Episode 3 part 1: Will Ember City survive the night ?
Aamon placed a clawed hand over his face, shoulders shaking—then burst out laughing.
Aamon: "Eleven vs one? And you call yourselves heroes?"
He snickered. "How funny… all of you are a fucking joke."
Mindstorm flinched but forced himself to steady his breathing.
Mindstorm: "Ignore his taunts—guys, Gravity, do your thing!"
He slashed his hand forward.
"Thunderstrike, Frostbite—you know what to do!"
Gravity threw both arms out, veins bulging. A shimmering bubble snapped around Aamon, multiplying the force around him by ten. The ground beneath the demon spider-webbed, concrete cracking.
Aamon barely tilted his head.
Aamon: "…Oh? How cute."
Thunderstrike sprinted left, hammer dragging sparks. Frostbite bolted right, ice creeping off her boots. Rock-man pushed himself up—face twisted in pain—and formed his remaining arm into a jagged stone blade before charging in again.
Mindstorm extended a trembling arm, psychic force locking onto Aamon.
Mindstorm: "Spectra—your turn!"
Spectra pressed two fingers to her temples, pupils shrinking—then unleashed twin laser beams that carved the air with a sizzling SSSHHRRAAAK.
Photon jumped in front of Mender, shield raised high.
Photon: "Stay behind me—just in case!"
Mender:" O-okay!'
Echo slapped a palm onto Inferno's shoulder—
Echo: "Go!"
—and warped them behind Aamon in a flash of blue static.
Hydroblast swept his arms outward, wind spiraling into a tornado laced with water. Inferno fired a massive fireball into the vortex. The attacks slammed together, creating a roaring spiraling inferno that swallowed Aamon whole.
Thunderstrike slammed his hammer into the ground—BOOM!—lightning zapped upward, crackling around the vortex. Frostbite hurled a barrage of razor-thin icicles, impaling the swirling flames.
The smoke ballooned—thick, choking—pieces of debris whirling in the air.
For a moment, no one breathed.
Then—
Something shot out of the smoke.
A long black arm blurred forward, claws slicing the air with a wet SCHLKK—and plunged straight into Mindstorm's chest.
His eyes went wide.
Blood sprayed across Frostbite's cheek.
The arm tore outward, ripping his heart free. Aamon crushed it casually in his fist as the limb snapped back into the smoke.
Mindstorm dropped to one knee, fingers twitching against the gaping hole in his chest… then he collapsed face-first, dead.
No one had time to react.
Aamon burst out of the dust cloud, unleashing multiple fire blasts and psychic-reflection strikes—sending their own combined attacks back at them.
Photon slammed his shield forward, batting a fireball aside. Frostbite leaped back and threw up a frozen wall that shattered under impact.
Thunderstrike didn't fall back—he charged straight in, hammer spinning.
He landed a brutal crack across Aamon's jaw—CRACK!—drawing a splash of black blood from the demon's nose.
Aamon grinned, blood dripping down his teeth.
Aamon: "You're mine."
He lunged and bit into Thunderstrike's shoulder—tearing deep. Thunderstrike screamed, convulsing as Aamon's corruption spread. His skin grayed. His eyes burned red.
:"Deal with them Minion."
He turned slowly toward the heroes.
Thunderstrike: "…yes… my lord."
Mender cursed under his breath.
Mender: "Fuck—we need to strategize! I can't save Mindstorm, he's go—"
Aamon blurred forward, jaws snapping—CRUNCH—ripping Mender's throat out. Blood sprayed in an arc across Photon's shield.
Photon roared and slashed with his sword.
Aamon ducked, twisting like smoke, claws whipping up—CLANG!—but Photon barely blocked with his shield before being launched into a parked car, crushing the hood.
Photon: "Shit—! He killed our healer… and our strategist… We're losing—badly!"
Rock-man appeared behind Aamon with a wild scream and drove his stone drill into Aamon's back—sparks and pieces of stone flying.
