Chapter 9
"A girl," Damian said, his voice barely a whisper of disbelief. "But she's unconscious... who is she?" He leaned in, his fingers grazing her cheek. The skin was cold, but a faint pulse thrummed beneath. "She's still alive."
"Are we going to leave her here?" Beta asked, glancing at the crumbling surroundings.
"No," Damian responded firmly. "We take her with us."
Gamma looked around, his detective instincts noticing a shift in the atmosphere. "Do you notice how this realm has suddenly become stable? The tremors stopped the moment we opened that box."
"You're right," Alpha agreed. "Do you think she's somehow connected to this place?"
"We'll figure that out later. For now, we move," Damian commanded. "Beta, take the girl."
"Yes, my lord." Beta lifted the girl with ease, draping her over her shoulder. With a collective surge of energy, the Knights of Shadow teleported back to their base.
Back at the temporary base, Beta was placed in charge of monitoring the mysterious girl while the others retired to their quarters to recover. The next morning—a quiet weekend—the team gathered in the common area to wait for their leader.
Damian, however, had already teleported back to the volcanic realm. He felt an unsettling pull toward the site, certain that more secrets were buried in the ash. As he wandered the scorched earth, he noticed a massive rock that looked out of place, as if it were concealing something. He heaved it aside, revealing the mouth of a hidden cave.
The sight inside was stomach-turning.
Piles of bleached bones littered the floor. The cave had been used as a twisted combination of a research lab and a kitchen. As Damian picked his way through the remains, the shocking reality set in: the D.E.V.I.L. witches were cannibals. They hadn't just murdered people; they had been consuming humans for centuries.
Deep within the cave, he found a dusty diary with entries dating back hundreds of years. It chronicled the witches' desperate experiments to awaken Shin-Ron—failed sacrifices, botched rituals, and centuries of dark science. Then, he found a passage that explained the girl.
The witches had kidnapped a young woman centuries ago, forcing her to bear the Flame God's child, believing a demi-god offspring could bridge the gap and awaken their lord. But the experiment was deemed a "failure" when the child showed no signs of being able to summon Shin-Ron.
Instead of killing her, they had sealed the child away in a stasis coffin for over 200 years. Their plan was to wait until the Flame God eventually woke up on his own, then feed the girl to him—believing her divine blood would serve as the ultimate meal to fully replenish his power.
"I see... she is the daughter of a god. That makes her a demigod," Damian thought to himself as he stood in the silence of the hidden cave. "I'll brief the Knights later, but for now, I need to check on her."
He teleported back to the temporary base, appearing in the center of the living room. The sanctuary was humming with activity: Beta was busy in the kitchen, Alpha was immersed in the research lab, and the sounds of muffled impacts echoed from the top floor where Gamma and Delta were sparring. Damian walked toward the stairs, heading for the guest room on the third floor.
"My lord, I wasn't expecting you back so soon," Beta said, pausing her work as he passed the kitchen.
"I came to check on the girl," Damian replied. "Is she awake?"
"No, my lord. Her vitals are perfectly stable, but she remains in a deep sleep. I'm not sure how long it will take for her to regain consciousness."
"I'll go see for myself," Damian said, continuing up to the third floor.
Damian entered the quiet room where the girl lay. He walked to her bedside and reached out, touching her cheek. He decided to pass a tiny fraction of his energy into her—just enough to jumpstart her healing process and shake off the centuries of stasis.
The spark was more effective than he had anticipated. Her eyes fluttered and slowly opened, her gaze landing on Damian. She stared in silent awe; in her two hundred years of existence, she had never seen a man. She had only known the five witches and the victims they dragged into the cave. The witches had raised her on a grim diet of wild game and ritualistic blood meals, keeping her isolated from the world. She had never been formally taught to speak, though she had learned to understand the witches' tongue by mimicking their conversations.
"Who... you?" she managed to mutter, her voice raspy from disuse.
"I am Shadow," he replied calmly. "Or Karma. You may choose."
"Sha... Shadow?" she repeated, her voice shaking as she tried to process the name.
"Yes," Damian said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Tell me, do you have a name?"
"I don't remember... I don't know," she whispered, turning her face away in shame.
Damian reached out, his hand gentle as he turned her face back toward him. "You don't need to worry about the past. From now on, I will call you Phoenix. Is that alright?"
A small, hesitant smile tugged at her lips as she nodded eagerly.
