Descendant of the Morning Star

The truck came to a screeching halt, sending everyone inside into a brief moment of weightlessness before the vehicle groaned to a stop. Weapons clattered, and murmurs filled the cabin.

"Why are we stopping?" Max asked, annoyance lacing his voice as he grabbed the hilt of his sword.

The burly man from the front, Marcus, peered through a slit in the reinforced metal that served as a windshield. His sharp eyes narrowed. "Something's blocking the road," he muttered.

Noah sat up straighter, his heartbeat quickening. He craned his neck to see, but the angle didn't offer him a view of what was outside.

Marcus grabbed the comm device and barked an order to the driver. "Kill the lights and engine. Everyone, stay quiet."

The cabin plunged into darkness, lit only by faint green emergency strips along the walls. The hum of the engine faded, leaving a haunting silence in its wake.

"What is it?" a woman whispered, clutching a small pendant around her neck.

"Quiet," Marcus snapped.

Then, they all heard it—the low, guttural growl of something massive, echoing across the barren landscape.

Noah's stomach churned. That sound was too close.

"Positions!" Marcus barked.

The warriors sprang into action, each grabbing their weapons and slipping into combat stances. Max's hands ignited with flickering flames, illuminating the space around him as he grinned. "Finally, some excitement."

Noah hesitated. His weapon—a simple combat knife—felt like a toothpick in his hands compared to the arsenal the others wielded. But he followed their lead, stepping toward the back exit of the truck where Marcus was giving instructions.

"Max, fire perimeter. Julia, cover the left flank. The rest of you, with me." Marcus glanced at Noah. "You stay in the middle. Watch and learn."

Noah nodded, his palms slick with sweat.

The team exited the truck one by one, their boots crunching against the gravel. The air outside was hot and thick with tension, the kind that made it hard to breathe.

Standing in the middle of the road, partially illuminated by Max's firelight, was a creature unlike anything Noah had ever seen. It stood on four legs, each as thick as tree trunks, its skin dark and ridged like volcanic rock. Its eyes burned like molten lava, and its jagged maw dripped with a viscous black fluid that hissed as it hit the ground.

"What the hell is that?" someone whispered.

"It's a Titan-class," Marcus said grimly, gripping his weapon tighter. "We're outmatched."

Max laughed. "Outmatched? Please." He stepped forward, flames erupting from his hands like twin infernos. "Let me handle this."

"Max, no—!" Marcus tried to stop him, but it was too late.

Max hurled a massive fireball at the creature, the heat singeing the air as it shot forward. The impact was deafening, sending a shockwave through the ground.

For a moment, the team thought Max had won.

Then the dust cleared.

The creature stood unscathed, its molten eyes now locked on Max. With a deafening roar, it lunged forward, its massive claws tearing through the ground.

Max barely had time to react, his cocky grin replaced by panic as he threw up a wall of fire in a desperate attempt to defend himself. The beast slammed into the flames, scattering them like embers, and sent Max flying back into the truck with a sickening thud.

"Fall back!" Marcus shouted.

The team scrambled into action, weapons clashing against the creature's impenetrable hide. It was chaos, each blow seeming to anger the monster more than harm it.

Noah stood frozen in the middle of the battlefield, his mind racing. This was beyond him—beyond any of them.

Then the system's voice echoed in his head, cold and unyielding.

"Trial 1: Defy your fear. Awaken your lineage."

Noah stumbled, clutching his head as a sharp pain shot through his skull. "What… what is this?"

The voice repeated itself, louder this time. "Trial 1: Defy your fear. Awaken your lineage."

As the creature's claws came crashing down toward him, Noah's body moved on instinct. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the impact, and for the first time, he felt it—a surge of energy coursing through his veins, like liquid fire igniting every cell in his body.

The pain in his head intensified, and visions flashed before his eyes—images of wings, fire, and a figure cloaked in shadow, standing against an army of light.

"Noah!" Marcus's voice snapped him back to reality. "What are you doing? Move!"

But Noah didn't move. Instead, he stood tall, his eyes glowing faintly with a dark, otherworldly light.

The beast turned its attention to him, growling low as it prepared to strike again.

Noah clenched his fists, feeling the power within him growing stronger with each passing second. For the first time, he didn't feel like the weakest among them.

This time, he was ready.