Elias let the wave of dominance recede slowly, deliberately, like a tide pulling back from conquered shores. The crushing weight lifted. The Brute slumped forward, groaning into unconsciousness. Batman took a sharp, controlled breath, the faintest tremor in his gauntleted hands betraying the strain. Hal Jordan stared, utterly dumbfounded, green ringlight illuminating his slack-jawed expression. Elias took a steadying breath, the phantom furnace beneath his ribs roaring at **\[AURA RESERVOIR: 28.9%\]** – a steep price paid, but worth every scintilla. Amidst the wreckage of chrome bodies and stunned heroes, Elias lowered the Shadow Fang, its blade still humming faintly with residual energy. He ran a damp hand through his rain-slicked hair, brushing droplets from his forehead with a casual flick. Then, a slow, sharp grin spread across his face, utterly incongruous in the carnage and tension. He turned fully towards the Dark Knight and the Emerald Gladiator.
With deliberate, unhurried nonchalance, Elias raised his free hand – the one not holding the dripping katana. He offered Batman and Hal Jordan a loose, easy wave, fingers wiggling slightly. Rainwater streamed down his arm. His grin widened, showing teeth. "Hello," he called out, his voice perfectly casual, cutting cleanly through the downpour and lingering ozone stench like he was greeting neighbours over a fence. The sheer, staggering *audacity* hung thick in the charged air – a stranger standing amidst a field of felled alien horrors, casually waving at Gotham's shadow and Space Sector 2814's guardian like he'd just bumped into them at the corner store. Hal Jordan blinked rapidly, mouth working silently. Batman remained utterly still, cowl lenses narrowed into impassive slits, but Elias could *feel* the intense scrutiny, the relentless calculation clicking behind that mask. **\[AURA HARVESTING: MAXIMUM FEED (DEFIANT CASUALTY / COSMIC PARADOX)\]**. **\[RESERVOIR: 31.7%\]**. The crimson Gacha wheel flared, ready to spin.
Silence stretched, broken only by the rain and the low groan of the unconscious Brute. The Dark Knight finally broke the stillness, taking a single, deliberate step forward. His voice, when it came, was a low, graveled rumble amplified by the wet stone and the storm's backdrop, devoid of inflection yet laden with profound weight: "Identify yourself. Now." Hal Jordan floated lower, ring held cautiously before him, gaze darting between Elias, Batman, and the field of chrome carnage. "Yeah," Hal added, voice tight with disbelief, "What he said. And... *how*?" Elias kept grinning, sheathing the Shadow Fang with a smooth, practiced *shink*. He met Batman's unreadable lenses squarely, the phantom heat within him buzzing with exhilarating potential. The stage was set. The audience demanded answers. Time for the main act. The crimson wheel began its spin.
"Names Elias," he answered, the words rolling out effortlessly, casually, imbued with the unnatural resonance of his aura-amplified voice. He deliberately dropped the formal 'Finch', making it sound like a nickname tossed over a shoulder – approachable, yet enigmatic. He leaned back slightly against the groaning Brute's chrome flank, crossing his arms loosely over his soaked shirt, radiating a practiced nonchalance utterly at odds with the battlefield. Rain plastered his hair to his forehead, dripping into his eyes, but he didn't flinch. He held Batman's gaze, the aura-fueled clarity turning the tension into fuel. **\[AURA RESERVOIR: 32.1%\]**, the system whispered warmly. *Defiant Informality*. Batman didn't move a muscle, but Elias sensed the laser-focus intensify, dissecting every syllable, every micro-expression. Hal Jordan blinked, his brow furrowed beneath the domino mask, clearly struggling to reconcile the cosmic-level power displayed moments ago with this laid-back introduction.
