Chapter 2: Desert Valley

...Book 1: Moon...

......Chapter 2: Desert Valley ......

The wind and the sand blowing, mixed with each other, as Moon walked across the harsh desert. He could feel the sand beneath his feet, his toe claws treading through every inch. He held the black hood over his head, preventing him from getting any sand in his eyes. The place itself seemed vast, and empty without anything, or anyone present. He could see the yellowish-orange scorpions with their stinger tails crawl through the sand. Moon checked out the map he had taken with him. He knew that Cogworks was only a few days trip through the desert, but something he spotted, and remembered before he was sealed away by Nidhoggr clicked into his mind, and it required his investigation. He was lucky he didnt encounter someone he was thinking of when he had awakened, and that did require investigation.

He made sure to let his instincts be sharp, there were deadly Predators, other than himself in the Desert Valley...caution was key. Moon followed the map, before stopping at the sidetracked place he looked at. He looked up at the huge Egyptian pyramid, seeing the huge gates, and architecture that was part of the monument. Moon's instincts we're sharp...even with his beast light sense, he could not sense the dread from the God who lived here...another thing he noticed...the Jackals...that disguised themselves as statues...they were missing. Odd, he knew he had to go in further, but he also didn't want to venture in too deep, lest he fell for the traps that awaited the pyramids master.

Slowly, but surely he walked past the first gate, going along the paths, passing Sphinx statues, and 2 other empty buildings that should have housed specters, or the mummy soldiers...yet there was nothing. Curious, Moon went further, going through another pair of giant gates, knowing what lied beyond. He soon went into the pyramid, crouching into the small crawlspace to get into the area. The place was dark, and filled with ruined Egyptian statues, and stone architecture all over the place, all of them having Egyptian hieroglyphics. He looked around, finding the area to the next room which led deeper into the pyramid. He knew what that room was, his hand instinctively went to his Crescent Sword, and he entered slowly, preparing to encounter the Specter Mummy trap that was placed here.

Nothing happened, and that raised concerns, and questions. He should have been attacked...yet he wasn't. Moon relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief, as he continued throughout the pyramid, coming across a room of more smashed architecture, and a sarcophagus. Mini bracelets, and more statues made of the piercing light of Anung Ra, or from the Vengeance of Horus, or the Belt of Orion. He soon spotted another room, and he already knew another problem. The guard dogs that were supposed to be here...they were missing, why? Moon had more questions than answers, why hadn't he been attacked, in fact...he should have been attacked, or blocked at the front gate...he shouldn't have gotten this far, by walking in.

Moon soon found the second crawl space, and journeyed through, having to get on his elbows, and knees going through both. He was glad to fit in these crawlspaces...otherwise, he wouldn't get into the Pyramids. Moon soon exited the crawlspace, and came across the wooden door. He knew at once that this was his final moment to turn back, he could have forgotten about this place, have this place go to hell, leave, and never return. Yet...he needed to know why he hadn't been attacked. Moon pushed opened the door, knowing full well it should have been locked. The door opened, the wood creaking, and echoing throughout the hallway. He continued walking, going past the Egyptian statues along the wall...then stopped. It had all clicked into place. He was standing, at what should have been the throne room, and that shouldn't have been easy to get too.

Not only had the throne been nothing more than an empty dead end, but also the light was gone, and so was the Final Boss meant to defeat him. Moon sighed, Anubis was gone. He was glad, when it came to God of Death, Anubis, and Moon never got along, in fact he had defeated him before going after Nidhoggr in that dead forest, where he was eventually sealed. Having nothing more to do, Moon went back the way he came, passing through the pyramid without harm, let alone a scare. He continued throughout the desert, hunting whatever he could. His stew wasn't even considered a good thing to eat...the only thing it was mixed in with was cacti without spikes, and cacti juice, and hundreds of dead scorpions. Not exactly nourishing, but it would be enough to survive.

