The Karnen Returns

Even atop Mount Pyre, Akash could see it—a shadow spreading across the red sands, dark and unnatural. A stygian tide of chitin and scale churned over the dunes, a horde moving as one. Their primal hissing and clicking shattered the silence of the heavens, drowning out even the Lunar Storm's roar. The Spire, towering like a needle piercing the clouds, seemed to quiver under the weight of the sound.

The creatures moved swiftly, as though they were born of these sands, the land bending to their will. Their four-pronged, pincer-like arms tore through the dunes, sifting sand with an unnatural grace, while long, digit-like tails dragged behind them, carving faint trails into the earth. Their bodies shimmered under the fractured sunlight breaking through storm clouds, their chitinous shells reflecting the grains of sand like a cruel, living mirage. Vibrating slits on their sides expelled sand in rhythmic bursts, leaving small whirlwinds in their wake.

And then the ground began to tremble.

A deep, resonating pounding pulsed through the earth, like the heartbeat of some ancient god awakening beneath the surface. Sand rose in great waves as a Karnen, larger than all the others, erupted from below. Its massive form stood on four colossal, plated legs, each strike hammering into the ground and shaking the very foundations of the world. A spiraling, jagged horn jutted skyward, piercing the clouds like a blade. Its monstrous body, layered with impenetrable chitin, cast a shadow so vast that it seemed to blot out the sun itself.

Mount Pyre fell silent. The eerie, all-encompassing quiet gripped the defenders as they stared down at the nightmare below. Not a word was spoken. Not a breath was taken.

It was Vyn who broke the stillness. His voice, sharp and commanding, snapped like a whip. "Lyra! Direct the cannons to the creatures!" He turned, his cloak flicking behind him as he barked orders to the soldiers. "The rest of you, get ready. It seems we'll be changing tactics."

Lyra hissed, her eyes darting to the battlefield below. "And what of the armies still fighting in the sands?"

"They'll fight," Vyn said coldly. "But the Wardancers won't reach the Spire before those monsters do. There's nothing we can do but hold the high ground and prepare."

"So we leave them to die?" Lyra's voice was sharp, accusatory.

Vyn let out a weary sigh, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "We'll send a messenger, but the truth is there's little else we can do. If we lose the keep, the Spire is lost, and with it, everything. I take no pleasure in it, Lyra, but survival comes first."

Her jaw tightened, but she said nothing more.

Akash's gaze never left the sands. He barely registered their conversation. His gut twisted, tight and unrelenting, as if something ancient was pulling at him from within that horde. He felt it in his bones, in the marrow of his very being—a challenge. A call. And it was meant for him alone.

A whisper, faint but insistent, curled into his ears like smoke. "Shshshs… Name… Shshshs…" The words dragged at the edge of his mind, tantalizingly close but impossible to grasp. Nakba. It had to be Nakba, mocking him from the depths of his thoughts.

But still, the whisper lingered, and for a fleeting moment, he felt as though he could almost understand it—almost seize it.

"Akash." Vyn's voice jolted him back to the present.

Akash turned, his grip tightening on Elys' reins. "They're Karnen," he said, the words falling flat but heavy.

"I don't care what they're called," Vyn replied, his expression grim. "I care that we kill them. Will you fight?"

Akash's hand rested on the hilt of his blade. "I lead from the front," he said simply.

Vyn gave a faint smirk. "As expected of the Angel of the Red Sands." He turned back to the cannons, his voice rising above the storm. "Keep them off the walls, Lyra. Crush the buildings if you have to. Whatever it takes to hold the keep!"

Below, the settlement near the Spire was thrown into bloody chaos. The Karnen horde sheared through the settlement's defenses, tearing through walls and devouring all in their path. Reem soldiers and local defenders joined forces, but their efforts were futile. Scythed pincers cleaved through flesh and armor alike. Screams filled the air as hundreds fell, many consumed whole by the ravenous creatures.

