The cave was alive with sound. Dripping water echoed from the ceiling, steady and patient, like a clock ticking in the dark Faint underground currents whispered through cracks in the stone.
My new senses painted everything in sharp detail: the heat of living bodies, the scuttling of insects, the faint shimmer of mana flowing through the rocks.
No heartbeat. No shallow breath. Just… awareness.
Honestly? It was amazing. My old human eyes could barely stay open after twelve hours at the office, but now? I could feel the world.
Then I felt it.
A low growl slithered down the tunnel. Claws scraped stone. The stench of wet fur and blood reached me before I even saw it.
A wolf padded into the cavern. Taller than a man, with silver fur bristling like razors and a twisted horn curling from its skull. Its eyes glowed sickly yellow as they locked onto me—onto the shifting haze of my form.
It snarled.
I should have been terrified. Instead… I grinned, or at least the shadow equivalent of grinning.
"Tutorial monster,"
I muttered.
"Right on schedule."
The beast lunged, jaws snapping toward my nonexistent throat. Its teeth clamped down—straight through me.
"…Oh, this is so hentai monster-coded,"
I thought, body rippling around its head like liquid chains.
"One wrong move and I'll start sprouting tentacles."
I spread myself wider, shadows coiling around the wolf's body. It thrashed, claws screeching against stone. The more it struggled, the deeper it sank into me. Its howl cut short.
Warmth surged through me. Its essence dissolved into my being, like a feast swallowed whole.
[Ability Acquired: Fang Rend]
[Ability Acquired: Beast Instinct]
The words weren't sound. They were instinct carved into my core. My form thickened, sharpened. I hadn't just killed the wolf. I had become something more.
"…Okay, that's ridiculously cool."
I flexed—or at least tried to. My "arm" solidified, hardening into a jagged blade of night. I swung once, carving a deep groove into the stone wall. Stronger than steel.
Before I could admire my handiwork, more growls echoed.
Two more wolves.And from another tunnel… goblins. Two of them, ugly little things with crooked daggers and hungrier eyes than I'd ever seen.
Great. And here I thought goblins were only dangerous if you were an unfortunate heroine in a dark fantasy manga.
They hesitated at the sight of me—shadow twisting into a humanoid silhouette. But hunger pushed them forward.
I split into streams of darkness, weaving between them like smoke. The wolves lunged, goblins stabbed—none of it touched me. I coiled around their bodies, dragging them into my form, swallowing their screams until only silence remained.
[Ability Acquired: Lesser Darkvision]
[Ability Acquired: Primitive Blade Arts]
The abilities layered inside me like threads in a tapestry. Each kill wasn't just survival—it was evolution.
When the cavern finally stilled, I pulled myself back together, shadows rising into a tall humanoid figure. I gazed into the pool of water at the center of the cave.
What looked back was a faceless silhouette, a man made of night.
"…Okay, admit it,"
I whispered to myself.
"If a girl saw this, half of her would scream… and the other half would definitely be curious."
For thirty years, I'd been invisible. Forgettable. Just another extra in the corner of the office.
But here, in this new world… I could be anything. No— I would be everything.
The thought made me laugh, a low, rolling sound that thundered against the cavern walls. I spread my shadow wide, cloak-like, and spoke aloud, savoring the weight of my own voice.
"I am the Shadow Sovereign."
The cave, of course, gave no reply. But it didn't need to.
Every legend begins in silence. And this was mine.