Chapter 5: The Shape of Sand

[ The group had begun their first steps towards the subjugation of the Augrian Sand Dunes. Their journey involved traveling more than a dozen kilometers east, through deep and sandy soil. The wind carried with it the dry sand of the desert, which was accompanied by the thick stench of the witch's miasma. Once the prairie at their feet changed to the rough sandy texture of the desert, they were finally able to rush into the Augrian Sand Dunes. Their setup was made up of one dragon carriage, the long-range marksman on the roof of the carriage, the Gyrus Earth Dragon to pull the carriage, and Subaru and Patrasche on the side of the carriage. The flat-faced earth dragon wasn't very fast, but it had incredible stability with its heavy pacing. Patrasche was wary of the Gyrus Dragon at first, but after a few hours of traveling the desert together, it seemed that they had begun to somewhat get along. At the moment, Patrasche didn't seem to have any hint of disinterest of the Gyrus Dragon on her prideful face.

"You know, if I had to describe her, then I'd probably say that Patrasches moodiness reminds me of you."

Subaru nudged Beatrice, who was completely nestled in his arms. Subaru pulls the girl closer to him, and while holding onto her, he shakes his head saying "No no."

"That's not right. Patrasche isn't that sassy of a dragon."

"…Subaru, it would be wise of you to be more careful with how you perceive those around you, I suppose."

Beatrice muttered, her cheeks puffed in annoyance while holding onto the ends of her skirt. Subaru's dragon-riding skills had greatly improved since his first ride with Patrasche. Subaru sat on the saddle and held onto its bridle while Beatrice sat in front of him, and he made sure to hold onto her from behind. At a glance, they almost looked like experts at riding together. This wasn't the first time Subaru rode her with Beatrice. So Beatrice being so paranoid was a bit much no matter how he looked at it.

"This very prideful girl doesn't want to let anyone other than her owner ride them. This Earth Dragon of yours is magnificent. If I were alone, I definitely doubt she would let me ride her."

"You sure it's not that you just suck at riding Earth Dragons?"

"If that was the reason, let alone the truth, then you even being near this earth dragon wouldn't make sense, I suppose."

Beatrice had a valid point. If Patrasche liked a person based on their riding skills, then Subaru should have failed before stepping on her saddle. Since that didn't happen, there had to be a reason as to why this fine Dragon approved of Subaru. Although on most occasions, Patrasche acted bitter towards Subaru.

"Anyway, I'm surprised at how well two people can fit on such a saddle."

Under Subarus's large cloak, a small sparkle of dust appeared, followed by a pointy ball-shaped object. His sudden appearance caused Subaru to flinch in shock, nearly falling off Patrasche's back.

"OI! How did you - ugh. You know what, never mind."

"Have you spotted anything unusual while we were gone? Any signs of the Vex?"

"Ehh-Ah- No, I haven't seen any. Could you warn me the next time you decide to pop into reality, please?"

"Apologies, I'll make an effort to do so next time. Anyways, you remember our plan, correct?"

"Sure, I remember it. Though I'm still not one hundred percent on it."

"Considering the situation we've found ourselves in, we don't have any other options. If you have another idea, I'm all ears for it."

The plan Grain was speaking of was not the same as the one Erin imposed on the group back in the town's bar. This one revolved around the fighting method against the Vex. Considering the brittle wood that the carriage was made of, it was out of the question for it to be used in combat. It was a miracle it hadn't been torched to a crisp by the Vex's Solar rifles during their attack on the town. Many suggestions were put forward as to what to use as a defense against these projectile-based enemies, though most resulted in the object being used for defending being burned to a crisp or failing to nullify the Vex's firepower. Anastasia suggested using the Gyras Earth Dragons tough scales as a shield against the Vex, but it was quickly shot down by its inhumane nature. Emilia brought to the group's attention her Ice Brand Arts ability. She suggested that she could create ice walls around the carriage at the first sign of a Vex attack. Everyone seemed to agree on the idea, however, Erin wanted to test the sturdiness of the ice walls. The day before they left, Erin and Emilia practiced forming the ice walls. Emilia would form three layers of ice walls, while Erin shot at them with her rifle. The walls stopped the bullets, but Erin was not satisfied by those results. Rather than normal bullets, she explained that the Vex used projectiles called "Solar slugs." To the group, this sounded as if they were shooting concentrated fireballs, which wasn't too far off the truth. Erin asked Emilia to create thicker walls, to which she obliged. Emilia went and formed four layers of ice walls, to which Erin seemed pleased with. Erin, in a blink of an eye, engulfed herself in flame, holding several large flaming knives. The onlookers panicked but Erin reassured them that she was alright. She told them that she was following the Way of a Thousand Cuts, which as expected, none of them had any idea what she was talking about. She explained that this ability allowed her to engulf herself in flames as hot, if not hotter than the sun itself. During this period of being on fire, she could throw burning knives that, when piercing their targets, caused a Solar explosion, eviscerating their target. Erin threw only one of her dozen flaming knives, in order to avoid hurting Emilia. The knife pierced through two of the four layers and exploded, leaving a large hole in the ice wall. Erin explained to them that the Vexs' solar slugs were just about as strong as the piercing of the knife. If they were to survive an attack, Emilia would need to constantly form more and more ice walls in order to block the Vex's fire. Seeing as there were no other options, Erin agreed that Emilia's Ice Brand Arts would be used to defend the group against the Vex. Subaru quietly objected to this with Emilia, but she assured him that everything would be alright. She'd be careful.

"Subaru! Are you alright out there?"

"Emilia-tan! I'm alright, nothing to report from our scouting."

Subaru waved at Emilia, who had her head peeking out of the dragon carriage. The windows had been reinforced with light steel in light of the Vex attack. However, after Erin's demonstration of the Solar blades, it felt as if they were just cosmetic at this point.

"Are you sure it's safe out there? Patrasche could still follow us and you could be inside."

