Ethan adjusted his grip oeering trols as the wind howled outside, rattling the reinforced body of the hover truck. The storm had grown fierce, with gusts that threateo push the vehicle off course and thick clouds of sand that obscured everything beyond the windshield. The truck's stabilizers struggled to pensate, and every now and then, a warning light would fsh as the vehicle shifted in the wrong dire.

  "Storm iy increasing by twenty pert. Visibility reduced to thirty meters," Iris informed, her voice cutting through the howling wind.

  Ethan grunted, narrowing his eyes as he tried to peer through the swirling sand. His HUD outlihe faint silhouette of the mountain pass ahead, but the path was barely visible. The mountains loomed like dark, ominous shapes in the distance, and the narrow trail leading through them seemed perilously thin.

  "Great," Ethan muttered. "Just what I needed, a natural disaster on top of bandits."

  He had already mao deal with the previous attack, taking out the small group of bandits who had ambushed him during the earlier part of the mission. Now, with the supplies still in tow, he had to make it to the outpost, but the storm made it almost impossible to move quickly. He tapped a few ands into the dashboard, cheg the map of the region again. The tunnel he'd spotted earlier was his best ce of getting through the mountains without getting buried in the sandstorm.

  "Iris, calcute the most effit route to the tunnel," Ethan ordered. "And give me a readout oruck's status."

  "The truck's shields are at seve pert capacity after the previous e. Structural iy remains stable. Navigational systems show that the tunnel is approximately two kilometers away, though the path ahead may tain unstable ground and debris."

  Ethan bit baother curse. The truck was holding up, but that wasn't the issue. The terrain ahead could easily bee a death trap, and the truck was only designed for supply transport, not heavy bat or navigatireme ditions like this for long stretches. He kept a steady hand on the wheel, slowing the vehicle slightly as the trail narrowed further.

  Lightning crackled in the distance, briefly illuminating the jagged peaks of the mountains before being swallowed up by the swirling clouds of sand. For a momehan caught sight of the tunnel's entrance, a dark hole in the rock barely visible through the storm. He adjusted the truck's course, pushing through the gusts of wind with determination.

  The vehicle lurched as it hit a rocky patch, ahan cursed as he fought to keep it steady. Rocks and debris littered the trail, and the wheels struggled to find tra in the sand and loose stones. Ethahe back of the truck skid slightly, but he corrected quickly, guiding the vehicle bato the main path.

  The storm was deafening now, the wind howling like a living thing, g at the sides of the truck as if it wao rip it apart. Ethan's hands were slick with sweat despite the cool air ihe cockpit, and his knuckles were white as he gripped the trols tightly.

  "Iris, any sign of more hostiles?" Ethan asked, not willing to take any ces. The bandits he had entered earlier had been persistent, and he doubted they were the only ones patrolling this part of Kynara.

  "Sers show no active hostiles within range," Iris replied. "However, interference from the storm is affeg le dete capabilities."

  Ethan nodded grimly. That didn't mean he was safe, just that he couldn't see what might be out there. He kept his eyes oh ahead, watg for any sign of movement as he he tunnel.

  Another fsh of lightning lit up the sky, and for a brief momehan caught sight of something ahead, something moving. His heart skipped a beat as the outline of a figure appeared in the distaanding in the middle of the path, directly in his way.

  "Iris, what the hell is that?" Ethan barked, trying to get a better look as the truck pushed forward.

  "Unknown life form detected," Iris responded. "One subject, humanoid in appearaanding approximately fifty meters ahead. They are not moving."

  Ethan's eyes narrowed. A figure, out here, in the middle of a storm like this? That was no ce. He slowed the truck as he approached, keeping his hand close to his sidearm. The figure remained motionless as the truck's lights illumihem. Whoever they were, they were ed in a dark, tattered cloak, their face obscured by a hood pulled low against the wind.

  "Identify yourself et out of the way," Ethan called out through the external speaker, his voice cutting through the roar of the storm.

  The figure didn't move.

  Ethan g the sensain. No signs of additional hostiles, but the interference was to to rely on the s alohe stranger could be a scout, bait to lure him into an ambush, or perhaps they were just another unlucky soul caught iorm. Either way, Ethan couldn't afford to be careless.

  He killed the ehe sudden silence almost jarring pared to the relentless side. Grabbing his psma pistol, Ethan opehe door, stepping out into the storm. The wind hit him like a wall, nearly knog him off his feet as the sand whipped against his armor. He raised an arm to shield his face, squinting through the storm as he approached the figure cautiously.

  "What are you doing out here?" Ethan called, his voice barely audible over the howling wind.

  The figure remained silent.

  Ethan took aep forward, his grip on the pistol tightening. He could feel the weight of the storm pressing down on him, the wind tearing at his clothes and the sand stinging his skin. Whoever this person was, they weren't here by act.

  Before he could speak again, the figure finally moved. Slowly, they lifted their head, ahan caught a glimpse of their face. Pale, gaunt, with hollow eyes that seemed to stare right through him. For a momeha a chill run down his spine, colder than the wind.

  "You 't stay here," the stranger said, their voice barely a whisper, yet it carried through the storm with an eerie crity. "The storm is just the beginning."

  Ethan's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

  The stranger didn't answer. Instead, they turned and walked away, disappearing into the storm as quickly as they had appeared. Ethan watched them go, unease gnawing at his gut. Something was wrong here, but he didn't have time to figure out what. The storm was getting worse, and the tunnel was his only way out.

  He turned back to the truck, climbing inside and smming the door shut. "Iris, let's move. I don't like this."

  The truck rumbled to life, ahan pressed the acceleratuiding it forward into the tunnel as the sted behind him.