Only I Can Weild A Forgotten Shadow Magic

When I woke up, I was back in my apartment. The dim light filtering through the cracked blinds felt too normal, too mundane for what had just happened. My body ached like I'd been hit by a truck, and my head throbbed with a dull, insistent pain.

Sparky was perched on the arm of the couch, his arms crossed and a scowl etched into his face. The moment I stirred, he snapped, "Do you have any idea how close you came to frying yourself back there?"

I groaned, sitting up. "Good morning to you, too."

"I'm serious, Kai," he said, hopping down to pace the room. "You looked like you were one bad decision away from letting the Void swallow you whole. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking we didn't have a choice," I said, rubbing my temples. "Those wards had to be fixed, and I was the only one who could do it."

"Yeah, and now you're practically dripping with shadow energy," Sparky shot back. "Do you even know what it's doing to you? Because from where I'm standing, it doesn't look good."

I didn't have an answer for that. The truth was, I could feel the shadows more clearly than ever, like they were a part of me now. They responded to my thoughts, my emotions, even my breathing. But they also whispered, soft and insistent, at the edges of my mind.

"It's fine," I said, though the words felt hollow. "The system said the corruption is minor. I can handle it."

Sparky stopped pacing, turning to glare at me. "You keep saying that, but what if you can't? What if the next time we fight, you lose control? Then what?"

"I won't," I said, more firmly this time. "I've got it under control."

He didn't look convinced, but he didn't push it. Instead, he sighed and flopped onto the couch. "You're lucky I don't have better friends. I'd have bailed on you ages ago."

I smirked. "You love me too much to leave."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, but there was no real heat in his voice.

The system's voice cut through the tension, cold and clinical:

[Wards stabilized. Fracture containment increased by 27%. Warning: additional fractures detected. Probability of full collapse remains at 72%. Immediate action required.]

I groaned, leaning back against the wall. "Of course there's more."

Sparky raised an eyebrow. "What now?"

"The system says there are more fractures," I said. "The wards we fixed were just one piece of the puzzle. If we don't handle the rest…"

"Boom," Sparky finished.

"Boom," I agreed.

He rubbed his temples like he was trying to ward off a headache. "Okay, fine. So where's the next one?"

The system answered before I could:

[Next fracture located in Sector 7B. Coordinates uploaded to user interface. Warning: elevated Void activity detected.]

"Sector 7B," Sparky repeated, his face scrunching in confusion. "Isn't that… downtown?"

"Great," I muttered. "A Void hotspot in the middle of the city. That's not going to draw any attention."

"Any chance we could, I don't know, take a nap first?" Sparky asked hopefully.

"Not if we want to stop the Void from eating the world," I said, standing up. My legs felt like jelly, but I forced myself to stay upright. "We move now."

"Of course we do," he grumbled, but he grabbed his jacket and followed me out the door.

---

The city felt wrong as we made our way downtown. It wasn't just the usual chaos—cars honking, people shouting, neon lights flickering in every direction. There was something off, something underneath it all, like a discordant note in a symphony.

The shadows seemed darker here, deeper. I could feel them pressing against my mind, tugging at my thoughts.

"You okay?" Sparky asked, glancing at me.

"Fine," I lied.

We reached the coordinates the system had given us: an old subway station that had been abandoned for years. The entrance was sealed off with rusted metal gates, but the shadows swirled around it like a vortex, practically screaming Void energy.

"Well, this looks welcoming," Sparky said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I didn't bother responding. Instead, I stepped forward, letting the shadows guide me. They coiled around the gates, and with a thought, they wrenched the metal apart like it was nothing.

Sparky whistled. "Handy. Creepy, but handy."

We descended into the station, the air growing colder with every step. The shadows thickened, almost tangible, and the whispers grew louder.

"System," I said quietly, "what are we dealing with down here?"

[Elevated Void activity confirmed. Entity signature detected: Class B. Caution advised.]

"A Class B?" Sparky hissed. "Are you kidding me? We barely handled a Class C last time!"

"We don't have a choice," I said, gripping my dagger.

The platform at the bottom of the stairs was a mess of broken tiles and graffiti, but it was the thing standing in the middle of it that caught my attention.

It was massive, its form constantly shifting between humanoid and something… else. Its eyes glowed with the same cold light as the creature we'd faced at the fracture, and its presence was suffocating.

The shadows around it writhed like they were alive, stretching toward us as if they could sense our presence.

"Another guardian?" Sparky asked, his voice tight.

"No," I said, my grip tightening on the dagger. "This one's not here to help."

The creature let out a guttural growl, its voice reverberating through the station.

"System," I said, "any advice?"

[Eliminate the entity to access the fracture point. Warning: entity strength exceeds user parameters. Strategic retreat is advised.]

"Not happening," I muttered.

The creature lunged, faster than something its size had any right to be. I barely dodged in time, the shadows around me snapping out to block its attack.

Sparky fired off a bolt of electricity, but the creature absorbed it, the light disappearing into its body like a drop of water into an ocean.

"Uh, Kai?" Sparky said, his voice rising in panic. "What do we do if it eats lightning?"

"Keep it busy," I said, focusing on the shadows. They responded instantly, forming tendrils that lashed out at the creature, driving it back.

It roared, swiping at the tendrils with jagged claws, but I kept pushing, the shadows surging forward like a tidal wave.

"You're going to burn yourself out," Sparky warned, blasting the creature with another bolt.

"I can handle it," I said through gritted teeth.

The creature howled, its form twisting and contorting as the shadows overwhelmed it. For a moment, I thought we had it—until it exploded outward, the force of the blast sending us both flying.

I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me. When I looked up, the creature was reforming, its body even larger than before.

"This isn't working," Sparky said, helping me to my feet.

I didn't respond. My mind was racing, the shadows whispering louder than ever.

And then it hit me.

"The fracture," I said. "We need to seal it. That's the only way to stop it."

"How?" Sparky asked.

I didn't have an answer. But as the creature charged again, I knew we didn't have much time to figure it out.