"Don't worry, Erin is keeping us covered outside. That and Patrasche would never forgive me if I just had her follow us."

Patrasche turned her head and narrowed her eyes towards him. She slightly raised her head as if to say "you're damn right!"

A large thump was heard on the roof of the carriage. A shimmering figure appeared above it, and in just a few moments, the figure began to reveal itself as a cloaked, armored figure.

"Erin, could you and Grain please let us know when you're going to just appear out of nowhere? You're gonna give us heart attacks!"

"Ah, sorry about that. Don't mean to freak you out."

Erin had gone ahead to scout the area while the carriage slowly followed behind. She had been going back and forth for several hours, her stamina leaving the rest of the party completely at awe.

"Are you tired, Erin? You could rest for a while inside the carriage, there's plenty of room."

"I'm alright Emilia, please don't worry about me. Just stay on your toes - I saw more Vex constructs further ahead. I have a feeling we'll be running into them soon."

Throughout their journey, the party had encountered several metal structures along their path. Erin explained to them that the Vex had begun to terraform the landscape, leaving behind their metallic architecture. They also passed over the bodies of various mabeasts and Vex, a sign that at least the mabeasts had fought back against them. Erin warned them that they needed to be quick at reaching the core of this Vex invasion before they completely terraformed the land.

"Subaru, Beatrice-sama, Erin-sama. It's splendid to see you all interacting, but I think we should keep such activities to a minimum. If we do continue to encounter more of these structures, it won't be long till we find the ones constructing them. We need to stay focused."

"Personally, I don't mind Onii-san and Beatrice-chan being friendly with each other, but if I'm ignored too much, I'll pout. All the poor animal-chans have been killed by the mean metal-chans. I need to be comforted too, you know."

Meili said that, and she gave them a look that wasn't befitting of her childlike appearance.

Meili was an essential member to deal with the mabeasts, and they would have to always use her for conquering the Augria Sand Dunes. At least, that was her intended purpose. During their journey towards the Pleiades Tower, the party encountered the rotting corpses of various mabeasts. From large Sandworms to the smallest of dogs, their bodies were strewn across the sand along with the fallen frames of smaller Vex soldiers. Thus, her role as a lookout for the mabeats which lived in the sand dunes was fleeting. She stood by the drivers box, hoping to find any mabeasts that she could push away or recruit as allies. However, all the ones that the group found were long dead.

"You have the knight next to your side to help comfort you. He's better at comforting people, plus he's a lot cooler and more elegant than me."

"I only got about half of what you said. Plus, I'm fine with Knight-san. I'm really unhappy with Onii-san."

"Wait, me? What did I do now?"

Meili glares at Subaru and puffs her cheeks in a pout while playing with her braided hair.

"Onii-san made me come along, and so he has a duty to be with me. But here I am, all alone."

"Don't say such unreasonably childish things, even if you are one. As you can see, that frame of a lovable little sister is filled with Beako. Right?"

"You know, I was meaning to ask you, why did you bring children along with you? That's pretty unchivalrous if you ask me."

Erin leaned over the roof to ask Julius, who had taken the reins of the Dragon carriage from Meili. Erin and Grain believed that they would've left the two little girls in the town before setting off towards the desert. However, as soon as they saw them climbing aboard the carriage, several red flags were set off in their minds.

"You're not gonna use them as bait, are you? If you are, I'm gonna put an end to your excursion myself."

"Oi oi, they're not just children! They are very important and valued members of our party! Y'know, Beako here is a proficient magic user. Her 400 years of experience is surely nothing to scoff at."

"400 years… Sure."

Erin's eyes widened at Subaru's revelation about Beatrice, slumping back onto her post atop the Dragon carriage.

"Well, what about Meili? Is she also 400 years old or something?"

"Hmmph, Weird-Onee-san really knows nothing about us. Onii-san re~ally didn't do a good job of explaining."

Meili looks over at Erin and crosses her arms while pouting.

"No, Meili-san is but a normal girl. Well, maybe normal isn't the right word. Perhaps in-rehabilitation for being an assassin would be more correct."

"Ehhh, but you brought me along with you! So you must want me, right?"

"You're spot on. However, we still need to have you fulfill your role first before you can say if it's a right or a duty."

"My role, huh…. hmm."

"If this map is to be believed, we'll be entering the worst of the Augria Sand Dunes soon. I doubt the mabeasts will just suddenly appear as soon as we enter, but when or if it does happen, getting them to calm down will be up to you. That is why you are needed."

"So wait, you brought a kid with you because it could talk with animals, but...why not just bring another carriage filled with soldiers? It would be better than to risk a young girl's life."

"There was an attempt to conquer the Augrian Sand Dunes a few years back. Since we've brought Meili with us, you can infer whether the operation was a success or not."

"I see… So that's why you were so worried about them."

"Yeah, they're nothing to scoff at."

"Yesss, good animal-chans can be really scary when they're angry. But that's why I'm here."

She had a point. The group before Erin would have tremendous issues if they were swarmed by countless mabeasts. Now they had an extra layer to worry about - the Vex. So having Meili still tag along with them in order to reduce the pressure from one of the adversaries would not be a bad idea.

"Subaru!"

"Shit...I see them."

Beatrice called out to Subaru quietly, while Patrasche gave a faint neigh as she glared at the front. More and more of those Vex structures were seen lining the sand. They spun and whirred, weird energy emanating from the apex of the structures. As they approached the area, the air in the atmosphere felt thinner, as if the monoliths were siphoning the oxygen itself.

"Erin, is this…"

"Yeah. Looks like I was right. They've already started."

