The air was thick with the smell of damp stone and tension. Three adventurers advanced carefully, their boots crunching over jagged rocks. Every shadow, every echo of dripping water, screamed danger—but they couldn't see me. Not yet.
Perfect.
I flowed along the cavern walls, tendrils of shadow stretching silently, probing. My senses painted them in precise detail: the rogue's rapid breathing, the warrior's tense posture, the mage nervously tugging at her robe.
"Cute little humans,"
I mused.
"All bravado and no clue what's about to eat them alive."
A glimmer of movement—just a flicker of rogue reflex—was all I needed. I extended a shadow tendril, wrapping it around the rogue's ankle, tugging sharply. He stumbled, arms flailing, barely catching himself on a jagged rock.
The mage gasped and spun, skirt brushing the shadow accidentally. I froze mid-thought.
"Focus, Sora… not that kind of focus,"
I reminded myself.
Then it appeared. A mid-sized dungeon monster, scales glinting under the faint light, claws scraping stone, eyes burning with primal hunger. It lunged. Roars reverberated like thunder, echoing through every tunnel.
The adventurers panicked. The warrior swung his sword, sparks flying as steel met stone. The mage cast a fireball, light flickering across my shadows.
Perfect.
Time to dance.
I dissolved into mist, moving around their attacks like liquid smoke. My shadow tendrils coiled into blades, slicing the rock pillars near the monster. Shards flew, ricocheting off walls, barely missing the adventurers.
Dust clouded the air, stinging their eyes.
The monster lunged again, jaws snapping. I flowed upward, reforming behind it. Shadow blades extended from my arms, cutting deep into scaled wings. It shrieked, thrashing wildly, sending showers of sparks as claws tore into the cavern floor.
The mage flung another fireball. I flicked a tendril, brushing her sleeve—her robe clung in just the wrong way. She gasped, cheeks flaming, eyes darting down, then back up.
"Not that I planned it… accidental help is still help,"
I thought, suppressing a smirk.
I darted forward, tendrils spinning like black whips. One wrapped around a falling stone and hurled it at the monster's head. It roared, claws scraping stone as it lunged, but I dissolved again, reappearing midair to slash its tail.
Every movement was fluid, precise, and terrifying. Shadows stretched, wrapping around monster limbs, striking, blocking, slicing.
The adventurers were scrambling, adrenaline pumping, but they had no chance against me. I was everywhere and nowhere at once—part smoke, part nightmare.
The warrior swung again, rage burning in his eyes. I deflected with a tendril, sending him stumbling into a fallen rock. Rogue tried a sneak attack, only to have a shadow whip around his wrist, spinning him into the cave wall. The mage screamed, firing another spell—but the shadow mist absorbed it before it reached me.
Finally, I formed a colossal humanoid figure, shadows coiling into massive arms, blades forming at my sides. I leapt, swinging one massive shadow blade. The monster, mid-lunge, couldn't react in time. The blade cut through it cleanly, essence pouring into me, tendrils thickening, sharpening.
Silence followed. Dust hung in the air, the only sound the heavy breathing of the surviving adventurers. They stared at the humanoid shadow, faceless, enormous, overwhelming.
"Remember this moment,"
I thought, shadows curling like fingers.
"You just met the Nameless Shadow Sovereign."
I melted back into the darkness, flowing along the cave walls, observing them as they retreated. Fear, awe, and a little bit of fascination danced across their faces. The mage looked back once, eyes wide, her pulse racing. I caught her glance—just a moment—but it was enough.
"Bring it on,"
I whispered inwardly.
"This world is just beginning to know me."
The cavern settled. Shadows thickened, stretching, coiling, ready. Every strike, every dodge, every devoured essence had sharpened me. And the deeper tunnels… they promised more.
"Hungry,"
I mused, voice resonating like rolling thunder.
"Always hungry."