Sand churned around the Colossus, visibility reduced to little more than violent, sharp flecks. Ethan raised an arm, turning his face away as grit hammered against his skin. When he’d been thrown clear of the monster, he’d somehow managed to keep hold of his sword. He still had it clenched tight in his hand now, though it didn’t do much for the sting of the sand.

  Nivia stood beside him, half-crouched against the wind, both of them watching the towering shape at the center of the storm as it finished whatever the fuck was going on.

  Rushing forward would be idiotic, Ethan quickly decided. The Colossus stood at the heart of a literal sandstorm, the ground around it lifting and spiraling like it had a will of its own. Even stepping closer felt like an invitation to be crushed, buried, or worse.

  Alex and Thane were off to their left, partially obscured by the swirling sand. Ethan couldn’t immediately tell how badly Thane had been hurt when the dune collapsed, so he asked.

  “How’s Thane?”

  Nivia didn’t look away from the Colossus, but she raised her voice to be heard over the wind. “He’s fine. Just got buried under a lot of sand.”

  Ethan glanced at the larger man. Indeed, Thane was coated in it from head to toe, sand clinging to his gear. Then again, Ethan suspected he looked much the same. He certainly felt like he did anyway.

  Then, as abruptly as it had formed, the sandstorm began to die.

  The wind slackened. The swirling grit fell away. Sunlight poured back over the desert.

  Ethan barely noticed, because standing where the storm had been was the Colossus.

  Its fissures blazed with a molten intensity now, no longer just glowing lines beneath stone but open seams of lava-bright light. Thick droplets of molten material slid down its plated hide, hissing violently as they struck the sand below, crystallizing it on contact.

  “Well… fuck,” Ethan muttered.

  He knew about Colossi. He knew what they were worth. He knew what their bodies could be used for, from cultivation to armor.

  But he’d never actually fought one before.

  As far as he knew, no one had ever truly killed one on the first level. Not because they couldn’t damage it, but because they couldn’t finish it. The regeneration alone made it obscene. Combined with its sheer mass and durability, it sat right on the cusp of what belonged on this level.

  If they weren’t also present on level eight, he wouldn’t have even known about how valuable they were. Sure, those ones were on a whole different level, but these at least were like their baby cousin or something.

  Still, none of that deterred Ethan.

  He’d only struck once, and he’d nearly shattered its core. If anything, he’d been disappointed by its supposed reputation. But now, seeing it fully restored—its body literally bleeding lava—he admitted he might have been a little hasty in writing it off.

  A slow smile spread across his face.

  This was exactly what he needed.

  The frustrations gnawing at him, the stalled cultivation, the weight of responsibility pressing down on him, the constant worry for the future, for his sister—all of it faded into the background. For once, he didn’t need to think about the future or the consequences.

  He could focus on what was right in front of him.

  Truly, the Colossus was a blessing.

  The instinct to stay near Nivia, to protect her, to support Alex—those thoughts vanished. They were good roles. Necessary ones.

  But they weren’t his.

  Let the strong fight the strong.

  Nivia met his gaze as the last of the sand settled. There was no hesitation in her expression now, only resolve.

  “Let’s do this.”

  Ethan studied her for half a second longer. She’d reached the same conclusion by the looks of things.

  He tipped his head in acknowledgment and exploded into motion.

  Sand burst beneath his feet as he pushed his body to its limits, surging forward without restraint. The Colossus loomed ahead, molten light pulsing through its form like a heartbeat.

  Nivia didn’t lag behind.

  She matched his pace, both of them charging back toward the monster and toward the rest of their party.

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  The Colossus stood where it had been. It planted its six legs deep into the sand and lowered its massive head, tusks beginning to burn brighter as the molten light along its body surged. Ethan felt the change instantly. The air thickened, pressure settling over the battlefield like an invisible weight. The sand beneath his feet vibrated, grains lifting and rattling against each other as mana flooded toward the creature.

  “Spread out!” Alex shouted, already moving.

  The tusks flared, amber light racing along their length before discharging outward. The attack ripped across the desert in a wide arc, turning sand to glass in its wake. Ethan leapt sideways, rolling hard as the wave passed inches from him, the heat blistering the air and scorching his back.

  Alex wasn’t fast enough to fully evade. One end of the wave clipped the ground beneath him, the glassy surface collapsing as molten sand surged upward. He was thrown high, flipping end over end before slamming down hard and skidding across the battlefield.

  The Colossus followed immediately. Its trunk slammed down, not toward anyone, but into the ground. It ripped the crystallised sand up, and twisted, throwing chunks through the air. The impact sent a localized shockwave outward, flipping glass plates like shields and launching debris in every direction. Ethan shielded his face as shards hissed past, some embedding deep into the dunes behind him, while small shards cut into his forearms. He opened his eyes slowly, expecting to be cut to ribbons. Once again wishing for some proper armor. But it seemed luck was with him. He only had a couple cuts.

  He didn’t know about Alex though. The attack had been aimed at him, after all. But he didn’t spare it a thought. He could take the damage.