Aamon turned slightly.
Aamon: "You again?"
He kicked Rock-man in the chest—BOOM!—sending him skidding across asphalt, leaving a bloody trail.
Inferno roared, unleashing a massive fire beam that lit the battlefield orange. Aamon opened his jaws and expelled his own hellfire—deeper, hotter, darker.
The landscapes trembled.
Inferno's fire collapsed instantly—engulfed by Aamon's.
Aamon (thinking): These pests are getting on my nerves…
Gravity screamed, muscles locking, pushing everything she had.
Gravity: "TAKE HIM DOWN—NOOOOW!!!"
Aamon's knee buckled as the pressure crushed the asphalt under him.
Aamon: "…Her? Tch."
Frostbite kept firing rapid ice shards, the shards slicing chunks of flesh where they hit.
Thunderstrike—still corrupted—charged Frostbite. She dodged sideways.
Frostbite: "Jeez—snap out of it, dude!"
She stabbed an ice spike into his leg—he didn't even flinch.
Aamon used the opening.
He kicked Inferno—WHAM!—sending him crashing through the side of a collapsing building. Dust and flames exploded outward.
Aamon drooled thick, hot saliva as he rushed Hydroblast—his jaws dripping strings of glowing spit.
Hydroblast sliced the air forward, sending compressed air blades—SHHING!—cutting straight across Aamon's snake tail, severing it.
Aamon didn't scream.
His expression didn't even change.
He simply stepped forward—onto Hydroblast's face—and pressed down.
The skull caved in with a sickening CRRSHK.
Blood exploded outward. Brain matter sprayed across the cracked asphalt.
Aamon lifted his foot, the man's head now crushed inside his torso like a smashed watermelon.
Aamon: "That's for my damn tail. One more down."
He wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand.
Photon spit blood onto the cracked asphalt, wiped his mouth with a trembling wrist, and dragged himself out of the crushed car. Metal groaned as he stumbled forward.
He sprinted toward Aamon.
Frostbite slammed both palms down, freezing the ground and locking thick ice around the wolf's legs. The ice cracked violently under his strength.
Gravity collapsed onto one knee, hands shaking, veins swelling in her forehead.
Gravity: "Hh—hngh—! Even with all this… fucking pressure… he's still moving. I… I feel like I'm gonna pass out…"
Rock-man planted his remaining hand into the ground to push himself up, staggering. He sharpened his stone arm again with a grinding GRRK and rushed forward beside Photon.
Rock-man: "C'mon, bro—before Gravity drops! We've lost too damn many already!"
Echo blurred forward, splitting into two physical clones that lunged at Thunderstrike. They dug their heels in, straining—trying to slow the corrupted brute.
Echo Clone #1 (grunting): "Inferno—! Move your ass! I can't hold this big motherf—"
The corrupted Thunderstrike's hand shot out. He grabbed the clone's skull and crushed it under his heel—bone and brain bursting across the street. The second clone didn't even react fast enough—Thunderstrike ripped its head clean off and flung it aside before smashing the body flat with his hammer.
Thunderstrike (voice warped, breath rabid): "KILL… KILL… MUST—KILL—MUST FOLLOW MASTER'S ORDERS…"
Inferno staggered out of the burning building he'd crashed through, clutching the side of his bleeding head.
Inferno (dizzy, confused): "Huh…? Echo—? Is that y—"
CLANG!
Thunderstrike's hammer cracked across Inferno's face with a brutal, sickening ring. Inferno's body hurled backward and slammed into the top of an overturned van. His skull bounced off metal—one of his eyes shot out of the socket, rolling down the van hood. Blood sprayed in a fan pattern. His flames went out instantly.
Inferno wheezed once… then nothing but wet, dragging breaths.
Aamon lifted his hand. A red aura burst around him—dense, choking, vibrating the air. His sword materialized with a flash.
