The five men noticed the echo of footsteps in the dark alley, their boisterous laughter cut off as they looked toward the figure coming toward them. As the shadows receded, they saw Alexander approaching them, his countenance peaceful and serene.
The woman, shaking on the ground, stared up in shock, fear shining through her wide eyes as the men let go of her. She retreated, pushing against the chilly wall of the alley.
One of the men moved forward, a sickly grin spreading across his face as he braced his shoulders. "What are you doing, moron? Can't you see we're having fun?" His tone was dripping with sarcasm, each sentence wrapped in threat. The other men laughed, humor dancing across their faces as they surrounded Alexander. But he was not intimidated, his eyes held steady and unflinching.
"Just passing through," Alexander said, his voice even, almost bored—as if the mayhem around him was nothing more than an annoyance.
Tension sat in the air, palpable like static before lightning. In an instant, the first thug darted at Alexander, his fist flying toward Alexander's jaw. Alexander sidestepped with ease, striking back at the man with a swift jab that sent him crumpling to the floor, his unsettling smile replaced by shock.
The other four hesitated for a moment before rushing together, but Alexander was already moving. He dodged a wild swing and struck back with a knee to the attacker's stomach, leaving him gasping when he fell to the ground.
As the fight unfolded, an unsettling sensation washed over Alexander, like a haze clouding his mind. The thugs felt unreal—more like shadows or illusions than tangible threats. Their movements were exaggerated, their expressions overly theatrical, everything disjointed, as if he were caught in a bizarre dream.
Another man approached him, wielding a steel pipe. Alexander dodged easily and spun, employing the momentum of the man against him, and he crashed into the wall with a dull boom. The noise seemed to echo unnaturally, only serving to intensify the feeling of unreality that surrounded him.
The other two men looked at each other, confidence slipping from their faces as their bravado crumbled. In an instant, Alexander bridged the space, laying into them in a series of deliberate blows. Each landed with unnerving accuracy, and yet the fight was somehow hollow—a cruel play for no apparent purpose.
One of the men stepped back, wide-eyed with terror, but before he could go, Alexander grabbed him by the collar and picked him up from the ground. "You should have thought twice," he said, his voice firm, defying the very existence of this strange illusion.
With one last set of determined strides, he eliminated the final thug, who crashed to the ground, panting for breath and defeated. The alley grew abnormally silent, distant noises of the city echoing away into oblivion.
Taking a step back, Alexander looked out over the scene, his brow furrowing in consideration. Something still seemed wrong, like a movie glitching in and out of focus. The air tightened, a flutter of unease settling in his belly, mixed with the lingering residue of surreal detachment.
His eyes moved to the woman, who stood shaking against the wall, wide eyes showing a mixture of shock and fright. At that point, he realized that this night was more than a mere altercation. The shadows seemed thicker now, as if something darker existed just outside the reach of his vision.
With composure that stood in stark contrast to the confusion of the moment, he gazed at her. "Who are you?" he asked, his tone firm and somber, shattering the silence that surrounded them.
The atmosphere was tense until the lady, who a moment before was shaking, stood up straight. Her bright eyes flashed in astonishment, a retort to the fear that had seized her just now. It seemed as if an unwinding veil had revealed something deep inside.
As she approached Alexander, a strange thing happened before his eyes. The five men's bodies that he had just killed seemed to shimmer and vanish, melting into the darkness as though they had never lived to begin with. The alley, which was previously full of debris of turmoil, now was hauntingly vacant.
Alexander's brow wrinkled in astonishment, but he recovered himself almost immediately, the shock blowing through him like a gust of wind. This surprising twist only served to increase the lady's interest.
"You're not like the others, are you?" she remarked, her voice low and tinged with amusement. Her tone was inquisitive, as though she was examining a most intriguing specimen and not speaking to an individual.
Alexander raised an eyebrow, fascinated despite himself. "I'm just a guy who happened to pass by," he responded, his own calm face untroubled, though a faint edge of wariness still colored his voice.
She moved closer again, and with every step, the remnants of violence retreated, and a quiet, almost peaceful ambiance enveloped her. "No," she whispered, a smile spreading across her lips. "You're something else. Most would have run or attempted to escape, but you didn't. You fought them like they were nothing. You didn't flinch once."
Alexander looked at her for an instant, his interest piqued. "And you? What brings you here?" he asked.
Her smile grew, a sparkle of mischief in her blue eyes. "I was expecting someone. I didn't think my evening would take the direction it did, but you… you've made it quite interesting."
The night air was electric between them, the initial tumult receding into the distance as an unexpected bond between them grew. Alexander felt there was more to this meeting than coincidence.
"Well, I'm glad I could entertain you," he answered, his tone firm but now with a touch of curiosity. "But I think I'd like a quieter night if you don't mind."
"Where's the fun in that?" she joked, her taunting voice ringing off the walls of the alley. "You're the type of person who likes a little bit of chaos, aren't you?"
