Location: Great Red Sand, Sumeru
Current Form: Human
Status: Overheated, sandy, and judging everyone's fashion choices
"I hate sand," Raiden grumbled. "It's coarse, it's rough, and it gets in my boots."
They were trudging through the Hypostyle Desert. The sun was beating down with relentless fury. Aether was sweating. Paimon was complaining.
Raiden, however, was walking inside a personal bubble of conditioned air.
[Thermal Fluctuation Nullification] + [Ice Magic: Glacial Aura].
"You could extend that bubble to us, you know!" Paimon yelled, wiping her forehead.
"Subscription service," Raiden replied, taking a bite of a Sunsettia that instantly froze into a sorbet. "500 Mora per minute. I don't make the rules."
"You do make the rules!"
As they crested a dune, a massive sandstorm loomed in the distance, shielding the entrance to Aaru Village.
"There it is," Aether pointed. "The sanctuary for the exiles."
Before they could reach the village, a figure emerged from behind a rock formation. He was tall, gray-haired, wore headphones that looked suspiciously high-tech for a fantasy world, and possessed biceps that threatened to rip his sleeves.
Alhaitham. The Scribe of the Akademiya.
He was reading a book while walking through a desert.
"Halt," Alhaitham didn't look up. "You are the Traveler. And the Anomaly."
Raiden stopped. He scanned the man.
"Great Sage. Analysis."
"Subject: Alhaitham. Occupation: Scribe. Physical Stats: Abnormal. Logic Processing: High. Threat Level: Low (Unless provoked). Hidden Item: Divine Knowledge Capsule."
"A scribe," Raiden mused aloud. "Usually, scribes are scrawny guys with ink stains. You look like you bench-press Ruin Guards for a warm-up."
Alhaitham finally looked up. His teal eyes were unimpressed. "A sound mind requires a sound body. I am merely observing. You are heading to Aaru Village. So am I. Our goals align for the moment."
"You want to find out why the Akademiya went crazy," Raiden guessed.
"I want to find out why my quiet life is being disrupted by incompetent leadership," Alhaitham corrected. "Let us proceed."
They crossed the bridge into the village. The wind howled.
Suddenly, a polearm shot out of the sandstorm, aimed directly at Alhaitham's head.
CLANG.
Alhaitham blocked it with his dual blades, sliding back a few feet.
From the dust emerged a figure wearing a jackal-themed headdress, crackling with purple Electro energy. His eyes were burning with righteous fury.
Cyno. The General Mahamatra.
"Alhaitham," Cyno's voice was low and dangerous. "I knew I would find you here. Hand over the Divine Knowledge Capsule, traitor."
"General Mahamatra," Alhaitham replied calmly, adjusting his grip. "You have resigned from your post. You have no authority to arrest me."
"I judge you not by the law of the Akademiya, but by the weight of your sins!"
Electro clashed with Dendro. Sparks flew. The villagers screamed and ran.
A third figure leaped from the village entrance. A woman with a shield and heterochromatic eyes (one blue, one gold).
Candace. The Guardian of Aaru Village.
"Enough!" Candace slammed her shield into the ground. A shockwave of Hydro pushed both men back. "Take your violence elsewhere! This is a sanctuary, not a fighting ring!"
Dehya, who had been waiting in the village, ran out. "Hey! Cool it! We're all on the same side here!"
"He is a traitor," Cyno pointed his spear at Alhaitham.
"He is a variable," Alhaitham countered.
"And I," a deep voice interrupted, "Am hungry."
Raiden walked into the middle of the triangle—between Cyno, Alhaitham, and Candace.
The air pressure dropped.
Raiden looked at Cyno.
"Analysis. Subject: Cyno. Spirit Host: Hermanubis (Fragment of King Deshret's Priest). Power Source: Ancient Divine Spirit."
"Nice hat," Raiden pointed at Cyno's jackal headpiece. "Does it come with flea medication?"
Cyno glared at him. "You... the Gluttonous Sovereign. Do not interfere. This does not concern you."
"It concerns me because you're blocking the entrance to the cafeteria," Raiden cracked his knuckles.
He looked at Alhaitham. "And you. Put the glowing green capsule away. It's leaking radiation."
He looked at Candace. "And you... ma'am, your shield work is impeccable. 10/10 form."
Candace blinked, taken aback by the sudden compliment. "Um... thank you?"
"Now," Raiden clapped his hands. "Here is what's going to happen. We are all going to go inside the village chief's house. We are going to sit down. We are going to eat whatever stew is cooking. And if anyone pulls out a weapon again..."
