Signs

The scavengers were gone, but their presence lingered like a ghost in the desert air.

I stood where they had been, the sand still disturbed from their digging. Whatever they had been searching for, they hadn't found it. That meant it was either still buried here—or someone else had already taken it.

I crouched, running my fingers through the cool sand. It shifted easily beneath my touch, soft but concealing. If I had more time, I could have dug further, searched for whatever they had missed. But the desert didn't allow for distractions. The longer I stayed in one place, the greater the risk of something—or someone—finding me first.

The wind stirred, and I felt it again. That strange scent.

Not just sand and heat. Something metallic. Something old.

I took a slow breath, forcing my senses to sharpen. The System had enhanced me, made me faster, stronger, more aware. It wasn't just raw physical power—I could feel the desert now, its shifting patterns, the way it concealed and revealed. I had ignored it before, too focused on survival to notice.

But now? Now I was paying attention.

I stood and started moving, following the scent. It wasn't strong, but it was there, carried by the wind, faint and distant. It pulled me away from the disturbed sand, away from the scavengers' failed search. If they had been looking in the wrong place, then the right place had to be nearby.

The dunes stretched endlessly before me, their peaks and valleys shifting under the silver glow of the moon. Each step I took was deliberate, measured. I wasn't just wandering anymore. I was hunting.

And whatever I was following… it was waiting.

I found it less than a mile away, half-buried in the sand like a forgotten relic.

A structure.

It wasn't like the jagged stone formations I had seen earlier—this was something else. Something built.

I moved cautiously, scanning my surroundings. The desert had already taught me that nothing was unguarded. If this was here, if it had been buried for who-knows-how-long, then something had kept it that way.

The structure was low to the ground, its surface barely visible beneath the sand. I ran a hand over the exposed stone. Smooth. Not weathered like natural rock. This had been carved. Shaped.

And just like the essence I had absorbed before, it had a faint glow to it—so faint I almost missed it.

I crouched lower, brushing away more sand, revealing markings along the stone's surface. Not words. Symbols. Some were sharp and jagged, others curved and flowing, but they all followed a pattern, interwoven like a code.

A chill ran through me.

This wasn't just some ruin. It was connected to the System.

The thought sent my mind racing. The System wasn't natural. I had already begun to suspect it, especially after what the hooded figure had told me. It wasn't just some game-like mechanic that had appeared out of nowhere. It had rules. A purpose.

And if this place was tied to it, then maybe the answers were here, too.

I exhaled and pressed my hand against the symbols.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, a pulse.

Not a sound, not a light—just a feeling. Like the world had shifted slightly, as if recognizing me.

The System flickered into view.

The words were different from the usual level-up notifications. They weren't glowing gold. They weren't clean, precise. They were flickering, broken.

Like something old was trying to wake up.

A low vibration hummed through the stone beneath my hand. The sand around the structure shifted, falling away in small trickles, revealing more of the carvings. The markings glowed brighter now, faint blue-gold light illuminating the patterns.

The System's screen pulsed again.

WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS.

I froze.

The wind howled through the dunes, whipping against my skin like a warning of its own.

Unauthorized? That meant there was an authority. Something—someone—had control over this.

I pulled my hand back, my pulse thundering in my ears. The glow from the stone dimmed instantly, like it had been shut off. The System notification flickered once more before vanishing.

I was left alone again, staring at the half-buried ruin in silence.

Whatever this place was, it hadn't been abandoned.

It had been sealed.

And I had just knocked on the door.

A sound broke the stillness.

A sharp, inhuman chittering.

I turned sharply, muscles coiling as I scanned the darkness.

There.

A shadow moved along the ridge of a dune, long-limbed and crawling.

Not a scavenger. Not a sandworm.

Something else.

I ducked low, pressing myself against the stone, heart pounding. My instincts screamed at me. Run. Hide. Get out.

But my gut told me something worse—it wasn't alone.

I forced my breathing to slow, my hands steady. Think, Josh. My enhanced stats had saved me before, but I wasn't reckless. I had seen too many people die already.

The first figure slithered forward, its body moving too smoothly, like it had too many joints.

Then another shape appeared beside it. Then a third.

A pack.

I tightened my grip on my makeshift weapon. The stone shard felt like nothing against whatever these things were.

The nearest one lifted its head. Glowing eyes.

Not like the small predator from before. This was different. Bigger. Smarter. Hungrier.

They were testing me. Deciding if I was prey.

I wasn't about to give them the chance.

I turned and sprinted.

The moment I moved, they reacted.

Chittering filled the air, a harsh, clicking sound as the creatures launched forward.

I ran faster than I ever had before. My boosted agility kicked in, my feet barely touching the sand as I darted between dunes. But they were faster. They moved in sharp, unnatural bursts, their limbs contorting as they leapt across the terrain.

I had seconds.

Ahead, a break in the dunes—an incline. If I could reach the peak, I might have an opening to escape.

I pushed harder, forcing everything I had into my legs. The System had given me speed. Now I needed to use it.

The first creature lunged—too soon.

I veered sideways, sliding down a slope just as it missed, its claws raking through empty air. It screeched, skidding across the sand, losing momentum.

The others adjusted. They were learning.

I reached the incline, scrambling up the side, hands digging into the sand. Almost there.

The second creature was faster. It leapt, its limbs stretching unnaturally, too long, too sharp.

I had no choice.

I turned at the last second, swinging my stone shard with everything I had.

It wasn't much of a weapon. But I didn't need to kill. I just needed to slow it down.

The shard ripped across its face, a deep gash slicing through its glowing eyes.

It screamed. A raw, shrieking sound that split the night.

I didn't stop. I reached the top of the dune and threw myself over, sliding down the other side.

The creatures hesitated. The wounded one writhed in pain.

That was my chance.

I ran.

I didn't stop until my lungs burned and my legs threatened to give out.

Only then did I risk looking back.

The creatures were gone.

But I wasn't naive. They hadn't given up. They were waiting. Watching.

And the ruin I had found?

It wasn't just old. It was important.

Important enough that something had been left behind to guard it.

I had barely survived.

But I wasn't done yet.

I took a slow breath, wiped the sweat from my brow, and turned back toward the ruin.

Whatever was inside…

I needed to know.