"You should get some rest," Damian said, standing up to leave. "I want to physically evaluate your condition later to see if there is anything we need to attend to."
As he turned to go, he felt a sudden, desperate tug on his sleeve. Phoenix had lunged forward, grabbing his hand with a trembling grip.
"Don't... go," she pleaded.
The words struck a chord in Damian's cold heart. She was clinging to him like a lost child, terrified of being abandoned in this strange new world after centuries of darkness.
After a while, breakfast was ready and they all gathered at the dining table, Phoenix was stunned by the meal, she had never seen food that beautiful before, the aroma filled the air with intense.
"Wow Beta i never knew you could cook so well" Delta saw with big smile on his face
"I learnt my culinary skills from my mother, she was s chef after all" Beta said smiling as she take her sit. Everyone dive in immediately, shadow took a short pause before taking his masked off, it was the first time anyone of the Knights except Beta had seen his face.
"Oh my..... you are beautiful " Delta bluntly said without a thought. Both Alpha and Gamma was left speechless. It was the exact reaction Beta had when she first say his face,he qas just strong his physique and facial features were impeccable. Phoenix stared in total adoration, the face looking like it was crafted by a god. Shadow disliked the way they stared at him, it reminded his of those predators who has assaulted him in the past.
"Quit staring at me!" He yelled out in disgust. They all immediately turned back to their meal but took a quick glance time to time as they ate.
After the meal shadow left with Phoenix for the evaluation, he wanted to know if she possesses any of her father's abilities and if she did, he needed to know how much.
Meanwhile the Knights had gather together in the sitting room. They had the day off as they celebrated their first godlike mission.
"Tell me Beta, you know what shadow look like didn't you, you're the only one who was shocked to see his face" Alpha asked as all eye faced Beta
"Yeah you're right, I've seen him before, even without a clothes on and her was magnificent she replied
"What!!!!!!" Everyone exclaimed simultaneously as thought it was planned
"He let you see him like that" delta asked in disbelief
"Yeah and I had the same reaction as you guys, he was stunning " she answered in admiration "do you also know he is younger than us" she added
" now that you mentioned, he's face looks younger too" Gamma said as the others nodded in approval
" so tell me, how old do you think he is" alpha asked looking at Beta
"Form what he told me, if my calculations are correct, he would be seventeen in two months" she replied.
"Seventeen!" they all exclaimed in unison, the shock echoing through the room.
"He's even younger than Delta," Alpha said, shaking his head as he tried to reconcile their leader's terrifying power with his age.
"Yeah, and here I was thinking I was the youngest," Delta responded, leaning back in his chair with a look of pure bewilderment.
"And depending on how old the girl is," Alpha added thoughtfully, "Lord Shadow could actually be the youngest person in this entire base."
The room fell into a brief, heavy silence as they processed the weight of that reality. It was Gamma who finally broke the quiet, his detective's mind already piecing together the psychological puzzle. "Who knew such a terrifying being could be so beautiful? I often wonder if he was born with that coldness, or if someone, somewhere, hurt him enough to change him."
"I believe he was hurt," Beta chimed in, her voice softening. "I've been the closest to him, and I've seen how he reacts to certain things. Especially his reaction to all of you staring at his face today. Most people would feel proud or joyful to be looked at like that, but he looked... disgusted."
Alpha straightened his glasses, his fingers hovering over an imaginary keyboard. "I could do a full background check on him. It wouldn't take long to find his records. Would that be appropriate?"
"No, I don't think so," Gamma suggested firmly. "He wouldn't be pleased if he found out we were digging into his life. Whatever happened in his past should be his to tell, whenever—and if—he decides he's ready."
"Agreed," Beta added, her tone final. "We wait until he's ready to trust us with his story."
Meanwhile, Shadow and Phoenix journeyed to the outskirts of town. He needed a quiet, secluded place to gauge the true extent of her strength.
"To where...?" she asked softly, her voice still hesitant as she struggled with the unfamiliar world.
"We are going to a location safe enough for me to test your power," Shadow replied, maintaining his pace.
"Powerful... like fire?" she asked, following closely behind. Then, she whispered a name that caught him off guard: "Use Ron-davak."
"Huh? Is that a skill or a place?" he asked, pausing briefly to look back at her.
"Realm," she replied simply. She reached out, taking his hand, and in a flash of light, they both vanished, teleporting directly into the volcanic dimension they had visited the day before.
