190 THE BADGE
The room erupted in disbelief.
"What?! That's suicide!"
"The Shadow of Anubis has wiped out entire cities!"
"Damen can't face an S-Rank alone! God of War or not!!"
Nicaesa's gaze swept across the room, silencing them. "Damen is stronger than you think. The boy has outgrown this fortress. If he cannot face the Shadow, then he's not ready for what lies beyond these sands."
All eyes turned to Damen.
He stood there quietly, his expression was unreadable. Then, slowly, he nodded.
"Fine," he said, his voice calm. "I'll handle it."
Lightning began to spark faintly across his armor as he turned to leave.
Outside, the twin suns of Anu were dimming behind the rising storm. Somewhere beyond the dunes, the Shadow of Anubis was waiting.
And Damen Dark was walking straight toward it.
-----
[On the battlefield of Fortress Myrone]
The Shadow of Anubis was not a creature born of flesh…it was the memory of a god made manifest, a walking image of the divine.
From afar, his silhouette seemed vaguely humanoid, like a titanic priest draped in darkness. But the closer one looked, the less human he became.
His presence bent the air around him, warping light and sound, making the world appear submerged beneath black water.
His head bore the jackal visage of Anubis, carved from shifting black stone, and his eyes glowed like twin suns of red fire. When he moved, the world dimmed. His massive limbs left behind cracks of darkness that bled upward instead of downward, defying every law of nature.
And in his hands he carried the Scythe of Abyss…a weapon larger than fortresses, its edge spanning horizons.
When the Shadow of Anubis raised the scythe, the very night seemed to buckle. A wave of darkness rippled across the heavens as if the stars themselves recoiled from the weapon.
The moment the Shadow swung it downward, the heavens roared.
Space fractured.
Time stuttered.
Then the scythe descended fully.
It didn't just strike…it devoured.
The force field of Fortress Myrone disintegrated, the defensive lattice melting into smoke. If left unchecked, the blow would erase both the fortress beneath it.
This had happened before…countless times.
It was a charade of destruction, a dance repeated between gods. Usually, Lord Nicaesa would arrive to meet the strike, halting the weapon with his celestial mallet.
But this time, Lord Nicaesa wasn't here.
Only Black Halo was.
The scythe pierced through the failing force field, plunging toward him. Black Halo exhaled softly…a single, tired breath against the storm.
Then the silver veins of the halo on his chest flared open.
Plasma, brighter and hotter than the twin suns, erupted outward like an inferno of condensed starlight lashing against the falling scythe.
There was no explosion. No echo.
Only silence.
And when the light faded, the Scythe of Abyss was gone…
destroyed.
------
"Hooray!" the soldiers cheered for Black Halo.
"Black Halo blocked the Scythe of Abyss!" one shouted in disbelief.
"He's the second person ever to do it!" another cried.
"Fortress Myrone has another superhero!"
Their voices rose into the night like a wave of triumph. For a brief moment, the darkness that had consumed the sky seemed to lift.
But the Shadow of Anubis remained unmoved. His jackal face turned slowly toward Black Halo, his eyes burning with cosmic rage.
"A corrupted mortal dares to challenge the might of a god…" his voice echoed like thunder through the bones of the living.
Suddenly, Lord Nicaesa appeared beside Damen.
"Did I really break the power of an S-Rank?" Damen asked.
Lord Nicaesa smiled, "That Scythe is only a small part of the Shadow's power, but you've done well."
"I'll return", Shadow Anubis growled. Then, without warning, the Shadow began to fade.
His colossal frame dissolved into smoke and starlight, retreating back into the void. He had not come to conquer this time… only to test.
For a long time, the god-shadow had descended upon Fortress Myrone to measure its defenders. Usually, it was Lord Nicaesa who took the trial.
This time, it was Black Halo.
Damen hovered in the air, his halo dimming, his breath ragged. He watched the retreating shadow, his heart hammering.
It had been reckless to face the Scythe of Abyss head-on…but he had to. He needed to know how far his strength could reach.
His skill, Halo's Judgment, was born from the assimilation of the Heart of Ra…a relic of the alien gods. From the beginning, the skill was Rank B, far above any technique within the fortress.
Most of the fortress' combat programs could only raise a user's skill to Rank C at best. To exceed that required personal evolution…something no machine could simulate.
But Damen possessed the Heart of Ra, Level 3, which, in theory, elevated the ability of the Halo's Judgment by three ranks—roughly equivalent to Rank A.
The skill's base power was electricity, and Damen also activated a Level 6 Core of Electricity.
He discovered that each level of the Core amplified the output of Halo's Judgment enormously, however this amplification would be shared among the different Cores he had active.
Given that he needed the Core of Blood to suppress his mind, and the Core of Genesis to power the skill with his blood power. The net increase to his skill should push the ability's theoretical limit closer to the strength of the Shadow of Anubis.
That was the theory he wanted to test tonight.
His Halo's Judgment met the Scythe of Abyss head-on…and shattered it… but that was only because this was a test. He hasn't really tasted the real power of Rank S.
The cost to Damen from using the skill was immense.
He exhausted everything to fire out his greatest strike. His body trembled, his plasma veins dimming to dull silver. The air around him flickered once, then went still.
Then he fell from the sky, his energy spent, his consciousness slipping away.
The soldiers caught him before he hit the ground. Their cheers softened into anxious murmurs as they carried the fallen hero back toward the sick bay of Fortress Myrone.
The legend of Black Halo had begun.
-----
When Damen woke, three days had passed.
The sterile glow of the infirmary lights greeted him, along with the faint hum of medical drones. His body still ached from the battle, his veins sore from the burn of plasma.
"Thank goodness you're awake," Lieutenant Kalmer said, rushing to his side. Two assistants entered, carrying a freshly pressed black-and-silver uniform.
"What is this?" Damen asked, frowning.
"Just wear it," Kalmer replied with a faint smile.
Still bewildered, Damen obeyed.
Once he had donned the new uniform, Kalmer guided him through the corridor to the main hall of Fortress Myrone.
The doors opened, and Damen froze.
Thousands of soldiers were gathered inside, lined in rows that filled the vast chamber. The moment he entered, they rose to their feet in unison… an echoing sound like thunder rolling through the hall.
"What the hell is happening?" he thought.
"Come over here, Black Halo!" Lord Nicaesa's booming voice carried from the stage. The commander stood tall in his ceremonial armor, a proud grin etched on his face.
Damen hesitated, then walked forward under the gaze of the entire fortress. When he reached the dais, Lord Nicaesa beckoned him closer.
"Come closer son, don't be shy?" he asked.
Damen moved closer.
An aide stepped forward, offering a small black-and-gold insignia. A badge.