Hell's Kitchen.
The world has never stopped moving.
Never had. Not for Matt Murdock.
It was all a spaghetti of sounds and colors.
For a blind man, he saw more than he wanted to.
He felt less controlled as he deemed himself to be.
Guilt was one of the major emotions he couldn't shut down even if he wished to.
It was there stuck on him. Like a brand.
And this all boiled down to something he couldn't have anticipated.
How could he?
Claire had been the one who had made him realize that he had been truly blind of the bigger picture—of the hidden hand.
Claire was a kind-hearted ER nurse and she could stitch good, even a goddamn broken heart.
That was why Matt had entrusted the eight women to her hospital to be taken care of.
And after that? Matt, no, the Daredevil felt he had done more than enough for those women. Thought so.
Some things no matter how much control we thought we had, they just… they just happen.
A few calls from the hidden hands were all it took for those poor women to be rerouted to 'different hospitals' for further medical attention.
Wilson Fisk.
The name had lingered in Matt's mind, seared into his guilt.
And from his nightly patrolling he had finally found what had happened to those women.
The fate of the weak. The fate of the defenseless.
What… What had they done to deserve such punishment?
To be deprived of their futures?
It had haunted him… Gave him sleepless nights. Ate him alive.
And he needed… an outlet.
Something… someone to pour on all that angst, that guilt, and all those emotions.
Matt needed someone to blame more than he blamed himself—to share the guilt.
Both Foggy and Karen had been worried, but those were things he couldn't share with them even if he wanted.
He couldn't let them into the Daredevil's world.
He had been doing what he did best to keep them safe.
So that had left only one person.
That young woman with eyes as haunting as a moonless night—a shadow in the realm of existence.
Indescribable… that was the word, even for him who could name virtually anything.
He had been running around Queens beating up the men sent by Fisk to look for the woman they had dubbed as the Ash Devil.
She had specifically warned him not to cross her path or risk extinction.
But who was he? A guy who never listens. The Murdocks have always been hardheaded.
For three straight days, Matt had been going in circles trying to locate her. She was an unnatural force among the masses.
Having a radius to work within was all it took for him to eventually track her.
After finding her, then what?
What would he do?
Matt was risking his own life for a small chance to quiet the chaos.
He didn't even think about confronting her. That would thoroughly make him forfeit his own life.
But then… what did he truly want?
~~~
Queens.
4th February 2010.
9:30 PM.
Matt stood under the dark, cold night, his feet rooted to the snowy ground.
He looked up at the skies, his head tilted slightly, listening.
There was only one constant in the whole apartment building.
A heartbeat that never changed, body temperature that never fluctuated… it was the essence of inhuman control.
It had to be her. Only she could be like that.
But even then… he still hadn't found the courage to meet her.
Matt didn't know who she truly was beyond the mundane.
It was a stupid idea.
'She will understand. She's the only one who can understand,' Matt thought, hot steam leaving his masked face.
He looked at the apartment building once again before releasing a final sigh.
Matt took the very first step.
Steps of doom.
Before he knew it, he was already standing in front of Seol Hwa's door.
His heart was thumping violently against his chest as much as he tried to control it.
Entering through the front door was the only way he could live.
He silently gulped, raising his fist, hesitant to knock.
'Matt! Do it!' His inner voice urged him to just get it over with.
A small line of sweat trickled down his masked face.
It was then that a voice suddenly sounded in his ears. Only for him.
"Come."
Only a word, a command, and it left no room for backpedaling.
Matt involuntarily gulped again and turned the doorknob.
That door felt like a gateway to the depths of hell.
Matt entered into a modest, cozy apartment and carefully closed the door behind him.
He immediately felt the shift in both the ambience and air quality.
It was homely with a purity that he had never come across in his entire life.
There was a school bag at the back of the door. The smell of the books and ink was undeniable.
This meant the young woman was a high school girl living a seemingly normal life.
Matt sensed her, standing a few steps away, dressed in a casual baggy shirt and pajama pants.
She sat on the one-seater sofa with a cup of tea in her hands.
She was looking at him with that unreadable gaze of hers as she slowly sipped her tea.
The pressure was suffocating for Matt.
"You finally had the courage to come. I was sitting here wondering how to deal with you loitering around my home for the past few days," Seol Hwa said emotionlessly as she placed her cup on the coffee table beside her.
"I—" Matt began but Seol Hwa raised a stopping hand before leaning back on her seat.
"I don't want to hear your lies," Seol Hwa coldly stated.
Matt clenched his shaking hands.
