CHAPTER 126 — THE ENVOY AND THE BREACH
At dawn, the eastern horizon shimmered unnaturally, not with heat, not with storm—something else. A ripple traveled across the sand in a straight line, too precise to be natural. Watchtower sentries raised alarms before the first tremor hit the outer dune line.
Inside the wall, Guild sirens blared again.
Bronze Squad had not slept much. Zehell was already armored when the first horn sounded. Colby nearly dropped his belt tightening it. Marek was halfway up a stairwell before the second horn.
Long Hao stood by the eastern balcony, watching.
Longyu's voice was steady but tense.
"It approaches without concealment."
"Monster?" he asked inwardly.
"No."
The sand parted.
Not violently. Not explosively.
Deliberately.
From the shifting dune emerged a single figure.
Humanoid.
Wrapped in layered desert cloth that flowed like windblown parchment. Silver eyes glinted beneath a shadowed hood.
The same presence from the underground chamber.
