[Nanda Parbat]

Ra's Al Ghul was sitting before an ancient armor Nyssa discovered during her last mission in Egypt. It was a white armor, but there was a faint black glow over it as if someone mixed two colors yet managed to maintain both their appearances. He has been sitting there for weeks, examining the armor and trying to find a hint of its origins. He has spent sleepless nights and endless hours writing on the sand, trying to solve this mystery of an unknown armor.

Finally, Ra's saw a sign. A worn-out symbol on the cape that came with the armor.

"Order of St. Dumas," he read the symbols written on the cape. That was supposed to be the order's symbol. He knows all about them, thanks to his hundreds of years of knowledge. But he never thought he would hear about their mysterious order after all these years. They disappeared like dust in the wind a long time ago, but Ra's must admit he is impressed to get his hands on an armor associated with a long-forgotten organization.

The Order of St. Dumas was a subdivision of the Knights Templar, a Catholic military order renowned for participating in the Crusades for the Holy Land. They had a falling out with the Templars and left the Templars before King Philip the Fair came and suppressed the Templars. However, like all big organizations, they also had sub-divisions or branches.

Another spliter group, the Order of Purity, was formed, but it did not have access to the main branch of the Order's financial assets or its political clout. Out of a desire to see their religion protected, the Order of Purity and its parishioners constructed the Suit of Sorrows: a chainmail tabard made from the armor of one hundred violent Crusaders, worn by the champion of the Order. Whether from the blood debt of its original owners, or the psychological weight it represents, most of its wearers have gone mad.

And right now, that very armor from the old forgotten legends is laid out before him. The armor was supposed to be black instead of white, yet somehow, it still retained a tint of blackish gold on it as if it was meant to be like this for all eternity.

"Legend says it drives its owners insane. But that's a legend. I need proof, and the truth," Ra's said. He needed to put this suit to the test and find the real truth hidden behind this suit. He looked up to the ceiling.

A shadow blinked before him. A man in black, on his knees and head bowed as if serving his master.

"Open the arena," Ra's commanded.

The man disappeared just as quickly as he came. Ra's was, as always, a smart man. What is the fastest way to test a suit? Putting it on a subject, and a good subject would be anyone Ra's ever considered a pawn. A puppet, a disposable, or a traitor.

Any kind of person will work just fine. But... A traitor sounds good. Give them a ray of hope only to burn them in the very end. That will remind everyone that there is no escape.

Down the hidden corridor, deep inside the mountain, is the Arena. That is the place where anyone who wants to become an apprentice of Ra's Al Ghul has to go through a test to determine their worth. Only a few have ever gone in and become an official candidate for Ra's. All the others either died or came out broken beyond repair, some even going mad. For many, this place was no different than hell, but for others, it was a dream come true. To fight and develop their true potential under the greatest Ra's al Ghul, they consider this an honor.

The arena was underground so there were no natural lights in the cave, so torches and the large roaring flames at each corner made the arena so much scary. The shadows they cast on the ceiling and the high cliffs on the side all made the arena look like something straight out of hell. This place is no different than a real hell hole.

The assassins brought out the prisoners and rounded them up in the middle of the arena.

A few minutes later, another group of assassins brought the armor into the arena and then came Ra's al Ghul. He took his seat on the stone throne placed on a large cliff, the very cliff that gave a great view of the entire arena.

Ra's looked down at the prisoners. His eyes were cold and devoid of any mercy, "In the history of League, no traitors have escaped punishment, this time is no exception." The prisoners started looking up to their master as if they could see no one but him. "Today, you will be given a chance to change your fate," Ra's continued as he eyed the armor, "Put on that armor and fight. Prove your worth, for you have been given a second chance today."

The prisoners seemed overwhelmed at first, even scared. They looked at the armor and then glanced around the whole arena. All they could see was death. No sign of living or even an exit.

Ra's looked down at one of the four assassins waiting in the shadows and gave a slide nod.

A woman came forward. Her long dark hair flows in the wind as she walks. Her blue iris would make anyone admire their beauty. But her cold behavior shows that she has no heart, only the ability to serve Ra's to her fullest. She wore a full black assassin attire and carried the armor toward the burly muscular man, who was the strongest among the prisoners and was said to have very high mental strength and endurance. So, the suit that drives its wearer insane would work great on this man.

At least, he would put up a show.

Two other assassins grabbed the man from behind and held him in place, showing his face to Nyssa and the armor.

Nyssa tilted her head sideways, looking at the prisoner with a side glare that would intimidate anyone she looked at.

"Kneel," she commanded with such a commanding voice that made no sign of discussion possible. Nyssa has always been authoritative as one of Ra's daughters, but she chose a more direct approach, and without hesitation, which was unlike her usual careful manner, which made many fear her presence.

The two other assassins realized what the man was feeling and began pushing him down onto his knees.

The man frowned, his pride overtaking his best judgment. "I will never bow to the likes of you." He was about to spit on Nyssa's face but was interrupted when she hit him hard enough to shatter a normal person's jaw. His jaws broke and teeth flew out of his mouth, but his eyes were wide open as if he never felt a single thing. His gaze was filled with murderous intention while Nyssa's eyes were cold and lacked any emotion or interest. Well, they were used to pain like this, it was a daily thing for the prisoners. So, no one paid any attention to that.

The assassins from behind brought their daggers under his neck, giving him a small slit with their own daggers, and pushed him down like a mere puppet.

"Throwing away your second chance? What a fool," Nyssa mumbled as she began to put the armor on his body. "You were given a chance to make your sentence less and prove yourself to the Leader, yet you decided to ignore it. So, you will die today, but you are going to put up a show and slaughter all your resistance friends with your own two hands. That's your punishment for going up against the League."

After putting the armor on that guy, everyone cleared out of the arena other than the remaining twenty prisoners. Ra's even gave them weapons and armor to fight against the man wearing the Suit of Sorrows. The other assassins were also ready and were waiting in the shadows to stop him, in case things got out of hand.

The man in the suit stood up and tried to take it off his body, but something seemed to be holding him back.

"Take this thing off my body," he yelled in a raging voice.

The warriors in the arena looked in awe when they saw him like this. For a man who never showed any fear, and even went as far as to go up against Ra's al Ghul himself, he is afraid of a suit. This alone could give him a reputation.

"Hahahaha!" After raging for a few minutes, he stood up while laughing like a maniac. His moments were now rushed and every little jerk was an after-image because of his extremely fast movement. He then charged forward...

..

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Next, Ch: 130: Ra's vs Suit of Sorrows

Ch: 131: Interlude- The Plan

Ch: 132: Lady Shiva

Ch: 133: Unpredicted events

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