The Music Speaks

Chaos, that is the only word that fits the current situation. As echoluminous beasts, the Sandworms each have something resembling [melodies]. Alongside it, they also each possess their innate traits which tend to be the same across species. On top of that, in terms of pure physical power, they could even wound a careless second stage, and the worst part, there’s five of them.

Currently, I am running away from one of them who seems locked on to us. In front of me is Talyndra who is guiding the tamed beast that Sylvia, Feyrin, and I are riding.

Though their appearance was certainly terrifying and enough to send the whole area into madness, it was the worm’s initial rampage which forced the three teams to scatter and mix as they fled in all directions. The way they positioned their bodies when they attacked us, it was as if they were intentionally attempting to separate us. The warped intelligence of an [echoed] perhaps.

It was difficult to focus on anything else than survival, but from what I could see, a few people climbed onto Jasmine before she was thrown away by the rampage of one of the five Sandworms. I also distinctly remember Ugo escaping while holding onto two people, one female and one male. Most likely, Sophia or Camille, and the other one must have been Ray, since I do not picture Ugo saving anyone else.

It’s not only him, I’m sure no one had any intention of helping those from the other teams. It’s not like any of us would die if we were left to brave the might of the [echoed]. If excessive danger is sensed, the protective barrier of the suit is meant to save its wearer. They would have simply been eliminated and promptly retrieved by an instructor.

The only reason I’m riding Talyndra’s beast is not because of her benevolence, but because I forced my way onto it. As soon as the fifth worm revealed itself, I dashed straight toward it. I had to make a quick decision and from my judgment, Jasmine was too far to reach and so was Ugo. Thus, Talyndra was the third best option. I climbed onto the [echoed]’s back and fortunately, Talyndra was too busy saving her teammates, at least the ones she could, to do anything about me.

‘Though it won’t be long until they turn their attention to me…especially if we lose this thing.’

Finally noticing me, and having the presence of mind to decenter some of his attention to me, Feyrin points his drawn melo-string at my body. “Seems like there’s an intruder on our ship… I’ll-”

Before he can finish his sentence, however, he is interrupted by the gigantic triple horned rhinoceros’ collision into one of the worms. If we were evading all attacks before, that is no longer the case. With each passing moment, the Sandowrm’s blows become more precise and our mount has a harder time enduring.

With agitation in her voice, Talyndra warns us. “I can’t guarantee you won’t fall off if you guys fight right now, so how about you save that for later?!!”

Sensing that our doom is near, Sylvia looks back intently and raises her warchord into the air. “I don’t think it’ll let us go so easily… we might have to fight it…”

Talyndra immediately protests in response. “Are you crazy?! This is a mythical creature you know?! That means it has a genuine shot at becoming [illuminated]! We can't just fight those!! We would have first needed hours of preparation!”

Witnessing the nimble yet terrifyingly mighty movements of the Sandworm and the innumerable rows of jagged teeth within its mouth, I can’t help but agree with Talyndra. If we fight it right now, we lose.

I place my hand on the beast tamer’s firm shoulders. She whips her head around, almost smothering my face in her hazel hair. Now that she shows me her side profile, I notice the sharpness of her, accentuated by her teeth which are clenched, certainly because of our current predicament. From the corner of her light brown eyes, she looks at me with wariness.

“Relax, I have an idea.” I say, hoping to quell her visible doubt.

She turns back around and speaks without looking at me. “I don’t know if I can trust an enemy! It’d be better if you stay silent until we have time to deal with you!”

I raise an eyebrow in shock. “What do I gain by tricking you?! I don’t want to be eliminated either!”

Feyrin then intrudes with a grin on his lips. “Or, it could be that you believe that three of us for one of you is not a bad trade-off.”

Finally, Sylvia intervenes. “Tell us your idea, we’ll decide if we follow it or not afterward.”

It appears that her team respects her authority. As soon as the last word falls from her lips, they both immediately go silent and allow me to speak. Even Feyrin cannot do anything but lower his gaze when Sylvia has made it clear that her decision is made.

‘Wow, she’s even managed to pacify even this guy, as expected of Sylvia. I wonder what happened during those two months of preparation…’

Not missing this chance she has created for me, I explain my idea. “These Sandworms, they might be mythical creatures, but the desert is clearly their home habitat, and judging from the way they look, I doubt they can thrive anywhere else. So I suggest we head for another zone.” I say.

Talyndra, still barely avoiding all of us being gobbled up by the Sandworm, points out the holes in my reasoning. “First of all, the stronger an [echoed] is, the higher its intelligence, but their obsession with the [enlightened] also grows exponentially! In other words, it’ll chase us to the end of the world!!”

An attack from the side forces Talyndra to lift her mount higher in the air, and she resumes her counter-argument “Second, a mere change of terrain won’t weaken this thing in the slightest! Sorry, but your ‘idea’ won’t work!”

I quickly retort. “Maybe not a mere change in terrain, but do you remember what climates are within the designated perimeter?”

Talyndra, confused, replies. “Well, I know the ones I’ve been to, but the other weather zones haven’t been revealed…?”

Sylvia catches on and with the corner of her mouth lifted, she re-iterates an excerpt of the event description. “Of course… ‘From the frozen Tundra to the scorching desert’... Two of the zones were revealed from the start…”

“Bingo! If we head for the Tundra, even if it doesn’t stop it, such a drastic change in the environment is sure to weaken it! It might be strong, but there’s no way it won’t be affected by something like that!”

Talyndra is still skeptical “...But do you know where the Tundra is!? How do we even know if it borders the desert zone!? Are you the team’s scout??”

‘All valid points.’

“No… but I have a solid hunch that all the zones border each other and as to where it is… He knows, doesn’t he?” I say, pointing to Feyrin.