Raiden's eyes flashed silver. A shadow of a dragon's maw materialized behind him for a split second.
"...I will eat their weapon. Are we clear?"
Cyno hesitated. His instincts - the spirit of Hermanubis inside him - whimpered. 'Danger. Do not engage.'
Alhaitham sheathed his swords instantly. "Rational. I agree to the terms."
Cyno lowered his spear slowly. "Fine. But I am watching you, Scribe."
They gathered in the village chief's house. Uncle Anpu served them tea and Candace brought out food.
Raiden sat between Cyno and Alhaitham to act as a human buffer.
"So," Dehya said, breaking the awkward silence. "The Akademiya is building a God. We need to stop them. But we're a ragtag group of misfits."
"We have the General Mahamatra," Cyno said.
"We have the Scribe," Alhaitham added.
"We have the Flame-Mane," Dehya pointed to herself.
"And we have a Dragon who eats gods for breakfast," Aether pointed at Raiden.
"I prefer brunch," Raiden corrected, chewing on a Tahchin. "This rice cake is good. Crispy."
They discussed the plan. They needed to investigate the Mausoleum of King Deshret. The answer to the "Forbidden Knowledge" that was driving the scholars mad lay deep within the ruins.
"King Deshret..." Cyno murmured. "The Scarlet King. He brought forbidden knowledge to this world millennia ago. It caused the Withering. It caused the madness."
"It's Abyssal energy," Raiden stated plainly. "Deshret tried to use the Abyss to fix the world. It backfired. Classic villain mistake."
"How do you know so much?" Candace asked, her mismatched eyes piercing him.
"I read a book in Enkanomiya," Raiden said. "Also, I can taste it in the air. Speaking of which..."
Raiden stood up and walked to the window looking out at the endless desert.
"There is something massive moving under the sands near the Mausoleum."
"The Construct," Alhaitham noted. "The Prism of Khaj-Nisut."
"No," Raiden smiled. "Meat. I smell meat."
As they prepared to leave for the ruins, Cyno walked up to Raiden.
"Dragon," Cyno said seriously.
"Yes, General?"
"What do you call a dragon who is always late?"
Raiden paused. "What?"
"A drag-on," Cyno said, his face completely stone-cold.
Silence.
A tumbleweed rolled by.
Paimon groaned. "That was terrible!"
Raiden stared at Cyno. Then, slowly, he started to chuckle. Then laugh.
"Hah! Good one," Raiden wiped a tear. "You have terrible humor. I respect that. It catches people off guard."
Cyno nodded solemnly. "I have more."
"Please save them for the enemy," Alhaitham interjected dryly. "We are trying to save a nation, not torture it."
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. The sand outside the village churned.
"Earthquake?" Dehya shouted.
"No," Candace equipped her shield. "Monsters! A hoard of Rifthounds!"
Dark, floating wolves erupted from the sand, attacking the village gate. They were creatures of the Abyss, capable of corroding reality.
"Rifthounds," Raiden sighed. "I hate these things. They taste like sour milk and corrosion."
"Protect the villagers!" Candace commanded.
Cyno and Dehya charged into the fray. Alhaitham analyzed the attack patterns.
Raiden walked out slowly.
A massive Rifthound Lord (Geo) loomed over the village entrance, preparing to spew corruption.
"Hey, Fido!" Raiden whistled.
The giant wolf looked down.
Raiden held up a bone. (It was actually a piece of the Orobashi fossil he kept in his inventory).
"Fetch."
He threw the bone... directly into his own mouth.
[Gluttony: Predation].
Raiden didn't wait for the wolf. He sucked the wolf toward him. The massive Rifthound Lord howled as it was dragged through the air by an invisible vacuum force.
Raiden expanded his jaw - unhinging it slightly like a snake - and bit the Rifthound's head off.
CRUNCH.
The rest of the Rifthound's body turned to black smoke and dissolved.
The smaller wolves stopped. They looked at the man who just ate their boss.
Raiden swallowed.
"A bit gritty," Raiden noted. "Needs salt."
He looked at the pack.
[Dragon's Roar].
"SCRAM."
The Rifthounds yelped and dissolved back into the Abyss.
Candace lowered her shield, staring at Raiden. "You... ate the corrosion?"
"I have a cast-iron stomach," Raiden patted his belly. "Now, let's go find this Scarlet King tomb. I'm still hungry."