Beneath the moonlight, two figures darted across the rooftop like shadows—one cloaked in black, the other trailing hints of green light. They danced between chimneys and antennae, their blades clashing with fleeting sparks, a ghostly blur of steel and motion.
Alexandra hadn't expected Daniel to be just as fast—if not faster—in short-range combat. Her blade flickered repeatedly toward his neck, but each time, he dodged with uncanny precision.
More troubling was the glow on his fingers—ten sharp nails gleaming with a strange green energy. They seemed almost alive, and every instinct in Alexandra's body screamed at her to avoid them at all costs.
Seasoned warriors like them trusted these feelings. Survival demanded it. And right now, her instincts were telling her something terrifying: if Daniel touched her with those claws, he could kill her outright.
Daniel had no time to worry about Elektra, who stood off to the side. Alexandra's movements were unpredictable, blinking between directions with impossible speed—left, right, behind, above. At moments, it felt like she was teleporting.
But Daniel knew better. If her technique involved true spatial manipulation, he'd sense elemental shifts immediately. That wasn't happening.
Thankfully, while Alexandra was fast, Daniel wasn't slow either. He was ready—if Alexandra crossed a certain line, Mjolnir would unleash its full force instantly, erasing her before she could blink.
But he didn't want to kill her… not yet. He was hoping to draw something out of her: a glimpse of the Divine Realm, or at least a step beyond the Legendary level.
Daniel already possessed methods to cultivate within the legendary realm. But breaking through to godhood? That remained a mystery.
For beings like them, you couldn't start thinking about the divine threshold once you reached it—it would be too late by then. It was like arriving at a solid wall of iron with no cracks, no handle, no key. The preparation had to begin much earlier.
None of the five leaders of the Hand, including Alexandra, had broken into the divine realm. But Daniel knew that their teachings from Kunlun were far more complete than anything he had. Every detail, every fundamental principle—those were ingrained in them.
And behind them loomed the Black Sky Demon God, a shadowy being whose guidance could offer powerful cultivation secrets—but also hide countless traps and pitfalls.
If Daniel couldn't get the full method, then he would force it out through pressure, during battle. He needed to see her edge. Her tipping point.
They moved across the rooftop in a constant blur, their footsteps cracking tiles and railings. From time to time, they passed dangerously close to Elektra, whose footing grew more precarious with every pass. In the end, she barely had any ground left to stand on.
Despite being a valuable asset to the Hand, it became clear that Elektra's strength couldn't compare to Daniel's. Maybe not even to Alexandra's. It was exactly as Daniel had said: they never truly wanted her as a person. They wanted her body—a tool, a weapon, not an equal.
Without hesitation, Elektra turned and leapt off the roof, bounding across nearby ledges and fire escapes. Within seconds, she vanished into the city night.
Neither Daniel nor Alexandra flinched. Her disappearance didn't concern them—if anything, it was a relief. With her gone, there were no distractions. No need to hold back.
Then, suddenly, darkness.
A field of black enveloped the entire rooftop. Even the moon disappeared. It was as though the world itself had slipped into shadow.
Within that void, Alexandra struck. She had locked onto Daniel's position and charged. Her speed exploded—ten times faster than before. Her strength surged. Her agility peaked.
This was her domain.
The dark field amplified every part of her body. Her knife—which had once only gleamed faintly—was now pitch black, fused perfectly with the darkness around her. Yet it was real, and it was deadly.
But Alexandra wasn't the only one with a domain. Daniel had one too. Her mistake was assuming his would come slower than hers.
She struck—blade aimed directly at his chest—believing she had the upper hand.
She was wrong.
In the same instant her blade hit, a blinding burst of thunder erupted. Lightning slammed into the weapon, throwing her backward violently. The force shattered her concentration. Crackling energy surged through her body, frying her organs, shaking her core, and nearly extinguishing the flame of her life.
The darkness split apart like torn fabric, and now lightning poured in from all sides. There was no corner of the rooftop untouched. Alexandra, caught at the center, became a lightning rod—her body lit with veins of electricity, fresh bolts hammering into her each second.
Daniel stepped forward, rising through the crackling field like a god of storms. He clenched the Mjolnir in his right hand and approached Alexandra, now on her knees.
Without a word, he raised the hammer—aimed it directly at her forehead—and swung.
He meant to crush her skull. To end it completely. If she survived the first blow, he'd swing again. And again. He wasn't going to let her crawl away from this.
But just before the hammer connected, a black blade shimmered into view and intercepted the strike.
Daniel froze.
That blade hadn't appeared in his domain. He sensed everything inside it—every fluctuation, every breath. This weapon had bypassed all of that.
If the blade had aimed for him instead of blocking the strike, it might've killed both him and Alexandra. But it hadn't. It chose to protect her. That… was interesting.
Daniel's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he lifted the hammer again and brought it down. Thunder roared against the blade, which trembled but held fast over Alexandra's head.
He noticed it then—energy flowing from Alexandra into the blade. It stabilized, recharged, resisted.
He hit again. And again. With every blow, he consumed her strength and forced her to reveal how she maintained this connection.
Alexandra was strong, yes. But no match for a weapon of this caliber.
And then Daniel saw it—something subtle but critical. The power flowing through Alexandra wasn't the same as what he knew from Kunlun. It felt… wrong. Shadowed. Twisted.
Kunlun was supposed to stand for righteousness—light, honor, balance. But Alexandra's power leaned toward darkness, destruction, and chaos.
He didn't know what had changed. But one thing was clear: this wasn't the Kunlun that sought to purge demons. This was something else entirely.
And he wanted no part of it.
Daniel wasn't a hero. He didn't claim righteousness. But he had principles. He didn't want to destroy the world. He just wanted to walk through it with his head held high—selfish, maybe, but not evil.
And Alexandra? She was of no use to him. She held no key to the secrets of godhood. So he struck her down—hard—without hesitation.
Still, that black blade returned again, hovering over her, blocking him once more. This time, he paused.
There was something about the way she controlled it—something refined, advanced. It was like she was operating an extra limb. In contrast, Daniel's mastery over Mjolnir felt… clumsy. Like a child figuring out how to hold a pen.
It was the difference between wielding a weapon and being one with it.
Watching her, Daniel began to see patterns in the energy flow—runes, complex and fluid. It resembled the control symbols he'd studied before, but Alexandra's version went deeper, smoother, more instinctive.
That changed everything.
He didn't fully understand why Mjolnir had chosen him—maybe it was fate, or Odin's doing. But if he could learn to connect with it on that level—to truly control it—it could be his path to ascension.
Right here, in the midst of battle, with her secrets exposed and the lines of energy dancing through the air, Daniel saw the opening.
And this time, he didn't hesitate to seize it.