:" I'm done playing around."
He moved slowly but still tore free of Gravity's gravitational bubble.
Rock-man charged.
Rock-man: "You got a sword too? Fine—so do I!"
Aamon's blade sliced his stone arm off like it was paper—then continued through Rock-man's torso. Rock-man's body split diagonally, crashing to the ground in two twitching halves, intestines sliding across the cracked street.
Photon appeared behind Aamon and slashed twice into his back—blood spraying across the demon's fur.
Aamon whipped around, swinging his blade. Photon just barely raised his shield—
CRRRSH!
The blade cut straight through shield and arm.
Photon screamed, stumbling back, blood gushing down his side.
Photon (screaming): "FUCK—!! FUCK—!!"
He stumbled backward, clutching the ragged stump.
Photon (shaking, panting): "O-Okay… I get it… his sword—his sword ignores defenses… we—c-can't block it…"
Echo appeared next to him, five clones forming around Photon, Frostbite, and Gravity—dragging them backward before Aamon could follow up.
Spectra streaked overhead, eyes glowing white-hot. Her lasers carved straight through Thunderstrike—cutting the corrupted hero into pieces mid-swing.
Spectra (breathing hard): "S-Sorry, man… you nay rest now… We don't—fuck—we don't have time for your bullshit."
She looked around, hair whipping in smoke.
Spectra: "I took out every demon coming this way—you're clear!"
Two Echo clones sprinted toward Aamon.
Aamon dodged the first and cleaved it in half—organs splattering. The second clone grabbed his wrist—just long enough to teleport him.
Aamon reappeared directly in the path of Frostbite's incoming spike volley.
Shards of ice tore straight into Aamon's arm, leg, and stomach—exploding through his flesh. Black blood poured down his fur.
Aamon opened his mouth—and vomited a massive Hellfire blast.
Frostbite gasped, slamming her palms together, forming a multi-layered ice wall. The wall hissed, melted, shattered—white steam and fog rolling over the battlefield like a blizzard from hell.
Echo (coughing, trying to gather the group): "We need to—stay—together, every—"
He bumped into someone.
He turned.
Photon stood right behind him, shaking, barely upright.
Echo (relieved): "Oh—shit—Pho—"
STAB.
Echo's eyes widened. A blade jutted through his stomach—piercing him clean from behind.
Echo (choking): "oooh—ugh—n-no… way…"
Photon's body melted like wax—Aamon's taller form reshaping behind Echo.
Aamon (voice calm, dripping smugness): "You're a nuisance. Having Téléportation and cloning abilities is a pain in my ass… irritating little pest."
Echo collapsed forward, sliding off the sword—organs trailing out of the wound.
Echo:" –I f–feel s–so c–cold…I I don't w–want to di…..'
Spectra screamed and fired a full-power laser—severing Aamon's arm at the shoulder in a blinding beam.
Aamon snarled, staggering.
Photon—The real Photon—charged from behind Aamon, stabbing his sword deep into the demon's back.
Photon (feral): "TAKE THIS, YOU—"
Aamon twisted violently—his claws slashed Photon's throat wide open.
(Wet sounds and gurgling)
Blood erupted in a fan across Aamon's chest. Photon dropped, twitching, collapsing on top of Echo's dying body.
Aamon extended his remaining arm and ripped the sword out of his back with telekinesis—then floated it back to his stump, gripping it in his missing limb's place.
Aamon (snarling, shaking with rage): "You filthy monkeys… you cut off my arm—my tail—you MUTILATED me…"
He limped forward, fury spilling out of him.
Aamon: "I WILL ERASE THIS ENTIRE FUCKING EARTH—"
Gravity's powers hit him again—blood pouring from her nose, her body trembling violently.
Frostbite hurled spike after spike into his shoulders—every one embedding deep, tearing open more flesh.
Aamon staggered and crashed to one knee—bleeding, panting.
