The city slept in fractured neon, but Elias Grane carved through it like a living shadow.

In the alley near Meridian Square, rain pounded the pavement. Elias stood still as the storm slicked his coat, shadows slithering at his feet, ready to strike. Across from him, Valor Creed hovered slightly above the ground, golden aura burning bright enough to turn night into day.

Typical.

“You should’ve stayed on your pedestal, Valor,” Elias murmured, voice silk-wrapped steel. “Now I have to tear it down.”

Valor’s jaw tightened. His eyes flicked once toward Sevra, who stood between them, crackling with unstable lightning. Her white hair was plastered to her cheeks, lavender eyes sharp, watching both men like a loaded gun with no safety.

Elias noticed. He always noticed her.

But tonight wasn’t about Sevra.

It was about ruining Valor.

Without warning, Elias snapped his fingers. Shadows exploded outward, turning the alley into pitch-black fog. The neon signs vanished. The rain stopped making sound. Even the air seemed to freeze.

Valor responded immediately, unleashing a radiant blast that carved a tunnel of light through the dark. But Elias was already gone, weaving through the absence, shadows flicking like knives around his wrists.

He appeared behind Valor, a blade of pure shadow slicing toward the hero’s back. Valor spun, light shield flaring up, but the impact still drove him against the wall, cracking brick.

Sevra’s lightning flicked wild arcs, grounding itself in the puddles at their feet.

Elias grinned, breathing in the crackle of ozone. Her power tasted different from anyone else’s. Untamed. Glorious.

“You’re stronger than him, Sevra,” he whispered, even though the words weren’t meant to persuade—they were meant to stir the pot. “But you waste it playing sidekick.”

Valor lunged, fists glowing, slamming into Elias’s chest. The shadows took the blow, dispersing like smoke.

Elias reformed two feet away, smiling calmly. “Still hiding behind the light? How boring.”

He flicked his wrist, and dozens of shadow tendrils erupted from the ground, snaring Valor’s arms, binding his legs. The hero strained, golden aura flaring hotter.

But Elias’s shadows pulled tighter.

Sevra’s lightning surged, overloading the air with static, dancing dangerously between both men.

Elias’s eyes gleamed, predator sharp.

She’s stronger than both of us.

And for now, that made her interesting.

But Valor? He was just another idol to break.