Chapter 1: Waking in the Shadow
Kai’s first sensation was the cold.
It seeped into his bones, dragging him awake as if he’d been buried in ice. His fingers twitched, his chest tightened, and for a panicked moment, he thought he was drowning. He bolted upright, gasping for air that was thick and damp, tasting faintly of ash and iron. Around him stretched an endless black expanse, broken only by the faint silver shimmer of a sky devoid of stars.
“What the hell…” he muttered, his voice raw and scratchy.
A dull pain throbbed at the back of his skull, and as he pressed his palm against it, memories surged back in fragments. He remembered heading home after work, the buzz of his phone in his pocket, and a faint, unsettling sound like static filling his ears. Then nothing.
Now this.
Kai looked down at himself. His jeans and hoodie were the same as they’d been before—albeit slightly singed at the edges—but his shoes were caked in thick, sticky mud. He took a hesitant step forward and found the ground uneven and jagged, as if the earth had been torn apart and pieced back together in a rush. Around him were crude tents of tattered canvas, clustered haphazardly in a clearing. Each tent was dimly illuminated by a faint purple glow, the source of which Kai couldn’t immediately identify.
“What is this place?” he asked aloud.
A flicker of movement caught his eye. He turned, heart pounding, and saw a shadow shift near the largest tent at the edge of the clearing. It wasn’t human. Whatever it was, it moved on all fours, with a sickly, jerking motion.
Kai staggered back, his pulse racing. Then, as if responding to his fear, a soft chime rang out in his ears.
Welcome, Player Kai.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The words weren’t spoken aloud; they formed in his mind, clear and undeniable.
You have been chosen to participate in the Dominion of Shadows.
Status: Beginner.
Starting Location: Shadowed Realm (Tier 1).
Kai froze, his breath catching in his throat. The voice—or whatever it was—continued.
Objective: Build, expand, and survive. Claim the Shadow Throne to achieve ultimate victory.
Before he could fully process the message, a series of smaller notifications flooded his vision, their text glowing faintly in the dark:
You have unlocked your Talent: Dominion Chain.
Talent Description: Subjugate defeated enemies to serve your will. Thralls retain basic functionality but require resources to maintain loyalty.
Thrall Limit: 3 (Upgradeable).
Kai’s legs buckled, and he dropped to a knee. “What the hell is going on?” he whispered.
It felt too real to be a dream. The cold, the texture of the mud beneath his hands, the oppressive silence—it was all too vivid. And the notifications…they weren’t fading.
Note: Your starting village is active. Protect it from the encroaching darkness.
The ground beneath him trembled, faint at first, then stronger. Kai looked up in time to see one of the shadowy creatures emerge fully into the clearing. It was hunched, emaciated, with limbs that bent at unnatural angles. Its skin was a mottled gray, and its eyes glowed faintly, like embers struggling to stay alight.
The creature hissed and charged.
Kai scrambled to his feet, adrenaline surging as he stumbled backward. “No, no, no!” he shouted, his voice cracking. He grabbed the nearest thing he could find—a thick branch sticking out of the mud—and swung it wildly as the creature lunged.
The impact jarred his arms, and the creature screeched in pain, staggering to the side. Kai swung again, harder this time, connecting with its skull. The sound was sickening, a wet crunch that made his stomach churn. The creature collapsed, twitching, before finally going still.
Kai leaned over, panting, his hands trembling as he dropped the branch. His vision swam, but another chime rang out, steadying him:
Enemy defeated: Tier 1 Shadowspawn.
Optional: Enslave?
“What?” he asked, staring at the notification in disbelief. Beneath the text was a faint, pulsating option:
[Yes] / [No]
Kai hesitated. The word “enslave” made his stomach twist. Was this really the kind of game he’d been thrown into? But before he could decide, another growl echoed from the edge of the clearing. Two more Shadowspawn emerged, their glowing eyes fixed on him.
“Damn it,” Kai muttered. He didn’t have a choice. His fingers hovered over the “Yes” option in his mind, and as he focused, the notification pulsed and disappeared.
The corpse of the Shadowspawn shuddered. Tendrils of dark energy seeped from its body, wrapping around its limbs and pulling it upright like a puppet. Its glowing eyes dimmed, replaced by a faint purple hue that matched the lights around the tents.
Shadowspawn enslaved. Loyalty: 100%.
The newly enslaved creature turned to face him, its stance no longer hostile.
Kai blinked. “Did that…actually work?”
He didn’t have time to process the implications. The two remaining Shadowspawn charged, their claws glinting faintly in the dark.
“Defend me!” Kai shouted on instinct.
The enslaved Shadowspawn moved instantly, throwing itself at its former kin. The fight was brutal and chaotic, with limbs and claws tearing into flesh. Kai could only watch, his heart pounding, as his thrall managed to overpower one.