Free Web NovelChapter 348: Creating Unrest In Lebanon
If there was one thing Damian had learned since gaining this power, it was that the best outcomes were never the ones forced into existence, but the ones gently guided toward it.
When people believed a decision had been made entirely by themselves, they neither resented it nor resisted it. They defended it. They fought for it. That was why Damian knew that if he wanted to create an uprising capable of toppling an entire nation, he could not simply seize control overnight. He had to be patient. He had to nurture hope, guide public sentiment, and allow the people to believe they had reached their conclusions on their own.
Rah and Linda had both been surprised when they learned they would be remaining in Lebanon to deal with the situation. They were even more surprised when the days slowly turned into weeks without Damian making any dramatic move. Rather than rushing into battle, he quietly observed, occasionally nudging events in subtle ways while allowing the people’s frustration to grow naturally.
Three weeks after Karim Haddad’s mysterious dream, Martyrs’ Square had become the beating heart of Lebanon’s growing resistance.
What had begun as small gatherings of students, lawyers and journalists had evolved into something far greater. Thousands now stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the afternoon sun, filling the square before spilling into the surrounding streets. Homemade banners demanding justice waved above the sea of people while countless phones streamed the gathering live across social media, carrying Karim’s voice far beyond the borders of Lebanon.
Government buildings overlooked the square from every direction.
So did members of the Blood Dunes.
Some watched openly in military uniforms while others blended seamlessly into the crowd dressed as ordinary civilians. Their crimson eyes quietly swept across the gathering, searching for anyone who looked suspicious enough to eliminate.
High above the clouds, however, another audience watched the rally unfold.
Damian sat leisurely upon a magnificent throne carved entirely from floating black sand. The throne drifted effortlessly through the heavens, overlooking the entire city below. Beside him floated several smaller thrones sculpted from golden sand where Rah, Linda, Loth and Rin comfortably sat, each observing the events with varying expressions.
Standing upon the temporary stage erected at the center of Martyrs’ Square, Karim slowly looked across the countless faces before him. Three weeks had passed since the dream, yet not a single day had gone by without him thinking about those radiant golden eyes.
Every single night he still dreamed of endless dunes. Only now the mysterious deity no longer appeared. Instead, the endless desert remained completely silent, as though patiently waiting for him to fulfill the task entrusted to him.
Karim adjusted the microphone before taking a slow, steady breath.
"My brothers and sisters..."
The square gradually became quiet.
"I have stood before you for years telling you what is wrong with our nation. Corruption. Fear. Disappearances. People vanishing without answers. Families living in terror. Children growing up believing justice belongs only to the powerful."
He paused, allowing every word to settle within the hearts of those listening.
"I realized something."
His voice softened.
"We have spent so long asking who will save Lebanon that we forgot to become people worth saving."
He slowly shook his head as an almost sacred silence settled across the enormous gathering.
"We blame politicians, foreign powers, history. But every nation rises the moment ordinary people decide enough is enough."
His voice echoed powerfully throughout the square.
"Every nation rises the moment ordinary people decide enough is enough."
Applause erupted almost immediately. Cheers echoed throughout the crowd while countless people raised their fists high into the air.
Karim smiled faintly before continuing.
"I do not stand before you promising miracles..."
Far away, inside an unfinished apartment overlooking the square, a man slowly settled behind the scope of a high powered rifle. His breathing became perfectly steady as the red crosshair settled directly between Karim’s eyes.
An earpiece crackled softly.
"Take the shot."
The sniper gently rested his finger upon the trigger. Outside, Karim continued speaking completely unaware of the danger closing in upon him.
"They threaten us because they fear us. They silence us because they fear the truth. But truth cannot die with one man."
The sniper slowly exhaled and his finger tightened.
Bang!
The deafening crack of the rifle echoed throughout the city. Several people screamed as the bullet tore through the air at terrifying speed, heading straight toward Karim’s forehead.
Time itself seemed to slow.
Karim heard the shot. He saw people in the front row gasp in horror and felt death approaching. But then the pavement beneath the stage exploded.
Sand erupted upward as though the earth itself had awakened.
Clang!
The bullet struck the towering wall of sand. Instead of passing through it stopped completely. The projectile remained suspended within the swirling wall of sand for nearly three full seconds.
"You didn’t..."
Rin muttered in complete disbelief. He turned toward Damian with widened eyes. He genuinely hadn’t expected Damian to entrust Karim with such an important ability only a single night after awakening it himself.
"He needs protection."
Damian answered calmly without taking his eyes off the scene below.
"’Scion of Dunes’ seemed like the most appropriate ability, so I granted him that inheritance. It appears I made the right choice."
Rah slowly rolled her eyes.
"If you’re going to give the man the power of the desert, you might as well explain it to him."
She pointed toward Karim who remained frozen upon the stage with utter disbelief written across his face.
"He clearly doesn’t even know what just happened."
"He doesn’t need to."
Damian casually shrugged.
"All that matters is that the sand recognizes him and moves independently to protect him."
Xiu!
Without another word Damian vanished from his throne.
His figure dissolved into countless grains of sand before disappearing entirely.
The very next instant...
He appeared behind the sniper who still lay behind his rifle, desperately trying to recover from the impossible sight unfolding below. The assassin’s trembling hands hurriedly reached for the weapon, preparing to fire a second shot before panic completely overtook him.
Damian let out a bored yawn. He slowly raised one foot over the assassins head. Without the slightest hesitation, he brought it crashing down.
Crunch!
The sniper’s head exploded beneath the overwhelming force and bone shattered. Blood erupted across the concrete floor. Fragments of brain and flesh splattered in every direction until nothing recognizable remained except a mangled crimson paste staining the unfinished apartment.
Damian calmly glanced toward the square below. Chaos had already erupted.
People ran in every direction while terrified screams echoed throughout the streets. Others remained frozen in place, unable to comprehend the miracle they had just witnessed.
Meanwhile Karim still sat upon the stage, having completely collapsed onto the floor. Shock dominated every inch of his face. He stared blankly at the suspended wall of sand as though questioning whether reality itself had abandoned him.
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward the direction from which the shot had been fired. Standing atop the unfinished building was the very same towering figure from his dreams. White and golden robes flowed gently around its body.
Its radiant golden eyes burned brighter than the afternoon sun itself. At its feet lay the headless corpse of a Blood Dunes assassin.
Karim’s breathing stopped.
’Act without fear.’
The familiar voice echoed directly within his mind.
’Whoever this God chooses to protect... no one can harm.’
Before Karim could even respond, the towering figure slowly began dissolving. Its body disintegrated into countless grains of golden sand that scattered into the wind until nothing remained.
Only then did Damian return to the heavens.
Sand gathered together above the floating throne, gradually reconstructing his body grain by grain before color, clothing and flesh returned as though nothing had happened.
Rah and Loth silently watched the entire process. Neither woman spoke. Watching Damian freely wield Mudhhibb’s inherited abilities only deepened the mystery surrounding him. They both knew the power belonged to another being, yet Damian used it as naturally as though it had always been his own.
The realization quietly settled within both their hearts. Only Damian’s wives and Rin knew the truth behind his greatest secret.
The question neither of them dared voice aloud was no longer whether Damian could steal another’s abilities. It was when they themselves would finally become trusted enough to be counted among those permitted to know that secret.
