Chapter 3: Darkness

Lev left his house, his mother's teary-eyed congratulations on his awakening still ringing in his ears. As he strolled towards Serene National High School, his mind buzzed with anticipation for the day ahead. Little did he know, the universe had other plans for his morning

commute.

Suddenly, a shrill cry pierced the air. "Help! Robbery! He took my bag!"

Lev's head snapped around to see a wild-eyed man sprinting in his direction, clutching a purse like it was his ticket to freedom.

"Get out of my way!" the snatcher bellowed, his eyes glinting with murderous intent.

On any other day, Lev might have chosen the path of least resistance - step aside, mind his own business, live to walk to school another day.

But something inside him stirred, a primal urge he'd never felt before.

It whispered dark suggestions, urging him to...eliminate the threat?

Lev blinked, startled by his own thoughts. He'd never considered harming another person before, let alone ending a life. Monsters from

the Abyss? Sure. But a human? This was new territory, and it left him feeling slightly off-kilter.

Before he could ponder this alarming development further, the snatcher was upon him. "Die, kid!" the man snarled, brandishing a dagger with all the finesse of a drunken pirate.

Time seemed to slow. Lev's body moved on instinct, a fluid turn and devastating kick aimed at the man's weapon hand. As his foot connected, Lev could have sworn he saw dark shadows flickering around his limbs.

The dagger clattered to the ground, followed swiftly by a howl of pain from its former wielder.

"Agh! You dare to attack me?!" the man growled, his expression a masterpiece of shock and fury.

Lev couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You must be kidding me. You attack me and expect I'll just stand here and let you kill me? What kind of action movie logic is that?"

The snatcher's face contorted through a series of emotions, finally settling on blind rage. He tossed aside the stolen bag and lunged for his fallen weapon.

Lev, feeling unnaturally quick, dashed forward and planted his foot squarely in the man's face. The satisfying 'thwack' echoed through the street.

“Nice kick!”someone in the growing crowd of onlookers cheered, offering an enthusiastic thumbs-up as the would-be robber sprawled gracelessly on the pavement.

Ignoring the peanut gallery, Lev retrieved the bag and handed it to a woman who had been chasing the snatcher. She panted out her gratitude between gulps of air.

"Thank you, young hero," she managed.

"Don't mention it, ma'am. I just defended myself. Please call the cops to handle that guy," Lev replied, gesturing to the groaning heap on the ground.

"I've called them already. Are you hurt?" she asked, concern etched on her face.

"I'm fine, thanks. Nothing to worry about," Lev assured her.

"Good... good..." the woman murmured. Then, in a twist worthy of a B-movie, her grateful expression morphed into a sinister grin.

Lev's newfound instincts screamed danger. He backpedaled, mind racing.

'They're working together!' he realized, cursing his naivety.

The woman's hand shot out, trailing ominous black smoke. Lev stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding her grasp.

"Warrior?!" he exclaimed internally, caught off guard by this sudden escalation.

"Hoh, you were able to dodge that?" the woman cackled, her voice grating like nails on a chalkboard.

Lev's inner monologue went into overdrive. 'I just had the craziest night of my life, and now this? Did awakening my Soul Garden make me a magnet for lunatics?'

Pushing aside his existential crisis, Lev focused on survival. His eyes darted to the fallen dagger, and he sprinted towards it.

The creepy woman, apparently well-versed in the art of dagger-dash interception, waved her hand. The black smoke coalesced into a serpentine form and shot towards Lev.

Snatching up the weapon, Lev whirled to face the smoky assailant. His eyes glowed with an eerie light as he slashed at the approaching

darkness. The blade passed harmlessly through the smoke.

"Fool!" the woman crowed, her smirk widening to impossible proportions.

Realizing he was outmatched, Lev did the sensible thing - he ran like his life depended on it (which, to be fair, it probably did). He darted

into a nearby alley, his pursuer hot on his heels.

As he fled, Lev's mind raced faster than his feet. 'I've barely had time to process my Soul Garden awakening, and now I'm running from a smoke-wielding maniac. Thanks, universe!'

The woman's attacks left destruction in their wake, turning trash cans and walls into abstract art. Lev's newfound agility surprised even him as he bobbed and weaved through the onslaught.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Stop running, kiddo!" the woman screeched. "I have a quota to fill today. I don't have time to play!"

"Just come with me! You might taste heaven," she added, in what

she probably thought was an enticing tone.

Between gasps for air, Lev couldn't resist a retort. "I might taste dust instead!"

"What did you say?!"

"See, you're deaf already, old hag!"

The woman's creepy smile stretched to Cheshire Cat proportions, her eyes blazing with murderous intent. "Alright, I'll be bringing you in as a corpse!"

She paused in her pursuit, gathering smoke into two ominous orbs. The spheres twisted and stretched, taking on the form of snarling wolves.

'Oh, I'm royally screwed,' Lev thought, eyeing the smoke beasts warily.

"Go, kill him!" the woman commanded.

The smoke wolves bounded forward with supernatural speed, closing the gap between predator and prey in seconds. As one of the beasts lunged, jaws gaping, Lev made a split-second decision. He jammed the dagger into the creature's maw, eliciting a pained yelp as it stumbled back.

