The shadow creature had done many missions before. This was the 70th mission it had been tasked with completing. Compared to its other missions, this was supposed to be a simple recon mission: watching a human of interest and reporting back to its superiors. So, how did it find itself running for its life? It didn’t know.

…

Caleb was running full throttle through the forest, but the shadow was slowly making distance between itself and the group. He aimed his conjured rifle, thinking this would be the perfect test subject, and fired. The recoil of the firearm slammed into his shoulder, and a puff of smoke was left in front of him. The loud bang of the shot made the others jump slightly, but they kept running onwards. Caleb wasn’t sure if the bullet hit, but the creature seemed slower now than before.

It was smoky and hard to make out with all the shadows surrounding it, but it vaguely resembled a dog. Dismissing the rifle, pleased with his experiment, he pumped energy into his legs to give chase once more. Chris had ended up gaining and closing the distance with his hammer slung over his shoulder. Caleb could feel the wind flowing towards Chris as though he were some sort of tornado.

Arriving on top of the creature, Chris brought down his hammer in one fluid motion, hitting the rear of the creature. It twisted its body a moment before the hammer came down and avoided taking a serious blow. However, parts of the shadows moved away, revealing part of its true form. It had fur as dark as the night and stood on four legs. Its upper body was still hidden in shadow, so Caleb couldn’t get a good read on what it was.

Its eyes flashed red through the shadows, and a dark cloud shot out from its body. Caleb held his breath, unsure what the strange darkness was, but then it invaded his body, and his vision went dark.

…

He woke up in a room that felt familiar yet wrong. Looking around, he noticed trinkets and posters littering the room. Caleb rubbed his eyes as he looked toward a window and saw light shining through.

‘I've got to get ready for work,’ Caleb thought sluggishly. Getting out of bed, he went through the routine he had meticulously crafted since college: stretching, showering, a quick breakfast, and off he went. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about everything.

A man passed by, and Caleb asked, “Excuse me, do you know where I can find a newspaper?” The man looked at Caleb and rattled off an answer, but Caleb could see his eyes looked blank as if there wasn’t truly life in them. Feeling unnerved, he continued on his way to his job. Arriving at the behemoth of a building, he walked inside and saw Barbara, the receptionist, scribbling away on some papers with more to her side. He approached to make small talk as he always did but hesitated as the feeling of wrongness grew stronger.

“Caleb! You're just who I wanted to see. Is something wrong?” Caleb’s face had grown pale, and a massive headache stabbed his senses.

“Nothing, just an intense migraine. I’m going to sit for a while and wait for it to pass.” Nodding, Barbara went back to scribbling away as though nothing were wrong.

Sitting at his desk, Caleb massaged his temples, trying to get rid of the headache, when he heard a voice.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Caleb, I need these expense reports done before the end of the day,” Caleb spun around and saw his former boss, Chris, with a stack of papers.

‘Wait, former?’ At that moment, the headache grew, so Caleb had to shut his eyes. He saw Barbara lying on the floor, lifeless. He saw Chris’s body mangled and left to shreds. He saw numerous bodies sprawled around the city, broken, charred, and everything in between.

Gritting his teeth, Caleb sent energy into his head and felt a connection. His ability resonated with his desire, and as he began flooding it with more energy, a shockwave was sent out around him.

His eyes fluttered open, and he saw the forest above him. To the side, he heard Arthur muttering something under his breath. Caleb shot up and looked around. He saw the black cloud had been pushed back in a perimeter around him. The dark cloud didn’t dare to get closer. Grace and Chris were knocked out on the ground while Emilia fought the shadow creature head-on. Arthur’s hand was over Chris, shooting a white light into his chest.

A nasty gash was on Chris’s arm, but was healing at a visible rate. Focusing back on the creature, Caleb tried materializing an energy rifle but felt the perimeter around him begin to recede. Freaking out, he stopped channeling the energy, but the perimeter stayed the same. Moving towards Grace, the barrier parted the smoke as he approached.

“Grace, get up!” Caleb shook her, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Wha—" Drowsy and looking slightly disoriented, Grace spotted Emilia locked in combat with the shadow. While her speed was impressive, the creature could keep up and trade blows with her. Both were littered with cuts, with the creature sporting a nasty wound oozing reddish-black liquid.

Grace stood up, wobbly on her feet, and steeled herself. Pulling the string on her bow, Caleb felt power gather around her fingertips and channel into the arrow. With each passing moment, the arrow started humming with a bright green light. It reached a peak, where Grace released it, sending it flying lightning-fast towards the creature. Stabbing straight through its neck, the creature jumped back and coughed out a glob of blood.

It shot another cloud of smoke, hitting Caleb’s perimeter but not passing further. Emilia chased through the smoke but soon returned empty-handed.

“Damn fucker slipped away from me!” Emilia cursed. Chris was finally getting up, clearly in a state of grogginess similar to Grace's. Collecting themselves they made their way back to their camp to try and recuperate from the foe.

…

The sun was slowly rising into the cloudy sky, painting the hills with color as it rose higher and higher. Caleb kept staring out into the forest, processing how he could push the dark cloud back.

Caleb turned his body towards Grace and asked, “What was that?”

“What? The monster or something else.” Grace responded

“The monster, what the hell was that thing?”

Grace sighed before answering, “It was a nightshade. Nightshades are a rare species of monsters that primarily hunt at night due to their unique nature. The running theory is that a wolf absorbed an Item while pregnant and gave birth to a new species.”

Chris chimed in, saying, “The shadows allow them to shift their forms similar to a mimic but more rudimentary. They’re also one of the best stealth monsters I’ve ever encountered. How the hell were you able to even tell it was here?”

Caleb sat and thought on the question for a while before answering, “It looked like a blank spot. It was like a hole in reality grew legs and began walking.” The others looked at each other, surprised, before Emilia decided to break the staring contest.

“Well, if that's the case, we should have a little spar and see what you picked up from the bastard.”

Caleb groaned, preparing himself for the beating he was about to face.