Shadow stood in the center of the cooling realm, his mind racing. She... she can teleport? he wondered in amusement. But as he looked at the familiar jagged rocks, a different thought struck him. Did she actually teleport using a skill, or is it her tie to this place that allows her to access it at will?
"Phoenix, can you move from where you are now to that ledge over there? Like you just did?" he asked, pointing toward the far edge of the realm.
"No," she muttered softly, shaking her head.
I see, he thought, impressed. It's her connection to this realm. She can traverse dimensions to get home, even if she can't teleport locally.
"Can you show me your strength and your abilities?" Shadow asked, centering his focus.
"I don't... want to hurt you," she said, her tone dipping into sadness.
"Don't worry, you can't hurt me. I am a lot stronger than you think," he said reassuringly. He stepped closer, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Can you trust me?"
She looked into his eyes for a long moment before shyly looking away. Sensing her hesitation, Shadow took several steps back and whispered, "Activate: Purple Flames." A small, vibrant violet flame ignited in his palm. Phoenix stared in awe; she had never seen fire of that color before.
"I told you, I'm not weak," he said, holding her gaze. "Trust me. Come at me with everything you've got. We are alone here—you don't have to hold back."
Phoenix took a short pause, lifted her head, and whispered a quiet, "Okay."
She stretched her arms forward and released a tiny, flickering flame that drifted toward Shadow. He was initially confused—it looked so weak, almost harmless. But the moment the flame reached his personal space, it detonated in a massive, earth-shaking explosion.
Thanks to his lightning-fast reflexes, Shadow teleported just in time, narrowly avoiding the blast by mere seconds. He reappeared several yards away, his eyes wide as he looked at the smoking crater where he had just been standing.
"What was that...?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "A trick flame?", Without offering an answer, Phoenix raised her right hand toward Shadow. In an instant, fifteen identical sparks manifested around her, shrieking through the air as she launched them directly at him. Shadow didn't flinch; he swept his hand forward, and a glowing purple line traced a perfect circle around him. It erupted into a towering pillar of purple flame, forming an absolute shield. The sparks slammed into the barrier, detonating in a series of violent shockwaves, but not a single flicker passed through his defense.
Phoenix reacted immediately, thrusting her hand toward the sky. A massive, spear-like flame materialized above her. With a sharp gesture, she launched the projectile at an incredible pace. Shadow vanished, teleporting behind her in a blur of movement. He reached out and tapped her back with a concentrated spark of his purple energy. The resulting explosion threw her several feet forward, yet she landed on her feet with barely a scratch on her.
Just as I predicted, Shadow thought. Like her father, she has an inherent high resistance to my purple flames. My Knights are immune because the power is grafted into their very souls, but anyone else would have been obliterated. There is no doubt now—she is truly the Flame God's daughter.
then suddenly, sharp surge of energy erupting directly beneath his feet. Instinctively, he teleported to a different spot, but the ground there had reacted the same way. He jumped again, and then again, but every time he reappeared, the land beneath him felt like a primed detonator. He realized then that she hadn't just been throwing fire—she had turned the very earth they stood upon into a literal landmine.
"I can't keep teleporting blindly," he thought, his mind racing for a solution as the ground beneath him began to glow with lethal intent. "I need a way out of this."
At that exact moment of desperation, a cold, familiar voice resonated within his consciousness:
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: FLIGHT]
"I guess luck is on my side," he whispers to himself.
Without a second of hesitation, he activated the skill. For the first time, he felt the tether of gravity snap. He surged upward into the air, leaving the exploding landscape behind as he ascended toward the smoke-filled sky.
Unfazed, Phoenix lifted both hands. A small ball of fire appeared between her palms, swelling gigantically within seconds until it was twice her size. She hurled the sun-like mass at Shadow, but he simply smiled. Using his superior speed, he teleported directly in front of her before she could recover from the throw. He launched a punch, stopping his fist mere millimeters from her face, but the sheer shockwave of the strike sent her tumbling backward through the air. Behind him, her massive fireball detonated, bathing the realm in an intense, blinding heat.
Suddenly, Phoenix halted her flight in mid-air. Her body was engulfed in a violent blaze that exploded outward, the flames molding themselves into the majestic shape of a bird of prey.
There it is—the Phoenix, he noted inwardly. I remember seeing that form in the witches' records. Her raw power already exceeds Beta's, but in a real fight, her lack of refinement means she'd still lose to someone like Delta.
"Power is not your problem, Phoenix!" he called out over the roar of the fire. "You lack control!"
