The next seven days passed in silence.
No strange events. No awakenings. No threats. No discoveries.
Just training.
Naeem spent every waking moment pushing himself—refining his teleportation, mastering the shape and flow of the shadow kunai, building stamina, speed, and precision. His connection with the shadow element deepened, until it felt like part of his own nervous system—intuitive, fast, alive.
But still… something felt off.
27th March
It was a clear day, bright and warm.
Naeem sat alone on a large stone near the river, not far from the Ruins of Lucifer. The breeze danced across the water, birds chirped lazily, the sun was high.
Too peaceful.
It was the kind of calm that made your skin itch—the kind of stillness that always comes before something breaks.
Naeem felt it. A low pulse in his chest. The pressure of something building.
Then his phone rang.
The sound shattered the quiet like a gunshot.
He checked the screen.
His sister.
He answered.
Her voice came through, panicked and cracking through sobs.
"Help us! They've surrounded us! A group of people—they're attacking! Your brother-in-law and Masud are trying to hold them back but... they're losing. Please, Naeem… come quickly… save us!"
Then—silence.
Naeem froze. The phone slipped from his fingers and hit the ground.
A full second passed.
Then he ran.
Shadow energy exploded through his body. His legs blurred. The world around him twisted into streaks as he teleported in bursts across the terrain.
He crossed sixty kilometers in under six minutes.
Driven by desperation. Fueled by fear.
He reached the neighborhood.
Smoke curled into the sky. The scent of ash and burning homes filled his lungs.
And then he saw it.
A burning figure, levitating above scorched earth, surrounded by heat so thick it made the air shimmer. Floating before him was a massive fireball, swirling with deadly light.
Down below—Masud and Naeem's brother-in-law stood trembling, trying to form barriers from the ground, from raw power.
They were too slow.
The fireball launched.
Naeem screamed. He pushed everything—every ounce of shadow energy—into speed.
But he was a second too late.
The explosion hit.
Light. Heat. Roaring fire.
And when it cleared...
The house was gone.
So were the people.
Nothing remained.
Not family. Not home. Just scorched ruin.
Naeem's mind went still.
And then it snapped.
The Fight: Vengeance Unleashed
No warning. No words.
He blinked.
Shadow-stepped behind the fire wielder—soundless, a ghost born of rage. There were three of them—laughing seconds ago. Now they stood with their backs to death.
Naeem struck first.
He grabbed the fire user's throat, fire exploding around them in a blaze of defense. Naeem's arm burned, blistered—but his grip didn't loosen.
With his other hand, he summoned a Shadow Ball, dark and humming with wrath.
BOOM.
He slammed it into the man's head. The skull exploded in a blast of black energy.
The body hit the ground, twitching, smoking.
The other two spun in horror.
"Shadow Lock."
Twin kunai hit the earth, slicing through their shadows—locking them in place.
Naeem sprinted forward. He struck the first with a shadow dagger—slashing across the torso, then stabbing upward under the jaw. Fatal.
The second attacker broke free.
He launched a barrage of stone spikes.
Naeem dodged, flipping, rolling—one spike grazed his shoulder.
The enemy formed a rock bullet, sharp as steel, and fired.
CRACK!
It struck Naeem's forearm. Bone snapped. Blood sprayed. His hand was mangled.
He dropped, gasping, one knee down, pain blooming like a second heartbeat.
The attacker grinned, stepping closer.
"You're finished."
Naeem vanished.
Reappeared behind him.
No hesitation. Just vengeance.
He pressed another Shadow Ball against the man's back—and detonated it.
The attacker disintegrated. Nothing left but ash and silence.
Aftermath
Naeem stood amid the wreckage, chest heaving, blood running freely down his arm. The adrenaline faded fast.
Pain returned.
His vision blurred. His fingers shook.
His eyes landed on the fire wielder's corpse—the one who burned his family.
The heart. That thought again. Every time he summoned power, it began in the chest… then the mind.
He dropped to his knees beside the body.
And without pause—he dug into the chest cavity.
His fingers gripped the warm, bloody heart.
He pulled it free.
Then he bit.
The taste was raw, metallic. It burned like swallowing a star. Power surged through him—fiery and violent.
His aura ignited—shadow laced with fire. New energy bloomed in his core. He looked at the stump of his destroyed hand.
Then he summoned flame.
And brought it to the wound.
The pain was indescribable.
He screamed. Flesh burned. Skin melted. The bleeding stopped.
Five seconds. Ten.
And it was over.
The fire dimmed.
Naeem slumped backward. His body trembled, nerves shot, vision flickering.
He collapsed beside the charred body of his enemy.
Darkness took him.