Chapter 32

The sandstorm raged violently.

They had walked for days, yet instead of weakening, the storm only grew fiercer.

Zeon and Deioden pressed forward through the storm.

Deioden covered his nose and mouth with cloth. Otherwise, he would inhale sand with every breath.

It was a grueling situation for anyone traveling through the desert.

But Zeon was an exception.

Unlike Deioden, Zeon walked with his face completely exposed.

The sand that lashed at him as if to tear his flesh apart had no effect whatsoever.

It wasn't as if Zeon was consciously protecting himself.

It was a natural phenomenon that came with the growth of his power and the awakening of his talent.

Like breathing, he had begun to resonate with the sand itself.

Though the raging storm limited visibility, Zeon could clearly sense everything within dozens of meters.

Then, something strange entered his perception.

It wasn't sand.

'What is that?'

Zeon frowned slightly in confusion.

But Deioden walked straight toward it, as if he already knew what was there.

What appeared before them was a massive, cube-shaped pillar.

The surface of the black pillar was covered with indecipherable inscriptions.

Deioden gently ran his hand over it and muttered,

"So, I see you again."

"You've been here before?"

"I discovered it by chance thirty years ago. This is my first time returning since then."

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

"…What?"

"I found it by coincidence."

That was the truth.

Back then, Deioden had been far more consumed by rage than he was now.

At least now, he retained some level of reason. Back then, he had none.

Madness had completely overtaken his mind.

That was why he carried out a massacre in Neo Seoul.

He slaughtered the non-human races living there.

The people of the slums might not have known, but even within Neo Seoul, other races had lived.

Those who, for various reasons, had been cast out from their own kind and settled in Neo Seoul.

They had built their own territories and lived as part of the city.

Their contributions had been significant in allowing magic and science to coexist in Neo Seoul.

But for reasons unknown, Deioden killed most of them in a single night.

Very few survived.

Naturally, Neo Seoul was thrown into chaos.

It was because of this that Deioden earned the nickname "Butcher."

Neo Seoul placed a massive bounty on his head and sent people to hunt him down.

But every single one who pursued him lost their life.

After that, Deioden wandered the desert and eventually reached this place, where he discovered the massive pillar emerging from the الرمال.

"This pillar is the core of a barrier."

"A barrier? What kind of barrier?"

"Do you think this sandstorm is normal? No matter how harsh a desert is, storms like this don't rage endlessly without pause."

"…Hmm."

Zeon looked around.

A storm so intense that he couldn't even see a step ahead continued without rest.

Only because Deioden had surpassed human limits, and Zeon was a sand mage, could they endure it.

Any ordinary awakened would have long since lost their sense of direction and collapsed.

"It definitely doesn't seem natural."

"Exactly. This barrier is clearly preventing humans from advancing any further."

"Then destroying that pillar would collapse the barrier?"

"Physical attacks don't work on it. That pillar is both the core of the barrier… and a dungeon."

"A dungeon?"

"That's right. It's also why I brought you here."

"…What do you mean?"

"You'll understand once you go inside."

Deioden infused mana into the pillar.

At that moment, the inscriptions carved into it began to glow, and soon the entire pillar shone with light.

The light swallowed both Deioden and Zeon.

A moment later, Zeon cautiously opened his eyes.

"…Where is this?"

"Yes. A desert."

Deioden, standing beside him, answered.

Just as he said, the landscape before Zeon was a desert.

But there was one difference.

There was no sandstorm here.

"So the dungeon's environment is a desert."

"Exactly. It's identical to the one outside."

Even Deioden had been dumbfounded the first time he entered.

After finally discovering a dungeon and stepping inside—only to find another desert.

It had seemed no different from the outside world.

"What's inside here?"

"I don't know."

"…What?"

"If there's one difference between this desert and the one outside, it's that your senses become distorted. You can't determine direction."

"…I see."

Zeon looked up at the sky.

But there was no sun.

Even though the same scorching heat as the outside desert could be felt.

The only way to distinguish between inside and outside the dungeon… was the absence of the sun.

"The fact is, there's definitely something here. But I can't find it."

Deioden's instincts kept whispering to him.

That whatever lay within this place was extremely important.

The problem was that within seven days, one had to find and destroy the dungeon's core—either a boss or a key item.

Otherwise, on the eighth day, they would be forcibly transferred back outside.

He had tried several times, but the result was always the same.

No matter how terrifying a magical beast was, he never felt fear.

But inside this unknown dungeon, Deioden felt utterly powerless.

"I must conquer this dungeon. Only then can I move beyond that barrier."

The barrier outside also rejected him.

Whenever he tried to pass the black pillar and move forward, he would wander within the sandstorm… only to find himself back where he started.

That was when Deioden realized—

Unless he conquered this dungeon, there was no path forward for him.

Zeon was the only hope of conquering it.