"Just Elias?" Hal prompted, suspicion warring with burgeoning curiosity. He gestured vaguely at the paralyzed Parademons. "Because 'just Elias' doesn't usually do... *that*." Elias chuckled, a low, genuine sound that cut through the drumming rain. He pushed off the Brute, stepping casually towards the heroes, boots splashing in the oily puddles. "Depends on the day, I guess," he shrugged, the motion fluid, imbued with his newly acquired martial grace. He stopped a respectful distance away, hands open and loose at his sides – non-threatening postures radiating supreme confidence. He looked directly at Batman, acknowledging the unspoken demand in the vigilante's stillness. "Got dropped into this mess not long ago," he added, his tone shifting subtly from casual to earnest, hinting at a deeper, unexplained strangeness without revealing the system. "Figured saying 'hello' properly was step one." **\[AURA RESERVOIR: 32.8%\]**. *Strategic Revelation*. Batman remained silent, a statue carved from shadow and suspicion.
The crimson Gacha wheel beside Elias's vision stopped abruptly, its furious glow solidifying into a single, distinct image: a stylized silver mask, shimmering like liquid mercury, etched with intricate, fractal patterns that seemed to shift and writhe. **\[SILVER REWARD ACQUIRED: FACADE OF THE PHANTOM\]**. The system's voice resonated internally: ***Wearable Shroud. Confounds Scanners. Enhances Dramatic Entrances/Exits.*** Elias didn't outwardly react, but inwardly he grinned. Perfect. As Batman finally opened his mouth to speak again, likely demanding specifics, Elias raised a single finger. "Hold that thought," he interjected smoothly, his aura resonating to lend weight to the interruption. He reached into the space beside him – a gesture that seemed mundane yet deliberate – and pulled forth the shimmering silver mask like plucking it from thin air. Before Batman or Hal could react, Elias pressed the cool metal against his face. It flowed like liquid, conforming instantly, leaving only his sharp, grinning mouth visible beneath the shifting fractal patterns. His eyes glinted with amplified mischief from within the mercury-like frame. "Step two," he announced, his voice now subtly distorted, echoing with phantom harmonics, "is looking the part." **\[AURA RESERVOIR: 34.2%\]**. *Visual Spectacle*. Batman tensed. Hal Jordan gasped. The Phantom Elias bowed, low and theatrical, amidst the wreckage and the rain. The introduction was complete. The enigma deepened.
Behind Batman, deeper in Arkham's storm-lashed courtyard, a cluster of Parademons stirred – survivors outside the Haki's initial radius. Their optics flickered back online, scanning the scene: the fallen Brute, the inert drones, the heroes… and the masked newcomer. A low, synthesized warble rose among them. Hal spun, ring flaring emerald. "Incoming!" Batman shifted instantly, a blur of dark cape against the downpour. Elias didn't turn. He didn't need to. The phantom warmth surged violently towards his new mask. He felt its latent power humming – a desire to confound, to obscure, to heighten anticipation. He leaned into it. "Allow me," he murmured through the mercury veil, his distorted voice carrying easily over the rain. He didn't shout. He didn't gesture. He simply *stepped sideways* – a fluid, almost dancer-like movement – and vanished. Not into invisibility, but into a sudden, swirling mist that erupted precisely where he'd stood, thick and unnatural, smelling of ozone and damp stone. The charging Parademons stumbled, scanners whining in confusion as their visual feeds dissolved into static snow. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 35.9%\\\]**. *Tactical Obfuscation / Dramatic Exit*. Batman froze mid-lunge, cowl twisting sharply. Hal Jordan stared, dumbfounded, at the empty mist. Where did he go?
