The Omega Mated To The Four

The moment we stepped through the passageway, the temperature shifted from the cool, ancient stone of the temple to the suffocating heat of an open desert. The ground beneath my boots turned to soft, shifting sand, and a dry wind blew against my face, carrying the scent of dust and sunbaked earth.

I blinked rapidly, trying to adjust. Sand stretched endlessly before us golden dunes rolling into the distance. The sky was vast and cloudless, the air heavy with the scent of dry earth. A desert. Inside pyramid.

Austin groaned. "Okay, seriously, what kind of place is this?"

Isaiah wiped sweat from his forehead. "Why is there a desert inside a temple?"

Alex squinted against the light. "Magic, obviously."

I looked back at the doorway we had just walked through. It was gone.

The stone walls of the temple was gone. Behind us, there was nothing but endless dunes stretching as far as the eye could see. The sky was vast and mercilessly blue, the sun glaring down like an unforgiving eye.

"What the hell is this kind of place?" Austin groaned, wiping sweat from his brow.

I adjusted my grip on the map. Like before, it had changed to match our surroundings. The temple's blueprint was gone, replaced by a rough sketch of a desert, and at the very center was a small tomb.

"There," I pointed. "That's where the shard is."

Austin sighed. "Oh, perfect. Just a little trek through the hellish wasteland to get there."

"Looking at the previous temple. This isn't just any desert," Elijah said, scanning the horizon. "It might also be a trial."

We started moving, the sand shifting under our boots with every step. The heat was oppressive, the kind that made your lungs burn with each breath. My clothes clung to my skin, damp with sweat. I forced myself to focus, keeping my eyes locked on the map.

And then... things started to change.

it was subtle. The dunes seemed to shift when I wasn't looking, changing shape and position. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something-Mariah, standing just ahead, smiling at

in my tracks. My breath caught

No. 1 couldn't be.

forward, my

her head, extending a hand toward

asked, looking back

and she was

heart pounded. That wasn't

the air. I spun around to see Austin backing away,

1/2

Chapter 198

"What's wrong?" I asked.

none of us could see.

"What are you doing

swore under his breath.

saw it. The air shimmered, and suddenly, we weren't in

territory stretched out before me-tall trees, familiar houses,

step forward, heart pounding. If

grabbed

I turned to him

in

look!

my head toward him. He was staring into the distance, his expression torn between disbelief and

real," Isaiah said