The desert never stayed the same.
One moment—
Rolling dunes stretched endlessly.
The next—
Jagged rock formations emerged like islands in an ocean of sand.
Then another few hours—
Nothing.
Just sand.
Sand in front.
Sand behind.
Sand above whenever the wind decided to remind everyone who ruled this place.
Kai pulled the cloth over his face tighter.
"...How do you people breathe out here?"
One outlaw laughed.
"We don't."
Another answered,
"We just suffer together."
Several others nodded in agreement.
Kai wasn't sure whether they were joking.
Probably not.
---
The hovercrafts skimmed over the dunes effortlessly.
Each floated about a foot above the sand.
No wheels.
No tracks.
Just a faint humming beneath the wooden platforms.
Kai sat behind one of the drivers.
Every now and then he'd glance underneath.
Still couldn't understand how they worked.
Eventually—
He moved beside Persia.
"...Can I ask something?"
Persia didn't look away from the horizon.
"You already are."
"...How do these hovercrafts work?"
Persia adjusted his glasses.
"Oheyo."
Kai waited.
"...That's it?"
"That's the answer."
Kai frowned.
"No, seriously."
Persia sighed.
"They use something called Levitation Plates."
"Nobody knows who invented them."
"Most don't work anymore."
"Boss somehow makes them work."
Kai looked toward Munnu riding ahead.
"...Reverse engineering?"
Persia nodded.