The danger in noya

The smell of grilled meat and sweet fruits filled the air. A small desert village buzzed with life as villagers gathered around wooden tables, eating, laughing, and enjoying the morning sun.




A young child tugged on his mother's sleeve and pointed to the sky.

"Look, Mama! It's Olorun—the Lightning God!"




The crowd looked up.




Olorun soared across the sky, riding on a glowing storm cloud, shirtless, muscular, and radiating golden lightning, his chiseled jaw catching the sunlight. He waved casually, and the villagers cheered as if witnessing a legend.




He ascended higher, rising into the clouds with a sigh of peace, hands behind his head, the sun washing over his face.




"Ahhh… so peaceful."




He blinked up at the sun dreamily—

Only to see Kenji's face emerging from it like a divine prophecy.




"Yo, Olorun. WAKE THE HELL UP."




"HUH?! KENJI?!"




Olorun jolted awake, gasping—only to find Kenji's stern face inches from his own.




"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

He screamed and scuttled backward like a crab. "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WAKE ME UP WITH THAT HIDEOUS FACE?!"




Kenji frowned, unimpressed. "Hideous? You've got a lot denture on your dreads. Don't talk."




Olorun leapt to his feet and grabbed Kenji by the collar. "Shut up, Swordboy!"




Kenji, calm but not backing down, grabbed his collar too. "Make me, Lightning Clown."




Tension snapped between them.




"Enough!" Chiyo shouted, adjusting her belt and brushing sand from her shirt. "Can you two morons cut it out? We need to head to the market!"




"Yeah! I'm hungry!" Eleo added, bouncing in place and rubbing his stomach. "Like, super mega belly-growl hungry!"




Olorun and Kenji let go of each other, brushing themselves off in mutual disdain.




"Still not over that ugly face," Olorun muttered.




Kenji responded without even looking. "Still not over that weak lightning."




Olorun rolled his eyes. "Tch. You're lucky I'm evolving."




Chiyo sighed. "Unbelievable."




Olorun glanced around. "Wait… How the hell did you guys find us?"




Tony appeared from the shadows, arms wide like a dramatic stage entrance.

"We searched all night, obviously. And got reaaally lucky." He winked, grinning with too many teeth. "Maybe I sniffed your emotional trail."




Timmy hopped down from a ledge, brushing off his leafy pouch. "Aww, that's actually sweet. Thanks, you guys."




Chiyo raised a brow. "Wait—you didn't run into any monsters out there?"




Eleo grinned and threw his arms up. "Oh, we did! Like, a lot! But we beat them all up! Right, Tony?!"




Tony gave a lazy thumbs-up. "Yep. Nothing like nighttime brawls and monster-guts confetti."




Kawai strutted out of the cave, puffed up like a champ. He took one confident step…




Tripped on literally nothing.




"MEEP—!"




Olorun burst out laughing.

"HAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, DUMBASS!"




Kawai immediately got up, stuck out his chest even more defiantly, and marched forward like it never happened.




Timmy unfolded the map, hopping up onto Chiyo's head for height.

"Alright, team. Let's head to the Market of Noya. It should only be a few miles east."




Chiyo nodded. "Sounds good."




"Meep," Kawai muttered with slight embarrassment.



Tony casually scooped Kawai up and placed him on his own head. "Don't worry, short king. I got you."








Olorun stretched, letting out a big yawn. "Man… that whole skeleton trial felt like a dream."








Kenji crossed his arms, staring off into the distance. "Let's hope the market doesn't turn into a death trap."








Eleo pumped his fists. "I hope it does! Maybe there's someone even stronger waiting to fight!"








Chiyo facepalmed. "Eleo… we're shopping."








"But what if the carrot fights me?!"








Everyone started walking across the sand, the sun slowly rising behind them.








A new day had begun.








After an hour of walking, the group finally took shelter behind a large boulder, its shade barely enough to block the desert's burning rays.








Everyone collapsed into the sand, groaning in sync.








Olorun wiped sweat from his brow, panting. "Timmy… are we close or what? I'm baking out here."