The maze which once surrounded the Pleides Watchtower was now replaced with pillars and plains of Vex constructs. Large Vex monoliths breached through the sand, its metal corruption could be seen slowly spreading further away from the remains of the sand maze. Erin warned them that the Vex could terraform areas to their own design, hills, and plains of metal and radiolaria. Seeing it in person now made their resolve waver, watching as these new adversaries shaped the sand to their will. ]

[ The Augria Sand Dunes have an infamous phenomenon known as "sand time" where the sand wind blows at its strongest. The phenomenon of the sand wind blows during the entirety of the day. Carrying sand and miasma from the east towards the west, and it's an ailment that silently chips away at those who travel through the sand dunes. The winds would grow stronger late in the night, continuing to blow for a few hours. The group had arrived at midnight, so they couldn't move well at this time when the sand wind blew. Due to the increased miasma during the night, they planned to conquer the Augria Sand Dunes during the day, where the sand time and the miasma would be at their lowest. Erin opposed this idea, saying that they needed to make it to the tower as fast as possible; however, the two Earth Dragons needed to rest as well as the passengers. So in the end, Erin lost due to the overwhelming vote to rest during the night.

"You know, besides the annoyance of us having to walk in the sand, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be."

Subaru felt disappointed in some way. He spent a large amount of time preparing himself for this journey. The sand falling tinged his peripheral a yellow color, and he felt the sand tickling him in his clothes, but that was as far as its effects went. The sand dunes had little to fear.

"I even prepared myself on the assumption that we'd be dying of heat stroke since we are in a desert."

"I don't understand why that would be something to be disappointed in. In terms of any greenery, the shrouding miasma kills anything and everything, so it only has this sort of scenery spread out, I suppose. Even rain pours around these sand dunes, so the temperature won't go extremely out of control either; it's a strange place, in fact."

Subaru had never stepped foot into a desert back in his world. All he had to base his knowledge of a desert environment was from the games and manga he absorbed on a daily basis. Just from that, the severity of the Augria Sand Dunes seemed pleasant in comparison to what he had envisioned a desert to be like.

"It wasn't hot or cold at the nearest town, so I guess it was a bit weird for me to think that entering the sand dunes would be like walking through hell itself. I guess all we need to worry about are the mabeasts, miasma, and the Vex."

"As well as losing our way, I suppose."

As he was dismissing his worries, Beatrice reminded him of another issue that he forgot to think of, which caused Subaru to stiffen up. In response to the point made by the girl in his arms, Subaru looked forward while being careful of the sand wind. He could still see the majestic appearance of the tower that stood tall. However, in between its ivory walls, he could see the Vex's corruption slowly spreading across the exterior.

"You bring up the question of getting lost, but it seems unnatural to miss that thing. Betty, do you see that on the walls?"

"Vaguely, yes. It seems Erin was correct. This doesn't bode well for us."

"Do you think the Sage is fighting off those things? If they can keep people from coming close to the tower, I wonder how they must be doing now against the Vex."

"Don't know about your Sage, but in comparison to a bunch of thrill-seekers out in the desert, the Vex are leaps and bounds ahead in terms of invasion approaches. If I had to guess, they probably just teleported into the building and have already killed 'em."

"..."

Julius turned towards Erin, who was staring towards the tower as well. She had informed them through their two days of traveling about the spreading of the Vex corruption. They had hoped that they would be able to make it to the tower before the corruption had reached it. However, as Erin spoke of the grim reality, their hopes of reaching the tower before the Sage was beginning to dwindle expeditiously.

Subaru had the idea of such in the back of his head, but hearing it out loud from others made it harder to digest. Realistically speaking, none of them besides Erin knew how the Vex worked, let alone what they were capable of. From seeing the terraformed sand dunes, it was easy to infer that they were intelligent to some degree. Seeing the tower covered in the same corruption whisked away any hope of the Sage taking out the Vex threat for them.

"Well, we shouldn't let this damper our moods. Just because the Sage could not stop them doesn't mean that we can't. That reminds me - it's time for our insurance policy."

Subaru looks back at the path they went across while he held his breath.

The footprints embedded into the sand had been left by the heavy wheels of the carriage and Patrasche. However, any immediate footprints had been whisked away by the heavy sand wind. A natural trap by the nature of the sand dunes.

Besides sealing the watchtower in a sandy veil, it washed away their most vital lead back towards the start of their path. It would be detrimental to anyone trying to cross the desert in a conventional manner, but these people were anything but conventional.

"Seems like the other ones are gone. Alright, this is a good time."

Subaru pulls on Patrasches's reins, pulling her towards the side of the carriage. Due to the disappearance of their markings, they had to figure out a compromise for their vanishing footprints.

"Emilia-tan, please!"

"Okaaaay, g~ot it."

Subaru knocked on the dragon carriage window from the outside and Emilia answered from the other side of the window. Her whole body was covered with a white robe to protect her from the sand, and at the back of the carriage at a far distance, Subaru pointed at a certain "something" that faintly reflected in his eyes while staring from afar.

"I'm sorry for having you work so much, but I beg you, Sensei!"

"Well, I am having you watch from outside. It's not a big problem. And, um, Subaru...what do you mean by Sensei?"

"It's the go-to approach I use to politely ask for something. So please, pretty please."

"Okay, since I've been so kindly requested to. Take this!"

Emilia looked at where Subaru pointed during their playful banter. She raised her listless shouting voice with a look of determination in her eyes as she surged her magical ice power. Emilia shot her arm forwards, her magical power swirling through her palm. With a cast of magic, the mana in her body expelled outwards, chilled winds flowing against the warm sand winds. A few moments later, a large obelisk of ice formed on the path they had left behind.

"Yeah, that looks good to me."

Emilia confirms that her task was done, smiling as she places her hands on her hips as if she were presenting something she was proud of to her parents. It stood out in comparison to the other structures surrounding the sand dunes, though that wasn't anything to fault it for. Considering the sand dunes washed away their footprints, the only thing they could use as a way to find their way back was Emilia's ice magic.

Grain took this moment to speak. "Your application of magic is fascinating. The power emanating from it feels so pure, it's nothing compared to…..."

