The wastes stretch on for a great distance, heat comes down from the ceiling of the dungeon above, radiating downward as if emitted from glowing metal coils. There is no distinct source of light, yet everything is oddly bright in the sweltering, orange heat. The air below me, just above the many dunes and mounds of desert sands, shifts and wavers as there is some disturbance above it. I watch my skeletons march, spreading out in all directions to look for the stairs for me.

Technically speaking, as a valkyrie, I’m only allowed to resurrect fighters who I’ve deemed worthy. Those who want to continue their eternal struggle. Practically speaking, Bmmmmmmmmh- haha.

Which is to say that I don’t really care.

  There are other trash-mobs here, apart from the skeletons that I have resurrected. Some of whom stare up to me rather judgingly, perhaps because I have roused them from their dreams so deep. Too bad, it’s time to work sleepy-heads! Hallow! Hallow! I glide down lower, flying over the scorching sands that seem to stretch on for ever and ever. If the secret stairs are buried here somewhere, then I’ll never find them. Wait. What was I talking about? Oh, trash-mobs, yeah. Right.

  There are things crawling beneath the dirt and there are things that skitter atop it. But they only skitter with six legs, not with untold thousands. Scorpions crawl over the wastes, their bodies are massive. Each pincer is easily large enough to grab and hold onto a human torso, neglecting the tail that is as long as the hero is lengthwise. Not lengthwise like that, I mean his height. Come on, guy. Why do you always have to take us down that road? She’ll get jealous, you know that.

One of them clicker-clackers at me, with its pincers as I swoop on by to land on a dune further away from it. Looking back, I watch as it studies me for a moment, but then keeps going the other way. Apparently I’m not worth bothering trying to eat. Rude.

  Looking back, I stare out at the expanse in front of me. There too, sand shifts. But not because something burrows beneath it, but because it is something. It swirls and shifts around, the dust-devil rising up in a tiny cyclone that builds a face made entirely out of sand for a second, but then collapses back down under its own weight. Returning to a heap of sand that slides around the dungeon floors, looking for something to swallow.

  Ah, it’s nice to have some trash-mobs around me again. The last floor was kind of lonely. There’ve been a lot of ‘theme’ floors lately. Worst of all, none of them had any trash-mobs which mean if I respawn, I won’t have an easy checkpoint, as it were. Like in the electricity place, I doubt I can spawn there, because there’s nothing to spawn as, so that means my odds of spawning somewhere lower are higher. Which is bad obviously.

  The heat swelters around me and I close my eyes and hold my arms out wide. It feels kind of nice, actually. To feel the heat on my body. It envelops me, almost too hot to breathe, but at the same time, that’s what makes it satiating, as it touches my light-born skin. I hope the skeletons find the stairs for me. I kind of want to just stay here for a moment. The heat feels nice. Is this what the sun feels like? I hope so, I’d like to feel this when I’m not surrounded by wa-IAAAH-

  “SCRIAAAAA-“! Shouts a high-pitched voice, as I tumble down the dune behind me, something has grabbed my arms and I see only a flurry of feathers and color from the thing that has wrapped its long, bird-like feet around my shoulders, its talons digging into me. I leap, pushing my feet off of the side of the dune mid-tumble. Both myself and it are propelled back into the air, as it screeches into my ears, but it still holds on to me. Let me go! Let me go! Thinking quick, I pull myself forward and plant the sole of my foot back behind me and straight into its face. This body is thankfully very flexible. With a ‘thwack’ I connect and the creature is stunned, its grip loosening in shock from the counter-attack, that I don’t remember having learned anywhere. Must be a valkyrie thing.

  It lets go as we both tumble, disoriented through the air. I leap again and push myself off of its bare body, the momentum smashing the creature down to the dune that was just a meter below us, as it slams down into the fine sand and slides down to the ground below. Bright, colorful feathers fly all around us. I look at my shoulders, they are deeply gashed. Thankfully I can’t bleed, but if I could, oh boy.

  “SCRIAA!” shouts the harpy, pulling herself out of the sands. She shakes herself off, looking at me with venom in her eyes. Her body is that of a human, but she has two long, bird-like wings. Unlike mine that are more… ethereal and magicky, hers are made of flesh and bone and feathers. Her sun-tanned body leads down to two backwards bent, leathery legs with long, razor-sharp bird-talons at the bottom.

Something catches my eye behind me. The skeletons? I turn to look at them. Why aren’t they looking for the stairs? Get to work you bums! They stand there in a rough collection atop a nearby dune, some sitting, some standing. One of them tries to whistle, but he has no lips.

  “SCRRRRIIIIIAAA-“ I turn back just in time to grab hold of the harpy that has flown up back towards me. Our bodies collide and our eyes meet, she looks mad. Her sharp, human-faced, but avian oriented features, are filled with an animal fury as we collide, crashing against each other again, interwoven as we spiral towards the dirt a second time. Her face is trying to push itself towards me to bite me in the throat, but I’ve grabbed her hair and pull her head back as hard as I can-

The skeletons cheer, watching the show in the distance as we collide into the desert sand below.

1) I know I ask a lot, but please consider reviewing this story if you find the time and haven't already. It would help a lot! =)

2) At this point, I suppose you all know. But we still have a cute little Discord!

*~+---SPECIAL THANKS---+~*

Henry Morgan,  Shadowsmage, The Grey Mage, Spencer Seidel, Slime girl chapters 4 lyfes, chp2001, Shaoraka, James_is_Playing, Collin Love, Sage