The mist dissipated as quickly as it appeared, revealing nothing but wet stone and chrome bodies. Elias reappeared fifteen feet away, perched effortlessly atop a shattered gargoyle head jutting from Arkham's rain-slicked facade. He hadn't teleported; he'd *flowed*, using the mist as momentary cover combined with his engraved martial grace. The silver mask gleamed under the storm's intermittent lightning. Below, the confused Parademons milled, scanners still frantically sweeping the courtyard. Elias drew the Shadow Fang slowly, the blade singing softly as it cleared the scabbard. He pointed it downwards, not at the Parademons, but at a shallow puddle directly below his perch. "Attention," his masked voice echoed, distorted and commanding. Every scanner beam, including Batman's cowl lenses and Hal's ring projection, snapped towards him. He let the silence hang for a heartbeat – the perfect dramatic pause – then flicked the katana's tip into the puddle. A single droplet arced upwards. Time seemed to slow. As the droplet reached its apex, Elias poured a thread of focused aura down the blade and into it. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 37.1%\\\]**. The droplet didn't just fall. It exploded outward in a blinding starburst of prismatic light and concussive sound – harmless, but utterly overwhelming to sensors. Parademon optics flared white and died. Batman's cowl display scrambled. Hal shielded his eyes instinctively. "Engage," commanded the Phantom, his voice cutting through the sensory overload. He stood silhouetted against the storm, a figure of pure, impossible spectacle. The crimson Gacha wheel beside his vision pulsed hungrily, its glow deepening to a rich violet. It began to spin.
The prismatic blast faded, leaving afterimages dancing in everyone's vision. Hal Jordan blinked rapidly, shaking his head. Batman's cowl lenses recalibrated with barely audible clicks, locking instantly back onto Elias's position. The Parademons weren't blinded. They were *enraged*. Their warble became a shrieking chorus as they surged forward, claws extended, targeting the gargoyle perch. Elias didn't retreat. He shifted his grip on Shadow Fang, feeling the familiar hum sync with the roaring furnace in his chest. The Phantom Mask amplified his intent, twisting his silhouette against the lightning. He leaned forward, a predator coiling. The nearest Parademon lunged, chrome talons glinting. Elias exploded downwards, not away, but *into* the leap. Shadow Fang whipped upwards, its blue seam-light blazing crimson as he channeled Conqueror's Haki not outward, but *inward*, hardening the blade itself with sheer, crushing will. The air screamed around the empowered steel as it carved through the Parademon's ascending claw, severing it cleanly before continuing in a lethal arc upwards through its torso plating. Chrome buckled, screeched, and parted like paper beneath the Haki-infused edge, spraying sparks and black oil into the rain. The Parademon didn't collapse; it simply ceased function, cleaved diagonally from shoulder to hip, the two halves slamming into the courtyard stones with a heavy, wet thud. Elias landed lightly beside the wreckage, katana held low, dripping ichor. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 39.7%\\\]**. *Kinetic Spectacle / Weaponized Will*. Hal Jordan stared, utterly speechless. Batman remained motionless, but a subtle shift in his stance suggested intense recalibration. The remaining Parademons faltered, their advance stuttering.
Elias didn't pause. Momentum was fuel. He spun on the ball of his foot, facing the next charging drone. His movements were a lethal ballet – flowing, precise, amplified by martial grace and aura. Shadow Fang became a crimson blur, each strike imbued with Haki's crushing weight. He didn't just cut; he *shattered* armor. He didn't evade; he flowed through gaps in their attacks, leaving trails of ozone-scented mist from the Phantom Mask. A Parademon swung wildly. Elias ducked beneath the claw, reversed his grip mid-spin, and drove the katana's pommel into its knee joint with bone-cracking force before whipping the blade upwards to cleave its sensor cluster. Another lunged from his flank. He flowed sideways, letting the claw pass inches from his ribs, then slammed his free palm – channeling a burst of aura – into its side plating, staggering it. Before it could recover, Shadow Fang descended like a guillotine, empowered Haki shearing through its neck support strut. Chrome heads rolled. Bodies spasmed and fell silent. Elias moved relentlessly, a whirlwind of crimson-edged steel and impossible presence, each movement feeding the furnace inside him. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 43.2%\\\]**. He wasn't fighting. He was performing a symphony of destruction. Hal Jordan finally snapped into action, conjuring emerald chains to bind two Parademons Elias hadn't yet reached. Batman remained a watchful shadow, analyzing every impossible strike. The violet Gacha wheel spun faster, its light deepening towards obsidian.