Emilia blinked at the strange floating companion's pause. "Ah, um, thank you? Subaru's crafty thinking really helped us out this time, so you should be thanking him. Is everything alright, Grain?"

"Yes, everything's fine. I just got lost in thought, that's all."

"Your praise is too much for me, Emilia-tan, but my idea is not perfect. This method won't do much if the sand dunes pick up in temperature."

The obelisk of ice Emilia created with her magic was fragile to temperature. Despite the ice being generated from Emilia's mana, it did not go against the law of nature itself. From that knowledge, using something like ice magic in a desert wouldn't pass. However, in this case, the Augrian Sand Dunes were not conventional. Emilia's standing ice pillar functioned well as a mark. A stark contrast to the desert environment, which was sparsely covered with sheets of metal.

"Looking at that tower, I'm really suspicious about the structural stability of its foundations. I'm still scared of it possibly toppling over…"

"Whether the tower falls over its own weight or not should be the least of your worries. If it was unstable the weight of the Vex would've already brought it toppling down."

"I guess. But we've got you to help us worry about the Vex, so we can worry about everything else."

Subaru put aside his worry of the Vex, winking towards Emilia who was still at the window of the carriage. Emilia seemed somewhat displeased at Subarus's response, but all she got in return was a wry smile. Afterwards, he tried to look past Emilia towards the inside of the Dragon carriage. He was scanning around the interior in order to find a certain someone.

"Where's Anastasia?"

"I'm here, Natsuki-kun. Looking for me?"

Immediately after asking for her, he jumped at her sudden appearance. She looked down towards him, squinting slightly with her blue eyes.

"Why are you so startled? Where else would I be, Natsuki-kun?"

"I knew where you were, but I didn't have it in mind to see you appear out of my beloved's armpits."

"Hey, Subaru. You sounded reeeeally irritated when you said that."

"Usually I would be the one irritated. What a coincidence."

Subaru is annoyed with Anastasia's sudden appearance, but he gets a hold of himself again. He could feel Beatrice shrugging her shoulders at the interaction, but he turned his attention to Anastasia for now.

"Just remember, we'll be relying on your knowledge to navigate through this place. Please guide us well, alright?"

"Natsuki-kun sure is a worrywart. We're all together in this, so I'm not planning on cutting any corners when it comes to acting as the navigator. Erin was kind enough to scout ahead while we rested, so I have a lot of new intel to guide us with. So calm yourself."

"Can one really nonchalantly believe a fox, and a strange woman with an even stranger toy?"

Beatrice murmured with a voice that could only be heard by Subaru. He was in complete agreement with her, but it would be wrong to provoke her by using that basis. After the revelation of Echidna being in control of Anastasia's body, Subaru had lost trust in what she had to say. However, during their journey across the dunes, his trust towards her had slowly been regenerating. Her cooperation with Erin, who was "successfully" hired, had been one of the catalysts for his regaining trust. She had been giving Erin directions to scout ahead while the group traveled steadily by the dragon carriage. Erin would run at incredible speeds ahead, then quickly return in order to tell Julius which direction to follow, while Grain reported to Anastasia about the situation of their path. Subaru still couldn't be one hundred percent sure that he could trust Erin or Anastasia/Echidna, but the fact that Erin gave him her weapon, as a sign of trust, kept him reevaluating his opinion on her. As of now, any sign of complaining or blatant distrust would hinder their already low chances of reaching the Watchtower.

"Right…Anastasia?"

"Yes, Natsuki-kun. Erin's reports have been clear for this route, and if anything does happen she and Julius will be there. If we get close to the place Echidna mentioned, I'll say so as well. There's little need to worry."

"Yeah, this place is clear for the most part. Better than the other ways we could've gone that's for sure. We would've been here another couple days if it weren't for Miss Anas's directions."

Subaru called out to Anastasia cynically. However, she responded without any sign of malice or disdain to his question, backed up by Erins statement about her useful information. It seems like there would be no problem moving forward like this, for now.

"It seems like the winds are getting stronger. Subaru, if everything's alright, I'm going to close the window, unless…"

"No, everything's fine, go ahead and close it. Take care of everyone inside."

"Alrighty, you be nice to Beatrice now, okay?"

"No need to worry about that, I suppose. I'm satisfied."

Emilia placed her hand on the window's small door, exchanging departing words with Subaru. Beatrice responded to Emilia's joke with a light remark, her smile being interrupted by the door, as she returned into the carriage. Subaru rode ahead a bit towards the drivers box of the dragon carriage. Erin had also made her way towards the front, wishing to converse more with Subaru.

"Your girlfriend's little pillar seems to be working well. Good thinking on your part, though the ice in the desert doesn't seem like it'll last for a long time."

"That's a tad too far to call us a couple. Though it's not like I wouldn't mind it happening."

Subaru mumbled the last part of his response to Erin, only being loud enough for Beatrice to hear it. Although when hearing it, all she could do was roll her eyes.

"Heh, you're too easy to tease, Subaru."

"The way you and Emilia-sama act around each other, it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume such, if not for the prerequisite knowledge of your relationship as a knight with her. You have your mischievous ways, Subaru-kun."

"Guile sounds cuter than mischievous! You make me sound like some sort of scoundrel of the night."

Julius sat inside the driver's box, a faint smile could barely be seen through the white cloth he had wrapped around his handsome face. But even through the cloth, they both could understand each other, and he could understand how much he was joking based on the tone of his voice.

"Little girly, any monsters out there for us to cuddle with yet?"

"Hmph! Don't talk to me like some helpless kid. Onii-san hasn't run into bad animal-chans even once, and neither have we. How could I do my job when there's no animal-chans to see."

Erin peeked her head into the drivers box to see Meili, pouting, just as expected. Covered in a dark cloak in order to keep the sand off her, she answered Erins question with an annoyed and displeased tone. In response to Meilis answer, Erin lets out a small giggle.