Alexander couldn't help but smile weakly at her determination, the terror she once showed now a distant past. "Chaos is overrated," he shrugged back, though he could feel a spark of interest being ignited inside him. "But if it catches up with me, I guess I'll just have to handle it."
Her engaging smile broadened as she looked at Alexander. "Do you want to go?" she asked abruptly, her voice tinged with secrecy.
Alexander's collected face changed a fraction, perplexity dancing in his dark eyes. "Go? Where?"
At the sight of her confusion, her smile grew broader. Without comment, she clicked her fingers.
In the blink of an eye, the world around them disintegrated. The dark alley, the sounds of the street, the neon city—everything disappeared. Alexander blinked, and when his eyes popped open again, he stood beneath a sky that was impossibly large and filled with stars. The earth beneath his feet glimmered like an abyss of black, and the universe went on forever around him.
The abrupt change left him speechless, his head spinning to make sense of the radical shift. He gazed upward at the stars, their faraway light dancing as if observing him from the distance.
The woman, now by his side, watched him react in amusement. "Welcome to a world where the powerful own everything," she stated, her words carried through the limitless expanse. "In this place, it's your strength that decides how worthy you are. Power is the only currency that buys what you want. You can get anything you want, as long as you're powerful enough to get it."
Alexander's eyes left the stars and fell on the woman. The enormity of the vista was staggering, yet his face never changed: only a faint hint of surprise breaking through his usual serenity.
She had hoped for wonder, maybe even excitement at the sheer scale of it all, but instead, he swung round to face her and said, "And what's in it for you?"
For a moment, her impudent attitude wavered, a flash of surprise crossing her face. She had not anticipated such a calculated reaction. Her eyes narrowed slightly before she regained control of herself, her smile restored but with more bite.
"Nothing," she said in a chilly tone, but her eyes still held a glint of amusement. "Because at this moment, you are too weak to give me anything."
Alexander's face didn't budge, although his response was all he needed to hear. This was a game of power—a game in which individuals like her got to pull the strings and only the powerful could be hopeful to play. He realized now that he was being tested or possibly toyed with by somebody far out of his league at that point.
Nevertheless, his composure was not ruffled. "So, all this is about power, is it?" he said in a neutral tone, even as his mind was racing with the consequences.
The woman smiled sweetly, moving closer to him. "Isn't everything?" she asked, her eyes shining with curiosity. She had hoped to shake him up, but his calmness was all the more fascinating for it. "Power determines your destiny here. And if you wish to live, you'll need to get stronger. Much stronger."
She looked back at the stars, smiling. "But don't worry. You'll have your chance to prove yourself."
Alexander stood there in silence, the gravity of her words weighing upon him. The expanse of the universe stretched before him with no end, yet his mind was on the road ahead. He was familiar with games of power, yet this was different. And as ever, he would adjust.
The woman addressed Alexander, her countenance changing as she got ready to tell him more. "You see, your body here was born in the physical world with no Special Energy," she said, her voice infused with an air of curiosity and gravity. "To enter this world, you will have to be reborn. I will set you back, but first, you will have to lose this weak body."
Before Alexander could even react, she flung her hand with a ladylike gesture, and the area surrounding them was filled with a wave of energy that seemed to drag his body apart. Instantly, his form was breaking down, the very fabric of his existence crumbling into nothing. No pain, no fighting—just the chilling knowledge that he was losing everything he had ever known.
As his physical body dissolved, nothing was left but his soul, now released but exposed, hanging in the emptiness of the starry firmament. He had a strange feeling of lucidity in the midst of the turmoil, as though the weight of his past life was washing off him. But before he could understand the magnitude of the unfolding experience, he became aware of something strange.
The woman, briefly amazed at the instant annihilation of his form, was shocked with a shiver of anxiety. She had meant to destroy his very being, but was surprised to see that his blood was not harmed and continued to flow with a life force she did not expect to survive. Her attention was brought back to the glowing grains that were once Alexander, but when she attempted to ensnare his soul, something unanticipated happened.
A peculiar, luminous light blazed to existence in the distance, an extreme flash that illuminated the universe. It streamed toward Alexander, mingling with his blood and soul, drawing them away as if by an unyielding force. The fabric of existence around them shook, ringing with a vibration that had not sounded for eons.
The woman's eyes widened in shock, her heart pounding as she understood what was taking place. This was something out of her control. She tried to reach out instinctively, her fingers tugging on the receding light, but it was too late. The spirit of Alexander disappeared, swept into the darkness, somewhere out there.
The universe around them shook for the third time ever, the vibrations echoing across the starry universe. Stars blinked ominously, the previously quiet sky now churning with vitality and expectation. The universe seemed to be reacting to the great event that had just transpired.
After, the woman was alone in the emptiness, her mind reeling with confusion. She had started the reincarnation of an entity much greater than she had ever known, and the consequences of what she had done plagued her thoughts. The waves of this action would reverberate across the planes, informing fates in ways she could hardly start to understand.
TO BE CONTINUED...