The last Parademon crumpled, sliced open from clavicle to abdomen. Elias stood amidst the fresh carnage, katana dripping, breathing steady despite the exertion. Rain slicked his masked face and soaked his clothes. The courtyard fell eerily quiet again, save for the storm and the groans of the unconscious Brute. Hal Jordan landed softly nearby, ring still glowing cautiously. "Okay," Hal breathed, staring at the cleaved chrome bodies, "That... wasn't normal." Batman glided forward silently, stopping just outside Elias's immediate reach. His cowl lenses remained locked onto the silver mask. "Conclusions require data," Batman stated, his voice a deliberate counterpoint to Elias's earlier spectacle. "Explain the mask. Explain the blade. Explain *you*." Elias tilted his masked head slightly. He could feel Batman's relentless scrutiny, Hal's burgeoning fascination. The phantom warmth pulsed. He'd harvested immense aura. He'd showcased impossible power. Now came the narrative. The violet Gacha wheel stopped abruptly, its glow solidifying into a shimmering, intricate scroll etched with glowing kanji. **\\\[VIOLET REWARD ACQUIRED: MEMETIC INFILTRATION SCHEMA\]\\\**. The system whispered internally: ***Conceptual Weapon. Amplifies Resonant Ideas via Aura Resonance.*** Elias grinned beneath his mercury veil. Perfect.
With deliberate theatricality, Elias spread his arms wide, palms open towards the heroes. Rain splashed across his exposed forearms. "The mask?" His distorted voice echoed, tinged with amusement. "Call it... occupational attire." He deliberately paused, letting the phantom harmonics resonate. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 44.8%\\\]**. Hal leaned forward unconsciously. Batman remained rigid. "The blade?" Elias continued, casually flicking ichor from Shadow Fang. "Let's just say I believe in making an entrance... with style." He emphasized the word 'style', subtly weaving Memetic Infiltration into his aura resonance. The concept *style* pulsed outward, radiating coolness and capability. He saw Hal's posture unconsciously straighten. Batman's jaw tightened fractionally beneath the cowl. The idea was planted. "And me?" Elias finished, lowering his arms. He tapped his sternum where the phantom star burned. "Think of me as... a new player on the board. Dropped in late. Decided the best way to learn the rules..." He paused again, locking eyes with Batman's impassive lenses. "...was to rewrite them live." The resonance intensified. *Rebel*. *Wildcard*. The memetic seeds took root.
Before Batman could dissect the implications, before Hal could voice another question, Elias sensed it – a deep, resonant thrum vibrating through the wet stone beneath his boots. It wasn't Parademon tech. It felt heavier, older, *angrier*. The courtyard's central storm drain grate shuddered violently, then erupted upwards in a geyser of shattered concrete and foul-smelling steam. Looming within the jagged hole, wreathed in swirling vapor and lightning-flecked shadows, stood a hulking figure clad in cracked, moss-covered stone plates fused with jagged chunks of Gotham's own bedrock. Its single visible eye burned with molten green fury beneath a crude, horned helm. Earth Elemental? Arkham Prisoner? Something worse. It roared, a sound that shook the asylum walls and drowned out the storm. **\\\[CLASSIFIED THREAT DETECTED: DESIGNATE 'TERRA-FURY'\\\]**. Hal cursed, ring blazing emerald. Batman instantly deployed micro-drones. Elias merely grinned wider behind his mask. Another act. Another harvest. Another *spectacle*. The violet Gacha wheel pulsed hungrily.