"Even if you say that, it's hard to see the results of your hard work. I don't know if the mabeasts haven't showed up because of you being here, or if they just aren't around here because of…..well."

"I'm sure little Meili is doing her job at least somewhat well. The animals of the sand dunes have most definitely been either driven near extinction by the Vex or are currently fighting tooth and nail against them. Though I doubt that'll get them far."

Erin spoke, a look of worry replaced the previous gleeful appearance she wore, causing Subaru and the others to share the same worrisome look. Meili put her cheeks between her hands, letting out a sigh at the prospect of her mabeasts being slaughtered by these mechanical beasts.

"Erin, please apologize to her. It's clear that you have upset her."

"I'm sorry but, I really don't believe that a child should be out here, even if she can talk to animals. I don't mean to be harsh on her, but I don't want a young girl's life to be whisked away on some trip out in the middle of nowhere, especially with the Vex running rampant."

"It's fine. It's not like I'm mad or anything like that. But, I think that you have a v~ery good point about what you said."

"I'm glad you can understand Meili. I don't want to be mea-"

"Watch, I'll make it clear to you as to why I'm here."

Meili interrupts Erin's apology, letting out those ominous words. The dreadfulness of that sound causes the three to look at each other, and they quickly try to form a sentence together, when Patrasche and the dragon carriage both suddenly stop their movement, bracing their strong legs against the sand. Their instincts quickly sensed something nearing them, alerting the riders holding onto their reins. Then, the sound of sand erupting made the three snap their eyes open, and they saw it.

They saw the surface of the sand boiling, and immediately a long snake-like creature erupted from the sand. It was a terrifying creature, the hard sand still clinging to its skin. It let out an unbelievably ear piercing screech with its gigantic mouth, causing Subaru and Julius to cover their ears in pain. It had no limbs, it writhed and wriggled its body as if it were a snake entranced by a musicians flute. Its skin was wet and slimy, camouflaged to look like the sand it emerged from. It reeked something foul, enough to make anyone gag in disgust. It lowered its head towards the travelers, allowing them to see it in all its glory.

It wasn't a snake. It was a giant earthworm.

Its body was so huge, larger than any terrestrial creature that any of them had seen before. Its mouth seemed large enough to devour five men whole in one bite. The foul smelling saliva dripping from its teeth made the sand that it was falling on evaporate.

Its eyeless head turned towards the travelers. Subaru had completely forgotten about breathing at this moment. He felt Patrasche's thoughts blanking, being across the bridle. Beatrice grabbed hard onto Subaru's clothes while being in his arms, tense and ready to act against this dangerous creature. Erin reacted quickly and readied her larger sniper rifle, with its weight that could be felt across the entire dragon carriage. As soon as Subaru caught the smell oozing from its skin, he thought of his own witch-scent. When mabeasts would react to that, they would go feral, stopping at nothing to tear him apart. If the group were to face such ferocity from this creature, they would all surely...

"Ahh geez, you stink! Hurry up and leave. Get lost!"

Meili cried out, not showing any signs of fear in front of Subaru and the others. Those words caused the colossal earthworm to turn its attention towards Meili. Erin was ready to fire, but she stopped. Rather than the Earthworm attacking, it listened to the little girl's command, and burrowed itself back into the hard, sandy floor.

A few seconds later, the hole the earthworm borrowed from began to fill with sand, leaving the group stunned at what they had just witnessed.

"What the fuck was that?"

"That...was most likely an earthworm. It's a mabeast that prefers to lurk beneath sandy soil, but it was a little bigger than I first thought."

"A little? A LITTLE!?"

"Well, based off of my knowledge, surely I thought they would've been as big as a male adult's arms."

Even at an arm's length of size, such an earthworm would still pose a threat to the carriage's stability. Mabeasts that reside in the Augria Sand Dunes were considerably more ferocious than those outside of the dunes, including the native species.

"W―what was that sound!?"

Emilia opened the carriage's small window, frantically looking around trying to find the source of the shrill scream. Even if she didn't see that earthworm, the sound of it alone was enough for her nerves to flare. Emilia looked worried, but Subaru was still in shock, unable to say anything. Rather, Meili took Subaru's place as he stiffened up, and she faced Emilia to speak.

"No need to worry. I just wanted to remind you guys know how blessed you are to not have to worry about things like that."

"Goddamnit, you scared the shit out of me. I guess you are more useful than I thought."

Erin composed herself, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Thanks to Meili's affirmation, Subaru relaxed his muscles, letting out a sigh of his own. Emilia was surprised by that change, but after Meili seemed surprised as well, Emilia relaxed herself too.

"Reeally? D-Does Onee-san see me in a new light now?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Honestly if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to guarantee the carriage's integrity with such a surprise attack. As weird as it is, I guess it's good to have such a strange girl with this group."

The group had an unspoken understanding now. They had just witnessed firsthand why those who adventure to the Augrian Sand Dunes never returned to tell their tales. It was the absurdity of fooling themselves by believing that the subjugation of the sand dunes would be so easy. Bless Meili for being with them.

"You're flattering her quite a lot, I suppose. I'm disgusted."

"Oooh, someones a little jealous! Dont worry Betty, I will give you lots of praise to rival Erin."

"I―I was not jealous! Don't get the wrong idea."

"Don't act so tough. You're still the best for me."

"I suppose…"

Their quarrel was reminiscent of a cheap comedic episode, but nobody could blame them for it at the time. Julius watched, but could not comment. He simply readjusted his consciousness to comprehend the reality that they were in. The ice that the group were walking on was thinner than he had originally imagined. This was their first day across the true sand dunes, the realization of that made Julius' nerves shake more than he was comfortable with.

Quietly, the sands of the desert began to shift, slowly pulling themselves over and under one another. The intro quote patterns of sand matched the ones that would always form at the beginning of their day. The stars would turn back, such as a broken grandfather clock would.