He had walked through the desert throughout most of the day. Moon looked at the campfire, watching it crackle, letting his stew cook. He reflected back to happier memories with his Mother, and Father before he passed on, he was going to live in the world...and...someday he would find his other half...his true soulmate...Sun He didn't know where she was, but he knew she wasn't sealed away. Moon wondered what her life had been like, or if she was even born when he was around. He remembered his teenage self, fighting, and swinging around the small little flute knife he was given, and what his mentor had taught him.

"Now listen Moon, someday you're going to have a life ahead of you, and there will be times when you have to survive, if you're with friends or a party...make sure you enjoy you're time with them. And if you're alone...make sure it isn't for too long" His master's words echoed through his mind, and memories. Moon was silent for a while, as he soon gathered his stew, and ate in silence. Even though the night gave him energy, going out in Desert Valley at night wasn't a good idea. He soon doused the fire, and laid his head near the rock, letting his senses take over in case any wild animal tried to attack him while he slept. The next day soon came, and he departed at dawn, Moon continent his journey, following the map to Cogworks, he had made sure to drink his water, while also rationing it. He continued walking across the desert, leaving no time to stop.

He looked around, seeing plenty of Shadow wolves, like last time in the day. None were foolish enough to attack him, after all...he was the Son of Hati...she always tamed Shadow Wolves, treated them like her young...at least...before Nidhoggr ruined everything. However, it wasn't just Shadow Wolves that plagued the Desert Valley, and there were far worse predators than them. He felt his instincts go off, and moved out of the way, he heard the rumble beneath the sand, three boney white spikes stuck out of the sand, moving through it like a shark, or a crocodile in the water, it moved away before fully disappearing in the sand. Moon had to be careful...he couldn't show any sign of fear.

Moon dodged again, the beast having sank in the sand, tunneling beneath him, as he dodged out of the way, the giant worm, bursting out of the sand. Seeing its dark indigo skin the four cross mandibles on its mouth, showing a circle mouth with miniature teeth inside. The boney spikes on its back, as it roared. Moon cursed, as he unsheathed his Crescent Sword. Of all the Predators he would come across...it had to be the Sandworm. He hadn't fully masked his fear, he had only shown a small amount...but it was enough, enough to get one interested. He had to remain calm as to not attract a whole pack, he hoped to lose the Sandworms interest, but...if he killed it, it would make for a decent meal...Sandworm meat was edible when cooked, and he could sell the teeth for a huge amount of coins.

Of course killing the Sandworm was not easy. Smelled feared, massive, and towering...acidic saliva, and their skin was insanely durable it took a lot of powerful magic to penetrate their armor. Moon considered his options, and he growled. He knew his Crescent Sword wouldn't be enough, he only had one choice, he hoped after not using Silverstreak last night, that he had enough energy to do this. Moon jumped back, high in the air, spreading his arms Silverstreak appearing, and attaching to him, as if they were one being. With Silverstreak equipped, he prepared for battle. The Sandworm's throat seemed to expand its body coiled, like a snake, as it spewed acidic saliva. Using super speed, from Silverstreak he managed to dodge many blasts from the Sandworm's mouth.

The Sandworm roared, as it wiggled side to side, before burrowing beneath the ground. Moon knew he couldn't run...if he ran he would show his fear, and that would attract more of the Sandworms. He kept his calm, as he prepared his timing. A grin, came across Moon's face...this...was going to be fun. Zenaku timed it perfectly, jumping back with super speed as the sand beneath him gave way, the four cross shaped, giant mandibles of the Sandworm popping up, expanding, and snarling like a bear trap in slow motion. Soon the Sandworm soon popped up, as Moon stopped, putting all the energy into building up his sped, before launching at an event faster speed blitz. He usually shouldn't punch in this armor...but he had too, his options were limited. He rammed his fist hard into the worm's abdomen, and he was knocked back as a result.

