Sand Soul

As Hestia’s sacred light of samsara bathed every grain of sand, the souls trapped within found their final refuge.

After millennia of torment, they had forgotten the path to reincarnation. Hestia’s radiant lamp illuminated their way, guiding them back.

Their intense yearning for freedom fueled a nascent faith, its glow coalescing around the goddess, restoring color to her fading form.

Seth, the God of Sand, felt his power wane.

Each grain stripped of its soul weakened his storm, his divine essence dwindling. Without action, only his remnant soul would remain.

“Hypocrite, Hestia!” he roared. “You think your actions change anything? Guiding these pitiful souls is futile! When your light fades and your idols crumble, these faithless mortals will abandon you! Their devotion is mere greed for your power!”

His voice trembled with rage. “I sense the demon god’s curse on you—a vile betrayal! That’s the nature of mortals! Their greed consumes even gods! The only solution is to make them sacrifice everything! I granted them eternal life, undying souls! I never broke my promise! But these wretched souls rejected my embrace, flocking to your flames! They don’t deserve redemption! Desire is their sin, and becoming sand is their only atonement!”

Seth’s cautious divine power spiraled into chaos.

Violent winds and sand tore through the tomb, not all souls choosing Hestia’s fire.

Those loyal to Seth—the first to become sand, his most devout—remained bound to him. “I’ll consume everything here! The living outside will be my first sacrifices. No spatial prison can halt my conquest. And you, Hestia, will wither in your hypocrisy!”

The sandstorm ripped open the tomb’s ceiling, Seth’s soul merging with billions of grains, forming the storm’s core.

He aimed to engulf the Secret Realm, devouring all life within. The sudden escalation left Leia’s counterattacks futile, her blade scattering mere fragments of sand.

A haunting hymn, the Song of Sand, echoed through the wind, ensnaring unprotected souls, luring them into oblivion. Seth’s power infused the sand, consuming all in its path, intent on turning the realm into a desert of death.

“The Song of Sand…” Hestia murmured, gazing at the sand-choked sky.

“What does it do?” Selina asked, shaking off dizziness as the apocalyptic scene unfolded.

She needed answers about the song’s effects, not Hestia’s presence in her.

“Those who hear it lose themselves, standing still as the sandstorm devours their flesh and life, their bodies joining the sand, their souls eternally enslaved,” Hestia replied, raising her lamp to shield Selina and Leia from the song’s influence.

“He knows his power is countered by my flames, so he’s betting everything on this,” Leia said, looking at Hestia’s sacred silhouette.

“Apostle of Nerepose, the Goddess of Darkness, pays respects to the Goddess of the Hearth.”

Hestia glanced at Leia, smiling gently. “No need for formalities.”

She sensed the divine blessing on Leia, rendering ceremonial gestures unnecessary in the face of the crisis.

“What about the students with identity tokens? Will they be affected?” Selina asked, her thoughts on Aelir, waiting outside, and her aunt.

If anything happened to them, Roan’s wrath might drag her from the underworld.

Before Hestia could respond, Selina’s token glowed hot, then shattered, as did Leia’s.

A white spatial light enveloped them, poised to teleport them out. But Hestia’s silver flames burned through the spatial energy, halting the transfer. Confused, Selina and Leia exchanged glances.

“No need to worry. I stopped the teleportation,” Hestia said.

“The exam organizers recalled all token-holding candidates to avoid casualties.

They’re safe from the sandstorm.”

Selina sighed in relief, but her heart sank again. “Aelir lost her token. What about her now?”

“I have to save her!” Selina declared, urgency gripping her.