None of them knew what this meant at this time.

All they understood was that the subjugation of the sand dunes would be no simple matter. That was the only established fact amongst them.

The first day of the Augrian Sand Dunes subjugation had been concluded by the sun setting on the horizon. Once it turned midnight, the phenomenon known as "Sand Time '' would begin. A period of time in which the sand winds would blow at their hardest. If the group recklessly continued through the night, the miasma in the wind would leave their bodies in tatters. The sand wind would be too thick to see through, so even if they did try to tough it out they wouldn't be able to navigate through the storm.

"Hey Meili, will you lose your control over those sand worms when you sleep?"

"Of course not. Being chewed on while you sleep from that animals that you brought is such a stupid thought that it's not even fuunny."

Erin knew little to nothing of this world's animals. Her knowledge came from Anastasia's advice when she went to scout the roads ahead to the carriage. Watching Meili give her a wide smile, made Erin feel both relief and uncertainty.

Meili seemed to be in a good mood ever since the earthworm incident, perhaps because of how she had proved her worth to the group. Erin and Subaru seemed to have a mutual understanding that getting her in a good mood had benefits to their lives' safety, so from here on out, they wanted to be serious about dealing with that too.

The night having set in, the party positioned themselves near a collapsed vex structure. Despite its sturdy appearance, the uncertain foundation of the sand caused it to topple over, leaving a small archway beneath it. Despite it being such a convenient cover, the winds could still change directions suddenly. Thus, there was one person who needed to make one final preparation in order to secure the area for them.

"Emilia-tan. Sorry for always relying on you, but please!"

"O~kay, make sure to move away a bit. Hraa! Take this!"

Emilia let out a shout and used her ice magic to raise a large ice wall. Its purpose was to act as a barrier against the open part of their shelter, keeping away an excess sand wind. Considering the low temperature of the desert during the night, the wall would also act as a defense mechanism against mabeasts or Vex. It looked and felt cold, but they would need to bear through the cold in order to survive the night.

"I can't help but feel a tinge of shame because of how we're always being spoiled by Emilia-sama's powers."

"Oh, it's fine! I've said it before, haven't I? You, Erin and Subaru will be doing a lot of heavy lifting later down the line. Plus, my body is in peak physical condition right now."

"Still, you should rest. This miasma… it feels like I'm being choked by the air. You rest up. If I'm feeling like this from just standing around, then it must be torture for you."

Erin expressed her worry about Emilia, while the subject of her worry was flexing by her recent creation. Subaru looked over and saw Emilia's soft, white upper arm at the side. He thought that he should take point on the matter and be the one to pay attention to Emilia's health. The miasmas' effects had already taken its toll on those who were within its veil. Its effects were not as strong on Subaru's body, but it seemed to make Beatrice and Julius fairly fatigued. It would also explain the absence of Ram and Anastasia, who were cooped up inside the carriage. On the other side of the spectrum, Emilia and Meili seemed to be in good condition, with Meili looking unphased by the miasma. He didn't think they had common traits, but he had to watch out for any more extreme effects appearing, although the truth is that he wanted to quickly get out of the sand dunes.

"Impatience won't do you any good here, Subaru. I don't really understand your desire to rush over the path, but it's good to calm one's nerves in this time of rest."

Julius called out to Subaru, looking up into the eastward sky blocked by Emilia's wall of ice. Subaru kept silent. He felt like Julius saw through him, so in return he snorted his nose and turned away from the ice wall. Then, Patrasche slowly approached Subaru from behind. She began to rub her head across his shoulders, cooing. Subaru felt her doing it over and over, and gave her a bitter smile in return.

"Oh? You're gonna try and calm me down too?"

"It's not like I want to. The initiative hasn't even been taken yet either, I suppose."

Beatrice pushes his back, and turns away. Although previously she had been looking up at him meaningfully. Subaru scratched his head at Beatrice's action, thinking about how her irritation was very obvious. Emilia saw it, and looked at him with kind eyes. When their eyes met, she waved her small hand at him, giving him a warm smile to accompany the wave. Subaru suddenly felt flustered, clapping his hand in order to change the subject matter.

"Alright, we've got ourselves a place to rest all thanks to the wonderful Emilia. "Sand Time" ends at dawn, so before that let us rest."

"Before we can rest, Ram needs to be healed."

"Ah, true. Alright then, I'll be depending on Emilia-tan and Beako for that."

Subaru tried to quickly pour out topics in order to calm his emotions towards Emilia. She puts a stop to Subaru's stammering, and reminds him of the daily routine involved in Rams daily healing. Emilia and Beatrice nod at Subaru's anticipations, and enters the carriage to begin the healing process.

A small murmur slipped out from inside the carriage. It was Ram's shaking voice that sounded like she was enduring pain. A faint light emanates from inside the dragon carriage, as the healing ceremony takes place through the mana. Mana was being poured into the wound on her forehead from having lost her horn. On one hand, Ram's situation was pitiful, as she received her healing, and it really did feel like something erotic somehow.

That's why they refused to have the men with them during healing, ever since it was witnessed the first day.

"It's strange…"

"What is?"

"To have eyes for the man who played a part in the death of your family. We have a word for the condition she has at the moment."

"And that would be?"

"Stockholm syndrome."

During their journey, Erin and Subaru had been having several different conversations about the members of their party. One of those topics of conversation was Ram and Roswal's relationship.

"There are things that happen during a relationship between two people that one cannot truly plan on. From an outsider's perspective, little could be inferred just from watching them interact. To speak of extremes, mine and Subarus' meeting was not one that could be called pleasant. Never did I expect it to lead me down this path of adventure and risking my life for him."

"Oh ah...I guess so."

Hearing the lovely voice from the back made Subaru's face faintly turn red as he scratched his nose. Julius and Erin stood side by side looking at Subaru. Julius had a nonchalant face while Erin wore a warm smile.