Elias didn't wait for orders or strategy. He flowed forward, not towards the Terra-Fury, but *around* it, circling the crater's edge like a hunting wolf. Shadow Fang hummed louder, its crimson edge intensifying as he channeled aura into Memetic Infiltration. He focused his intent: *Unstoppable*. *Adaptable*. *Cool*. "Well," Elias projected, his distorted voice carrying effortlessly over the elemental's roar, seeming to address the heroes yet resonating towards the beast, "Looks like the party just got... stoned!" The pun landed amidst the chaos. Hal choked back a startled laugh despite himself. Batman remained silent, but Elias saw his cowl tilt slightly – analysis recalibrating. The Terra-Fury paused mid-roar, its molten eye tracking Elias's swift movement with unnerving intelligence. Elias poured aura into the resonant concept. *Adapt*. As the Terra-Fury swung a colossal stone fist towards him, Elias didn't dodge. He flowed *up* the descending limb like liquid shadow, katana trailing crimson light, leaving a glowing sigil on the rock – a stylized, shifting kanji for *change*. The fist slammed into empty ground where Elias had been. Elias landed lightly atop the elemental's massive shoulder. "Too slow, Rocky!" he declared, driving Shadow Fang point-first into a glowing fissure in its stony neck. The blade flared violet. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 47.3%\\\]**. Terra-Fury bellowed, thrashing wildly. The stage was reset. The harvest continued. The Phantom danced.
Batman moved. Not towards Elias or the distracted elemental, but towards the exposed crater edge where Gotham's fractured bedrock lay bare. He fired a grappling line upwards, anchoring it to Arkham's crumbling parapet. As the Terra-Fury reared back, trying to dislodge Elias, Batman swung low beneath its stone-plated torso, deploying a cluster of micro-drones that burrowed into the fissures Elias had marked. Hal Jordan, recognizing the unspoken coordination, soared higher, ring flaring as he scanned for structural weaknesses. Elias felt the elemental buckle beneath him as Batman's drones detonated internally – sharp, concussive pops echoing within its stony core. Terra-Fury staggered. Elias leapt backwards off its shoulder, landing in a crouch facing the creature. Its molten eye blazed with renewed fury, locking onto Elias. "Right here, big guy!" Elias taunted, rising slowly, katana held low. He poured aura into the blade, willing it to resonate with the concept of *unstoppable*. Shadow Fang ignited – not just glowing crimson, but crackling with arcs of raw, scarlet lightning that snapped and hissed against the rain. Terra-Fury charged, a landslide given sentience, its remaining stone arm swinging in a brutal arc aimed to crush Elias flat.
Elias exploded forward to meet the charge. He didn't dodge the descending stone fist; he flowed *under* it, spinning low. Shadow Fang became a blinding streak of crimson lightning as it swept upwards in a vicious reverse-grip slash. Empowered aura and Haki screamed along the blade's edge. Scarlet lightning arced violently as the katana tore through the stone limb just below its moss-covered elbow joint. Stone didn't crack; it *vaporized* in a shower of superheated rock dust and crimson sparks. The severed arm crashed down beside Elias, shaking the courtyard. Terra-Fury roared in agony, stumbling forward off-balance. Batman seized the opening. He fired two specialized batarangs from his gauntlet – miniature, high-yield explosives coated in phosphorescent gel. They streaked through the rain, impacting squarely in the elemental's exposed, molten eye socket just as Elias landed gracefully, katana still humming with residual scarlet lightning. The batarangs detonated in a blinding flash of white light and concussive force, momentarily flooding the courtyard with brilliance. Terra-Fury reeled, blinded and disoriented, its roar choked into a guttural groan of pain. Elias grinned behind his mask. Perfect timing. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 50.1%\\\]**. The furnace roared.
