120 THE DEACON OF RA
The Sun Scorpions were massive, black-armored monsters, their stingers glowing like miniature suns. Each claw radiated heat, capable of searing flesh instantly.
From their tails, they could launch searing plasma, blinding foes with bursts of radiant energy, and under the twin suns of Anu, even the most grievous wounds healed rapidly.
"We can't outrun them—there are too many of them," Damen muttered.
Without hesitation, he leapt into the nearest scorpion, cracking its head. A wave of electricity and kinetic force rippled across the sand, toppling several others.
The scorpions collapsed as sparks danced across their armored shells.
"See? Not too hard. These things aren't that strong," Damen said, a hint of confidence in his voice.
"Don't underestimate them," Zalira warned. "Many strong heroes have fallen because they did. Their viciousness is unmatched."
Defeating the Sun Scorpions wasn't difficult in a single strike—but killing them? That was Impossible. Any wound they suffered healed instantly under the sunlight. Cracked shells mended, bodies restored, as if the desert itself empowered them.
"The scorpions aren't dead," Eryn said, her voice tense.
Damen turned, his eyes widening.
The creatures he thought destroyed were already climbing back to their feet. At the same time, more erupted from the desert sands.
"Damn it—we have to run!" he yelled, grabbing Eryn and pulling her along.
"Put me down! I can run on my own!" she protested.
"No, you're too slow," he replied firmly.
But they hadn't gone far before the scorpions caught up. Running on sand was exhausting, while the creatures burrowed and swam beneath the surface, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
"We're surrounded," Zalira said, scanning the horizon.
"How do we kill these damn things?" Damen asked, frustration creeping in.
"Not during the day," Zalira replied grimly. "The twin suns heal them faster than you can harm them. It's a waste of our meta power to try."
"The sun heals them? damn", Damen cried.
Damen's eyes narrowed as an idea struck.
He dashed at one of the scorpions and struck with a ground-shattering blow. A powerful sonic wave erupted outward, sending the surrounding scorpions sprawling across the sand.
"Sonic Smash"
Quickly, he singled out one wounded scorpion. The Drain function appeared before him.
The condition for Drain was clear- the target must be incapacitated or gravely wounded.
The scorpion shrieked as its meta energy erupted, flowing into Damen, leaving the creature lifeless.
"How did you kill the Sun Scorpion?" Zalira asked, astonished.
"Just keep running," he replied.
They moved before the stunned scorpions could recover.
Damen had found a method now: they would run until escape became impossible, then he would stun the nearest beast with a sound wave and drain it of its essence.
Drain might not kill the scorpion outright but it would immobilize it, preventing it from chasing them.
Slowly, methodically, he picked them off, one scorpion at a time.
-----
The twin suns of Anu bled into the horizon, sinking beneath a sky bruised with violet clouds. The desert winds grew colder. Night was coming—slowly, painfully slowly.
They sprinted across the dunes as the scorpions fired another hiss of plasma.
Damen's blue-blood body armor took the brunt of the blast. Eryn stayed close, tucked against his chest; his body shielded her from most of the heat.
Zalira wasn't so lucky. She stumbled, clutching her side where the plasma had scored her.
"Just a little longer," she gasped, blood darkening her fingers. "Once the suns fade completely, their power will wane. Then we can kill them all."
They staggered forward through the dunes. Every breath was a struggle. Every step, a prayer.
Then—a flash.
A spear of white-hot plasma tore across the sand and struck Zalira squarely in the chest. The impact sent her sprawling, her scythe clattering from her hand.
"Mother!" Eryn screamed, racing to her side.
Damen's head snapped up.
From the shifting sands ahead rose a shape unlike the others—half man, half scorpion, its carapace burning gold under the last rays of the twin suns. A humanoid torso jutted from a scorpion's body, and behind it arched a glowing tail, pulsing with molten light.
Zalira's face turned pale. "A… Deacon of Ra…"
Her voice trembled. "It's the executioners of the sun god himself…", she murmured.
The Deacon's voice was metallic, reverberating through the air. "Half-bloods… sinners… betrayers of divine lineage. You will burn under the light of Ra."
"Damn you!" Damen roared, and in a burst of speed, he was already upon it.
His first punch cracked against the Deacon's armored torso, his second following in a blur of sparks. But the creature moved with blinding agility, its claws clashing against Damen's blows.
Damen toggled his autonomous combat, his body moving with terrifying instinct.
His next kick struck the Deacon square in the hip joint—the weak point. The impact shattered bone. The Deacon fell, its limbs spasming under the electric surge of Damen's fusion meta.
But the victory lasted only seconds.
A low hum filled the air as the Deacon's wounds sealed themselves in streams of molten gold. Within moments, it stood again, unbroken and smirking.
"What the hell?!" Damen's eyes widened. "It's healing—just like the others!"
"While the suns up, it cannot die!" Zalira shouted from where she lay, her voice breaking through pain.
The Deacon raised its tail again.
Plasma gathered at the tip like a miniature sun, burning brighter by the second. It aimed straight for Zalira.
"Stop him! Stop him before he kills mom!" Eryn screamed.
Damen didn't hesitate.
He charged again, his footsteps shaking the sand. His fists became blurs of light, hammering against the Deacon's armor in a storm of Sonic Smash strikes and Thunder Crush bursts. Each hit disrupted the creature's aim, the plasma blast veering away into the dunes, vaporizing sand instead of flesh.
But the creature laughed, its voice warped with divine static. "Your strength is wasted, mortal! As long as Ra's light shines, I am eternal!"
"Come on!" Damen roared, his eyes darting to the sky.
The suns were dipping lower, half-swallowed by the horizon. Shadows stretched across the desert, but not fast enough.
Another plasma shot cut through the air—this one grazing Zalira's arm, scorching it black. She screamed, collapsing fully this time.
Eryn ran to her, tears streaking down her face. "Mother, please! Stay with me!"
Zalira gritted her teeth, clutching her arm. "I can't… much longer…"
Damen's rage boiled over.
His blood thrummed with cursed energy. "You want to burn us? Fine! Let's burn together!"