"Black Sky!"
At Madame Gao's command, the void-like figure streaked through the cavern, aiming straight for Daredevil's throat. Matt Murdock didn't need to see her face to know her intent. The displacement of air, the hum of the sai cutting through the smoke—it was a song of death he knew intimately.
But he still remembered the heartbeat. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. It was the same rhythm he had fallen asleep to a thousand times. The same rhythm that had stopped in his arms on a rooftop in Hell's Kitchen.
Matt raised his billy clubs instinctively.
CLANG.
Sparks flew as steel met reinforced polymer. The impact rattled Matt's bones. She was stronger than before. Much stronger. They broke apart, circling each other.
To Matt's radar sense, she was a ghost. No heat. No breath. Just a cold, lethal void shaped like a woman he loved. The Black Sky lunged again, her twin sai spinning. A horizontal slash aimed at his neck. Matt tilted his head a fraction of an inch. The blade whistled past his ear.
He countered, blocking with his left baton and thrusting with his right. It was a perfect strike, aimed at the solar plexus—enough to wind her, not kill her.
Oof.
The Black Sky stumbled back, clutching her stomach. But her face remained blank. No pain. No anger. Just the empty stare of a doll.
"Make it quick," Gao called out from the sidelines, her voice bored. "Kill him."
"Yes."
The single word shattered Matt's world. It was her voice. Cold, devoid of the passion and fire that defined Elektra Natchios, but undeniably hers.
Matt froze. His grip on his weapons faltered.
"Elektra?" Matt whispered, his voice cracking.
A warrior cannot afford hesitation.
"An opening," the Black Sky noted dispassionately.
She lunged. Matt tried to bring his guard up, but he was a split-second too slow. He blocked one sai, but the other slipped past his defense.
SLASH.
Steel bit into flesh. A jagged line of fire erupted across Matt's chest, slicing through his suit and skin. Blood splattered onto the cold stone floor. Matt staggered back, gasping. The pain was sharp, grounding him. But the emotional wound was deeper.
"Elektra!" Matt shouted, ignoring the blood soaking his chest. "Why? Why are you with them? You died! I buried you!"
The Black Sky paused, tilting her head like a curious bird.
"Elektra?" she repeated the name, tasting it. It meant nothing to her. Just a collection of sounds.
She attacked again. This time, Matt didn't counterattack. He couldn't. He parried, dodged, and blocked, his movements desperate and defensive. His radar sense painted a perfect 3D image of her attacks—every feint, every thrust—but his heart refused to strike back.
He was fighting a ghost.
While the Devil danced with his nightmare, Madame Gao turned her attention to the fallen Defenders. Danny, Luke, and Jessica lay on the ground, groaning. The Gu worms were active, burrowing deeper into their organs with every second. They looked up at the old woman with defiance, ready to die.
"No need for such grim expressions," Gao smiled benevolently. "I have no intention of killing you yet."
"Go to hell," Jessica wheezed, spit bubbling at the corner of her mouth.
"Your stubbornness is tedious," Gao sighed. "Let me show you my sincerity."
She walked over to Jessica and crouched down. She placed a withered hand on Jessica's chest.
"Prepare yourself, child."
Gao's hand moved slowly up Jessica's throat to her jaw.
"HURK!"
Jessica's eyes bulged. She convulsed, gagging violently. A wave of nausea hit her so hard her vision blurred. She retched, coughing up bile and blood onto the stone floor.
And in the center of the mess... a small, black, writhing insect.
The pain in Jessica's chest vanished instantly. She gasped, sucking in huge gulps of air. She looked at the bug twitching in the slime.
"Gross," Jessica gagged, wiping her mouth.
SPLAT.
She stomped her boot down, crushing the insect into a paste.
"That is my offer," Gao said, standing up and turning to Danny. She pointed her cane at the massive Bronze Door looming over them.
"That door can only be opened by the Chi of the Iron Fist. It is a lock made by your people, Danny Rand. Open the door," Gao commanded. "And I will remove the worms from your friends. Refuse... and I will let them eat Luke Cage from the inside out."
Danny looked at the door. At the relief of the dragon Shou-Lao. Then he looked at Luke, who was turning grey with pain.
"It's a deal," Danny whispered.
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