Elias didn't pause. He used the blinding flash as cover. He surged upwards, planting his boot squarely on the elemental's shuddering chest plate. Aura surged through his legs. He pushed off explosively, launching himself backwards and upwards into the storm-lashed air above the courtyard. **\\\[SOURCE: KINETIC ESCALATION / VISUAL SPECTACLE\\\]**. Below him, Hal Jordan saw Elias's trajectory. Understanding flashed across Hal's face. He raised his ring high, its emerald light blazing brighter than the fading phosphorescence. "Alright, big ugly," Hal yelled, pouring his own formidable willpower into the construct. "Try this on for size!" A colossal, shimmering green fist materialized instantly – easily ten feet across, its knuckles etched with intricate Lantern Corps sigils. It dwarfed the staggering Terra-Fury. Elias flipped backwards in mid-air, watching the elemental recover its senses below, its molten eye flickering back to life amidst the smoke and rain just as Hal's giant construct fist descended like a meteor. Elias landed lightly atop Arkham's nearest gargoyle once more, sheathing Shadow Fang with a sharp *shink*. The motion drew Batman's unwavering gaze upwards. The Phantom stood silhouetted against the lightning, mask gleaming. Below, Hal's emerald fist connected. The impact was colossal – a thunderclap of displaced air and shattering stone. Terra-Fury imploded beneath the cosmic force, reduced to scattered rubble and swirling, green-tinged dust motes in the torrential rain. Silence fell, heavy and immediate. **\\\[AURA RESERVOIR: 54.7%\\\]**. The violet Gacha wheel pulsed obsidian, ready to spin. Elias gazed down at the heroes, the phantom heat within him singing. Act One: Complete. Time for the encore.
Inside Elias's mind, the violet Gacha wheel blurred into motion. Its obsidian glow deepened, swirling with impossible constellations. It spun faster, faster – then lurched to a sudden, jarring halt. The space around it seemed to fracture, splintering into jagged shards of pure gold light. A thunderous, theatrical voice boomed, echoing through every synapse: ***"AND WE HAVE A WINNER! THE LUCKY PLAYER JUST ROLLED A LEGENDARY ROLL! FACE THE MUSIC AND CLAIM YOUR PRIZE!"*** Before Elias could process the jarring announcement, a blinding flash erupted within his consciousness. When the glare faded, hovering in the mental void was a katana unlike any other. Its sheath was pristine white, adorned with intricate gold filigree. The hilt, wrapped in deep blue silk, radiated an aura of pure, devastating potential. The name echoed with cosmic weight: ***Yamato***. The blade Vergil wielded. The blade that severed dimensions.
Elias staggered physically on the rain-slicked gargoyle, momentarily overwhelmed. The phantom heat beneath his sternum surged violently, resonating with the Yamato's silent thrum. Power – raw, spatial, *cutting* – flooded his senses. It wasn't just aura; it felt like holding the edge of reality itself. Batman's lenses snapped towards his brief stumble. Hal opened his mouth, likely to shout a question. But Elias acted. Instinct, amplified by Memetic Infiltration and the Yamato's sheer presence, took over. He raised his hand theatrically towards the storm-lashed sky, fingers splayed. "Seems the encore requires... a sharper instrument!" he declared, his distorted voice cutting through the pounding rain with unnatural clarity. With a thought fueled by the Legendary reward's resonance, he *summoned* it. The Yamato materialized in his outstretched grasp with a sound like shattering crystal – a blinding flash of white and gold banishing the gloom around him for a fractured second. The pristine sheath felt impossibly cold against his rain-soaked glove. Batman froze mid-stride, every sensor screaming anomaly. Hal Jordan gasped audibly, "What in the nine *hells*?"
