Rise Of Hades' Hellborn: Trumpets Of The Damned

Stranger Than Death

Myles woke to the taste of metal on his tongue and the throb of deadened nerves. Every breath felt like dragging air through rusted pipes. The ceiling above was washed in cold, sterile white light—no shadows, no warmth. The stench of bleach mingled with something older, more metallic… like blood left too long in steel.

“Where…?” he groaned.

“You’re secure. That’s what matters.”

He turned toward the voice, sluggishly. Anna stood in the corner, arms folded over her black coat, eyes unreadable. Her face was a mask—detached, surgical.

It hit him like a crash: the alley, Kaelin’s smirk, the hellish fight, the watch being stolen, the rush of magic… then a needle. Sharp. Cold. Everything went black after that.

“You drugged me,” he said, voice like gravel.

She didn’t deny it.

“You were unstable. I didn't know what you were. What was I supposed to do—ask nicely for you to come with me?”

“I thought we were working together.”

“We weren’t. Not really,” she said coolly. “You were a lead. I was sent to bring you in. Nothing more.”

That cut deeper than he expected.

“I saved your life,” he muttered.

“And you raised half the street like a damn revenant,” she replied. “You have no idea what you're becoming, and I’m not about to trust someone who doesn’t even understand his own curse.”

He strained against the restraints. No give.

The door slid open with a pneumatic hiss.

Two Paragon agents entered—one a doctor dressed in a spotless lab coat , the other was Melissa with gloves glowing faintly blue. Between them hovered a scanning unit, its arms twitching like curious insects.

“Subject’s conscious,” Dr Winfield said flatly.

“He’s not a ‘subject,’” Myles snapped. “I have a name.”

“We’re not here to coddle you,” Melissa replied. “We’re here to confirm whether you’re a threat.”

The scanner whirred to life, beams of pale green light washing over his torso, head, limbs. Data flickered across the hovering screen—sigils, pulse readings, neural resonance. One word blinked red:

UNIDENTIFIED.

“No infernal traces,” The doctor murmured. “No sigil corruption, no sulfur index. But something is buried deep. We’re getting spikes… rhythms that don’t match anything in our database.”

“Not demonic,” the other said. “But definitely not human.”

Anna leaned in slightly. “Can you tell what he is?”

“Not yet. He’s blocked off—like a sealed vault. There’s energy inside, something ancient, but it’s contained. Dormant.”

Myles felt the flicker inside again—cold fire pulsing beneath his ribs. A rhythm that didn’t belong to this world.

“He’s not reacting to petanium nor demon warding,” the older agent muttered. “His aura is… confused. Twisting.”

“Which means he’s something else entirely,” Anna said, tone flat.

“You don’t sound surprised,” Myles said.

“I’m not,” she replied, walking toward him slowly. “You died, Myles. No heartbeat, no brain function. Then you came back with powers we’ve never cataloged. Whatever you are now… you stopped being just a hunter the second you opened your eyes again.”

“So you turned me in,” he said, voice sharp.

“I delivered you,” Anna corrected, cold as steel. “That was my mission from the beginning. I had orders. I followed them.”

“You used me.”

“You made it easy.”

Myles exhaled through gritted teeth. “Kaelin stole the watch. He’s out there, doing God-knows-what, and you’re wasting time trying to label me like a damn specimen.”

The agents exchanged glances.

“We’ll run further tests,” one of them said. “Memory probes, spectral mapping, maybe even a psychic anchor trace.”

Anna gave a slight nod. “Do it. Whatever he is, I want it figured out before he decides to unleash it.”

The agents left the room, the scanner retracting with a mechanical chirp.

Anna stayed, staring at him.

“I trusted you,” Myles muttered, voice low.

“ Really?” Anna asked a little amused. “ Only a little bit” Myles smirked.

“I didn’t ask for your trust,” she replied, unflinching. “I asked for answers. You didn’t have any.”

She turned toward the door, pausing just before stepping out.

“You’re lucky I convinced them not to classify you as hostile,” she added without looking back. “That won’t last if your body count rises.”

The door hissed shut behind her, leaving Myles in silence.

He stared up at the ceiling, breath steady but shallow. The restraints held him still, but the thing inside—whatever it was—shifted again. Watching. Waiting…

***

A meeting with Winfield and Director Sandlers was already underway in a room while Myles was transferred.

“ What are you saying doctor?” The Director asked. “ I'm saying sir, that this guy isn't something we know of yet. Whatever he is, he isn't a demon that's for sure.” Winfield clarified.

“ And how did the watch get to him?”

“ As far as we could get from his friend named Louise, the watch is actually some sort of a family heirloom” Winfield replied.

“ Hmm, Savannah mentioned a tattoo on his palm is that connected to his power some how?”

“ There's a slim chance of that actually being the case” Winfield agreed. “ I'll check it out meanwhile we'll have to concentrate on what the next trumpet shall emerge.”

***

“ Hey what happened while we were out though?” Jack asked. “ Well Lieutenant and our badass morphological John doe over there,” Leo nodded towards the barricaded room where he and Louise were locked.

“ —joined up and faced some demon named Kaelin, their duo looked good too in better circumstances that is”

“ What is he exactly and how do we suppress him if he poses to be a threat?” Alex asked.

“ Already our demon neutralizing rounds don't even slow him down” Melissa added. “ I say we incinerate him now before he breaks outta here” Jack drawled.

“ No!” Anna said. “ We have orders to keep him alive till we figure out what he is” “ The motherf- doesn't even have a heart beat” Alex said.

It was true, when they hooked him up to a heart rate monitor it had came back blank. They even had it tweaked a few times but still nothing.

“ The hellborn stays” Anna said finally. “ You gave him a name?” Jack inquired, eyebrows raised…