Green tinted heavy downpour blurred my vision that day. I had been tracking down the beast for a while now. I hid in the tallgrass and used my gem to change my scent to my surroundings.

Marbletiger, it’s too dangerous. Find another prey, Wolf.

How will it sound when we crack its marble spine? Smash it, Wolf.

The wetness on your skin, this damp grass, and muddy dirt. Doesn’t it feel great, Wolf?

Very helpful as usual. I had never hunted a marbletiger before but tracked and observed them multiple times. They are agile, powerful predators with smooth marble skin. Even the predators of the marbletiger don't bother hunting them because it takes too much effort to get through their pearly coats.

So, what will you do, Wolf?

So, what will you do, Wolf?

So, what will you do, Wolf?

I crouched deep into the mud to prevent making noise by touching the foliage. Then there was the gem carved deep into my back, I focused on it. I dreamt of an endless desert, I dreamt of irrepressible power. My bones got broken so I could build them back sturdier. A hide thicker than iron swaddled my muddy skin. To not waste a single vital moment, I leaped at the marbletiger as soon as my body finished reforging itself.

Foolish.

YES, CRACK IT OPEN!

So much for relaxing.

I kept mauling the marbletiger repeatedly with my fists, which were hardened and widened to act as hammers. Hit after hit after hit after hit… I don’t remember if I ever stopped. I never noticed its final breath. Or the second marbletiger. All of my focus was on my arms and sheer power, I left myself completely defenseless. The second marbletiger’s heavy claw entered my body before my perception. My body instantly shifted my vital organs to prevent lethal damage but there was a part of my body that I couldn’t control, my gem.

…

…

…

I opened my eyes to an endless desert, kneeling to the pain drilling into my spine. It was silent, not a loud silence, not a complete silence… Just silent. No endless quarrel among three prideful spirits, no wind, no nature. I couldn’t even feel the gemflow. There was simply nothing but sand here.

It took me a good amount of time to get used to the crushing pain coming from my gem. I tried to shift my body to resist, heal, or at the very least suppress it. But I got no results back. I couldn’t even control the hair on my arms. On top of that, trying to use my gem only amplified the pain I was feeling. At one point the pain got so bad that I tried reaching around my back to rip the gem out. I eventually stopped trying, which made the pain finally go away.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

After the pain slowly went away, but never fully, I started to think. Where was I, how did I get here, how was it so silent, where are my spirits, and how do I get out of here? I couldn’t answer any of these questions except one. I’ve seen this place countless times, in the dreams I’ve had. This was the endless desert the sandbear showed me.

I spoke out loud, not for someone else to hear but to calm myself down.

“Dreamed, I have.

I slept with power,

I woke up in a desert.

Dreaming, I am.

I’m gathering my strength,

I’m readying to unleash storms.

Dream, I will.

I will be destruction,

I will dominate the land itself.”

Nothing. My words didn’t reach anyone but myself. I got no replies, it didn’t manipulate gemflow, and it didn’t change anything. For the first time, I felt powerless. Bathed in frustration, I slammed my feet in the sand and screamed hard enough to damage my throat.

“I AM THE DREAMING WOLF,

DREAM I MAY, DREAM I MIGHT,

END THIS DREAM OF SPITE..!”

I ran away from sand, towards sand. I left sand, to reach sand. I tried to run until I couldn’t, but my strength never diminished. I never felt hungry or thirsty as well. I thrust my knuckles into dunes of scorching sand with frustration. Countless grains pierced my skin, leaving my fists bloodied.

The more I punched into the sand, the more painful it became. I kept my arm straight during my jabs, digging into the dune. Sand and blood gradually covered my arms. Soon, I noticed that the sand was slowly starting to shine. I pulled my arms out completely when this gleaming coat reached my elbows. I tried to brush off the sand but it didn’t let go of my skin. When I paused to think, the intense pain knocked me out unconscious almost instantly. I dreamt.

There was a feminine figure standing atop piles of bones. Her almost-orange brown hair reached her shoulders and curved towards her face. Blood masked her whole face, except her almost-red brown eyes. She was wearing a pelt of bones and a cape of skulls. She roared at me.

“So have you dreamt, o’ wolf,

You dreamt of my power,

You dreamt in my desert.

Tell me why o’ wolf,

Why do you need my strength,

Why do you want to unleash storms?

For I am the sandbear,

If it is destruction you seek,

Then you need to dominate me before the land.”

I still could feel the pain in my arms so I looked down at them. They were fully covered by sand and blood. The hardened coat was as durable and flexible as an ironspider’s web. While I switched my focus to my arms, the sandbear had already leaped at me. Our fists met each other soon after. The clash was strong enough to dislocate my shoulder and make the bones she donned crack. I grumbled back.

“Mighty spirit of the hunt,

O’ powerful sandbear,

I accept your challenge.”