He gritted his teeth and whispered with raw conviction.
"Let’s fucking do it."
...!
And then, more firmly.
"Do it. Forge the identity. Even if I have to sell my soul to the devil. Even if I have to smile and shake hands with the sa people who covered everything up... I will gain enough power to one day look them in the eyes and rip their bodies apart. To bathe in their blood if I have to. Whatever gives the strength to avenge her...to at least get her body back, I’ll do it!"
He ant it.
With every ounce of conviction in his soul, he would do whatever it took.
Whatever it took to be able to stand before one of the most powerful Guardians in Ebonreach tropolis and not flinch.
On the other side of the line, he heard frantic typing as Anastasia moved fast.
"The ZENTHRA Beast Corporation already has several selected Trial Guardians- like the ones you saw on the bottom floor who led the group up to the ninety-ninth. But every week, they invite new Beast Masters from all across Ebonreach tropolis. People who’ve bonded with loose Interstellar Beasts, or those who survived an Entropic Rift Break and discovered a natural affinity. They advertise for them to join the ZENTHRA Beast Trials- to be chosen as the next Trial Guardians, cultivated as the new heroes of the city."
...!
Her voice stayed sharp and cold as she juggled reading waves of data, forging Damian’s identity, and erasing files linked to his real one.
She was moving fast- quicker than he’d ever seen her work. So Damian asked.
"I overheard those Trial Guardians talking about newbies showing up today for the Testing Grounds. Don’t tell ..."
"Yes."
Her answer ca without hesitation.
"There’s a ZENTHRA Beast Trial today. Another one is scheduled next week and so on. But I’d rather not wait. You’re already here, and I’ve just finished creating your new identity. You can exit the building and reenter legitimately. No more hiding. I’ve already sent your virtual Identity Card- new na, birthplace, residence, and affiliations. It’s all there."
...!
She was thorough. Freakishly so. Moving with sharp precision and urgency.
Still, Damian hesitated. He needed to be sure.
"Is everything airtight? Should we give it more ti, double-check everything? I’d rather wait a week than have it all fall apart from a simple oversight."
The voice in his earpiece returned, fierce and unshakable.
"I haven’t made a single mistake. And I don’t plan to. One slip, and we lose everything. I know that. Believe , I double- and triple-checked. Your identity is solid. I just registered you as one of today’s Beast Trial candidates. Newly awakened, bonded to a fox Beast. Now...move, exit and co back in."
...!
Her voice held fire and certainty.
Damian didn’t waste another second. He followed the Serpent Queen back to the elevator, picking up the pace to slide in before the doors closed.
His mind buzzed with possibilities- what could happen, what could have happened- as the Serpent Queen pressed the button for the 120th floor. At the sa ti, Damian hit the button for the 1st floor.
Both lit up.
She waved her badge to approve the override and only blinked when the 1st floor lit up. No reaction. Maybe she thought it was a mistake.
Silence filled his earpiece as the elevator ascended from the ninety-ninth floor to the 120th. The doors opened. The Serpent Queen stepped out into a floor that looked like the start of an entirely different world.
He saw it for just a mont- reinforced walls, artificial forests, a massive combat arena-like space. Trial Guardians lood in the distance, posturing with pride while eyeing a group of nervous-looking new Beast Masters.
The ones here for the ZENTHRA Beast Trials.
Damian’s gaze hardened as the doors closed and the elevator dropped to the first floor.
He couldn’t just appear in the middle of the lobby- turning visible out of thin air with security systems watching.
He had to do it right.
And he did.
When the doors opened, no one was there to see him slip out invisibly. He left the luxurious, domineering lobby behind.
Outside, Guardian fanatics still cheered and waved signs. Damian slid into the crowd, his eyes scanning, his heart pounding.
He whispered, "Anastasia... am I clear? I’m about to drop the veil and approach the building."
He glanced at his phone, which now displayed a brand-new identity card. His face, a new na.
[Therion Dark]
From Damian Light...to Therion Dark. A little dramatic- even for Anastasia, but he let it go.
"Yes," ca her reply. "I’m combing through more Interstellar Beast Master files, uploading and archiving everything to my own servers. Also... I just found sothing about our friend, the Drunken Butcher. Apparently, he saved and then killed a prominent doctor in the Skyglass Heights. And he obtained sothing called... Natural Nanotech Blood Serums. It’s new. Supposedly boosts Beast Masters and even normal humans trendously. He brought them back for processing into this sa building yesterday. Logged under the 125th floor."
A pause.
"If you want to stack the risks after the Trials... that’s the next target. The sa serum Vex Talon took one of."
...!
More plans. More danger. Damian’s eyes narrowed as he considered the option. He shimred into visibility in the middle of a crowd, Kitsuul perched silently on his shoulder. No one gave him a second glance.
Until he stepped onto the central path reserved for ZENTHRA personnel.
"Ooh!"
"Another Beast Master!"
"Look at the silver fox!"
Gasps and whispers flitted through the air. Damian kept walking, the earpiece still crackling.
"Go to the Sentry X-1AI Guard in the center and tell them you’re here for the Trials."
His gaze snapped to the right. Down a vibrant corridor, past dozens of pedestrians, he locked onto it.
A hulking android guard—2.4 ters tall, weaponized, plated in obsidian alloy.
Its face was a smooth, expressionless black visor, with only a single red vertical line pulsing across the center.
Damian approached without hesitation and spoke clearly.
"Therion Dark. Here for the Beast Trials."
...!
The line across the Sentry’s visor flared bright blue, scanning him from head to toe.
A mont later, the light turned green.
"Therion Dark," it droned. "Day Pass granted. Please follow ."
...!
The Sentry turned and began walking toward the inner gateway.
Behind it, another Sentry materialized- already replacing its position.
Reviews
All reviews (0)