Now weaponless, Lev faced the second wolf. He threw a desperate punch, only to watch his fist pass harmlessly through its smoky form. The beast reformed behind him, ready to pounce.

'Oh no,' Lev thought, despair washing over him. But as the wolf's fangs descended, something extraordinary happened. Dark shadows erupted from Lev's body, forming a barrier between him and certain doom.

As he stood there, protected by this mysterious darkness, Lev couldn't help but wonder if his morning could get any stranger.

As if the morning's strange events were far from over, a child-like voice of a young girl suddenly rang in Lev's ears.

"Well, well. It seems I'm stuck with quite the fool for a contractor," the child's voice sighed, a mix of haughtiness and disappointment in her tone.

"Who?!" Lev exclaimed, his head turning sharply as he searched for the voice's owner.

But his search was fruitless. The smoke wolves were still in position - one in front, one behind - while the creepy woman loomed in the distance, her unsettling smile unwavering.

"Oh, don't bother looking around like a lost puppy. I'm inside you, obviously," the young girl's voice replied, her tone dripping with exasperation and a touch of superiority.

"Inside me..?" Confusion painted Lev's face as he tried to process this new development.

"Save your questions for later, you silly boy. Focus on these wolves first, unless you fancy becoming their chew toy," the voice commanded, mixing practicality with a hint of condescension.

Although still confused, Lev understood the gravity of his situation. The voice in his head, strange as it might be, had a point.

"How do I kill these smoke wolves?" He questioned, hoping for a practical solution.

"Just will the dark energy in your body, think of a pair of demon-like arms. It's not rocket science, you know," the voice suggested, her tone a blend of matter-of-fact instruction and childish impatience.

Lev, deciding that now wasn't the time to argue with the disembodied voice in his head, focused his attention on the dark energy surrounding him.

Soon, with his thought, the dark energy protecting him converged to both of his arms. He felt a warm energy but also a little itchy sensation.

When the dark energy faded, what appeared was the image he just thought of - a pair of black arms with ten sharp and long demon fingers! His eyes widened in amazement. However, before he could appreciate his newfound power, the voice once again urged him.

"Stop gawking like a starstruck fan! Go finish those wolves, or do I need to hold your hand through this?"

"Alright, alright," Lev responded, while clenching his fingers. A strange feeling of strength filled his arms, like a surge of power

flowing through his veins.

Without wasting more time, he pounced at the still grimacing smoke wolf. The dagger was still stuck in its mouth, apparently having trouble with its smoke-to-solid transformation. (Rumor had it that these wolves

struggled with maintaining their form under stress.)

Slash!

As if a sharp weapon cut through a piece of paper, his demon fingers slashed the neck of the smoke wolf, beheading it in the process.

However, there was no blood. The smoke wolf simply disintegrated in the air once it died, leaving no trace behind.

He didn't stop there. With a powerful kick on the ground, he dashed straight at the last smoke wolf.

Clang!

Sounds of metal clashing rang when his demon-like fingers and the Smoke Wolf's claws collided. The impact sent vibrations through his arms, but Lev stood his ground.

Although the Smoke Wolf managed to defend his initial attack, it wasn't fortunate enough to block his following assault. It eventually died as well, dissipating into nothingness.

Everything seemed to happen in an instant. The creepy woman, who was still smiling eerily in the distance, couldn't even react.

Shock was obviously evident on her face. She was utterly dumbfounded, her composure cracking for the first time.

"You... will pay for this!" The creepy woman seemed to understand her situation. She knew she could no longer afford to kill him. She just

left a threat and immediately retreated.

Transforming into black smoke, she vanished without a trace, leaving Lev alone in the aftermath of the battle.

Lev could only frown at this. He couldn't stop her as much as he wanted to. Her tricks were unusual; he wasn't even certain if the creepy woman had more surprise techniques that might catch him unprepared. (It was

said that she possessed an arsenal of unsettling abilities that few had

witnessed and lived to tell about.)

Lev didn't linger either. Once the creepy woman left, he immediately took off as well, heading to his school, mindful of the time. Despite the extraordinary events of the morning, the mundane world still turned,

and he had responsibilities to attend to.

On his way, Lev decided to converse with the voice in his head, seeking answers to the many questions swirling in his mind.

"Are you still there, young miss?"

The young voice immediately responded to his question, "Oh please, spare me the formalities. You may have the honor of addressing me as Darkness," she declared with a hint of childish pride.

Hearing Darkness's response, Lev's curiosity increased. "Darkness? What are you?"

Darkness didn't answer immediately this time, as if carefully choosing her words. After a moment, she spoke, "I am a Heaven's Entity, but in your world's terms, I am what you call---Soul Monster."

"What?!" Lev exclaimed out loud, causing the other walking students to look at him in surprise. He hurriedly composed himself,

trying to process this revelation.

Although he had a suspicion earlier about the identity of Darkness, he had denied the fact that she was a Soul Monster. He had just awakened his Soul Garden, had never encountered a Soul Monster, and had not even

gone into a Soul Rite.

How could a Soul Monster already be inside him? What he initially expected was that he was being possessed, which seemed almost preferable to this perplexing situation.