Moon could feel his fist ringing, but he could also feel Silverstreak crying out in pain...he couldn't do that, lest he would cause permanent damage to the armor. Worse, the Sandworm had been hurt, but not enough for the punch to penetrate the tank armored shell. He should have expected that...Sandworm skin was the toughest out of all the monsters...if he had Leatherback, and Hammerhead…this would be easy. The Sandworm shook off the blow, as it tunneled again before launching out of the sand, towering high, and attempting to devour Moon whole with its massive jaws. He dodged it with excellence, but the worm came back around. Zenaku was angry...he needed to kill this thing, but he was lacking weapons wise...and killing a moving target, that could burrow without a proper ranged weapon was hopeless.

It seemed to be an endless back, and forth between the worm, and Moon, doing his best to dodge its burrowing lunges. Finally, the wormed, popped out of the ground, firing a few more shots of acidic saliva. Moon quickly charged up the Preda-Laser...the armors eyes beginning to glow a shimmering white that seemed to drill with hate, the worm prepared to burrow...quickly...QUICKLY!!! Soon it had reached full charge. "PREDA-LASER...FIRE!!!!" Moon roared, as the twin beams discharged, slamming straight into the creatures mid-torso. The massive beast was blasted backwards through the desert, coming completely out of the sand. When half of the worm was beneath ground...its was tall, but at it's true height it was much larger than it appeared. In length, this one was 25 feet tall when half of it was below ground, when all of it was out of the sand, it was 50 feet.

The Preda-Laser really tore though the creature, it had penetrated much of the armor, and had made blood spew from several spots. The creature couldn't burrow back into the sand, it was too wounded. It sat there, writhing, and shrieking. Part of Moon felt bad, the Sandworm meant no harm...it was just an animal, trying to hunt, trying to survive through instinct, but...he also knew he had to survive. Hearing the worm shriek, Moon walked up, beginning to sing to himself softly aloud soon it whimpered softly. He soon used small bits of the Preda-Laser to give it a more peaceful death. It was a way to honor his mother...he always did this, to show respect to ones that worms. Some monsters earned respect...others deserved more ruthless deaths...it all depended, on their actions. The Sandworm soon vanished, in scattering glowing blue particles. Zenaku gathered what was in front of him.

The Sandworm had provided with him a lot of meat, and it had also given him some Sandworm teeth. He could use these to sell them in many items shops, they were worth a lot of money...as for the Sandworm meat...they would be a much better food source...enough for him to survive. Moon pulled his hood over his head, he made sure to double-check his bearings with the map, he could get back on track. Zenaku continued his journey through Desert Valley, he had run diagnostics on Silverstreak after taking off the armor. DAMMIT!!! Silverstreak had been injured from his punch, the armor was going to be useless for a while, he needed to find a talented magical forger...it would take sometime for him to find one, since that talent was rare. If he couldn't find a magical forger, he would have to get the parts himself.

Night soon came, Moon sat in front of the fire, roasting the Sandworm steak meat, and soon devoured it. He gave one thing credit, even though it wasn't seasoned...Sandworm steak still tasted delicious...it was better than Scorpions, and sticks...that much was for certain. Zenaku's thoughts were adrift, many times he looked up at the sky. He wondered what his Sun would be like, feeling, and inhaling her scent, spending time with her, fighting with her. His father had told him, that no matter what happened, and what choices he made, his Sun was going to be everything he needed. Moon soon went back to eating, the thought of seeing his Sun fresh on his mind...whoever she was. Soon morning, and night of the Desert Valley passed again. He had gotten a good night's sleep last night, and also his armor had charged its magic.

Moon traveled throughout the desert, pushing through the immense heat of the Desert Valley, the hot sun, bearing down in him. He had rationed his water, and he drank as much as he could. Soon came another night of sitting in front of fire, cooking all the Sandworm meat, and eating it...trying to ration some of it. After another night's of sleep, and more thinking about his Sun, he soon traveled a few more miles, before seeing it. The mechanical construction, and steam powering city, the cogs working in unison, and the guards wearing oxygen masks, the smell of diesel full in the air. It was the city, Cogworks. Moon had finally arrived.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***