Kairos’s glare grew cold, his breath catching in his throat as realization dawned on him—he was caught within the colossal maws of the Tyrannical beast, its jagged teeth glinting like obsidian scythes under the desert sun. The creature’s jaws were poised to snap shut, to crush him in a single rciless bite.
There was no ti to think. No ti to plan.
Instinct surged within him like lightning.
"Shadow Swap!" he yelled, voice cracking as the heat of panic overtook his mind.
He didn’t know if it would work. He didn’t even know if he’d cast it in ti. But desperation was sotis more powerful than strategy. The creature wasted no mont. With a sickening crunch, its enormous mouth snapped shut, pulverizing everything within its cavernous jaws into a grueso mash of broken bones and pulverized debris.
And yet, it tasted nothing.
The Tyrant’s eyes widened—if such a monstrous creature could express surprise—before it suddenly collapsed to the ground, falling sideways with a thunderous crash. The impact caused a great rumble across the barren desert, sending a plu of sand exploding into the air like a storm. The beast was dazed, montarily stunned.
Perhaps this was the first ti it had ever been completely out of the earth.
Or... perhaps it was simply confused. Its prey had vanished within seconds.
anwhile, Kairos gasped in the dry air as he reappeared on the desert surface, right at the edges of the gaping pit that was now quickly collapsing in on itself. The place where the beast had erged was swallowing itself back into the earth, the sand flowing in like a whirlpool.
His heart slowed only slightly—he had escaped death’s jaw. Barely. But the situation hadn’t improved.
The hole was filling fast.
Too fast.
Kairos’s eyes widened as the loose sand rushed in, threatening to bury everything within it. He flung both hands upward, trying to grab onto the rim of the hole, nails clawing desperately for so kind of grip.
But the mont he touched the edge, it betrayed him.
All it did was drag more sand down on top of him.
"Arghhh!" he cried out in frustration and terror, his voice muffled by the cascading earth. He threw his hands again toward the edge, grasping clumps of sand that slipped right through his fingers. He tried again to pull himself up.
But nothing worked.
Only more sand fell with him, entombing him faster.
’Fuck! Fuck! Is this where I’m going to die? Buried alive?!’
His thoughts spiraled into chaos as he clawed at the walls, unknowingly accelerating his own entrapnt. His arms thrashed, his legs kicked, but it was like swimming in dust. A tomb of sand was forming around him.
And then the realization hit him like a thunderbolt—the Tyrant. It wouldn’t stay down for long. The creature would regain its senses, and once it did... he’d be trapped in its hunting ground, completely helpless.
He was going to die.
Buried alive or torn limb from limb—it didn’t matter.
The Eye of Clairvoyance, a divine gift tied to his mysterious title, now failed to track him clearly in the thick haze of the collapsing pit. He was hidden. Even from his own foresight.
Then—just before the sand reached his face, in the final mont before being completely consud—
He acted.
Shadow Swap!
In a blink, he was out.
The creature took his place once more, the sands swallowing it again. Kairos materialized several feet from the rim of the crater, slamming into the scorching desert floor on his knees. He coughed violently, spitting out clumps of dust, sand bursting from his lungs, pouring out of his nostrils, coating his tongue.
It was an impossible sensation—drowning without water.
But his integration held strong, allowing him to survive the pain, barely holding his fragnted body together.
Still, he wasn’t out of the inferno yet.
Kairos forced himself to his feet, legs trembling, arms numb. He ignored the pounding in his chest, the sharp ache in his back, the choking dryness in his throat. He ran, pushing himself into a sprint, desperate to flee before the monster recovered.
He could only pray that he’d gain so ground.
But the gods were cruel.
As though mocking his hope, the desert floor rumbled behind him.
The Tyrant moved.
The dark mass twisted and lunged, slithering across the sands with inhuman speed. It would not be fooled again.
Kairos’s legs burned as he surged forward, his muscles screaming, sweat stinging his eyes, the taste of blood and grit heavy in his mouth.
He pushed the Eye of Clairvoyance to its limit, tracking every motion of the Tyrant behind him. His integration surged through his veins, amplifying his movents—but even so, he knew the truth:
He wouldn’t make it.
Not before his body gave out. Not before his lungs collapsed. Not before exhaustion claid him.
There was no escape. No haven. No miracle weapon. Nothing to stop this monster.
He was just prolonging the inevitable.
’I’m going to die here, aren’t I?’ the thought was bitter, but even so, he ran harder.
Why?
He didn’t know.
He was going to die anyway. Yet sothing inside him still scread to run.
The sands fought back, sinking and dragging at his steps, slowing him down. The monster behind him gained on him fast, its horrific screeches growing louder.
’Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’ Kairos groaned internally, his body nearing collapse. His arms weighed like anchors, his legs moved like iron bars, and his lungs—
They were burning. Filled with sand. Dry and cracked.
And... was he hallucinating?
A jagged silhouette shimred on the horizon. His blurry vision spotted sothing—
A cliff. A mountain.
Rocks.
Sharp, solid... real.
Only fourteen feet away.
He could see a man-sized crevice in the stone, just large enough to squeeze into. A sanctuary.
But the Tyrant was almost upon him—only two feet behind.
It would reach him before he could leap.
’Damn it! One more burst, body! One more... Damn it, jump!’
Kairos flung himself forward, teeth clenched, every nerve in his body screaming. He lunged toward the stone, toward the hole, toward survival.
Behind him, the Tyrant lunged too.
Its mouth snapped open.
Snap!
The creature’s fangs grazed his back—razor-sharp teeth sliced through flesh, tearing deep gashes across his shoulder blades. Pain seared through him like fire.
But he flew out of reach.
His body crashed onto the stone floor, the impact jarring every bone in his body. He tumbled sideways, rolling across the jagged surface before skidding to a painful halt deep inside the crevice.
He lay still, chest heaving, mouth wide open as air returned to his lungs.
Outside, the Tyrant screeched, pacing at the entrance to the stone cavern.
But it did not enter.
It paused, then slowly receded, its presence fading into the distance.
Kairos had made it.
He had survived the blistering desert.
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