After what felt like days, Kai could feel the landscape changing.
Kai urged his black mare further into the endless white dunes.
The blinding sun beat mercilessly against his shoulders, and the ground beneath his horse's hooves felt exactly like powdered bone.
Bleached skeletons of ancient sandworms and ruined merchant caravans littered the sloping hills.
Every few miles brought another grim reminder that this wasteland swallowed careless travelers whole.
[Warning: Extreme Heat Environment Active]
[Stamina drain rate increased by 60%]
'This place is a fucking oven,' Kai thought, wiping a stream of sweat from his forehead.
'If I don't find shade soon, both my horse and I are going to bake alive.'
System warnings chimed constantly in his vision, serving as a highly annoying soundtrack to his miserable ride.
He ignored the text and focused on sipping warm water from his leather canteen.