He lifted his trembling arm toward the sky. Dark energy gathered above him—dense, unstable, growing.
Spectra's eyes widened.
Spectra: "What—what is he—doi"
She fired lasers. They rebounded off his energy shell.
Aamon (voice faint, cracking): "…If I'm gonna die… like this… then I'm taking… you all… with me…"
Gravity's eyes rolled back as she collapsed unconscious.
Spectra grabbed Gravity by her collar with one hand, Frostbite with the other, as she shot into the sky and flew in a blur of speed.
Spectra (panicked): "We need to—get—FAR—DAAAAAAMN IT—!!"
Aamon stood on shaking legs—coughing blood—his aura darkening.
A dark sphere expanded over him—black lightning crackling around it, tearing the air.
He lowered his hand.
The sphere dropped onto him.
FLASH.
A blinding white explosion swallowed the city—then the skyline—then the horizon.
A mushroom cloud spiraled upward, ripping skyscrapers out of the ground, vaporizing metal, melting concrete into glowing rivers.
Spectra didn't make it half a second. The blast caught all three mid-air—skin peeling off instantly, bodies burning, ripping apart as they disintegrated before hitting the ground.
The blast left nothing but white flame and silence that swallowed the battlefield.
(Winchester Manor)
The lights in Winchester Manor flickered as another distant boom rolled through the city. The chandelier above rattled, crystals chiming against each other like nervous teeth.
Diana paced back and forth across the velvet rug, her fingers gripping her own arms so tightly her nails dug in. She'd stop… inhale sharply… then keep pacing. The polished floor creaked under her heels. Every few steps she wiped her palms against her coat, like she couldn't get rid of the sweat.
Alan sat on the couch, leaning forward, elbows on his knees. One foot tapped the floor—fast, uneven, almost frantic. He kept glancing at the shut windows, flinching every time another explosion echoed far away.
Diana finally froze, standing with her back to him, shoulders trembling.
Diana (whispering, voice cracking): "Please… p-please God… keep him safe… don't take him away from us, not now…"
Alan swallowed, turned his head slightly.
He stood, grabbed the water glass from the table, and walked toward her—slow, like his legs weighed a ton.
Alan (soft): "Mom… here."
Diana jerked, eyes red, and grabbed the cup with shaking hands. She took a small sip, her breath hitching halfway through.
She sat beside him, the couch dipping under her weight. Alan didn't lean back; he stayed bent forward, staring at the floor.
Alan (quietly): "You don't have to pray."
Diana blinked, confused. "What?"
Alan's jaw tightened. "You don't have to. Dad's out there fighting for everyone. He's strong. He'll come out on top."
She stared at him—really stared. She saw the fear he was trying to choke down.
Diana moved closer, pulling him into her side and resting a hand on his shoulder.
Diana (voice trembling): "I hope you're right, son… I really do. But–Ben is fighting something that can destroy more than just Earth. F-Far more. I don't know how you're so calm… aren't you terrified?"
Alan let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh, but there was no humor in it.
Alan: "Of course I'm scared. But being scared won't change anything. Dad's strong. He's not alone, right? He's got the others with him… I just don't want you breaking before we even know what's happening."
Diana looked down at her hands gripping the cup.
Diana (soft, almost angry at herself): "You don't understand…"
Alan frowned. "Then explain it."
She inhaled sharply, chest rising and falling too fast.
Diana: "Your father is strong. I… I know that. But power… doesn't mean everything. There are layers of power, Alan. Some beings don't have limits. I've seen men who should've been invincible… fall in seconds. Just—gone."
Her hand trembled around the cup, water sloshing over the rim.
Diana: "And with what's happening out there… what if this is the last time we see him?"
Silence swallowed the room.
Alan's tapping foot stopped. His breath got louder—slower. He dug his fingernails into his palms so hard they left marks.
Diana turned, studying him with wide, worried eyes.