Timmy hopped off Chiyo's shoulder with a confident nod. "Yup! We're almost there. Just past that dune line and we'll see the Market of Noya. Once we get there, I'll pull out the sand worm bones. We can use it to buy supplies."








Tony raised a hand dramatically. "And I, naturally, will be the one carrying the money."








Eleo's ears twitched. "Hey! How come you get to carry it?!"








Tony smirked. "Because I'm responsible."








Kenji gave him a flat look. "No, you're not. I should carry it."








Tony crossed his arms. "Uh, excuse me—back at Silvan, who bought you, Eleo, Olorun, and Timmy all that stuff? Hmm?"








Timmy laughed nervously. "Oh yeah… I remember that. He did buy us stuff."








Kenji sighed. "Fine, fine. Just don't blow it all on explosives things."








Tony winked. "Thank you, my dear Blue Hair."








He leaned back lazily—then accidentally dropped Kawai from his head.








Kawai puffed up instantly, his flippers trembling in rage.


"MEEP!" he shouted, and punched Tony's shin with all his tiny might.








Tony didn't even flinch. "Come on, Kawai. You can't hurt me. I'm literally a skeleton. I don't even have nerves."








Kawai growled and flopped down, huffing.








Meanwhile, Chiyo peeked around the edge of the rock, her eyes narrow and alert.








Eleo crawled beside her. "What do you see?"








Chiyo didn't look back. "Just making sure no one's watching us. This area's too quiet."








Eleo sighed. "Man… it'd be so much easier if we had a sand-board."








Olorun blinked. "Sand-board?"








Tony leaned back, arms behind his head. "Basically a desert hoverboard. Super fast travel across sand dunes."








Olorun immediately sat up, excited. "WHAT?! HOW DO WE GET ONE?!"








Timmy held up a finger. "Well… they're rare. Even if you do find one, it'll cost between 30,000 and 50,000."








Olorun deflated instantly. "Yeah, never mind…"








Chiyo pulled back from the rock face. "Okay, maybe we wait until the heat dies down."








Eleo jumped up. "No, no! Let's go now!"








Chiyo rubbed her forehead. "Come on, sir. It's too hot."








Eleo crossed his arms, ears drooping. "Mmmm… true. But we could just run."








Chiyo gave him an exhausted glare. "Eleo… could you at least—"








Suddenly, Chiyo and Eleo jerked violently, their heads snapping forward from two sharp, silent impacts.








For a split second, everyone froze.








Timmy gasped. "W-WHAT—?!"








Kawai screamed. "MEEP!!"








Tony's jaw dropped. "NO—!"








Olorun's breath caught—








And then—








Everything rewound.








The moment blinked back to normal—Eleo standing casually, Chiyo mid-sentence.








Olorun's heart pounded in his chest, breath ragged, sweat pouring down his face.








"…Could you at least—?" Chiyo began again.








Olorun's eyes went wide. He didn't hesitate.








He lunged forward, grabbing both Eleo and Chiyo by the back of their clothes and yanked them down to the ground with all his strength.








BANG!!








A bullet whizzed past where their heads had just been.








Everyone hit the sand.








From a distant ridge, nestled high between two jagged stones, the sniper exhaled slowly through his nose.








He adjusted the scope, watching the group scramble below—dust kicking up as they ducked for cover.








"Damn it…" he muttered, clicking his tongue.


"How'd they know? Unless… someone yanked them out of the way."








He sighed and leaned back slightly, the sunlight glinting off his silver earrings.








"Welp… if they've got reflexes like that," he said, calm and cold, "I guess they'll just have to die slower."








His fingers tensed around the trigger.








"Next one's going through a lung. See how well they scream with one."








The man's silhouette flickered briefly in the heat haze—his medium-length dark brown hair tousled and wild, hanging around his face like a lion's mane. One green eye, one red—a gaze that could unnerve the strongest warriors. A neat goatee framed his smirk, stubble shadowing his jaw.








He tipped the brim of his stylish, worn-out hat forward, casting a shadow over his features.








And then—








He vanished into the wind, rifle low, eyes locked on the next shot.