In response, she began to spin rapidly, transforming into a living missile of fire. She launched herself at him with a force so great the entire dimension began to tremble. Shadow met the challenge by lifting his right hand. Purple lines of energy raced out from him in every direction, anchoring to the edges of the realm itself. He whispered the name that now defined him:
"I AM KARMA."
The realm vanished into a blinding sea of purple fire as the Phoenix collided with his ultimate technique. The combined force of their clashing energies obliterated ninety-five percent of the realm's landmass, leaving behind nothing but a sea of churning lava and scorched rock.
As the dust settled, Shadow floats amidst the ruins, holding the now-unconscious Phoenix gently in his arms. He looked down at her face and muttered softly to himself, "You are truly amazing."
Shadow teleported back to the base, manifesting in Phoenix's room. He laid her gently on the bed, ensuring she was comfortable before heading out to gather the team.
The temporary base was a sprawling six-story complex:
first Floor was Living room, kitchen, and dining area.second Floor, Six private bedrooms.third Floor,The strategic Meeting Room.forthth Floor,The Research Lab.fifth Floor, The Tech and Surveillance Hub.sixth Floor, the training room.
He descended to the first floor, where the group was unwinding with a movie. With a sharp tone, he alerted them to an immediate assembly. It was time to decide the fate of the girl—and whether she would become the newest Knight of Shadow.
The team gathered in the third-floor meeting room, taking their respective seats in a heavy silence. Shadow stood at the head of the table and began his briefing.
"I have completed my investigation into the girl and evaluated her potential," Shadow started, his voice steady. "These are my discoveries: she is the daughter of Shin-Ron, the god we eliminated. She possesses his divine resistance to my purple flames and can access the flame realm she calls Ron-Davak. She is over two hundred years old, but because she was sealed in stasis for most of that time, she has the physical and mental maturity of a seventeen-year-old."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "Physiologically, she is superhuman. In terms of raw power, she exceeds Beta. However, she lacks all semblance of control. In an all-out fight against any of you right now, she would lose due to her lack of experience."
The room remained dead silent. The Knights waited for Shadow to finish before Alpha spoke up. "My lord, pardon me, but how did she come to be? How did a god father a child in this realm?"
"She was an experiment," Shadow replied. "The witches used a ritual to force a human woman to conceive his child, hoping she could awaken Shin-Ron. When she 'failed' to do so, they decided to save her as a battery—intending to feed her to the god to replenish his power once he eventually woke up."
Beta leaned forward, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You mentioned she has more power than me. Exactly how much of a gap are we talking about?"
"It's closer than you think," Shadow clarified. "If her power level was a hundred, yours would be ninety-five."
Gamma raised a hand next. "My lord, if she is over two hundred years old, is she immortal?"
"Technically, yes. She can be killed in combat, but she will not die of natural causes."
Finally, Delta spoke. "I have two questions: Why that name, Ron-Davak? And most importantly... what do we do with her now?"
"The name seems linked to her father, Shin-Ron, though the specifics remain a mystery," Shadow said, looking at each of them. "As for her future, that is why I called this meeting. We are going to vote. She is a walking catalyst for chaos; she cannot communicate properly, and she is entirely inexperienced. If she stays, someone will essentially have to act as her parent and mentor. So, I ask you: should she be the next Knight of Shadow?"
A heavy silence settled over the room. Each Knight understood that their decision carried immense weight; welcoming an unstable demigod meant assuming a responsibility that would fall squarely on their shoulders.
Beta was the first to break the tension.
"I believe it would be better to let her stay, my lord. With proper guidance, she will become an invaluable member of our circle."
"I agree," Alpha added, adjusting his glasses. "Even though the process will be lengthy, I am confident we can train her and tame the volatility of her power."
Delta leaned back, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "Yeah, leave the combat to me. I can train her in hand-to-hand and show her how to weaponize those abilities properly.
"Besides," Gamma said, his voice grounded in pragmatism, "she has nowhere else to go. Taking her in is the only right thing to do."
Shadow stood up, his presence commanding the room. "Well then... since we are all in agreement, she will be the fifth member of the Knights of Shadow. However, I must ensure she shares our beliefs and willingly accepts this path."
He turned toward the door, signaling the end of the session. "This concludes the meeting. Beta, inform me the moment she wakes."
"My lord," Beta called out, pausing him. "Why is she back in such a deep sleep? I thought she was awake when you both left this morning."