Alan: "You… sound unsure. Why? Since when do you doubt him? Didn't you fight side by side? Is this… thing… Megalodon—really stronger than the both of you?"
Diana stiffened. Her lips parted, then closed again. Whatever answer she had… she swallowed it.
Alan noticed. His heart skipped. He knew that she was hiding something—something she didn't want to say.
Before either could speak—
BOOOOOOM—!!
The entire manor jolted violently—floor lifting under their feet. A shockwave slammed through the walls like a freight train.
Alan and Diana were thrown off the couch—flipped mid-air. Diana reacted fast, grabbing Alan and twisting her body so his head wouldn't hit the floor. They crashed down hard.
Outside, dogs started barking. Car alarms wailed across the neighborhood. People screamed somewhere in the distance.
Every single window in Winchester Manor shattered inward, glass spraying across the floor like a hailstorm.
Another wave hit—hot air, heavy, not burning but thick enough to slam curtains sideways and rattle the doors.
Alan lay on his back, coughing.
Alan (panting): "W-what… ugh… Mother—your shoulder—you're bleeding!"
Diana pressed her hand against the growing stain under her collar.
Diana (breathless): "Don't worry, Al… j-just—just a scratch…"
She turned toward the blown-out window.
Her eyes locked onto the rising mushroom cloud in the direction of the capital—black at its core, glowing at the edges.
Her lips parted.
Diana (under her breath): "Oh…Ben…"
Alan holding his side:" W..what… was that?"
Ember City looked nothing like a city anymore.
Flames crawled across collapsed buildings. Smoke curled off melted street signs and overturned buses. Bodies lined the cracked asphalt—humans, demons, heroes—mixed together in heaps of twisted limbs and burned flesh. The air buzzed with the distant howl of car alarms, the crackle of fire, and the groans of metal warping under heat.
Two reinforcement heroes stepped over rubble, boots crunching glass.
Hero #1's eyes darted across the destruction, jaw hanging open.
Hero #1 (voice small): "Is…This… this what was left of the capital?"
Hero #2 scanned the area, hands shaking as he wiped ash off his visor.
Hero #2: "The fight started twenty minutes ago… twenty minutes—how the hell are we this late? Look at this place… everything's gone."
A deep cracking sound rippled through the air—like the sky itself was straining to hold together.
Hero #1 flinched and pointed upward. "H-Hey—look… the sky is—"
Hero #2 elbowed him hard. "Focus. There—safe zone. The teleporters dropped the evac people somewhere near that dome. We check if anyone's alive."
Hero #1 nodded, swallowing hard, stepping around a crushed fire truck.
The sky split with a jagged line of white light.
Both heroes froze, staring up.
The crack widened.
Something fell through it.
No—
Two figures.
A massive silhouette with four arms—and a smaller, battered figure locked in its grip.
Megalodon slammed into the ground first, dragging Black Mentis by the face—literally using him as a handle. Mentis kept punching upward blindly, knuckles cracking against Megalodon's jaw over and over.
Their impact detonated a shockwave of dust and debris that swallowed the street. The two reinforcement heroes shielded their faces as rubble pelted their armor.
When the cloud thinned, Megalodon stood unmoved—holding Black Mentis by the neck like a broken doll.
Megalodon (calm, almost bored): "Give up already. You haven't injured me once. I'm still doing great."
He yanked Mentis' head upward, forcing him to look at the city.
Megalodon: "Look. Don't you see? It's already over. Your whole city's wiped out. All your allies are dead. So why keep fighting? Just… let go. Go to sleep, warrior."
Mentis' fingers curled into fists, shaking violently.
Black Mentis (ragged, voice broken): "D-Damn it… they're all—dead…"
He closed his eyes for a second. Every death hit him like a hammer to the chest—everyone he knew, fought beside, they trusted and he felt like failed them.
