Release #36 - Echoes of a Reaper

Daunte lies injured in a resting room, unable to be healed due to tournament rules unless points are spent. Medics warn Anthony that Daunte must recover on his own and will remain weakened. After a brief goodbye, Anthony returns to the arena. In the shadows, a hooded man silently watches over Daunte. Anthony’s next match begins against Midas of Planet Ripple, a flashy warrior who manipulates molten gold. Anthony rushes in recklessly and is quickly trapped as gold hardens around his body. Midas mocks him, warning that blind aggression leads to death. Anthony retaliates using his Spirit, breaking free and overpowering Midas’s golden constructs. As the fight escalates, Anthony increases his Spirit’s temperature, melting Midas’s defenses, though his growing anger begins to cloud his control. Midas forms a golden Spirit to fight back, but Anthony overwhelms it with sheer force. Closing in without mercy, Anthony delivers a devastating finishing blow—crushing Midas’s heart and mind at the same time. After the fight, Anthony returns to Daunte’s room. As he reaches for the door, he briefly sees the hooded man again, radiating a terrifying red aura. The figure vanishes instantly, leaving Anthony shaken. Moments later, Daunte’s eyes open. Elsewhere, the hooded man passes the tournament leader and returns his dropped phone. As the man disappears, the leader realizes with horror that the energy he felt belonged to Daunte.