"I wanted to warn you about Fisk," he shared just a part of his purpose.
"And?" Seol Hwa arched her eyebrows.
"They're looking for you—"
"You didn't come all the way to my home to speak such nonsense, right?"
Matt immediately felt exposed under her serene gaze.
His hidden guilt immediately surfaced.
"D-Did you know… did you know what would happen to those women after saving them?" Matt asked.
"Save them?" Seol Hwa scoffed lightly. "Now I understand what you're searching for, little hero."
She picked up her cup and gracefully sipped.
"If you had—" Matt said but before he could even finish, Seol Hwa's seat had already become empty.
Instantly, Matt felt his world go a little higher as a delicate hand clamped his neck and yanked him against the wall.
He didn't even get the time to feel the threat of death or fear.
It had all happened so fast. As if time had stopped in that moment.
"I see guilt in your eyes. So you came to dump your feelings on me?" Seol Hwa commented, raising Matt even higher.
Matt didn't have the energy to reflexively try to parry Seol Hwa's hands away in fear of his hand being crippled.
Even as the air slowly left him, he didn't dare to retaliate.
"I showed you a little bit of courtesy, but you just had to come uninvited to my home," Seol Hwa said in a low voice.
"What if mother had been here?" Seol Hwa asked, her hold tightening, constricting Matt's throat. His face was quickly turning blue.
His throat was about to be crushed, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
"I-I am sorry!" Matt finally managed to whisper amidst the oxygen deprivation and the threat of his vertebrae being pulled out of his body.
Seol Hwa slightly tilted her head.
"Sorry? I guess you're truly sorry. Killing you in this house is no good," Seol Hwa said as her grip slowly loosened before releasing Matt.
Thud!
Matt hit the ground, his throat dry and his eyes watery.
He desperately gasped for air for a few minutes before color returned to his face.
"T-Thank you for sparing me," Matt breathed out strenuously, looking up only to find Seol Hwa back on her seat sipping tea.
"I did my part on a whim. Those women have only themselves to blame. It's inevitable that the jungle swallowed them and spat their bones out," Seol Hwa said flatly.
From the moment she began speaking, Matt knew that there were some beings who couldn't be shaken or be reasoned with.
Sadly, that didn't stop Matt from asking.
"Why didn't you do more? I know you're more heroic than you let yourself be," Matt said convincingly.
"Do more? C'mon, Matt Murdock. I thought you were a clever mortal," Seol Hwa replied, gently shaking her head before crossing her legs.
"The karma between us has already been reaped. Nothing you can do against the outcome."
"I could have done more," Matt said in a weak voice, a crestfallen expression on his face.
"Carry your guilt elsewhere. I don't have the answers to your questions. I tread not the path of heroic righteousness but that of a heavenly demon," Seol Hwa stated.
"Heavenly demon?" Matt repeated the words as he stood up, subtly touching his neck.
"That's my title," Seol Hwa said casually.
Matt could sense she wasn't lying. She never had the need. Not to a lesser being than her.
Who gave her such a title? Where did it come from? Beyond her otherworldly power, was there more to her story?
There were many questions to ask but he couldn't risk his neck again and this time around, it could be permanent.
"How will you deal with Fisk?" Matt inquired.
Seol Hwa smiled slightly but didn't answer his question.
"Please leave before I collect your ashes," she said coolly.
Matt visibly tensed, the sharp edge of the Grim Reaper's knife so close to his heart.
Without further ado, Matt awkwardly bowed at the seated Seol Hwa. "I'm sorry for the intrusion."
Just as Matt was about to leave, Seol Hwa said something that made him stop.
"Tell Fisk his days are on countdown. What he does outside Queens is none of my concern. It's a pity he touched a dragon's reverse scale."
Matt clenched harder on the doorknob to calm his tumultuous emotions.
Even as he closed the door behind him, his guilt still unresolved, something loomed over his thoughts.
A dragon would soon breathe fire and ash on New York!
He stood aimlessly in front of the closed door, Seol Hwa's words still being processed inside his mind.
He briefly looked behind before walking away with heavy steps amidst dim lights.
~~<>~~
Yu_ner's Corner:
Heyyy there, life can really be unpredictable. I have just recovered from a hand injury, thumb btw. Got a TT shot that made me fuzzy and unwell for like three days. The medications sucked but I'm happy I finished my dose. Sorry I didn't pop in to inform you. Now I'm just conscious of anything sharp. See you soon with chapter 46. And I hope all of you are doing good with life despite its downers. Fighting.
Please enjoy!
For advanced chapters: Patreon.com/Yu_ner