WHEN THEY ALL LAUNCHED I BECAME THEIR GOD

Chapter 6

Derek sat there on the floor, staring up at Damian with wide, terrified eyes. But even through the fear, something else flickered across his face. Something calculating.

“You think you're going to get away with this?” His voice shook, but the words came out sharp. “You think you can just assault Marcus like that and walk away?” He let out a bitter laugh. 

“You have no idea what you've done. Marcus's father - you know who his father is?”

Damian said nothing. Just watched him.

“General Marcus Stone. One of the seven guardians protecting the Southern Gate.” Derek's confidence was coming back now that he had distance between them. “When he hears what you did to his son, he's going to come for you. And when a General comes for you, there's nowhere to hide.”

The SARS Gates. Dimensional rifts that opened twenty years ago, spilling monsters and corrupted energy into the world. That's what had started all of this - the awakenings, the abilities, the new world order where power meant everything. Generals were the strongest awakened humans, each one capable of holding back entire monster hordes.

Since Marcus's father  was a General, then Damian had just made a very dangerous enemy.

But he didn't let any of that show on his face.

“I gave you a few minutes to leave,” Damian said quietly. “But it seems you don't understand simple instructions. You want to stay here and keep talking?” He took a step forward. “Do you want me to crush you too?”

Derek's face went white. All that false confidence evaporated in an instant. He scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over himself as he rushed to Marcus's unconscious body.

“Come on, help me!” Derek shouted at his other friend, who'd stopped at the end of the hallway.

Together they grabbed Marcus under the arms and started dragging him toward the stairs. Marcus's head lolled forward, blood still dripping from his mouth. His breathing was shallow and ragged.

The man who'd come to evaluate the house for purchase - a thin guy in a cheap suit who'd been standing frozen this whole time - finally found his legs and bolted for the exit.

Within thirty seconds, the hallway was empty except for the scattered teeth and blood on the floor.

Damian stood there for a moment, listening to their footsteps echo down the stairwell, then turned back to the apartment.

Emma was peeking out from behind the door, her stuffed rabbit clutched tight to her chest.

“I'm sorry you had to see that, baby.” Damian knelt down in front of her. “I'm so sorry.”

Emma looked at him with those big eyes, then reached out and patted his cheek. “It's okay, Daddy. They were mean. You were protecting us.”

Before Damian could respond, a sound chimed in his head.

[DING!]

[CULTIVATION CYCLE COMPLETE]

The system interface materialized in front of his eyes, invisible to Emma.

[KING OF HERBS - SUCCESSFULLY CULTIVATED]

[QUANTITY: 1 BATCH (10 STALKS)]

[LONGEVITY PILLS - SUCCESSFULLY MANUFACTURED]

[QUANTITY: 10 PILLS]

[GRADE: SUPREME]

Damian's breath caught. He knew what these items were worth. The King of Herbs was a legendary medicinal plant that could cure almost any disease and extend lifespan by decades. A single stalk could sell for millions on the black market.

And Longevity Pills? Those were even rarer. One pill could add ten years to someone's life, reverse aging, cure terminal illnesses. The wealthy and powerful would pay anything for them.

Ten million dollars. That's what one pill would go for, minimum. And he had ten of them.

His financial problems had just evaporated. More than that - with the system's wealth multiplier, if he spent that money, it would come back sixty times over.

He was going to be rich. Not just comfortable, not just secure. Actually wealthy.

But something nagged at the edge of his thoughts as the system screen faded.

His parents. Who were they? Why had they left him as a baby with nothing but this necklace? And why had no one ever come looking for him?

In a world where power was everything, this necklace had given him something extraordinary. That meant his parents - whoever they were - had possessed something valuable enough that people would kill for it.

Which meant there were probably people out there who wanted him dead too. People who'd been searching for this necklace for years, maybe decades.

And now he'd just used his power in front of witnesses. Derek and Marcus had seen what he could do. Word would spread.

Damian looked down at Emma, who was still watching him with complete trust in her eyes.

He needed to be careful. Needed to hide this newfound strength until he understood what he was dealing with. Because if the wrong people found out about the system, about his abilities, about the necklace...

They'd come for him. And they'd come for Emma too.

He couldn't let that happen. Whatever threats were out there, whatever his parents had been running from, he needed to be ready.

Which meant he needed money, connections, and power. All three, as much as he could get, as fast as possible.

But he had to be smart about it. Had to stay hidden until he was strong enough that no one could touch him.

“Come on, baby,” he said, scooping Emma up. “Let's get you some dinner.”

As he carried her to the kitchen, his mind was already working through the problems ahead. He needed to sell the Longevity Pills quietly, without drawing attention. Needed to find out more about his parents and the necklace. Needed to get stronger before General Stone came looking for revenge.

And somewhere out there, Megan was on a private jet, probably celebrating her new life with Maxwell Rushman.

She had no idea what she'd given up. No idea that the power she'd awakened had come from him, channeled through the system.

And she had no idea what was coming for her when he's ready.

But that was a problem for later. For now, he had a four-year-old daughter who needed him, everything else could wait.