Black Mentis: "…This isn't war… it's slaughter…"
His whole body trembled—not from fear—from rage pushing up his throat like bile.
Megalodon huffed through his nose.
Megalodon: "You finally get it. Good. Then tell me what I need to know. Where is the mastermind behind the guy who broke the statue?"
Mentis' eyes snapped up—burning.
Black Mentis: "HOW THE HELL WILL I KNOW THAT? I won't let my comrades' deaths BE IN VAIN…"
He jerked back hard—driving his elbow into Megalodon's jaw. The hit sent Megalodon sliding backward a few steps, boots digging trenches through broken asphalt.
Mentis dropped to one knee, gasping, then pushed himself upright again—barely.
Megalodon chuckled, a low, unsettling rumble.
Megalodon: "Hmph. Looks like he's not showing up even after all this."
He lifted two fingers to his forehead, eyes unfocusing.
A mental whisper.
Megalodon (inner voice): I cannot locate his energy. It's like they're gone from the entire omniverse…
A darker thought slid in.
Megalodon (inner): Perhaps a re-do is the only wise choice…
Black Mentis' eye twitched in confusion.
Black Mentis: "The hell are you mumbling about up there? Who are you expecting? And why the hell do you keep calling me a damn puppet?!"
Megalodon sighed, rolling his giant shoulders.
Megalodon: "Fine….You're clueless. Do you even know who the manipulators are? The ones who are watching—Controlling—everything?"
Black Mentis (furious): "Manipulator—? Speak clearly, damn it!"
Megalodon grinned, teeth sharp, eyes cold.
Megalodon: "You wouldn't understand, puppet. Just know this… even if you kill me—"
He opened his arms.
Megalodon: "—nothing changes. This world isn't yours to save. It's already been decided."
Black Mentis: "That's enough. You can shove your riddles up your ass."
He moved before Megalodon could blink.
BOOOOM—!!
A sonic boom erupted as Mentis vanished and reappeared right in front of Megalodon—fist arcing upward.
CRACK!!
His punch landed flush on Megalodon's jaw, snapping the demon's head back so violently the bones in his neck popped. Buildings behind Megalodon imploded from the force alone.
Before Megalodon even tilted forward, Mentis was already behind him—
—his arms sparking with lightning.
He unloaded a barrage of punches. Each hit bent the air, distorting the smoke and flames around them.
Megalodon grinned mid-hit, blood sliding down the corner of his mouth.
Megalodon (inner, impressed): He still has this much power? Even after all the beating he received?
Mentis' arm glowed with red energy—pulsing.
Megalodon (gasping): "T-That's it… he's using it again… just like in the void—"
Mentis slammed a hit into Megalodon's chest so hard the demon's ribs cracked. The impact launched Megalodon through the remains of a parking structure, bricks and metal exploding outward.
Mentis didn't stop.
He conjured a blade of condensed air—massive, shimmering—then swung it three times.
SHRRRKKK!
SHRRRKKK!
SHRRRKKK!
Three air slashes cut the ground apart as they fired toward the collapsing rubble where Megalodon fell.
Megalodon burst out of the smoke—four arms extended, two reaching for Mentis' legs, two grabbing his upper body.
Mentis twisted mid-air—kneeing Megalodon in the chin, snapping his jaw upward. He dropped low, sweeping Megalodon's leg. The demon stumbled—
—and Mentis' blade arm flashed once.
A spray of hot black blood erupted.
One of Megalodon's massive arms fell to the ground with a wet THUD, still twitching the started vanishing.
Megalodon's breath hitched. Then he smirked—eyes glowing.
Megalodon: "…Heh. That hurt. Well done. I won't regenerate it. I'll keep it… just for your effort."
Before Mentis could blink, Megalodon's remaining arm shot out and wrapped around his skull.
CRUNCH—!!
Megalodon smashed Mentis into the ground so violently the earth inverted under them—creating a crater big enough to swallow a city block.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A second shockwave tore outward, flattening what little of Ember City remained upright.
