The city’s chaos pressed hard against Jonathan’s fragile calm, his control slipping as the storm within surged restlessly. He ducked into an alley, seeking solace, but the shadows twisted unnaturally around him, alive with malevolence. Then, they came—the Shadow Wraiths, their hollow eyes burning with crimson malice.

“You’re the chosen vessel,” one hissed, its voice scraping like metal against glass. “A flicker of light in endless shadow.”

Jonathan’s fists ignited with crackling plasma, the glow cutting through the suffocating darkness. The Wraiths encircled him, their taunts crawling under his skin as they tested his resolve. But he stood firm, the storm inside him roaring with defiance.

“If you want the storm,” he growled, blue light blazing around his hands, “you’ll have to fight me for it.”

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The clash that followed was chaos—plasma crackled and seared, shadows writhed and struck, and the air vibrated with raw energy. Jonathan’s strength faltered, but he refused to break. Even as the Wraiths re-formed, their voices dripping with venom, he burned brighter, unyielding.

“You think I’ll crumble?” he spat through gritted teeth, unleashing another burst of power. “You don’t know me.”

But when Jonathan’s strength began to wane, and the shadows closed in, a voice cut through the void—a whisper, steady and warm:

“Jonathan, stand. You are not alone.”

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Experience the full confrontation with the Shadow Wraiths in Chapter 8: When Darkness Arrives, exclusively on Patreon! Join me at www.patreon.com/thevoltarissaga to continue the journey. The storm is only just beginning!