"W-what… is t-that shadow?!!" A man suddenly shouted, his voice trembling as he looked up at the sky.

   His face turned pale in horror, as he stared at the sight in front of him.

    He was in the middle of a vast desert, and there were twenty others around him, their legs sinking into the dry sand. 

   Each one tightly held onto a thick metal box with thin purple lines running along its surface.

   But as they all looked up, their eyes widened in shock, some even dropping their boxes in disbelief. 

VOOM!

   An immense shadow loomed over them, so large that it blocked out the sun, plunging the entire area into darkness. 

   Though they were still in the day, the huge shadow make it seem like it was night.

   After staring for a few seconds, they finally noticed the faint outline of five giant 'objects', rapidly descending down from the sky.

   At the speed they were falling, it was clear they would be crushed within an instant if it landed on them!

   "R-run!" A short woman stuttered, quickly bolting for her life.

   The rest didn't waste any time too, picking up their speed as they scrambled to avoid getting crushed.

   A few of them swiftly took to the air, flying away from the giant shadow at rapid speed.

   But unfortunately, not all of them had the ability to fly, and those left on the ground could only dash frantically through the thick sand in a desperate attempt to save their lives.

  However, the scorching desert sand clung to their feet, greatly slowing down their speed. 

  Their hearts were quickly pulled into despair as the giant shadow rapidly grew darker, closing in with crushing inevitability.

  A few of them shouted unto the ones flying for help, however, no one turned an eye to them. 

   Meanwhile, far ahead of the rest was a beautiful woman with long amethyst air and light blue eyes.

   Draping from her back was a short white cape, which fluttered violently in the air. Behind the cape was a beautiful golden insignia, signifying her royal status. 

   However, none of her usual noble expression could be seen as she desperately propelled herself through the air, using a series of short wind blasts.  

  Each blast sent her hurtling through the air, her long hair whipping around her as she pushed herself to her limits. 

   She ignored the pleas of the people behind her, trying to outrun the looming shadows that threatened to flatten everything beneath them.

   As she flew, different thoughts kept flashing through her mind, each one causing her heart to race in fear.

  'Is this it… is this how am going to die?! Crushed to death… in a stupid desert?!' She thought, feeling an emotion she thought she had suppressed rising back to the surface of her mind—fear!

Whoosh!

   Gritting her teeth in frustration, she forcefully boosted her speed once more, shooting far ahead of the others. 

BOOM!!!

   Suddenly, the giant 'objects' crashed into the ground, filling the air with an ear-splitting explosion.

CRACK!!

   A massive crater formed the ground immediately, followed by a powerful earthquake which rippled through the entire desert.

Swoosh!!

   Thick dust violently swept across the desert, sending tiny stones and debris flying through the air.

   The ones who weren't fast enough to escape were instantly crushed into paste, with no remains left of their bodies.

Cough!

Cough!

   The blue eyed woman and the few others who managed to survive coughed violently as thick dust filled the air.

   "Damn it…" She muttered, her eyes red and irritated from the small stones that got into them during all the chaos. 

   Her current appearance was nothing like the royal and noble one she had at the start of the expedition, but, no one dared comment on her disheveled state. 

   Her clothes were covered in dust, and her once-white cape was now dirtied with sand. However, compared to the others beside her, she was still in slightly better shape. 

   The other three who managed to survive—a black haired woman and two other man—were in even worse condition. 

  'We've lost so many… that's their fault for being so weak. Pathetic.' She thought, scoffing under her breath.

   Her gaze turned back to the thick shadows, who were cloaked by the dust.

   Her eyes narrowed as she tried making out their appearances from where she stood, however, the dusts were just too thick, and all she could see were dim silhouettes. 

Swoosh!!

    With a simple wave of her hand, she sent out a gentle wave of wind, clearing out the dust covering them.

    "What… the hell are these things?" Her eyes widened in horror, at the sight in front of her.

   Contrary to their expectations, what fell down from the sky weren't just 'objects', they were beasts… massive beasts!

   They were five in number, each one sporting thick fur, and pitch black stripes which ran all over their bodies.

   Jutting out of their mouths were large, sharp fangs, each one the size of an adult human.

   In front of these massive beasts… they seemed like mere ants.

   "I-I've never seen anything… like this before." The black haired woman mumbled, her body still shivering slightly. "Your majesty…?" 

   "Tigers…? But tigers… aren't usually this big!" The blue eyed woman slowly floated towards the giant beasts, before suddenly freezing mid-air.

   Apart from that, tigers—who were known as Xons in their native language—all went extinct about a thousand years ago, so the world was supposed to be rid of them now.

So where did these… things come from?

   Out of all the creatures lying still on the ground, one caught her attention the most due to how different it seemed compared to the others.

   Unlike the others, its fur had a thick red colour, as if it had been soaked in blood. 

  The stripes wrapping around its body were also darker, more menacing and seemed to pulse with a sinister energy. 

   'I don't sense any life from any of them… thank the heavens.' She thought, subconsciously heaving a sigh of relief.

   Even from where she stood, she could sense the immense power oozing from these strange beasts, and it sent chills down her spine.

  She couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be if they had to fight against something… like that.

   "Yor'reil, Contact the queen. Tell her something huge just dropped… literally." She commanded, turning to the black haired woman beside her.

   "Yes, your majesty." The black haired woman, whose name was Yor'reil replied, instantly going down on one knee.