  Instead, he pushed himself up and sprinted, weaving through shattered terrain as another tusk sweep carved a trench directly where he’d been moments earlier.

  Thane shouted something behind him, but Ethan barely registered the words before lightning cracked overhead. The spell slammed into the Colossus’s skull again, ripping open fresh fractures along the already damaged plates. Molten light spilled out in unstable pulses, the exposed fissures widening as the core throbbed beneath.

  The Colossus retaliated instantly, light concentrating between its tusks before detonating outward in a focused blast. The beam tore through the battlefield, carving a glowing trench straight toward Thane’s position.

  Ethan saw it coming and moved without thinking.

  He sprinted across unstable glass, boots burning as he leapt and slammed into Thane’s side, tackling him out of the blast’s path just as molten force tore through the dune behind them. The explosion burned through anything it touched.

  They hit the ground hard. Ethan surveyed the damage. “What the fuck!” He didn’t remember the Colossus having so much firepower. Maybe this was because it was a variant?

  Thane gasped, chest heaving. “I’m out,” Thane rasped. “That’s all my mana.”

  Ethan swore under his breath and hauled him upright, dragging him behind a slab of fused sand as the Colossus turned toward Nivia.

  He forgot how new these people were. What idiot uses all his mana so quickly? Maybe he was being harsh, the man had at least exposed its core. But still, he easily had the most firepower and he used it all. Anyway, Ethan didn’t spare him a word and ran out of cover just as Nivia sprinted across the battlefield, ducking beneath a swinging tusk and sliding across glass-coated sand. Her sword arced out as she tried to cut into its hide. Her blade glowed a light blue and it actually pierced its underbelly. She didn’t follow up the attack however and kept rushing to reach Thane. Her hands glowed faintly as she pressed them against his chest, stabilizing him enough to keep him conscious.

  The Colossus brought its leg down directly where Nivia had been.

  Ethan decided to stop babysitting. He felt Steadfast take hold and sprinted straight at the falling limb, leaping at the last second and driving his sword into a joint seam along the Colossus’s leg. The blade didn’t pierce deeply, but it was enough to disrupt the movement. The leg slammed down at an angle, the impact shaking the ground violently as sand erupted outward.

  Ethan was thrown back by the force, rolling across the battlefield before coming to his feet.

  The Colossus turned toward the distance, looking to where Alex had been sent.

  Chains lashed out, wrapping around the Colossus’s injured leg and yanking hard. The massive limb buckled, forcing the creature to shift its weight awkwardly and fall to a knee. Cracks raced along its side as molten light flared brighter.

  Ethan took that as his opening and sprinted toward the Colossus, using broken terrain like stepping stones, vaulting upward and running along its flank as heat scorched his boots. The creature twisted, tusks swinging back toward him, but Ethan ducked beneath one and leapt again, driving himself higher.

  The exposed fissure behind the trunk pulsed violently, the core visible through shattered stone.

  The Colossus roared and reared back, trying to shake him loose.

  Ethan drove his sword in again, widening the fracture and prying stone apart as molten light spilled over his arms. Pain flared instantly, skin blistering where the heat touched him, but he gritted his teeth and held on.

  The Colossus slammed its head sideways into a dune, trying to crush him.

  Ethan let go at the last second.

  He fell, twisting mid-air and landing hard before rolling to his feet. He barely had time to look up before the Colossus charged again, tusks low and shards of crystallized glass spraying with each movement.

  Alex intercepted. He ran straight toward the monster, chains snapping outward and anchoring into both tusks at once. He planted his feet and pulled with everything he had, veins standing out as he fought to redirect the charge.

  The Colossus faltered for a fraction of a second.

  That was all Ethan needed.

  He sprinted, using Alex’s chains as a guide, Nivia appeared beside him, she attacked low, her sword slicing into the Colossus’s front leg. Alex tugged once more and the Colossus fell.

  Ethan leapt onto the monster’s head and drove his sword down with everything left in him. The blade pierced straight through the exposed fissure and into the core.

  The explosion of light was blinding.

  Amber energy erupted outward, cracks racing across the Colossus’s body faster than regeneration could follow. The creature staggered, its movements turning erratic as molten light bled from every seam.

  Ethan was thrown clear.

  He hit the ground hard and rolled, coming to rest facedown as the Colossus fell behind him. He pushed himself up just in time to see the creature collapse inward, stone shattering and lava hardening as the massive body began to solidify.

  Silence followed. Only the hiss of cooling glass remained.

  Ethan stood up and looked around. Alex was close by, a broad smile on his face, though blood ran from his nose and ears. He tugged at his chains and they came loose, before dissolving into the air.

  Nivia was the closest to the Colossus, she was panting slightly but unharmed.

  Thane moved out from cover, looking visibly pale. Ethan let out a breath, the adrenaline slowly fading from his body, reminding him of the burns on his arms and the shrapnel etched into his forearms.

  But still…

  The Colossus was dead. They had done it.