Blood sprayed from Mentis' mouth. His armor cracked open. His ribs bent inward like broken cage bars.
Megalodon hauled him up—then drove a fist into Mentis' stomach.
Black Mentis gagged, coughing blood directly into Megalodon's face. His armor split. His skin tore. His legs buckled.
Megalodon didn't stop.
He hammered him again.
And again.
And again.
Every punch sounded like a building collapsing.
Black Mentis tried to raise his arms—failed. His body was shutting down.
Megalodon grinned, eyes wide with amusement.
Megalodon: "Come on… where's that fire you had in your eyes? Huh? I guess it's over."
He flung Mentis into the rubble.
Mentis crashed through broken concrete and metal beams, sliding to a stop. His armor was shredded. Skin torn. One shoulder dislocated. Blood dripping from his mouth in long strings.
His outfit—destroyed. His breathing—weak.
The sky cracked again above them.
Rubble crunched under Megalodon's feet as he turned away from the crater, floating upward, his expression flattened into annoyance.
Megalodon (low, irritated): "Hmph… looks like I have no choice but to re-do. It seems he didn't even try to bother me with his presence after all…"
He raised his three remaining arms—
SQUELCH.
A jagged obsidian spike burst through his chest. A sound like wet stone splitting.
Megalodon froze. For the first time—his face changed.
Confusion.
Then pain.
He slowly turned his head, touching the wound as dark blood dripped down his palm.
Black Mentis stood behind him, swaying, teeth clenched. Blood streamed from his mouth, dripping down his chin. His eyes burned with sharp, defiant fury.
Black Mentis (hoarse): "You… talk too damn much."
A violet-blue aura flickered around him—weak, unstable, but alive. His wounds stopped bleeding, the flesh twitching like it was trying to heal itself, too slowly.
Megalodon (growling): "How the hell are you still moving…? You rwally don't know when to give up."
Black Mentis wiped blood off his lips with the back of his hand, breathing ragged. "You were about to leave, weren't you? Thought I was done? I told you—asshole—I'm not dying before I avenge everyone who fell today. EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO."
Megalodon scoffed, floating a little higher. "You can travel five times the speed of light. Impressive. But pointless. You still don't understand the extent of my Powers, child. Speed isn't everything."
He narrowed his eyes, voice deepening.
Megalodon: "Tell me—if you're so damn selfless… how did it all go wrong? What happened to you?"
Black Mentis didn't answer.
He just moved—shoulders lowering, body flashing forward.
His forehead smashed into Megalodon's face with a brutal CRACK. Megalodon staggered. Mentis pushed through the pain, trying to drive the dark spear deeper into Megalodon's chest.
Megalodon caught the blade with one massive hand, stopping it cold. His other two arms crossed in front of him, unfazed by the weapon nearly piercing his heart.
Megalodon (snorting): "Hmph. You still don't get it, Mentis. Fine. Fine… you're persistent enough. Annoying enough. I'll explain everything."
Black Mentis narrowed his eyes—something shifting in the air.
Black Mentis (whispering): "…Wait. You feel that too? That bloodlust—"
THUNDER.
A violent crack split the sky. A glowing energy ball shot straight at them—fast.
Mentis and Megalodon both dodged—each shooting in opposite directions. The blast detonated behind them, blowing a crater into the ruins.
Mentis skidded across the ground, boots scraping deep trenches. His breath shook. His vision flickered. But he stood—barely.
Two silhouettes walked out of the smoke.
Cloaked Figure 1 slow-clapped, voice sharp: "Nice fuckin' dodge."
His cloak fluttered unnaturally—like wind obeyed him, not the other way around. His steps were light, predatory. Calm.
Cloaked Figure 2 followed, taller, broader. The air bent around him—heavy, suffocating.
Cloaked Figure 2 (irritated): "Let's finish this and go home. I'm not wasting my energy on side missions."
