The dunes stretched on, endless.
For two days they walked, their bodies aching, their water nearly gone. Every breath was dry, every step heavier. The corpses of the sand-tusk boar and the centipede were behind them, but their echoes lingered in the storm and in their bones.
Neel stumbled, sweat running into his eyes. Sparks danced faintly across his skin, not from strength but from exhaustion. He was burning out.
Leela steadied him, her hand gripping his arm. Her face was pale, lips cracked, but her eyes were determined. "You can't fall. Not here. Not yet."
Ahead, Kabir raised a hand. His wolves pricked their ears, and the panther growled low. Then Kabir pointed.
"There."
At first, Neel thought it was another mirage — a trick of heat. But as they crested the dune, he saw it clearly: an oasis.
A pool of water shimmered under the sun, ringed by glass-like stones that sparkled like jewels. Palms swayed gently, their leaves green and full, impossibly alive in the desert's dead heart.
Shanaya's jaw dropped. "By the gods… it's real?"
Kabir's grin curved sharp. "Nothing's real in the desert. Not unless it costs you something."
–––
They descended the dune. The air grew cooler, sweeter, as if the oasis pulled them in. The water glittered like liquid crystal. Neel's throat screamed for it.
Leela hesitated. "It feels… wrong."
"Wrong?" Shanaya snapped. "It feels like survival." She hurried forward, dropping to her knees at the pool's edge. She plunged her hands into the water, scooping it greedily to her mouth.
"Shanaya, wait—" Neel started, but too late.
She drank deeply, sighing. Then her eyes widened. She gasped, clutching her throat. For a heartbeat, Neel thought she was choking — but then she laughed, standing, flames bursting across her arms.
"This water… it's power," she breathed, her eyes blazing. "I feel alive again."
–––
Leela knelt cautiously, touching the pool with her staff. The water rippled, glowing faintly. Her brow furrowed. "It's not natural. It's infused with… something. Old. Dangerous."
Kabir crouched, dipping his fingers into the pool. He brought the drops to his mouth, tasting them like wine. His grin widened. "Ah. Blood and bone. The oasis is no gift. It's a grave."
Neel stiffened. "A grave?"
Kabir pointed at the glassy stones circling the pool. "Not stones. Bones. Sand burned to glass by heat greater than fire. This is where something died. Something vast."
The wolves whimpered, tails low. The panther hissed at the water.
–––
Despite Kabir's words, thirst clawed at Neel. His lips cracked, his throat raw. The water shimmered like salvation.
The whisper slithered into his mind. "Drink, Vessel. Drink, and let the bones of the dead feed you. Their strength is yours. Their chains are broken. Drink."
He clenched his fists, shaking his head. "No."
But his body screamed yes.
Leela grabbed his arm, eyes fierce. "Don't. It's a trap."
Shanaya glared at her. "Trap or not, I'm stronger now. Look at me." She raised her flaming hand, fire roaring hotter than before. "We need this. Without it, we'll die."
Kabir chuckled darkly. "Some truths are worse than dying. The desert doesn't give. It only trades."
–––
Neel stared into the pool. His reflection stared back — his eyes glowing faint, sparks crawling across his skin. But behind his reflection, he swore he saw another face.
A face of chains.
–––
The oasis shimmered, too perfect.
The water's surface rippled though no wind stirred, the palms swayed though no air moved. Neel's reflection stared back at him, but the eyes glowed white, chains coiling from their sockets like snakes.
Leela tightened her grip on his arm. "It's not real," she whispered. "Look at the stones. Look harder."
Neel forced his eyes away from the water. The "stones" around the pool gleamed in the firelight — but they weren't stones. They were rib bones, fused into glass, curving like the remains of a colossus.
Shanaya stood defiantly on the other side of the pool, fire blazing brighter than ever. "You're both paranoid. This oasis is the only reason I'm still standing. Stronger than ever." Her grin wavered, her eyes burning too brightly.
Kabir's chuckle echoed low. He crouched, fingers tracing the glassy bone. "Stronger, yes. But whose strength, fire-girl? Yours? Or the one buried here?"
–––
The water began to glow.
Red veins spread across the pool, pulsing like blood through flesh. The surface rippled, and shadows began to rise — not reflections, but forms. Soldiers in ancient armor, their faces half-erased, their bodies bound in chains of glass. Their mouths moved soundlessly, but their eyes fixed on Neel.
The whisper surged in his skull, giddy. "They know you. They see the storm. Drink, and their chains are yours. Drink, and they will kneel."
Neel stumbled back, his sparks crackling violently. "No—"
Shanaya's laughter rang, brittle. "Do you hear them? They're offering us power! This is what we've been searching for." Her flames danced wildly, searing the air.
Leela stepped forward, staff glowing blue. "Shanaya, stop! This isn't power — it's poison. Look at yourself!"
Shanaya's flames faltered for a heartbeat, her eyes flickering uncertain. But the glow from the water surged, and the chained phantoms raised their hands toward her. Her fire roared brighter, her grin twisting.
–––
The ground shuddered.
From beneath the pool, something vast stirred. The water boiled, glass cracking at the edges. A deep rumble shook the air, like a beast breathing after centuries of silence.
Kabir's panther snarled, backing away. The wolves whimpered, tails pressed to the ground.
Kabir's grin widened. "Ah. Now we see the truth."
The pool erupted.
A colossal skull breached the surface, fused with crystal and bone, tusks of glass curving upward. Its sockets glowed with crimson fire, chains rattling from its jaw. The oasis wasn't an oasis at all — it was the grave of an ancient beast, and it was waking.
–––
Neel staggered back, lightning surging wildly across his body. The whisper howled in his mind, ecstatic. "YES! Break its chains! Take its throne! Storm devours storm!"
Leela grabbed his shoulders, forcing his gaze to hers. "Neel, listen to me! It's feeding on you. On Shanaya. On all of us. If you give in, it wins."
His breath came ragged, the storm sparking uncontrolled. The chained phantoms circled him, whispering wordless promises of strength. Shanaya's laughter echoed, flames spiraling higher as though the beast's awakening filled her veins.
Kabir stepped closer to the pool, his eyes shining with hunger. "Magnificent," he whispered. "A grave that still breathes. A beast that still remembers."
–––
The skull lowered, chains dragging from its jaw into the water. Its crimson eyes locked on Neel.
Leela raised her staff, planting it firmly into the sand. "We can't fight it. Not like this. We need to seal it."
"Seal it?" Shanaya snapped, fire curling dangerously around her. "Are you insane? This is ours to claim!"
Kabir laughed low, his panther growling at his side. "Seal it if you like, healer. But storms don't seal graves. Storms tear them open."
–––
Neel's fists trembled, sparks blinding against the night. The choice was tearing him apart. The whisper pressed closer, louder, chains rattling in his skull.
"Choose, Vessel. Chains or storm. Grave or throne."
–––