Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty-One: Desolate Sands

That idiot! I swear, if he gets himself killed...!
Ace grumbled to himself as he traversed through Caligra, irritated by the bravado Valdus had pulled off earlier.

Too caught up on that, he had not realised that night had fallen already. Despite that irritation though, wasn’t rather worried about Valdus. The desert raged with powering sandstorms, sand being picked up and flowing through the air, whipping him and obscuring his vision. Holding up one arm, he tried his best to at least cover his face from the sandstorm’s fury.

I still wonder... It’s surprising how they live so well out here. Not only is it so vast, but with the sandstorms, it’s impossible to tell where you’re going!
Ace continued to contemplate.
Where in Caligra are the cities, anyway?

Too busy complaining in his head, Ace hadn’t noticed the sands beginning to shift beneath his feet. As they continued to shift, something else began swimming in the sand nearby, but with his obscured vision Ace had no chance of noticing. On the other hand, the creatures beneath the sand could sense him. A strange chittering sounded from behind, which brought Ace to become alarmed, instinctively trying to avoid a ball of Essence he sensed rushing toward him. A ball sand shot right past him and exploded just a bit behind, but before he could process what it was, a transparent liquid from the explosion was picked up by the sandstorm and thrown straight at him. The liquid held the consistency of saliva, with a strange kind of scentless, stinging sensation. Only a second after he felt that sting in his nostrils, he felt his consciousness waning - an intense drowsiness overtaking his body. He then collapsed.

More chittering sounded out, as a large scorpion with yellow, sand-like, plated scales rose from the sand and approached Ace as he slept. It held its tail high and tapped at Ace with its pincers. The scorpion then shifted as it began digging into the sand, whilst more rose to the surface. As it was halfway into the sand, an axe then suddenly landed nearby it, barely just barely missing it and Ace. The beast chittered in fear as others called to it. Before the scorpion could dig any deeper though, a cloaked figure ran by, picking the axe back up and swinging it through that very scorpion. The figure then threw a bola at another and finished them off by throwing another axe. The rest of the scorpions had retreated by the time the second was killed, and with the threat gone, the figure let out a sigh as they picked Ace up. They then carried him through the storm.

 

Not long after the attack, Ace returned to his senses. He found himself in a cave against the wall, and could see the sandstorm rushing outside, throwing sand onto the entrance of the cave. A faint light source shone to his right, and he turned to see a campfire, and a figure in a white cloak sitting nearby it. They had dual axes propped on each side of their belt, and bolas sitting around the campfire. They were cooking a pot of soup, all the while keeping watch of Ace.

“Is that...Hackett...?”
Ace spoke groggily.

“If you had accepted my invitation on the tour through Caligra long ago, maybe you could’ve been aware of those Drekks back there.”
The figure by the campfire humoured.
“I’m surprised you still remember my name, Ace. Been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Drekks...?”
Ace responded.

“The things that attacked you earlier are large scorpion-like beasts which roam Caligra, known as Drekks. The beasts of Caligra are nothing like what you’d be used to back in the Cardinal Plains. Many are naturally aggressive. There’s much worse that thrives out in the dunes, too.”
Hackett explained.
“Also...your weapon...”

Hackett then simply shook his head in disapproval, sounding disappointed even as he sighed.

“Ah, yeah, it uh...doesn’t really cut through anything, anymore. I could probably do better with a butter knife.”
Ace replied.
“Anyway, thanks. For helping me out back there.”

“I’m just glad I found you in time. Now, about your sword. Another friend of mine here in Caligra ran a small repair shop, but I’m sure you’ve heard of what’s happened recently. Being allied with those in Eldoria’s forests is helpful, seeing as I can relay messages and information across. Unfortunately, none of the info on Caligra reached the canyon.”
Hackett continued.

So that’s why Mythriln’s scouts didn’t know beforehand...
Ace pondered.
“So you already know of the Fissured Corrupts?”

