Nathan barely had time to process the explosion that had engulfed him before he felt himself being transported. This was no ordinary place—he knew it instinctively. The air, the atmosphere, the very sensation in his bones told him he had been pulled somewhere far removed from the battlefield where he last stood.
For what felt like an eternity, he drifted through an unseen void, weightless and disoriented. Then, abruptly, he landed with a harsh thud.
The ground beneath him was not solid stone nor cool earth, but something coarse and scorching. Sand. Burning sand. The heat seared through his clothing, and as he instinctively turned onto his back, his vision was assaulted by an unforgiving, blinding light. A relentless sun blazed above, its golden fury scorching everything beneath it.
Nathan groaned, lifting a hand to shield his eyes as he struggled to sit up. Sweat already beaded on his forehead, the sweltering air making it difficult to breathe.
