As they moved toward the light, the world shifted—twisting and warping like a dream unraveling—until suddenly they were in the sky, free-falling at blistering speed.

  Everyone screamed.

  Kenji, arms flailing, yelled with fury, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

  Chiyo's voice cracked in panic. "We're FALLING!"

  Timmy clung to his tiny bag and wailed, "I'm too young to die!"

  Kawai's shrill cry pierced the air: "MEEP MEEP!"

  Tony flailed dramatically. "And I'm too OLD to die—this is a bad way to go!"

  Olorun clasped his hands together midair. "Dear God, please—I'll stop mocking Kawai's voice, just save me!"

  But Eleo, ears flapping wildly and eyes wide with excitement, shouted over the chaos, "Don't worry guys—I GOT THIS!"

  With a huge grin, Eleo flung a black-glowing orb downward. "INK BALLOON!!"

  A massive, rubbery black sphere of ink erupted from the air below, stretching wide just in time to catch the whole crew. They bounced off the inky surface with squeaky thuds before settling safely onto the sand.

  Chiyo tackled Eleo in a hug. "Thank you, Eleo—my glorious leader!"

  Eleo beamed, puffing his chest proudly. "Heh. No problem!"

  Kenji climbed off the balloon first, dusting himself off with a grunt. He narrowed his eyes. "So... this is World 2, huh."

  The land around them stretched in every direction—a sun-blasted desert under a brilliant blue sky. Rolling dunes swallowed the horizon. Jagged cliffs loomed in the distance. The skeletal remains of old cities jutted from the sands like the bones of fallen beasts.

  Olorun landed next, shielding his eyes. "Damn... I thought it'd be scarier. This place doesn't look dangerous at all."

  Tony chuckled, still holding Kawai under his arm like luggage. "Maybe people were just overhyping it. Looks empty."

  Timmy adjusted his satchel. "I dunno... I heard World 2's full of strong fighters."

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  Chiyo dropped off the balloon and looked around, hands on her hips. "Then where are they?"

  "I don't know," Eleo said, hopping off with a bounce. "But I'm READY to fight! Let's explore!"

  As they walked, the heat pressed down like a weight. The ground shimmered in the distance. Then—looming in the distance—a sight stopped them in their tracks.

  There, towering above the dunes, was a massive skeleton the size of a mountain. It knelt in the sand, upright, arms braced against the ground as if caught mid-crawl. Its ribs were shattered like the ruins of a fallen cathedral. Its skull gaped open—laughing or screaming, no one could tell.

  "...Tony," Timmy whispered. "What is that?"

  Tony blinked. "Ohhh shit. I forgot about those guys."

  Kenji narrowed his eyes. "What guys?"

  Tony rubbed the back of his head. "Okay so—there's this race of skeletons. Colossal Skeletons. They're like us, but bigger. Dumb. No fashion sense. I totally forgot they lived in World 2."

  Eleo's ears twitched. "Wait, wait—where are they exactly?"

  Tony shrugged. "I really don't know. They're rare. Usually."

  Olorun laughed nervously. "Well, uh, maybe we won't see them for a while."

  Chiyo smirked. "Olorun... you're not scared, are you?"

  He huffed. "Of course not. In fact—HEY, SKELETON! COME FIGHT US!"

  Timmy gasped. "DON'T SCREAM! They might actually hear you!"

  Tony set Kawai down with a thud and joined Olorun. "YEAH! Come get us, you giant boner freaks!"

  Eleo followed, pumping his fists. "YEAH! LET'S GOOO!!"

  Kenji slapped a hand to his face. "Idiots…"

  Suddenly—BOOM.

  A violent explosion of sand. All three—Eleo, Olorun, and Tony—were gone.

  Chiyo froze. "W–what the HELL?!"

  Timmy screamed, pointing. "They've been eaten by a sandworm!"

  Kenji's voice turned sharp. "WHAT?!"

  "They're blind," Timmy whispered, covering his mouth. "But they can hear you… and they have really good hearing."

  Chiyo spotted a boulder nearby. "Follow me!"

  "WAIT, CHIYO—" Kenji lunged, grabbing Timmy under one arm and Kawai under the other as the sand behind them erupted in a hungry roar.

  "RUN FASTER," Timmy screamed.

  "I AM RUNNING," Kenji snapped, leaping over the swirling sand.

  BOOM. Another explosion behind them. Kawai squeaked, "MEEP MEEP!"

  Kenji landed by the rock, panting hard, and dropped to a crouch.

  Chiyo leaned out. "Thank god…"

  "CHIYO—!" Kenji snapped, grabbing her by the shoulder. "YOU IDIOT! Why the hell would you run off like that without telling us?!"

  "I'm sorry!" Chiyo raised her hands. "I thought you guys knew what my plan was!"

  Kenji growled. "We ain't mind readers."

  Kawai hugged his leg tightly. Timmy clung to his waist.

  Kenji looked down, his tone softening. "Okay, okay... you can stop hugging me now."

  They let go. Chiyo glanced at Timmy. "Do you think they're alive?"

  Timmy closed his eyes, sensing faint tremors. "Yes. But we need to act fast. Before they get digested."

  Kenji squinted at the shifting dunes. "Worm hasn't popped out fully yet. I don't know how we kill something like that..."

  He clenched his fists. "...But goddamn it, why did they scream?!"

  Chiyo exhaled slowly. "Because they're them."

  Kenji's jaw tightened. He looked out into the deadly desert with fire in his eyes.

  "…We're getting them back."

  As the group huddled behind the jagged rock, debating how to save their friends from the underground menace, Kawai tilted its head and noticed something—tiny pebbles scattered on the rock’s surface. With its usual unbothered air, Kawai plucked one up with its stubby wing, puffed out its chest like a warrior about to make a noble sacrifice, and casually lobbed the pebble into the desert.

  Thud.

  A split second later, the sand erupted like a geyser. The massive sandworm lunged from beneath the surface with terrifying speed and chomped the pebble mid-air before crashing back into the dunes, leaving a small crater behind.

  Kenji’s eyes widened for just a moment. “What the hell…?”

  Kawai gave a proud little “Meep Meep,” clearly pleased with itself.

  Chiyo blinked. “Wait—wait, that might actually work! We could use the rocks to bait it out!”

  Timmy perked up. “Yeah! Then when it comes up, we hit it!”

  Both Kenji and Chiyo turned to stare at him blankly.

  Timmy shrank a little. “I mean… not me obviously. I’m, uh… logistics.”

  Kenji sighed through his nose, irritation barely masked, then drew both of his swords with a metallic shhhk. His tone was calm, but resolute—blunt as always.

  “Kawai. Throw that rock again.”

  Kawai gave a small salute with its wing and puffed its chest with newfound importance.

  Chiyo cracked a grin. “Alright, sword boy’s got a plan. Let’s do this.”

  Kenji didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed on the sands, waiting—focused, fearless, and ready to strike. As Kawai readied another pebble, the tension in the air thickened like the heat around them.

  Then—

  Meep.

  Kawai threw.