“I’ve been trying to fight the one in Caligra since it first arrived. If I hadn’t become friends with that Thunder Beast, though... Anyway, I got as lucky as I could get, and that other friend and her shop were still around. I lost my arm during the first fight, so I got myself a new one.”
Hackett spoke, raising his left arm.
“She often experiments with weapon ideas, my arm included.”

Hackett’s arm was made of metal and built like a weapon. Ace stared, horrified and speechless.

“Why’d you try to fight it so recklessly?”
Ace stood up, his hands balled into fists.

“Are you kidding me? You expect me to just stand there and watch that thing devour my home?”
Hackett retaliated.
“There’s no other reason to have fought it! I protect the people here as well...!”

Ace was taken aback by Hackett’s sudden retaliation, knowing it was rare for him to react like that. Hackett then sighed and passed a bowl of soup to Ace.

“Sit. Eat up. And talk.”
Hackett lowered his voice.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Hesitant, Ace sat back down as took the soup, and began to eat. He then stared at the bowl, his expression shifting to anger and grief.

“Where’s Lucile?”
Hackett asked softly.

Ace then gritted his teeth.

He slammed the wall behind him, fighting back tears.
“He’s dead...! We fought a Corrupt...we had no clue what its power was!”

Hackett fell silent as well, now unmoving, but listened.

“It...somehow linked its life force to his...so he used his Ancestral Affinity to take out that Corrupt, along with himself.”
Ace continued.
“Cedric’s...working in the forest, it seems.”

“He tried to protect you and Cedric-...
Hackett responded.

“And another friend of ours, Valdus - a kid from another realm... I can explain that another time...”
Ace interrupted.

“Then... Let’s get some rest. The wilderness of Caligra can be more of a challenge than anticipated.”
Hackett insisted.
Hopefully I’ll get to talk to Cedric again... And Lucile...I hope you’re watching over us...

 

The next day...

Ace awoke from his slumber and noticed the campfire was out. Broad daylight had reached Caligra already, and he heard footsteps leaving the cave. He stumbled to his feet, noticing that Hackett had taken his gear with him, too. Hesitant to let his friend charge out into battle once more, he chased after them. Hackett glanced back then ran further ahead.

“Hackett, you can’t be serious! These Fissured Corrupts...! We barely even know anything about them!”
Ace shouted out, still chasing.
“How are any of us supposed to defeat them if-”

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Hackett suddenly stopped to turn around and shouted back at him.
“So, you’re telling me that the Ace I used to know – the travelling warrior who I admired – has been replaced with some coward? Lucile may be dead, but that’s no excuse to fall back!”

Ace froze. The remark had made his blood boil, but he felt angered at his own actions the most; to still run from all this.

Coward...? No...this isn’t who I am!
Ace grit his teeth, shaking off his fear before returning an expression of determination toward Hackett.
“Argh- no I haven’t been replaced! I was scared, but I’ve wavered enough. I’ll fight... I’ll fight this Fissured Corrupt as well, dammit! Whether we can or can’t doesn’t matter - shouldn’t matter. We fight to protect!”

Hackett then smirked, before turning back around and continuing forward. Ace then caught up, one hand gripping the handle of his blade, keeping himself ready.

“So, where are we heading anyway?”
Ace asked.

“Forward. Nowhere in particular. Hoping to drag out the Corrupt. It’ll come looking for--”
Before Hackett could finish, the ground began to rumble and shake violently.

He leaped back, immediately drawing his axes, and Ace stepped back as well, drawing his sword. Sand then erupted into the sky, and from deep below, a large creature breached the surface of the desert’s sands. Hackett grit his teeth, readying himself and taking in a deep breath. Noticing that, Ace began to prepare himself too. As the sand slowly cleared, it revealed the creature to have no possible facial features, besides a pit-like mouth with endless rows of teeth. It was a large, worm-like creature with spikes protruding from the sides of its body. Faint shadows flickered from its black scales as well.