"You look quiiiiite conflicted, Natsuki-kun."

While Subaru was quietly listening, a cold breath blew against his ear which made him jump. He lost his posture, and tumbled onto the sand. Anastasia came from around the dragon carriage, hidden away from Subarus' sightline. Julius, who had seen Anastasia, grins at her whilst watching Subaru tumble.

"You got pretty jumpy there. It's like you got caught thinkin' about something indecent."

"Huh? I'll have you know I wasn't anything indecent nor evil! Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about. Not at all. Not one bit. So, Ana, what's with the sudden jumpscare, what do you want?"

"You are really bad at fooling people, aren't you? Well, that's fine. You may be interested in what's happening inside, but I have something important to talk to you about."

Subaru gave a cheeky thumbs up, and Anastasia smiled wryly at the reaction. She began to approach Subaru, a slight wobble in her steps.

"Wow, it's hard to walk, yet you three seem fine!"

"It's not hard to walk, but hard to breathe. Especially for poor Grain."

"When you feel unsure of your footsteps, don't walk slowly in attempts to check them, leave it up to the firmness of your shoes' soles, and take relatively hard steps. This is the Clind method."

It was the basis of the rough road running style he learned from the all purpose butler Clind when he was learning parkour. Anastasia gave an admiring nod at those words. She looked towards Erin, who had a hand clasped over her chest, a slight pain visible in her eyes.

"It's not hard to walk, Anastasia, but hard to breathe. I feel like my lungs are being squeezed by some unseen hand."

"Indeed, it is hard for me to breathe as well. This is when I'd like to quickly go somewhere safe from the sand wind and breathe in some fresh air."

"That is...exactly what we wanted to speak with you about, actually."

A quiet voice coughed out. Grain manifested near Erins side, he was visibly fatigued, his movement was slow and he staggered in the air as he tried to keep himself afloat.

"This place…. I apologize for not appearing often. This miasma…. I do not know how the Vex are able to withstand such conditions. My Light….it feels as if it's being syphoned out of me every second I am exposed to this air."

"Oh. I did not know the witch's miasma had such a profound impact on you. Apologies for making you appear like this for us."

"No...Do not worry. This is a conversation that needs to be had."

"Indeed, perhaps if Echidna knew more…"

"Grain, here."

Erin reached out her arm, and opened the palm of her hand. Grain looked at it, and slowly lowered himself onto her palm. It acted as a small pillow for him so that he could speak more comfortably. Anastasia pulled down the protection around her neck, showing the fox scarf that she always wore. Now, Echidna and Grain would act as the guides for this journey. There was no point in doubting them, but he wanted to work out the details from Ana.

"I can safely assume that you're going to tell me important things here on out, right?"

"Of course, Natsuki-kun."

"Yes…"

"I will listen gladly."

"Don't push yourself too much Grain, I can speak for you too you know."

"That won't be necessary..."

Anastasia sticks out her thin chest, and Grain slowly elevates a few millimeters off Erin's palm. Subaru and Julius get ready to listen. Anastasia accepts, and she looks back at the dragon carriage pompously as she speaks.

"We'll be staying the night inside the carriage starting today…..but you two boys need to sleep in the front seat. Can't have you getting carried away with the women and children in a small room, after all."

"There's...a time and place…for jokes. This….isn't one of them..."

"Hey, I just thought I'd loosen the tension….ah, oh well."

Anastasia shrugs her shoulders and sighs. Erin shaked her head slowly at Anastasia. She wanted them to be quick with their explanation so that Grain could dematerialize and be away from the miasma.

"We've made progress towards the watchtower, but was there any challenge to it?"

"I wouldn't call today special, but it wasn't really anything easy either."

Subaru puzzles at her question, and he reflects on the day. They arrived at the Augrian Sand Dunes during noon, letting the morning's "Sand Time '' pass by, and after that, they spent nearly half the day moving. They passed the "Sand Time'' that happened during the afternoon, and it was now sunset. As for the results that were had up to this point, those would be troubling.

"The tower had been perfect as a marker. Emilia-tan has set up way points across the places we've already been too. Meili was more effective than I thought, and Erin and Grain have been effective as recon for us. Those were the results, I guess?"

"From what I've seen, you've all been well prepared to deal with these desert obstacles. "Sand Time" and all. Thankfully we haven't run into any Vex yet so you guys have been safe for the most part. But have you noticed that we've made no real progress towards the tower?"

"No real progress?"

Subaru frowns at Erin, her having taken over speaking, and giving a different conclusion to his.

"You've done good dealing with things up to this point, but have you really not noticed at all?"

"Don't beat around the bush, it's a bad habit for people. What are you trying to say? Spit it out!"

"We...are no closer to the tower...than we were several hours ago."

Subaru's eyes widened, and he peaked around the corner to stare at the mighty majesty that asserted itself brightly, even in the night. The Pleiades Watchtower.

Even after Grain revealed to him what had been happening, it took Subaru a few moments to understand the weight of those words. Nothing had changed, nothing throughout the whole entire day that they had been traveling.

"Seems like you've figured it out. That tower clearly isn't getting closer, nor is it getting any further. We've been walking towards it the entire time...but the distance isn't closing."

Just like Julius pointed out, Subaru finally understood that abnormality.

The faraway looking Pleiades watchtower continued to be there, with a size that made it feel like it'd be impossible to miss it, without change. There was no sort of change in how you'd see it.

"Natsuki….I understand your irritation…. However, you need to keep your head up…"

"So, we've been going through all that trouble today, being covered with sand, paranoid at any sound, traveling all this way, for nothing!? Conquering this place is such a pain in the ass!"

"Yeah, and the Vex aren't making it any easier."

Subaru kicks the sand at his feet, raising his voice, and Julius was at a loss for words. Subaru squats on the ground in front of Julius, him being disturbed, and he scoops out sand with his palm as he pouts.

