But Orion didn’t strike. He waited.

The perfect moment to attack would be when Faraday began casting again, when the flow of magic was undeniable. Only then could Orion be certain that the being in the Mage Tower was the one wielding the Desert’s Authority, and that this was likely its true form.

So Orion waited, a predator perfectly still outside a mouse hole. Calm. Patient.

In the Mage Tower, a smile touched Faraday’s lips.

He could see it all through his connection to the sands. The phoenix Fenyra was tied up with the Sandstorm Monstrosity, and the scorpions were being wiped out, wave after wave.

"Let the storm rage," he whispered, raising his staff again. He would summon a colossal sandstorm to bury the last of the pesky insects. The storm would also empower his Monstrosity, tipping the scales decisively.

"Spirits of the shifting wastes, hear the call of the Desert’s Authority! By my title as Lord of the Sea of Sand, I command you—"

BOOM!

Before Faraday could finish the incantation, his Mage Tower ceased to exist. The entire structure was obliterated in a blast of raw power, collapsing into a heap of rubble and dust.

High above, Orion hovered, trident in hand, looking down at the ruins. The bloodlance he had just formed and thrown was no casual attack. It held more than eighty percent of his full power. He was certain of its devastating force.

And yet, he was equally certain the being in the tower had not died.

The Desert’s Authority hasn’t dispersed, he thought, feeling the thick, ambient energy of the divine power still clinging to the area. The rules of this place are still being enforced.

"Come out," Orion’s voice echoed, cool and detached. He stared down at the wreckage with an air of absolute superiority. It was the look a true powerhouse gave a lower being. "You didn’t really think a trick like that could deceive my eyes, did you?"

In Orion’s view, Faraday, who had not even comprehended a Lord’s Stone, was nothing more than an ant. Even with a sliver of the Desert’s Authority allowing him to mimic demigod abilities.

"Who... are you?" a grim voice rose from the rubble. "Why have you invaded my sea of sand?"

Sand began to bubble up from the ruins like a spring. The grains coalesced, forming the shape of Faraday. He looked up at Orion, forcing down the rage and terror that threatened to consume him.

"Do you have any idea what you’ve done?" Faraday said, his voice strained with forced composure. "This sea of sand is the property of the Eltar Mage Alliance. I am merely leasing it for five hundred years."

He wasn’t a coward; he was a pragmatist. The sheer power in Orion’s surprise attack was terrifying. It was infused with the immutable laws of reality. In Faraday’s eyes, he was facing the avatar of a true demigod. Against such a being, his only hope was to suppress his own fury and try to intimidate Orion with a bigger name.

The Eltar Mage Alliance was a demigod-level faction whose influence stretched across countless planes. If Orion recognized the name, Faraday reasoned, he might just back off to avoid a larger conflict.

"Eltar Mage Alliance?" Orion repeated the name as if tasting something bland. "Never heard of it."

He gestured wide, encompassing the entire desert. "I’ve taken an interest in this sea of sand. From this day forward, it is mine."

The arrogance was absolute, the tone glacial. This was the kind of declaration only a truly ancient and powerful demigod would make. Besides, he genuinely had never heard of them. He knew his own Deputy Commander was backed by a mage faction—the Saint Gran Council—but that had no connection to this "Eltar" group. They were irrelevant.

Orion ignored Faraday’s posturing and vanished.

CRACK!

The ground where Faraday had been standing was blasted into a sheet of transparent crystal. Orion reappeared in his place, his eyes narrowed slightly. "So this is the power of the Desert’s Authority."

His Instant Impact had connected. But the moment it did, Faraday’s form had dissolved into a cascade of sand, merging seamlessly with the desert floor.

"You insidious invader! You can’t kill me!" Faraday’s voice echoed from the landscape itself, tinged with manic triumph. "Here in the sea of sand, I am immortal! Hahaha! Go back to whatever world you crawled out of! I will pretend this never happened and will not report your transgression to the Eltar Mage Alliance!"

Miles away, Faraday reformed from the dunes. Orion’s speed was impossible to dodge. His only defense was the Desert’s Authority. As long as his feet touched the sand, he couldn’t be killed.

"Immortal?" Orion’s lip curled in a sneer. "How ignorant. I doubt even a true god would dare make such a claim." The contempt in his voice was a physical blow, and Faraday had no rebuttal. He knew it was an exaggeration, a desperate attempt to showcase the power he wielded and convince Orion to leave.

But Orion’s mockery was relentless, each word sharper than the last. "You don’t understand the Desert’s Authority at all. You don’t understand true power. In your hands, it’s a wasted treasure."

BOOM!

Another thunderous impact. Another patch of desert was fused into glass. Faraday’s form dissipated once more.

"It’s useless, useless! You can’t kill me!" his voice, now laced with panic, shouted from all directions. "I’ve already sent a distress signal to the Alliance! They will hunt you down!"

This was all a stalling tactic. Taking a beating was not Faraday’s style. "You damn invader! Did you really think I wouldn’t fight back?"

"Arise, Guardian of the Authority! Arise, Dune-Wyrm Roc!"

The ground trembled. A colossal monster clawed its way out of the desert.

It stood three hundred feet tall with the body of a monstrous bird and the massive legs of a man. Its wings were not feathers but hardened, vicious talons. Its most bizarre feature, however, was the nest of sand-drakes connected to its body. From the crest on its head to the tip of its tail, their lower bodies remained submerged in the desert itself.

ROOOOAR!

A dozen serpentine sand-drakes burst from the ground, writhing and roaring behind the main creature. They opened their maws and spat, not fire, but volley after volley of hardened Sandstone Shells. The projectiles streaked towards Orion, primed to detonate on impact.

Orion ascended higher, looking down at the monster. A strange feeling washed over him as he focused his senses on it.

This feeling... could it be? Is this the source of the Desert’s Authority?

His perception was razor-sharp. He could feel it now, deep within the core of the Dune-Wyrm Roc.

It was the corpse of a demigod.