Awakening in the Jaws of the Sandworm
Crunch!
The armored bus, plastered with thick plating, crumpled like a sheet of paper under the immense mass slamming into it.
"Kugh!"
"Gah!"
Screams erupted as people tumbled wildly inside the bus.
No one had bothered with seatbelts, so they bounced around like billiard balls.
Zeon was no exception.
"Ngh!"
After rolling chaotically, Zeon finally regained his senses and staggered to his feet.
Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead, but he had no time to wipe it away.
The unbelievable sight outside the window held him frozen.
Shhh!
Everything visible was red sand.
The massive armored bus had been entirely swallowed by the desert sands.
"Fuck! A Sandworm dragged the bus underground."
"We're all dead."
"Shit! No Awakeners here?"
Chaos reigned inside.
Kaboom!
Even now, chunks of the bus's armor peeled away like scraps of cloth.
A little more time, and the plating would be gone—then everyone inside would become the Sandworm's meal.
They might suffocate in the sand first. That might even be the kinder death.
That was when it happened.
"You fucking worm bastard…"
One of the miners bellowed, swinging his arm toward the window.
Whoosh!
A blade of wind erupted from his hand, shooting out the window.
Zeon's eyes widened.
An Awakener.
The wind blade marked him as a magic-type Awakener, no doubt.
But its power was pathetic.
Splat!
The wind blade fizzled out, unable to pierce the sand crushing the bus.
It hadn't even scratched the Sandworm's body.
Hope flickered briefly on the passengers' faces, only to shatter into disappointment.
"F-rank."
"Goddamn it! Figures. No real Awakener would be mining magistones."
Even among Awakeners, ranks made all the difference—sky and earth apart.
F-ranks were the gravel at the bottom of the Awakener ecosystem.
Stronger than normals, sure, but useless against a colossal monster like a Sandworm.
Whatever reason had put him on this magistone mine bus, his wind blade couldn't dent the beast.
And the matchup was all wrong.
Cutting through the sand enveloping the Sandworm's body was impossible.
"Die! Die already!"
The Awakener lost it, hurling wind blade after wind blade. They all failed to penetrate, draining his mana instead.
Then it happened.
The armor near the Awakener ripped away completely, and a massive tongue lashed out.
The Sandworm's tongue.
It whipped like a lash, snatching the man and vanishing into the sand in an instant.
"Aaaagh!"
His scream pierced the sand, then cut off abruptly.
No need to see—he was worm food.
"We're all gonna die. Gonna die."
"What do we do?"
"Sniff…"
Sand poured into the bus like a tsunami. Another person vanished.
"Damn it!"
Zeon bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.
Pain barely registered.
The sand was already up to his waist.
Suffocate in sand, or become Sandworm chow.
Neither appealed.
His usually sharp mind had frozen solid, like petrified by magic. No thoughts came.
Bam!
A massive impact hit, snapping the bus in two.
"Aaaack!"
"Urk!"
Most passengers vanished into the sand.
"Fuck!"
Zeon cursed, scanning around.
Sand was up to his shoulders now; he couldn't even see the others nearby.
He made his choice.
Stay here, and I'm dead.
Rip!
He tore strips from his clothes, fashioning a long rag. He wrapped it tightly over his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
An emergency seal against the sand.
Prepared in seconds, Zeon dove into the sand.
Huh!
The desert sand crushed him like deep-sea pressure.
Breathing? Forget it. Moving a limb? Impossible.
Zeon didn't fight it—he surrendered to the sand.
Crunch!
The faint sound of metal crumpling echoed.
The armored bus's final death rattle.
No need to check; everyone inside was done.
Shhh!
The sand surged like waves.
Something enormous swam through it, approaching.
The flow felt unnaturally clear.
It's coming.
Zeon flailed, trying to escape his spot. But the crushing pressure pinned him—no chance.
The Sandworm drew closer by the second.
I don't want to die. Not yet.
His heart pounded.
It might burst before the worm got him.
Blood raged wildly through his body.
That torrent surged toward his head like a runaway train.
Boom!
Something exploded in Zeon's mind.
An explosion only he could feel.
At the same moment, seven lines appeared on his wrist.
Tattooed lines, the bottom one glowing orange.
Eyes covered, Zeon couldn't see. But instinct told him what happened.
Awakening.
