The air was heavy with tension, thick enough to choke on. Dust swirled in lazy spirals under the dim light of the alley, each mote a witness to the carnage yet to unfold. Zeke stood with his lackeys sprawled on the ground behind him, groaning in pain. Their faces were a mess of bruises and broken teeth—remnants of Daniel's earlier fury.
But Daniel… Daniel was something else entirely now.
His eyes, once sharp with simple determination, had transformed into something unrecognizable—pure malice wrapped in elation. There was a dangerous sparkle in them, the kind that made lesser men step back without knowing why. Tears still clung to the corners of his eyes, but his mouth… his mouth was split in a grin so wide it seemed almost inhuman.
Zeke clenched his fists. "You think just because you got a couple of lucky shots in—"
Daniel laughed. Not a chuckle. Not a smirk. It was a deep, raw, unfiltered sound, the laugh of someone who had just found the meaning of their existence.
"Lucky?" Daniel tilted his head, his neck cracking audibly. "No… no, Zeke. This—" He motioned to himself, his whole being vibrating with a manic energy. "—this is who I was meant to be."
The System chimed in his ears, invisible to all but him.
[True Ego Found]
User has Ascended to: Ascendant
Unique Skill Gained: Death-Crushing Skull
Description: A devastating combination: a kick to the chin sending the opponent airborne, followed by a lightning-fast strike to the head, and concluded with a bone-shattering knee to the neck. Fatal to most
The sound of the system's voice sent a shiver down Daniel's spine. He licked his lips, savoring the taste of what was about to happen.
Zeke charged first, rage making his movements sloppy. His fists lashed out in quick bursts, aiming for Daniel's jaw, his ribs, his gut—but Daniel's body moved differently now. He didn't just dodge; he flowed, each step and twist like water weaving between blades.
He ducked under a hook, pivoted, and landed a sharp elbow into Zeke's side. The crack of bone was satisfying—oh so satisfying—and Daniel felt his grin widen.
Zeke staggered, wheezing, but tried to swing again.
This time, Daniel didn't dodge. He caught the punch mid-air, fingers curling around Zeke's knuckles like an iron vice.
"You talk too much, Zeke." His voice was low, intimate, almost playful. "Time to shut that mouth."
With a sudden surge, Daniel launched into his new skill.
The first kick—lightning-fast—snapped Zeke's chin upward with a sickening crack, sending him into the air. Before gravity could claim him, Daniel spun, his leg whipping up again, smashing into Zeke's head like a sledgehammer. Blood sprayed in a beautiful crimson arc. And then, as the boy's limp body began to fall, Daniel's knee came up, colliding with the side of Zeke's neck. The sound was something between a crunch and a pop.
Zeke hit the ground in a heap, twitching.
The alley went silent.
The remaining conscious lackeys froze in place, their eyes wide with pure, unfiltered terror. Daniel turned toward them slowly, deliberately. That smile was still there, but it had changed—it was quieter now, colder.
"You boys said something about my sister, didn't you?" he asked, voice almost conversational. "Go ahead… repeat it."
No one spoke. One boy's breath came out in quick, panicked bursts. Another had started quietly sobbing.
Daniel stepped forward, and they flinched as if he'd drawn a weapon.
"Thought so." His tone was almost mocking. "Now run. And tell everyone what you saw here today. Tell them Daniel Valtier is done playing nice."
They didn't need to be told twice. The group scattered like rats, tripping over each other in their rush to escape the alley.
Daniel crouched down beside Zeke's motionless form. "Still alive," he murmured to himself. "That's good. I want you to remember this beating. I want you to wake up every night thinking about my foot shattering your face."
He patted Zeke's cheek mockingly before standing.
The System chimed again.
[Ascendency Progress: 100%]
[You have fully awakened as an Ascendant. All base stats increased by 50%.]
Power thrummed in his veins now, raw and intoxicating. Every muscle felt alive, sharper, more responsive. His heart pounded with an addictive rhythm, each beat whispering the same truth: You're stronger now. Stronger than them all.
Daniel stepped out of the alley, the evening sky washing the street in fading orange light. Students passing by stopped and stared, whispering his name like it had suddenly become dangerous to speak it aloud.
Word would spread. It always did. And this time, Daniel wanted it to.
Later that night, Daniel sat alone in his room, the dim glow of the moon spilling across the floor. His hands still trembled—not from fear, but from the high of the fight. He replayed every moment in his mind: Zeke's face twisting in pain, the satisfying give of bone under his strikes, the way fear bloomed in the eyes of the onlookers.
It wasn't just revenge anymore. No… this was something far deeper.
The weak sought justice.
The strong sought dominance.
But Daniel? Daniel sought satisfaction—pure, uncut, unrelenting satisfaction from bending others to his will.
He leaned back against his chair, eyes half-lidded, the grin from earlier tugging at his lips once more.
The System's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Warning: The path of the Ascendant is irreversible.]
[Once you step fully into the role you have chosen, there is no going back.]
Daniel chuckled. "Why the hell would I want to go back?"
Silence. The system didn't answer—maybe it couldn't.
The next morning, the school was buzzing like a hive. Whispers followed Daniel everywhere. He caught fragments of them—
"…took down Zeke…"
"…said he smiled while doing it…"
"…looked like a demon…"
Daniel didn't bother denying any of it. If anything, he made sure to meet every curious gaze with that same unshakable grin.
In the corner of the courtyard, a group of seniors watched him carefully. They were older, stronger, more experienced… but none of them moved to challenge him. The unspoken rule in their eyes was clear: Don't poke the wolf if you don't want to get bitten.
He liked that. He liked it a lot.
But he wasn't done—not even close. This was just the first taste, the appetizer before the real feast. There were others he needed to crush, names on a mental list he'd been carrying for a long time. And when he got to the top…
Well. By then, there wouldn't be anyone left brave enough to speak his name without trembling.
That night, as he lay in bed, Daniel whispered to himself in the darkness.
"I will be the villain of this world… and no one—no god, no man—will deny me."
The grin came back, unbidden, and stayed until he drifted off to sleep.