"You spoke...of the tower having defenses...yes? Could this be...a trap from the tower...or a trap from the Vex…"

"Hey hey hey hey woahwoahwoahwoah, you serious? This shit is making me so damn tired. Saying that our efforts were for nothing, damnit."

"You have a weaker mental fortitude than I thought."

"What are you looking at!? Don't you see me suffering this much!? Now I'm depressed, and I feel extremely awful. You should've said something earlier when you noticed it!"

"We had to be sure. It could've just been our eyes deceiving us, but now we know that's not the case."

"This is how you people…"

He threw away the sand he scooped up, and he stood up while clapping his hands. Subaru glares at Julius from below, who seemed to be looking down, and he acted indignant.

"Can you stop thinking like that? It's not like we'll go nuts if you tell us we'll walk around in circles like idiots. Rather, just tell us and we can put our thick heads together and find a clue from it. Do you guys have a "I'll just keep this inside of me" sort of mentality? Has that really made the situation better at all? Not once have I thought that I should have kept quiet!"

"You are...correct...Natsuki...But if this were...the work of the Vex alone...we would be in serious danger."

"Then let's plan this out, alright? You two are experts in dealing with the robots, so talk with us so that we can beat them at their game."

Subaru became dumbfounded by the silence of such a serious matter. Erin in turn sighed and nodded her head in frustrated agreement. After watching her, Subaru turned to Anastasia and raised his eyebrow.

"So, I guess it's safe to assume you also know what's up with this phenomenon."

"I too thought about the insufficient explanation for it. However, I also felt confident about my suspicions all day."

"The three of you, start from when you had those suspicions. What's going on?"

Anastasia looked at him and narrowed her eyes. Grain balanced himself in the air and began to speak.

"These sand dunes….they are not connected to the plains beneath the watchtower."

"Not connected?"

"In other words, the land isn't connected in the conventional way. If we continue walking with it being like this, we proooobably wouldn't reach it, no matter how long we walked."

Anastasia nonchalantly clarifies Grains words the impact of them, leaving Subaru more shocked then before. Anastasia, who was equivalent to Echidna should've known it from the beginning, considering how it sounded as if that matter was being told from "Echidna."

"So I guess that's why Reinhard and all the other challengers couldn't reach it."

"No matter how strong...or weak...no one would pass through because of this effect…"

For some reason, Subaru thought of the adventurers' regrets from breaking down halfway after having their goal in front of them.

It was the obstacle that obstructed the people that aimed for the watchtower, and the obstacle that even Reinhard gave up on. The distorted space and the end of the sand sea that actually couldn't be reached. Perhaps that was the worst trick of them all, a giant mirage.

"How do you defeat that?"

"…Aren't you kinda missing the point by asking about defeating and not defeating it? This is a trap of nature created by the miasma. There's nooo type of unnatural power going on here. At least it would be, under normal circumstances."

"A trap of nature!? This!?"

It was extremely uncommon, which its very nature couldn't be for anything else but killing.

"Well, the Pleiades watchtower was built at a place where the phenomenon happens. If you think about it like that, it makes a lot of sense, wouldn't you agree?"

"If that were only the case...I would've already... figured out a path…"

"So if it's just some phenomenon of nature, couldn't you figure out a way out of it?"

"That's just it, we can't find a way out."

"The Vex...when I scanned their confluxes...they were all different from one another...The sand that we walked on however...was unchanging."

"What are you saying?! Are you implying that we are stuck in some kind of time loop?"

"No...if only it were so simple...we have willingly walked into their trap...We are inside their simulations…."

Silence falls across the small area of desert. Subaru feels chills run down his spine, and feel the energy in his legs tremble. During the trip he had been silently praying that they would avoid any form of contact with this new adversary. Having learned that they had willingly walked into their domain without realizing it, made his chest tighten in fear.

"Well, looks like it's time for the two of you to shine then."

Anastasia broke the silence between the group, pointing towards the two newcomers of their group.

"Yes, it is in fact time you two began to deal with these things. Have you ever had any experience with this specific type of trap?"

"Not exactly. Though it's not something we are completely unfamiliar with."

Erin, who had let Grain speak for the duration of their conversation finally spoke up.

"There has to be a way to break through their simulation, correct?"

"Yes...back home...we have a scholar….who spent his entire life researching the Vex...I spent much of my spare time...researching his writings...I have them with me currently…."

"Perfect. So where is that information?"

"Inside my mind…."

Erin nodded along with Grains words, giving off an impression that she knew what he was going to say prior to him saying it. She let Grain descend slowly onto her palm again, while the other three watched with puzzled gazes.

"I have an internal memory bank….Everything I've analyzed….read….seen….it's all stored inside me. The issue we have found ourselves in…. is not something too…. uncommon coming from the Vex."

"If it's something that they commonly do, then you should have experience dealing with it, right?"

"Indeed...it is something that I can deal with...however I need access to a conflux inside this trap they've set for us…."

"So, what we need to do then is just find one of those confluxes, yes?"

"Yeah, but it's not so simple. Grain and other Ghosts can infiltrate through almost any mechanical thing. It's usually undetectable, but not for the Vex."

"Are you saying that they'll know what we're doing once Grain begins to "infiltrate?""

"Yes, they will know. No matter what we do, they will know that we are messing with their machinery. They will come after us without holding anything back. It would be a guaranteed head-on confrontation with them."]

AN: Hello, welcome back. Thank you for reading Chapter 5, it took a lot longer than expected for me to finish this. I really apologize for the time it took to release the next chapter. I just returned home from vacation so a lot of me needed to get rearranged back into my normal routine. (Plus the fact I got sick for a little bit.)

We're starting to get into the more interesting parts of the Arc, so things should start heating up relatively quickly. I am very excited to write about it, I have several different ideas on how I want things to go during the story and I hope you all enjoy it. Stay tuned for the next chapter. Thanks for reading.