The rare blessing had come to him too.
He couldn't check his rank yet—no view of the Rank Badge.
The seven lines on an Awakener's wrist resembled military insignia.
Except only bars, no stars. Hence, "Rank Badge."
Breathing eased instantly. The pressure vanished.
The crushing sand felt like amniotic fluid now—comforting.
No one taught him, but Zeon knew: his power involved sand.
He swung his hand. His body slid forward smoothly.
Pfsh!
A colossal maw appeared where he'd been.
The Sandworm's jaws, lined with spinning saw-like teeth, stained red.
Blood from recent victims.
Roar!
The jaws swallowed Zeon's former spot whole.
A split-second slower, and he'd be minced meat digesting in its gut.
Crazy!
Goosebumps exploded across his skin.
Lucky awakening dodged the strike, but the real problem remained.
A fresh power couldn't take down the desert tyrant.
The F-rank proved that, becoming chow moments ago.
First priority: use this power to escape the sand.
Zeon thrust both hands forward.
His body twisted like a fish, swimming through the sand.
Billions of grains parted for him effortlessly.
He rocketed upward, toward the surface.
Then—a powerful vibration from behind.
The Sandworm pursued.
Zeon was fast, but the worm faster.
It'd catch him soon.
Damn, swimming in sand aside, any other powers?
Zeon desperately probed his abilities.
Then—chills down his spine.
The Sandworm was nearly on him.
He sensed its jaws gaping wide.
A random thought: What if I shoved a heap of sand down that maw that's eaten so many?
The sand around him shifted oddly.
Some gathered before him, compressing tightly.
Zeon muttered at the dense sand mass.
Sand Blaster.
No one told him.
The name just surfaced.
Skills worked that way—emerging when conditions met, like pre-engraved in the mind.
Fwoosh!
The compressed sand blasted out like a water jet.
The high-pressure stream speared straight into the Sandworm's mouth.
The Sand Blaster punched a small hole in its palate.
Minor-looking, but it shredded the inside like a rag.
Unbearable agony—first of its kind.
The Sandworm shrieked.
Grrraaawr!
It thrashed, shaking the sands like an earthquake.
Zeon seized the gap, accelerating.
He broke the surface, leaving the worm far behind.
"Hah!"
Zeon exhaled the breath he'd held.
Fresh air filled his lungs—he felt alive.
Then—
"Survivor! There's a survivor over there."
"Sandworm confirmed. Everyone, get ready."
Voices called out.
Zeon looked up—a small armored car.
Its oversized tires suited desert travel.
Still, a Sandworm would suck it under in seconds. Yet the occupants showed no fear.
Men with ominous auras approached from the car.
Awakeners.
Zeon spotted it instantly.
Striding the desert boldly, knowing a Sandworm lurked? Pure confidence in their power.
Then—
Roooar!
The massive Sandworm burst from the sand, chasing Zeon.
The middle-aged leader bellowed.
"Pin it—don't let it dive back under."
"Okay, boss!"
A blue-haired woman replied brightly, extending a hand toward the worm.
Chill spread rapidly, freezing the sand where the Sandworm emerged.
It flailed, unable to submerge.
The woman said,
"Too big—can't hold it long."
"That's plenty."
The leader smirked coldly.
He drew a massive Claymore and charged. His men followed.
"Hah!"
The Claymore fell like a guillotine on the worm's body.
Slash!
Tough hide tore like paper, red flesh exposed.
The worm writhed in pain.
One subordinate approached, pressing his palm to its flank.
"A Sandworm surfaced? Rare catch."
Sandworms rarely surfaced—made them hard to hunt.
Vrrr!
His palm vibrated at invisible speeds.
Aiden, superpower: super-vibration.
Boom!
The spot exploded like a firecracker.
The finisher: the late-arriving giant.
Twice a normal man's height, he leaped high, smashing down on the worm's head.
Kaboom!
Its head burst in a thunderous blast.
"Heh heh!"
The giant laughed maniacally, drenched in gore.
Zeon's jaw dropped at the scene.
Crazy bastards!
The devourer of countless lives reduced to meat in seconds.
Unbelievable without seeing it.
Shing!
The leader sheathed his Claymore, eyes on Zeon.
Zeon shivered, spine icing over.
Those cold, sunken eyes terrified him.
"So, you're the sole survivor from that bus?"