A dungeon filled entirely with sand—there could be no better environment for Zeon to unleash his abilities.

If he couldn't find the dungeon core, then no awakened in the world could.

"From here on, you will take the lead. I'll follow behind you."

"Whew… That's quite a responsibility. If I find the core, will you stop calling me an idiot?"

"I'll call you a slightly more impressive idiot."

"You damned old man."

Grumbling, Zeon stepped forward.

Despite his words, his expression was more serious than ever.

This was a dungeon even Deioden hadn't conquered.

Of course, it was due to incompatibility rather than lack of strength—but still, the idea of tackling something even Deioden couldn't solve stirred a subtle excitement within him.

Zeon pushed his control to the limit.

His senses spread outward through the sand.

"…What?"

He was startled.

The range of his perception extended hundreds of meters.

His domain had been expanding rapidly lately, but never to this extent.

It was likely the influence of the dungeon.

Zeon took the opportunity to examine his Exion as well.

Its activity was clearly different from outside.

'What is this dungeon? Is it connected to sand mages?'

Deioden had once mentioned that some dungeons were linked to specific awakened classes.

Such dungeons were several times harder for unrelated awakened to conquer.

Perhaps this dungeon was tied to his class.

'Guess I'll find out.'

Zeon activated his Sand Walk and moved forward.

Though he had traveled with Deioden for months, this was the first time he had taken the lead.

Deioden followed behind him with his arms crossed.

It meant he was leaving everything to Zeon.

'Charging ahead blindly won't help. First, I need to determine direction.'

He didn't need a compass.

If this dungeon truly had a connection to him, then the sand itself would guide him.

Ssshhh…

Fine grains of sand began to flow from Zeon's body, floating around him.

Wrapped in Exion, Zeon looked like a black phantom.

For a moment, the Exion drifted aimlessly—

Then it began to ripple toward a specific direction.

Zeon followed its lead with Sand Walk, and Deioden followed behind him.

With Exion activated, Zeon's senses expanded even further.

He could detect even the movement of sand nearly a kilometer away.

He knew this heightened perception would vanish once he left the dungeon—

But in this moment, it felt almost intoxicating.

As if he had become the god of this desert.

Zeon advanced, fully embracing that sense of exhilaration.

They walked like that for two whole days.

The desert was so vast it was hard to believe this was inside a dungeon.

It felt no different from the outside world.

Everywhere he looked—only sand.

A featureless landscape.

There was nothing to anchor one's sense of direction.

Anyone—Deioden included—would have their senses scrambled and wander endlessly here.

Then Zeon suddenly stopped.

"…This must be it."

The Exion no longer indicated any direction, instead floating quietly around him—

As if its task was complete.

Zeon absorbed the Exion back into his body and looked around.

The scenery appeared no different from before.

But it was.

Deioden sensed nothing unusual—

But Zeon could feel it clearly.

The flow of the sand, its color, even its grains—everything was different.

"…Hoo."

Zeon took a deep breath and raised his control.

Sssrrrk!

At that moment, ripples spread beneath his feet.

The sand moved outward in circular waves, like a tide.

"…Hmm."

Deioden watched with interest.

It looked as though the sand itself had come alive.

As the surrounding sand was pushed away, Zeon's body slowly began to sink underground.

He had once opened a path to a dungeon a hundred meters below—

But this was on a completely different level.

Zeon was already sinking hundreds of meters down.

The amount of sand displaced was enormous.

Even if all the heavy machinery of Neo Seoul were mobilized, they couldn't have cleared this much sand in such a short time.

Beneath the displaced sand, hundreds of meters below, a massive cavern appeared.

Without hesitation, Zeon stepped inside.

Deioden followed.

The moment they disappeared into the cavern, the sand above flowed back into place, restoring the surface as if nothing had happened.

Deioden clicked his tongue.

"No wonder I couldn't find it no matter how many times I searched."

Even for him, perceiving something hundreds of meters underground was impossible.

Without Zeon, this place would never have been discovered.

It truly was a dungeon meant for a sand mage.

"What could be inside?"

He had cleared countless dungeons before.

Some even housed S-rank bosses.

But none of them had ever been a match for him.

He had taken everything worth taking from those dungeons, growing stronger and stronger until he reached his current level.

If this dungeon truly existed for sand mages, then whatever lay within would undoubtedly benefit Zeon.

Just then—

Sssrrrk!

The sand on the cavern floor suddenly rose and began to gather.

In an instant, it formed into a humanoid shape.

Because it was made of sand, it lacked detail—everything was rough and crude.

Its eyes, nose, mouth, fingers, and toes were all blunt and undefined.

No one had told him—

But the moment Zeon saw it, he understood.

"Sand… Soldier!"

A Sand Soldier.

As if responding to his voice, the Sand Soldier lunged at him.