Elias gripped the Yamato's hilt. Its power vibrated through him, harmonizing terrifyingly with his burgeoning Aura Reservoir and the Phantom Mask's amplification. He focused not just on the blade, but on the *concept* it embodied: *Separation*. *Division*. *Judgment*. He poured aura and will into it, feeling the spatial fabric around the courtyard *strain*. Below, the rubble of the Terra-Fury stirred. Dark tendrils of corrupted earth energy began coalescing, drawn from Gotham's wounded bedrock, seeking to reform. Batman hurled batarangs, Hal raised his ring. Elias didn't wait. He drew the Yamato. It hissed from its sheath not like metal, but like reality tearing. A trail of impossible blue-white light followed the blade, leaving a momentary scar in the air thick with ozone. He didn't swing at the reforming mass. He slashed *sideways* through empty space ten feet above the crater. The blade passed through nothing – and *everything*. A vertical fissure of pure, blinding blue light ripped open where the katana had travelled. Space itself screamed. The fissure pulsed once, violently unstable, and collapsed inward with a thunderous *WHOMPH* of displaced air. The coalescing tendrils of earth energy, caught mid-reformation, were violently severed and scattered into dissipating motes. Only dust and rain remained. Silence crashed down again, heavier than before. The Yamato glowed softly in Elias's hand. **[AURA RESERVOIR: 57.3%]**. Hal stared, utterly mute. Batman's cowl lenses remained locked onto the blade, analyzing dimensions Elias knew defied his sensors. The Phantom had rewritten the scene's ending.
Elias slowly lowered the Yamato, its point tracing a faint blue line in the wet air before he slid it back into its pristine white sheath with a soft, final *snick*. The blade vanished instantly upon full sheathing. He met Batman's unreadable lenses and Hal's wide-eyed disbelief. He tapped his silver mask where his temple would be. "Sharp learning curve," he quipped, the Memetic Infiltration weaving *enigma* and *capability* into the resonance of his words. **RESERVOIR: 58.1%**. Before either hero could formulate a demand, Elias gestured casually towards the asylum's main doors with the Yamato's sheath. "Shall we? Pretty sure the main event's inside... and I hate being late." He began walking calmly along the parapet towards the rooftop access stairwell, leaving the stunned heroes amidst the rain, rubble, and impossible echoes of a severed dimension. The violet Gacha wheel pulsed, darker than night, waiting for the curtain to rise on Act Two.
As Elias walked, the rhythm of rain striking Arkham's ancient slate tiles shifted. It didn't change pitch or pattern, yet Elias's stride synced with an internal beat that drowned out the storm. A driving percussion formed in his mind's ear – deep, resonant drums hammering like a heartbeat amplified. Then, soaring strings sliced through it, fierce and elegant. His boots hit the wet stone in perfect time with an electric guitar's opening riff: sharp, deliberate, *commanding*. It wasn't audible sound; it was pure presence vibrating within his newly acquired Legendary blade and his overflowing aura reservoir. The melody crashed over him – Vergil's theme, "Bury the Light," its title irrelevant, its *essence* undeniable. Power, isolation, relentless purpose. **"I AM THE STORM THAT IS APPROACHING..."** The phantom lyric resonated within his core, syncing with the Yamato's thrum and the phantom heat beneath his sternum. His steps became deliberate, unhurried, each footfall echoing the song's inexorable advance. He didn't sense Batman's swift grapple ascent behind him or Hal's trailing emerald flight path. His world narrowed to the rhythm of the storm within, the blade at his hip, and the crumbling staircase ahead.
He reached the rooftop access door, a heavy steel slab rusted at the hinges. The song surged – a building crescendo of violins and synths. **"PROVOKING BLACK CLOUDS IN ISOLATION..."** Elias didn't grasp the handle. He placed his palm flat against the cold, wet metal. He channeled the Yamato's spatial resonance, not to cut, but to *reject*. A subtle pulse of blue-white light flared beneath his hand. The warped lock mechanism inside *snapped* audibly, not broken, but cleanly *severed* along a microscopic plane of weakness. The door swung inward silently on ruined hinges. Darkness yawned beyond. Elias stepped across the threshold, the rhythm pulsing through him. Behind him, Batman landed soundlessly on the parapet edge, cowl lenses instantly analyzing the pristine cut on the lock housing, Hal hovering just behind, ring casting emerald light into the stairwell gloom. Elias didn't look back. The storm walked forward. The heroes followed.
