The man's eyes locked onto Daniel, his expression tightening as if something about him irritated him on sight.
"You… I don't like you," he said, his tone carrying clear hostility.
Daniel tilted his head slightly, unfazed.
"I also don't like you," he replied, his voice calm. "What, are you some kind of beautiful girl that I'm supposed to care about your opinion?"
The words landed without hesitation.
For a brief second, the room went still.
Then Daniel's attention shifted.
His left hand moved on its own.
The Mark of Nexus reacted again, pulling slightly toward the man, the sensation sharper than before, almost like recognition.
Daniel glanced at it, then back at him.
"You know, this mark's been reacting to you for a while now," he said, his tone changing slightly, more focused. "I don't understand why."
He took a step forward, closing some of the distance.
"But you can start by telling me something simple," he continued. "Why are you trying to kill me?"
The man didn't answer immediately.
Instead, a slow smile spread across his face.
"Tell me something first," he said. "Do you know someone named Luke Haken?"
Daniel's expression shifted.
Not outwardly dramatic, but enough.
"Yeah," he said. "I know him. He's my uncle."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"But how do you even know him?"
The reaction was instant.
The man's expression twisted, the earlier calm breaking into something far more intense.
"That bastard… is your uncle?" the man shouted, pointing straight at Daniel, his voice filled with raw anger that clearly ran deeper than a simple grudge.
Daniel let out a small breath, then gave a faint nod as if something had finally clicked into place.
"Ohhh… now it makes sense," he said, his tone shifting into mild amusement. "This mark reacting to you, the attack earlier… yeah, this feels exactly like something my uncle would leave behind."
He tilted his head, studying him more closely.
"So what is it?" Daniel continued. "Did he beat you so badly that you're still pissed about it?"
The man's expression twisted further, the mention alone enough to push him over the edge.
"That bastard took everything from me," he snapped. "He took my power, destroyed my plans—I was this close to having the world in my hands, and in a single month he ruined everything."
His voice carried frustration and hatred, but also something else—humiliation.
Daniel listened without interrupting, the pieces falling into place.
"Yeah…" he said after a moment, nodding slightly. "That sounds like him."
There was no surprise in his voice.
If anything, there was a hint of familiarity.
"My uncle's the type who enjoys messing with people like you," Daniel added casually. "Honestly, he's been doing it his whole life—he's practically the reason my parents have high blood pressure."
"So who are you?" he asked.
The man straightened slightly, his expression darkening as if reclaiming some sense of identity.
"I am the Shadow King," he said, his voice lowering with weight. "The first sin… the first dark entity born from nightmares—"
Daniel raised a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"Stop," Daniel said flatly, cutting him off mid-sentence. "I don't have time to listen to your introduction."
His hand moved.
The scythe formed instantly, black metal shaping itself into existence with a faint, heavy hum that seemed to pull the air inward. The temperature in the room dropped, the weapon carrying a presence that didn't belong in this world.
"Just die," Daniel said, his tone no longer casual.
The Shadow King didn't flinch.
Instead, he laughed.
A low, distorted sound that didn't quite match the human body he was wearing.
"Hehehe…"
The shadow beneath his feet shifted.
At first it looked like a trick of the light, then it began to move—stretching outward, thickening, rising slightly from the floor like something alive. The air around it felt wrong, heavy, as if the space itself resisted its presence.
"I learned one thing from your uncle," he said, his voice steadier now, almost amused. "You don't fight when you don't have your power."
The shadows surged.
"And you… are not him."
Before Daniel could close the distance, the floor beneath the Shadow King split into darkness. His body sank into it, the shadow swallowing him whole in a single fluid motion.
By the time Daniel stepped forward,
He was gone.
The room fell silent, broken only by the faint sound of glass settling on the floor.
Daniel stood there for a moment, the scythe still in his hand, his gaze fixed on the spot where the shadow had vanished.
"…Running away?" he muttered.
Then a faint smirk appeared.
"Yeah… that also sounds like someone who got beaten by my uncle."
Daniel lowered the scythe slightly, his gaze still fixed on the spot where the shadow had swallowed him.
"And… Shadow King?" he muttered, thinking it through. "That's from Marvel, isn't it?"
The thought alone made him pause.
"So I was in DC… and my uncle's been messing around in Marvel?" he said under his breath, a faint disbelief mixing with something closer to irritation.
That sounded exactly like something Luke would do.
Daniel glanced down at his hand.
The Mark of Nexus pulsed faintly.
Daniel flexed his fingers slightly.
"So you can run,"
"But you can't escape."
*****
A/N: If you'd like to read ahead of the Webnovel release schedule, you can join my Patreon!
The Patreon version is 30 chapters ahead.
👉 patreon.com/Universal_Peace