Black Mentis' stomach twisted. He clenched his fists, pain shooting up his arms.
Black Mentis: "Are these… these the ones behind he releace of Megalodon…?"
Megalodon lifted his head, a wide, predatory smile on his bloodied face.
Megalodon: "So. You two finally showed yourselves."
The cloaked figures didn't answer. They simply stood there, the battlefield bending around their presence.
Black Mentis stepped back a single inch, chest rising desperately as he forced himself upright. His body screamed to regenerate, to rest, but he stared them down anyway.
Black Mentis (thinking): Megalodon been talking about one person… but these are two. It seems He was expecting someone's else entirely…
Megalodon tilted his head.
Megalodon: "Are you here to kill me foolish humans?"
Cloaked 1 shifted his head slightly. "Kill you? No, not yet at least. It'll be a simple task for us."
Cloaked 2 spoke, voice hollow—monotone, but hateful.
Cloaked 2: "You're standing in our way. (The turned to his friend) C'mon—let's kill these two, take the dead heroes' powers, and finish this damn mission already."
A blur.
Black Mentis barely reacted in time—throwing up an energy barrier as something slammed into it. The impact sent vibrations through his bones. He slid back across the ground, boots tearing the earth apart.His arms trembled violently.
Black Mentis (shaken): "…This power's familiar…!"
Megalodon lunged forward, kicking Cloaked 2 square in the torso. The cloaked being blocked with both arms, the impact making him skid backward—but he didn't fall.
Cloaked Figure 2 shook out his arms. "Yeah… that stings a bit. You're definitely strong, But you're also much weaker… ever since you fought that—"
He pointed at Mentis.
Cloaked 2: "—thing."
Mentis could barely think before Cloaked 1 appeared in front of him.
No wasted motion. No build-up. Pure, lethal intent.
Cloaked 2: "You should be ashamed calling yourself a demon king. Pretending to be royalty when you're this weak? How pathetic and insulting."
A twist of his wrist— The air cracked— Mentis' barrier shattered instantly, like it was made of glass.
Cloaked 1: "Can't let you keep that shield all day, man."
He tilted his head, studying Mentis like a specimen.
Cloaked 1: "Still standing? Good. Means I can have some fun."
Black Mentis exhaled sharply, lowering his stance, every muscle screaming.
Megalodon teleported behind Cloaked 2, elbowing him in the skull.
Megalodon: "If you know everything—then where is he? Does your master think sending only you two is enough—?!"
Cloaked 2 blocked the blow, but Megalodon's strength overwhelmed him—sending Cloaked 2 crashing into a burnt-out bus, warping the metal inward.
:"--To stop me?"
Black Mentis stared at the energy trails Cloaked 1 left behind… the flow of his aura…
Black Mentis (whisper): "…These powers… this ki… how? How could this be how are you alive…? Is that… really you…? "
—Moonlight…?"
The name hung in the air like a knife.
Cloaked 1 didn't react at first.
Then—
He turned his hood slightly toward Mentis, gaze cold and sharp under the shadow.
Oblivion: "Moonlight?"
A cold chuckle.
"That name doesn't represent me anymore."
Black Mentis' breath stopped for half a second. His fists tightened blood still dripped from his wound he just got.
Black Mentis: "Why are you doing this…? What happened to you?"
The figure exhaled—slow, bored—like none of this mattered.
Oblivion: "I go by Oblivion now."
A simple statement.
A death sentence.
A betrayal deeper than any wound.
Black Mentis stepped back, searching the hooded face for something human.
Anything.
Oblivion was empty inside.
No hesitation
No regret.
((Thanks for reading this chapter, if you enjoyed it, please leave a comment, I could use suggestions, feedback or ideas. If you want to support me. Then I accept red stones or gifts etc… it keeps me motivated, plus with enough support your OC could appear in future arcs just dm their info))