The descent was a descent into discordant symphony. Arkham's interior was a cacophony of distant alarms, crumbling plaster, and the skittering claws of unseen horrors. Yet Elias's internal soundtrack rose above it all. **"I AM RECLAIMER OF MY NAME..."** Each step down the narrow, dripping stone stairs echoed the song's driving bassline. His aura reservoir pulsed in time with the drums. **[RESERVOIR: 59.0%]**. Shadows deeper than Gotham's night pooled at the bottom. A low, guttural growl vibrated through the walls – Parademons, mutated inmates, perhaps something worse. Batman moved like smoke past Elias, vanishing into the darkness ahead. Hal's ringlight flared, illuminating grotesque, painted graffiti and slick mold crawling up the walls. Elias paused halfway down. The Yamato hummed against his hip. The song reached a soaring, furious peak in his mind. **"BORN IN FLAMES, I HAVE BEEN BLESSED..."** He drew the blade a single inch. A sliver of impossible blue light cut the stairwell gloom like a slit in reality's fabric. The growling ahead ceased abruptly, replaced by a chorus of startled, electronic clicks. He slid the Yamato back. Silence, heavy and uncertain, settled. Even Batman paused, a deeper shadow now. Hal swallowed audibly. The Phantom smirked behind his mask. The rhythm walked deeper.
A sharp, crystalline ***DING!*** pierced Elias's mental symphony, distinct and pure as a temple bell struck at dawn. **"ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: BURY THE LIGHT,"** declared the system, its voice resonant with uncharacteristic gravitas. Instantly, a torrent of phantom heat surged through Elias – not painful, but transformative. His senses flared: he tasted ozone in the stale air, smelled the damp stone's ancient despair, heard the frantic skittering three floors below. Violet energy crackled around his fists for a fleeting second before imploding inward. **\[BONUS: +100 AURA UNITS\]**. **\[RESERVOIR: 61.0%\]**. Then came the profound shift: phantom wings of pure violet light unfurled silently behind him for a heartbeat, casting shifting, majestic shadows on the stairwell walls before vanishing. Power – raw, demonic, *coldly precise* – settled into his bones. Vergil's Devil Trigger. Potential realized. He felt the Yamato resonate deep within his soul. Batman's lenses snapped towards the momentary lightshow, sensors doubtless screaming corruption readings. Hal recoiled slightly, ringlight stuttering. Elias merely flexed his fingers, feeling the new, terrifying potential coiling beneath his skin. The silence thickened, charged with unspoken dread.
Before the heroes could react, another ***DING!*** echoed, harsher, triumphant. **"MAIN QUEST: INITIAL CONVERGENCE – COMPLETE!"** The system's voice boomed. **"REWARD SELECTION INITIATED:** ***RANDOM DEVIL FRUIT, ONE FOR ALL QUIRK, BLACKLIGHT VIRUS STRAIN.*** **CHOICE LOCK-IN REQUIRED WITHIN 1 HOUR.**" A shimmering holographic wheel spun beside Elias's vision, its segments flashing impossible images: a swirling, spotted fruit; a kaleidoscope of stored energies; a writhing mass of crimson-black tendrils. A countdown materialized: **59:59**. Elias froze. The implications detonated in his mind like grenades. Each option promised untold power – and catastrophic change. Devil Fruit meant elemental mastery… and ocean-bound weakness. One For All meant heroic might… and a shattered body awaiting transfer. Blacklight promised godlike adaptation… and utter consumption. The Yamato vibrated at his hip, its spatial edge humming in warning. Batman shifted, sensing the abrupt stillness radiating from Elias. Hal raised his ring defensively. **"Finch? What's wrong?"** Hal's voice cut through the tension. Elias didn't answer. The Phantom stared at the flickering wheel, the clock ticking relentlessly down within his skull. The storm outside was nothing compared to the tempest brewing within. The game had just leveled up.