Xantheus, Third Claw of the 2nd Echelon, crushed the skull of the strange, metallic creature beneath his foot, burying half of it in the sand as he did so. The visceral destruction of his enemy was cathartic, but it did little to pacify the contempt permeating within the core of his being.

The Kono Zemsu had eluded him yet again.

But not without aid.

Xantheus released the thralls from his control and the mindless giants resumed their aimless wandering through the desert. They were of no use anyway. Even the metal being—the food’s proxy—he had vanquished on his own.

But all of that paled compared to the new development.

The meat that came to save the Kono Zemsu was different.

Never had he sensed food so fresh.

But was it as a result of him finally being in the material realm? Or was this meat somehow different? He needed to know.

The billowing clouds of his retreating quarry lingered in the air.

A trail to follow.

Speed was not his ally. Not in this realm.

Patience was always his strength.

He would make it his strength here also.

Xantheus cloaked himself within a shroud of ether, masking his presence and then started off in the direction of the clouds. If there was meat this fresh to be found on this realm, then perhaps it would lead him to where there is more.