"The evaluation was intense," Shadow replied simply, his hand on the doorframe. "She pushed herself to the limit and passed out from sheer exhaustion. Just inform me when she stirs."
With a sudden ripple in the air, he teleported away, leaving the Knights to prepare for the arrival of their newest member.
That evening, Shadow returned to the base following a notification from Beta that Phoenix had finally stirred. He went directly to her quarters, standing in the doorway with his usual calm authority.
"Phoenix," he said. "We need to talk."
"Oh... okay," she whispered, standing up immediately to follow him.
The team gathered in the third-floor meeting room where a seat had already been prepared for her. Everyone took their places, and Phoenix sat in the final chair at the edge of the table.
"Do you know why you are here, Phoenix?" Shadow asked, his gaze piercing.
She nodded instantly, her voice small but certain. "I accepted."
The room fell into a confused silence as the Knights exchanged glances. "You accept what?" Shadow asked, his brow furrowing slightly.
"I serve you, Shadow. Always," she replied, struggling to piece the words together.
It was then that Shadow noticed the look in her eyes—it was a gaze of absolute, unshakeable devotion. She didn't care about the ethics of their organization or the details of his proposal. To her, right and wrong didn't exist; there was only Shadow's will. She had built her entire reality around him.
"You haven't even heard Lord Shadow's proposal yet," Beta questioned, sounding skeptical. "How can you just accept it?"
"He goes, I go... he stays, I stay," Phoenix replied simply.
The weight of her words clicked for Alpha, Gamma, and Delta. They recognized that same spark of loyalty within themselves, though Phoenix's version was raw and primal. Beta watched her closely, noticing the way Phoenix stared at Damian. It was the look of a puppy toward its master—total, silent submission. To Phoenix, Damian wasn't just a leader; he was her savior, her god.
"Well, that settles it," Shadow declared, standing up. "You are now a Knight of Shadow."
He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "From this moment on, the name you shall answer to is Chaos. You are the fifth member of this circle. To mark this bond, I will grant you five percent of my own abilities."
In an instant, a surge of dark, violet energy erupted from Shadow's hand and poured into her. Her eyes flared a brilliant, haunting purple as the power took root in her divine soul. The sheer force of the energy sent her to her knees. Her lips trembled as she looked up at him, whispering the only word that felt right:
"Master."
As time passed, the Knights settled into a new rhythm. Alpha and Delta dedicated themselves to training Chaos, teaching her to harness her volatile energy and hone her combat instincts. Meanwhile, Gamma and Beta returned to their civilian roles, spending their nights hunting down criminals and purging the city of midnight crimes.
After two months of intense training, Chaos had achieved total mastery over her powers. Her combat skills had improved exponentially due to her highly adaptive nature, though her speech remained fragmented and sparse.
Shadow decided it was time for a retest. He wanted her to spar against the other members to gauge her progress. They teleported to the same woods where Shadow had once decimated the kidnappers; though every Knight had now inherited the Flight skill, he believed they still needed the option of solid ground for a proper technical evaluation.
"This will be a good spot for sparring," Shadow said, looking at the lush, regrown grass. "Delta, you're up first. I want to see how you measure up against the Phoenix. Chaos, show me what you've learned."
The stage was cleared, and Delta and Chaos charged. Their application of skill was excellent, but Chaos was the most impressive; in just a few months, she had learned to react to and counter Delta's seasoned offensive style.
She launched a barrage of intertwined purple and yellow flames at Delta, who narrowly dodged the blasts. However, as the fight progressed, Shadow noticed something was off. Despite her improvements, Delta was clearly overpowering her.
Has he gotten stronger, or has she grown weaker? Shadow mused. No, that isn't right. Her control is better now, so why is her output lower? She was far more dangerous when we fought.
He raised a hand, interrupting the clash. "Both of you, hold on." He turned to Chaos. "I need you to take us to the flame realm. Everyone, follow."
"Ron-Davak?" Chaos asked.
"Yes."
They teleported to the flame realm, but to Shadow's surprise, the land he had obliterated during his last spar with her was completely restored. The jagged earth had healed itself, as if the dimension were a living extension of Chaos herself.
"I see," Shadow whispered, sounding impressed, He turned back to the two combatants. "You will continue your battle here. This is Round Two."
Delta and Chaos faced each other once more, eyes locked in total focus, waiting for the signal. The air in the realm began to vibrate with the heat of their rising auras.
"Well then..." Shadow commanded. "Begin!"