Bright sunlight bathed the Baxter Building, its golden rays glinting off the steel frame of the skyscraper as it cast a dazzling brilliance across the skyline...
Sean stood quietly on the rooftop, the warmth of the sun soothing his nerves, easing the tension from the recent battles as if he were soaking in a hot spring.
<...Last night around 10 PM, mysterious tremors and ground subsidence occurred near 59th Street in Clinton, close to Manhattan. The mayor's office has confirmed that Midland Circle Financial in Midtown West was demolished via controlled demolition due to failure to meet architectural planning standards...>
Listening to the news report, Sean allowed a faint smile to curl his lips. Everything had concluded perfectly.
Elektra had become the sole leader of the Hand, backed fully by Madame Gao. Meanwhile, Wesley had used the Hand's influence to seize control of Hell's Kitchen's underworld... any uncooperative gang leaders now rested at the bottom of the Hudson River.
Madame Gao who had survived by swallowing her pride had handed over her assets to Elektra without hesitation. The elderly woman possessed an extraordinary understanding of survival.
But compared to these material gains and the expansion of his influence, Sean's true prize lay underground... the skeletal remains, or rather the so-called "dragon bones"...
Legend spoke of them as sacred relics capable of granting immortality and resurrection, but in truth, they were merely fossilized remains of an alien species brimming with immense life energy that could rejuvenate and prolong life.
Unlike the Hand's leaders, Sean didn't crave longevity or the delusion of eternal life. To him, relying on the dragon bones to sustain existence was nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst... It was utterly meaningless.
What he sought was self-enhancement, the refinement of his very essence... not a hollow half-lived existence.
He recalled last night in the underground cavern beneath Midland Circle. He had deliberately provoked the reckless Danny Rand, pushing the Iron Fist to channel his Qi and strike the ancient sealed door with a devastating punch. The collision of energies activated Kun-Lun's mechanisms and successfully opened the gateway.
With Danny rendered useless, Sean knocked him unconscious and stepped through the door. In the oppressive darkness, an enormous skeletal structure loomed before him like the fossilized remains of a prehistoric dinosaur. Even in death, the colossal bones exuded a primal aura, remnants of a species that had once walked the Earth eons ago.
Standing before the gargantuan remains, Sean could still sense the raw, untamed energy of an era long past. Perhaps these beings had visited Earth in ancient times, only for time and geological shifts to erase all traces of their existence.
In an age far removed from advanced science, Kun-Lun had labeled them as "divine dragons", and their bones revered as sacred relics.
Sean reached out and brushed the white bone with his fingers...
And in that instant, a torrent of life energy surged into his body like a tidal wave. His entire frame shuddered violently and every cell in his body ignited in agony, it was as if he had once again drunk the golden elixir...
An unimaginable flood of power raged through his human flesh. Sean doubled over in pain as his eyes emitted a faint golden glow. The overwhelming life energy rampaged through him, searing his muscles like fire, pushing his body to its absolute limits.
Like a dam bursting, the energy ravaged his form, breaking him down and rebuilding him in an endless cycle as though forging raw steel into something greater...
His consciousness plunged into darkness as the icy grip of death crept in. Fragments of his past and present lives flickered like fleeting shadows before merging into one.
Then... Sean's eyes snapped open, golden light flashing within them. A surging tide of vitality roared through him, his heart pounded like thunder.
His body had undergone a radical transformation. Strength, reflexes, and muscle density... everything had elevated to a new level.
"This is my true reward..."
Gazing at the bustling streets of Manhattan, Sean felt profound satisfaction.
On his System Interface, the energy bar had surged to 25%. The dragon bones coveted by the Hand had propelled him forward in a single, massive leap.
Opening his palm, a faint golden light coalesced. Sean smiled. The energy hadn't just enhanced his body, it had granted him a new ability.
『Energy Manipulation』
Closing his eyes, he extended his mental perception outward. In the darkness of his mind, countless threads of light intertwined, forming an infinite spectrum.
The towering skyscrapers, the endless streams of traffic, the pedestrians flowing like rivers... all were stripped of their physical forms, replaced by shimmering constellations of energy. He observed the world now at a microscopic level, where energy flickered like stars, ebbing and flowing in an eternal dance.
Taking a deep breath, he twisted his outstretched hand like a vortex, drawing in the ambient energy. A swift beam of light that was nearly invisible in daylight shot forth before dissipating harmlessly.
"I suppose this counts as transitioning from warrior to mage..."
Though his control was still rudimentary, he was undeniably closer to becoming like the unstoppable force known as the Sentry.
In the distant future, he might face S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, or even the dreaded titans of the cosmos.
The pursuit of power could never cease.
When the world faced calamity, when his own safety was at risk, relying on superheroes to save the day was a pitiful delusion.
Superheroes were not omnipotent. They too had moments of powerlessness. Entrusting one's life and hopes to others was contrary to Sean's nature.
For a man who lived with constant vigilance, only true strength could bring peace.
This was a real and dangerous world. Behind every heroic victory in movies or comics, countless nameless souls perished in silence. Even a being as mighty as Superman couldn't always play the savior.
Sean lifted his gaze to the sky and whispered:
"This world needs a sun..."