192 RETURN TO SILVER CITY
Eryn snorted. "Why blackmail him to be king?"
It was nonsensical. Nobody in their right mind would blackmail another to be their king.
Sienna ignored the interruption. "The oracle foretold it. We need Damen for our revolution to succeed."
Liorea's mouth tightened. "You've already completed your revolution… why still keep him?"
Sienna's eyes hardened but her voice stuck to the story. "The oracle", she insisted, "is never wrong."
Damen watched them all and saw the truth through the ruse.
He had time to think through about Sienna's conspiracy and his role in it while he was in Anu: it wasn't prophecy that bound Sienna.
The real reason was… she wanted his blood, the one thing she could exploit to make more corrosivers and create enhanced metas like Erythos.
The oracle was only a pretext of keeping him there to draw his blood when needed.
"You don't need me for your stupid revolution," Damen said. "You need my blood. If that's what you want, we can trade." He produced the last Bloodstone from his pocket, laid it on his palm like an offering.
"Your Bloodstone?" Sienna asked with interest.
"You can take it. There's plenty of my blood inside this stone you can use for years. You don't need me here in Liberty City….to be your damn king."
"But the oracle says…"
"The hell with the oracle."
Argent nodded.
After a beat Sienna accepted too.
This was the only way to de-escalate. The only way to make an acceptable compromise with Damen. If they didn't, they may risk everything.
The current Damen Dark couldn't be bullied.
If he couldn't be bothered by the death of his uncle Ralph and family, there was no guarantee he would submit just because they got his friends.
"Fine. We'll take the Bloodstone. You can leave with your friends."
Liorea's eyes flashed. "No…that's not good enough."
Sienna's patience frayed. "What more do you want?"
"You'll give us full access to the space rift and to Liberty City. GenSyn building and Aukouma Auction return to us. That's the deal," Liorea said, her voice steady.
Even Erythos agreed, "We need a business partner to trade with the outside world. Maybe they can be that link even if they are not ideal."
"Yes, we are the only corporation in Silver City who would deal with you, rebels", Liorea added cheekily.
Sienna weighed it for a heartbeat, then bowed her head in agreement. "Fine. It's a deal."
She realized now that she couldn't keep Damen in the city.
But if they maintained a cordial relationship…. That may work out for them instead of ending in a grudge that they could not unravel from.
Damen let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Then it's a deal," he said.
-----
Damen returned to the Aukouma Auction in Silver City.
The GenSyn offices had moved to the annex building, and within it now stood The New Owl—a premier entertainment complex designed by Zairgid and a team of renovators.
The place was alive with LED lights, laughter, and music that pulsed like a heartbeat through the walls. It was Zairgid's pride and joy, a perfect fusion of business and pleasure.
When Damen stepped into the private suite, a banner reading "Welcome Home, Damen!" greeted him amid floating balloons and the hum of cheerful conversation.
The air smelled of champagne and perfume, the kind of scent that belonged to wealth and success.
"Hey, buddy…it's been a long time," Zairgid said, pulling Damen into a firm hug.
Kail rushed over next, tears already in his eyes. "Big brother…" he whispered, his voice trembling. They held each other for a long while, and for a moment, the noise of the party seemed to fade away.
Liorea's voice finally broke the spell. "Alright, you two…save some of that for later. The guests are here."
Lander Strong and Dorin West were here early. They've settled in Silver City and started their new investigative agency- "Strong and West- Detectives."
Zolan Aukouma, Zairgid's father, entered soon after to offer his blessings. He had barely escaped from Melrose City after it fell to the rebels, and though he'd lost much of his business and property in the revolution, his son's ventures in Silver City had preserved their family's legacy.
There were familiar faces everywhere—Eryn and Cyara, dressed like princesses in shimmering gowns that must have taken hours to perfect.
Even Jax and Vilra Trionix had come; the Trionix Corporation had become the Aukouma family's most powerful ally over the past year, cementing their influence in the city's business world.
They wouldn't miss Zairgid Aukouma's party.
Damen smiled as he looked around.
After a year in the desert, after all the dust and silence, this glittering celebration felt unreal. He was back….finally.
It was his time to shine again.
Later, as the crowd thinned and laughter turned to low murmurs, Eryn approached him quietly. She hesitated before speaking, her eyes glassy with worry.
"What's wrong, Eryn?" Damen asked, his tone soft but alert.
She bit her lip, holding back tears. "It's Father," she said.
"He's forcing me to marry Storm Nuralith. Since the fall of Melrose City, he's lost almost everything… and he thinks an alliance through marriage is the only way to rebuild what's left."
Her voice cracked. "I don't want this marriage, Damen. I can't."
Damen placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If you don't want to marry him, then you won't," he said firmly. "No one can make you…not while I'm here."
Eryn's eyes shimmered with fragile hope.
Around them, the laughter of the party continued, but the air between them had changed… quiet, heavy, and uncertain.
-----
When Damen descended into the basement of the new GenSyn headquarters—his new command center in Silver City—he didn't expect anyone to be there.
The lights flickered softly across rows of holographic terminals and stacked data cores, their hum filling the room like a low mechanical heartbeat.
Then he saw him.
"Dackerie!" Damen called out in surprise.
Dackerie spun around from the console. "Boss—I didn't go to your party. There's been an attempted breach in our system." His voice carried that same nervous energy Damen remembered from Melrose City.
Damen ignored the news for a moment and crossed the floor, pulling him into a sudden hug.
The memory hit him hard…those days in Melrose when Dackerie would film his battles from the rooftops, spinning the story of Black Halo from feared supervillain to celebrated hero.
"You came here safe," Damen said finally, releasing him with a smile. "You really decided what to do with your life."
Dackerie grinned, a little awkwardly. "It's all because of you, Boss…because of your grace. I can make my own choices. I am no longer bound to do the dirty works of others."
Damen laughed softly and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We're together now…and I promise, I won't threaten you anymore."
They both chuckled, the old tension melting into something warm and genuine.
When the laughter faded, Damen sat comfortably on his sofa and began scrolling through the archives—newsfeeds, city updates, economic reports.
A year's worth of history he'd missed unfolded before his eyes: new factions rising, old powers fading, Silver City changing faster than he could have imagined.
-----
[Silver City University of Meta Science]
Damen had skipped the entire first year of university.
When he finally returned…right during the orientation for second-year students….the place was buzzing with energy.
Everyone had taken the final exams months ago, except him. But Damen wasn't just anyone. He held a special exemption certificate from Fortress Myrone.
As he walked through the gate, heads turned. The professor overseeing the orientation of Year 2 immediately recognized him.
"You!" Professor Liric barked. "Damen Dark. You've never been tested. You cannot advance to Year Two."
The murmurs started at once.
"Professor Liric's one of the strictest here," someone whispered. "He's not going to let anyone slip through into Year 2 by the back door."
Zairgid stepped in. "He's got an exemption letter from Fortress Myrone, professor. It's official."
But Liric crossed his arms. "I don't care who gave him that paper. No one skips an entire year and walks into my class. Not while I'm here."