The sphere exploded.
Molten shards of liquid metal erupted outward like a living storm, slamming into Damien's chest and crawling under his skin. He screamed as they burrowed into his veins, spreading fire and ice through every nerve.
The room vanished in blinding white.
Then came the voices.
---
The Hunger
> "…sins… we smell them… we starve…"
> "…jury, hear the cries of the guilty…"
Images flooded Damien's mind — strangers' murders, betrayals, greed — all the evil buried in the world projected into his skull at once. Their screams merged with the nanites' whispers, a choir of condemnation clawing at his sanity.
"Get OUT OF MY HEAD!" Damien roared, clawing at his skin as metal veins lit up red beneath his flesh.
> "…we are The Judge… you are The Jury… together we are the Executioner…"
---
The Verdict
Damien collapsed to his knees. His heart stopped.
For a moment — silence.
Then hellfire ignited.
Flames erupted from his skull, black at the core, orange at the edges. His skin burned away, replaced by cyber-demonic plating — shifting nanites forming a skeletal mask as his jaw split into serrated iron teeth. Spikes burst from his arms, chains coiling like serpents from his wrists.
The Judge spoke through his new voice — layered, metallic, echoing with centuries of vengeance:
> "Verdict rendered."
---
The Hell Ride
Outside, Damien's bike — forgotten, rusted — answered the call.
Nanites poured from Damien's body, racing across the ground, infecting the chopper's frame.
Metal warped. Tires ignited.
A flaming skull burned into the headlight.
The engine screamed with the cries of the damned.
> "…ride, Jury… ride…"
---
The First Breath
Damien staggered to his feet — no longer Damien, but something else. His chest burned with hunger, his mind drowning in the sins he'd seen. Every nerve screamed for release. For punishment.
For souls.
He gripped the handlebars.
Hellfire licked his fingers.
The ground cracked as the Hellcycle roared to life — and the Executioner rode for the first time.