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"Huh?"
Sylas opened the black duffel and froze.
Inside were dozens of glittering stones. Diamonds real ones.
"Well, damn," he muttered. "Didn't expect that."
He tucked the bag under his jacket and started heading home across the rooftops.
But then—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion split the night sky. A massive beam of light shot upward from the industrial district, illuminating half of Queens.
Sylas stared at it, heart racing beneath his mask. "Okay… that's not normal. Guess tonight just got interesting."
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the light.
---
The Crash Site
By the time Sylas arrived, the place looked like a war zone. The air was thick with smoke and burning metal.
And in the center of it all lay a man in a red-and-gold suit motionless.
"Whoa," Sylas whispered. "Red and gold armor… that's oh crap. That's Tony Stark."
Iron Man himself was sprawled in the rubble, his chest arc reactor flickering weakly.
Beside him was a crater, still glowing faintly the aftermath of some kind of reactor detonation.
Sylas crouched down to get a closer look, curiosity overtaking reason.
Then—
"Who are you?!" a sharp voice called out.
He turned to see Pepper Potts, dust-covered but unharmed, sprinting toward them. Behind her stood a clean-cut, slightly balding man in a suit Agent Phil Coulson, gun already drawn.
"Uh—hi," Sylas said, waving awkwardly. "Big fan."
And before they could react, he dropped straight into the crater.
"Wait—what the hell is he doing?!" Pepper shouted.
Coulson aimed his gun downward. "Unknown hostile in a black suit and mask. Requesting backup!"
...
In the Crater
Sylas landed lightly among the debris. His eyes caught a faint blue glow beneath twisted metal. He brushed the wreckage aside revealing the massive armored chest of the Iron Monger suit.
Even destroyed, it still pulsed faintly with energy.
"There you are," Sylas whispered. "The Arc Reactor."
He gripped the glowing device and yanked.
CRACK!
The reactor came free in a burst of sparks.
"Sorry, Tony, Borrowing this for science," he said, tucking it into the shadowy void that served as his personal pocket dimension the Shadow Dominion.
Then he was gone, scaling the ruins and vanishing before anyone could spot him.
---
Moments Later
Tony groaned, eyes flickering open.
"Tony!" Pepper dropped to her knees beside him, tears brimming. "Oh my God you're alive!"
"Yeah…" Tony coughed weakly. "Barely. Thanks to you for keeping version one of the Arc Reactor around."
Coulson jogged up, lowering his weapon. "Mr. Stark, we had an unknown individual on scene, black outfit, mask, not one of yours, I assume?"
Tony frowned. "Mask? No, definitely not mine."
"He jumped into the pit. Took something. Then vanished."
Tony's expression darkened. "Don't tell me—"
He turned his head toward the crater. "The reactor…"
"Gone," Coulson confirmed.
Tony sighed. "Perfect. First Obadiah tries to kill me, now some ninja cosplayer robs my corpse."
---
Back at the Parker Residence
"Finally," Sylas whispered, materializing back inside his darkened room. He snapped his fingers the stolen Arc Reactor appeared from his shadow space, humming faintly in his hand.
"Mission complete," he said with a grin. "Now let's see what you can do."
The shadows in his room rippled as his summoned ninjas dissolved into black mist as they returned to their realm.
Then the Arc Reactor began to glow brighter.
"Uh… what the—"
The device dissolved into light, its energy flowing into him.
[System Detected: Arc Reactor Energy Source]
[System Activation… Completed.]
[Welcome to the Talisman System.]
Sylas's pulse quickened. "It's online. Holy hell, it's finally online."
He'd waited over a year for this moment.
"System," he said, voice trembling with excitement, "give me the details."
[The Talisman System allows the user to acquire and harness the power of the Twelve Talismans.]
"The Twelve Talismans?" His eyes widened. "You mean those talismans?!"
[Affirmative. Each Talisman grants unique chi-based powers. To obtain them, you must complete twelve main quests. Each mission requires a specific trigger condition to activate.]
"Another activation requirement…" Sylas groaned. "Took me a year just to start the system."
[System features include two currencies: Justice Points and Sin Points.]
"Justice and Sin, huh? Let me guess hero stuff and villain stuff?"
[Correct.]
[Good deeds yield Justice Points. Crimes or morally corrupt actions yield Sin Points. Both can be spent in the system store.]
Sylas opened the digital interface. Two glowing tabs appeared: Justice Store and Sin Store.
The Justice Store featured familiar chi artifacts: Noble Magic Seals, Protective Talismans, and Monk Charms.
The Sin Store, however, was darker Cursed Energy, Black Magic, enhancements for Shadow Ninjas, and even fragments of Demon Chi from the eight legendary demons.
Sylas whistled. "One million Sin Points for a single Demon Chi? Yikes."
He scrolled further and spotted something else:
[Talisman Quest Clue – 1000 Points]
Reveals the next known location of a Talisman.
"Now that… might be worth it."
He grinned, eyes lighting up with ambition. "Once I get a Talisman, this whole game changes."
He flicked over to his status page.
---
[System Status]
Name: Sylas Parker
Age: 16
Lifespan: 97 Years
Items: Shadow Mask
Abilities: Shadow Summon, Spider Gene Mutation
Condition: Healthy (Excited)
---
"Simple layout," Sylas muttered. "Could use an upgrade, but I'll take it."
He yawned, exhaustion finally catching up. "Alright… next step unlock shadow traversal. Need a hundred ninjas, a thousand Sin Points, Doable."
He collapsed onto the bed, a tired grin spreading across his face.
For the first time in a year, the world felt alive.
[System Online.]
[Talisman Path — Begin.]
And with that, Sylas drifted into sleep, the faint blue glow of the Arc Reactor fading softly into the night.
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~Support with 300 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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