“Drach’t, the Desolator Corrupt. The Fissured Corrupt I fought, and have been tracking this whole time...”
Hackett muttered.

“...and now we’re going to take it down.”
Ace continued.

Drach’t let out an ear-piercing screech, before returning to the depths below. Drekks then began to scurry out from below and surrounded Ace and Hackett. They were Cursed Drekks - the shrouds of black shadows coating them somewhat faint, but still very clear. Meanwhile, the sands ahead showed ripples, like water, in what seemed to be a snaking pattern, moving swiftly away from the two warriors.

“It’s...running off...?”
Ace grumbled.

“No, it expects the Drekks to take care of us.”
Hackett responded.

“It’s going to take more than a few scorpions to take us down!”
Ace commented.

As Ace made his comment, the sands shook violently. Multitudes of more Drekk swarms began to break out from the surface, emerging from their dens deep down. They all gathered together, surrounding Ace and Hackett. The two warriors stood back to back, looking around, as if to count the Drekks they could see. They then smirked and gave a slight chuckle. A few of the Drekks chittered, readying to strike.

“Just had to say it.”
Hackett asked Ace, glancing back at him momentarily.
“So, how many do you think you’ll take out?”

“More than you, I bet!”
Ace replied.

“Then it’s a bet - one we haven’t made in too long!”
Hackett laughed.

The Drekks gradually began to chitter louder and louder, before finally rushing forward, but Hackett and Ace kept their smiles. They then began cleaving through the masses, counting their kills out loud to each other, as if their current fight was just a game. Endless swarms of the Drekks continued to charge, only to be struck down one after another.

 

Half an hour had passed by already, swarms of Drekks still rushing to their imminent doom.

“One-thousand, eight-hundred! Hh-- Ha-ha, they really don’t know when to stop!”
Ace laughed.

“Two-thousand. You’re behind.”
Hackett responded, attempting to hide a smirk.

“Since when-?”
Ace blurted out.

Hackett then simply chuckled as they continued fighting. The Drekks finally came to a sudden standstill soon after, all chittering to each other, before they then began to retreat. Ace and Hackett looked at each other, briefly lowering their weapons. After catching their breath, they raised their weapons back up, and stood back to back once more.

“Looks like that worm’s finally changed their mind.”
Ace grumbled.

“Then the real fight begins...!”
Ace uttered.

Once more, Drach’t breached from the surface of the sand, but this time giving the two warriors no chance to react. It drew its head back, letting out an unsettling gurgling sound, before spitting a massive ball of acid toward Hackett and Ace. The two of them barely dodged, right before the Desolator then flung itself toward them, diving toward the sand. Ace and Hackett dodged once again, and they both landed a strike against it as it passed them. A loud clang sounded as their blades struck the scales, only to bounce off. Drach’t wriggled in retaliation, bashing both warriors back.

“Nghh...! Perhaps those Drekk were meant for wearing us down...!”
Ace grunted, as he blocked Drach’t’s attack.
“And those scales...we can’t break ’em!

“We can! It reacted to that attack! If we can do enough damage, then we should-”
As Hackett gave his response, Drach’t spun around and whipped Hackett with its body again.

Hackett grunted as he took the hit, then held out his dual axes. He struck them into the ground as he landed, slowing himself so as not to stray too far from the fight. The blades cut through the sand as he skidded, until he finally stopped. He then let out a shout of rage, charging back into the fray. Ace followed Hackett’s attack, and the two struck Drach’t once more, and it let out a screech of pain as the blades cut through. Drach’t then immediately retreated down into the sands below after the strike.

“Okay... We...landed a better hit, but that thing... That thing’s not done yet...!”
Ace spoke between breaths.

“Yeah... and I’ve got...a really bad feeling...about what’s going to happen next...”
Hackett responded.

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