188 GROWING UP IN THE DESERT OF ANU
The alarm bells still echoed through the fortress when Liorea climbed the western wall. The sky beyond the battlents shimred with heat and dust ….and in the distance, the alien horde advanced once more.
They had been attacking more frequently lately.
Ever since the fortress began rationing artillery shells, their defenses had grown weaker. With no more supply convoys coming from Silver City, ever since the revolution in lrose, every bullet and energy cell had beco precious.
"Positions!" shouted the officers below. The ramparts trembled as the gunners manned their stations.
Lord Nicaesa stood beside Liorea, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes fixed on the approaching enemy. His expression was unreadable.
It was not fear nor anxiety… it was sothing else.
Liorea frowned. "You look like you're expecting soone."
Nicaesa smiled faintly. "Perhaps I am. Didn't you co here searching for the sa thing?"
Her breath caught. She turned back to the battlefield and scanned the shifting waves of the alien mass.
Then she saw it.
At first, just a shimr. Then a vortex ripped through the center of the horde, flinging hundreds of shadow hounds into the air. Lightning exploded outward — wild, violent, divine. It was a storm moving with purpose.
The soldiers on the wall froze in awe.
Liorea's eyes widened. "No… it can't be—"
A single figure walked through the maelstrom, his aura bending the world around him. Each step shattered the ground, every motion wrapped in thunder and fla.
A one-man army.
"Is that… is that Boss?" she whispered.
Nicaesa stroked his beard, his smile proud and lancholy. "I told you he would beco the guardian of this fortress one day."
Liorea turned to him, startled. "Then why do you sound uncertain?"
"Because," Nicaesa said quietly, "he's still not ready. His path isn't supposed to end here…yet. He must return to Silver City to continue his journey."
The battle below began to fade. The aliens scread in retreat, their ranks dissolving under the storm.
Soldiers on the wall raised their fists, shouting in triumph.
"God of War!"
"God of War!"
Out on the desert plain, the lightning subsided. Amid the smoke and ruin, a dark figure stood alone … his halo dimming, his gaze fixed on the fortress.
Then, without a word, he turned and vanished into the sands.
Liorea's voice was barely a whisper. "Will he co back?"
"Yes," Nicaesa said, still watching the horizon. "Surely, he will. when he does… he'll be ready to return to us."
-----
It had been a year since Prom Night.
For months, Dan Dark had watched the twin suns of Anu sink below the endless dunes, painting the horizon in shades of molten gold and scarlet.
When night fell, silence took the world … and that was when he was most vulnerable.
Only under darkness could he be hard.
But even then, there were few beings left in this desert strong enough to challenge him.
A faint ripple disturbed the sand. Dan turned. In the distance, a humanoid figure with the head of a jackal crept across the ridge …one of the Deacons of Annubis.
He vanished.
In the next instant, his hand was already at the creature's throat. The jackal-being struggled, claws scraping against invisible force fields … then with a sharp snap, it was gone, its body dissolving into a mist of black ichor.
Dan's eyes glowed faintly.
"Assimilate."
"Congratulations. Core of Blood successfully assimilated."
"Core of Blood Level 7 activated — 64/64."
Power surged through him, a crimson pulse spreading across his veins like living light. His thoughts sharpened, his heartbeat slowed.
"Good," he murmured. "The bloodlust no longer clouds my mind … even at my current rank." He's finally hunted the last Core of Blood he needed.
He opened his system window, the translucent display unfolding before him in the air.
Core of Blood – Level 7: 64/64
Core of Electricity – Level 6: 32/36
Core of Kinetics – Level 5: 16/23
Core of Light – Level 4: 8/10
Core of the Mind – Level 4: 8/9
Core of Genesis – Level 4: 8/10
Core of Location – Target Tracking Level 24
Heart of Ra – Level 3: 4/4
Every number, every digit, represented months of battle and endless hunts through the deserts of Anu.
His stats followed:
Na: Dan Dark
Strength Rank: BBB????ta Rank: BBB????Blood Rank: AA
Strength: 2073??|??Charm: 2171??|??ta: 2225??|??Command: 2226??|??Blood: 9132??|??Armor: 15248
His mining software had evolved too, now capable of detecting and capturing thirty-two energy signatures simultaneously. His mining range extended across different cities, and his Empowernt protocol granted him 64 points per day.
A new interface shimred faintly in his vision … the Shop.
He scanned its offerings but frowned. "Still nothing useful," he muttered. "You'd think after all this… they'd start selling sothing good."
The night winds howled across the desert. Dan turned back toward the horizon where Fortress Myrone's silhouette lay hidden in the dark.
"I'm back."
-----
"Are you sure about this? Running off without telling the soldiers?" Cyara asked, glancing over her shoulder as the dunes stretched endlessly behind them.
"I've done this before," Eryn replied, brushing the sand from her cloak. "But if you're scared, you can still turn back."
Cyara frowned. "I'm not scared. The people in Fortress Myrone don't care about us. If we stay there, we'll never find my fiancé."
Eryn stopped and spun toward her. "Dan is not your fiancé!"
Before their argunt could flare again, a sharp hiss echoed through the wind. Both froze.
"Shh…" Eryn whispered. They raised their weapons, moving closer, their backs almost touching.
The sand rippled … and burst open.
Dozens of scorpions, their shells glinting like molten bronze, crawled out from beneath the surface.
Cyara's breath caught. "What are those?"
"Sun Scorpions of Ra," Eryn said grimly. "They are Indestructible during the day."
"Then what do we do?"
"Get back to the fortress. We can't fight them until nightfall."
They began to retreat, step by step. But the scorpions were faster. Their tails glowed white-hot… then they fired lances of plasma towards them.
Explosions tore through the sand around them.
"They're not letting us go!" Cyara shouted.
"What do you suggest?"
Cyara thrust her hands together, summoning her power. The air around them dimd as the sunlight bent and drained into her body.
Within monts, the desert darkened into an artificial eclipse.
Eryn stared in shock. "You can block the sun?"
"Less talking, more fighting! Is it enough nightfall in here now!" Cyara yelled.
Eryn grinned.
"Got it." She lifted her arms, and the air scread as spears of compressed wind shot forward, slicing through the scorpions' bodies. Carapaces shattered. Golden ichor sprayed across the sand.
"Anemokinesis."
Monts later, there was only silence. The creatures lay broken.
"Whew… that was close," Eryn said, exhaling.
Cyara smirked, raising her hand for a high-five. Their hands t with a sharp clap.
A beat later, both turned away, muttering in unison, "We're not friends."
Suddenly, the ground rumbled.
A shadow lood behind them… a massive scorpion-shaped figure rising from the dunes, half-man, half-beast. Its chitin glowed with divine fire, and its eyes burned with solar light.
Eryn's stomach dropped. "That's not a Sun Scorpion…"
Cyara took a step back, "Then what is it?"
Eryn swallowed hard. "The Deacon of Ra."
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