicols a bit harder, leading it to roar before moving even faster. The Unicols rushed up the small hill before them as the heat from the sunlight on the horizon shimmered in waves.