The Atta cannons fired relentlessly, pulsing with power as they rained destruction upon the Karnen. The blasts broke apart waves of the horde, but the larger Karnen shrugged off the blows as if they were nothing. The monstrous, horned Karnen crushed walls with ease, its chitin impervious to cannon fire. Buildings crumbled under its massive legs, their foundations shattered as stones rained down on the soldiers below.

And then, a titan emerged to meet the beast.

A hydra of Reem, its serpentine body coiled and undulating, burst from the city. Five scaled heads reared high, snapping and thrashing as acid spewed from one of its gaping maws. The acid sizzled and burned through the Karnen's chitin, melting scales and exposing the flesh beneath. The hydra's other four heads snapped down, devouring Karnen by the dozen as it rampaged through the city.

Akash's eyes narrowed as he spotted a gleaming figure atop the hydra's largest head, their white and lapis armor glinting in the fractured sunlight. A knight. The hydra's master. Their blade flashed as they directed the beast against the horned Karnen, a battle of titans erupting in the settlement below.

The hydra struck first, coiling its massive body around the Karnen. Four heads snapped at its limbs, pinning it in place, while the fifth lunged for its throat. But the Karnen retaliated with terrifying strength. Its horn drove into the hydra's side, and with a furious roar, it tore two of the smaller serpent heads clean off. Poisonous ichor spilled from its jaws as it fought to free itself, its body thrashing with unrelenting ferocity.

The knight leapt from the hydra, blade gleaming as they plunged it deep into the Karnen's skull. For a moment, it seemed the beast would fall. But the Karnen, even in death, raged on. Its horn drove into the hydra once more, its immense weight slamming the creature to the ground. Both titan and beast collapsed, ichor and blood flooding the Spire.

The smaller Karnen swarmed over the fallen hydra, their bodies shifting and elongating as they consumed its remains. Scales grew over their chitinous shells, the creatures adapting, evolving before the defenders' eyes. Acid dripped from their fangs, hissing as it melted through flesh and steel alike.

Akash clenched his jaw, his knuckles white as he gripped his blade.

Vyn cursed beside him. "Son of a whore," he spat. "Man the keep! Tell the archers to fire on my signal! The Karnen are dividing into three forces. Akash, we're headed for the gates. You wanted a fight—well, here it comes."

Fallen approached, his scythe resting against his shoulder. "There have been calls to war?"

"Karnen," Akash said grimly.

The preparations began in earnest. Steel clanged as men readied swords, spears, and bows. Cannons adjusted their aim, while Ukari and Wardancers took their positions. The storm raged on, the heavens seeming to cry for the blood about to be spilled.

Akash turned to Vyn. "If we use the outcrops of stone, we can hold the keep and strategically fall back when overwhelmed. Place small groups of men there. It will buy us time."

Vyn hesitated. "It could work, but it'll be hard to coordinate under these conditions."

"I'll place an Ukari with each group," Akash said.

Fallen frowned but nodded. "They won't like it, but they'll listen. The Oathsworn's word is absolute."

Akash met Fallen's gaze. "This is survival, not politics. The Karnen won't stop until everything is devoured."

Fallen grunted in agreement.

The Ukari gathered at the front, their weapons glinting in the rain. Audacia smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Never fought monsters out of children's tales before. Bet I can kill more than you, Aarani."

Aarani hefted his warhammer, a grin splitting his face. "We'll see. Even scales as thick as steel can't protect soft insides."

Akash's voice cut through their banter. "The Karnen don't fight like beasts. They're organized. Something leads them. Watch for it."

Vyn nodded, his expression dark. "They waited for the Spire to fall before attacking. That's no coincidence."

Akash didn't reply. His hands shook as they rested on his blade. Somewhere deep in the chaos, he could feel it—a presence, pulling at him, whispering his name.

"Shshshs... Name..."

But the word slipped away, lost to the storm.