Chapter 4- Steps into shadow.
The alley was narrow.
Too narrow for mercy.
Lin Mo stood at the entrance, sword lowered, shadow pooling at his feet like thick ink. The flickering streetlight above cast broken halos on the cracked pavement, stretching his silhouette into something tall and inhuman.
Three thugs.
One holding a steel pipe.
One gripping a dagger.
One already stepping back instinctively, sensing danger far too late.
Behind Lin Mo, his sister's breath trembled.
"B-brother…"
That single word snapped something inside him.
The pipe thug sneered, trying to regain courage. "You think you're some awakened hero? This is street business. Walk away and—"
The shadows moved.
Not fast.
Not slow.
They crept.
Thin tendrils slid along the ground, brushing against shoes, climbing ankles like cold fingers. The thug who had spoken froze as his legs locked in place.
"What the hell—?!"
Lin Mo stepped forward.
"One step," he said calmly. "And you chose death."
The dagger thug screamed and lunged.
---
The blade came low, aiming for Lin Mo's ribs—dirty, practiced, lethal.
Lin Mo tilted his head.
The sword moved.
A single horizontal line of light flashed in the darkness.
The dagger fell.
The thug's arm followed.
Blood sprayed the wall in a crimson arc as the severed limb hit the ground with a wet thud.
The scream came a heartbeat later.
Lin Mo didn't stop.
He advanced.
Each step crushed the man's will.
The sword rotated in his hand, edge humming softly as shadow crawled along the blade, darkening the steel until it looked like a fragment of night.
"Too loud," Lin Mo said.
He brought the sword down.
Not a slash.
A controlled thrust.
The blade pierced the thug's throat cleanly, shadow flooding the wound instantly.
The scream died.
The body convulsed once—then went still.
Before it hit the ground, the shadows surged upward.
They wrapped around the corpse like a cocoon.
Bone.
Flesh.
Blood.
All dissolved into darkness.
The alley swallowed him whole.
Gone.
No body.
No trace.
The pipe thug's face drained of color.
"M-monster…"
He tried to run.
The shadow snapped.
It surged forward, yanking his legs out from under him and slamming him onto his back. The pipe clattered uselessly across the pavement.
Lin Mo stood over him.
The man shook violently, tears streaming down his face.
"I—I didn't touch her! I swear! I was just—"
Lin Mo raised his sword.
The thug screamed.
"PLEASE—!"
The sword paused.
Lin Mo's eyes were cold.
"You stood here," he said quietly. "And watched."
The sword descended.
This time, Lin Mo unleashed Absolute Control.
The strike was perfect.
No wasted motion.
No excess force.
The blade cut through muscle, spine, and heart in one smooth line.
The body split.
Before blood could spill, the shadows rose like a tide.
They devoured the corpse instantly.
No sound.
No resistance.
The alley grew darker.
The last thug—the one frozen by shadow—lost control of his bladder.
Lin Mo turned.
The man sobbed uncontrollably, face pressed to the ground as shadows wrapped around his limbs, tightening with each breath.
"I didn't know… I didn't know she was your sister…"
Lin Mo crouched.
His shadow loomed over the man, eyes forming briefly within the darkness—watching.
"You knew she was weak," Lin Mo replied. "That was enough."
He stood.
The sword pierced downward.
The shadows surged.
The body vanished.
Silence.
---
Lin Mo exhaled slowly.
The shadows receded, sinking back into cracks, corners, and beneath his feet as if nothing had happened.
No corpses.
No bloodstains.
Only faint scratches on the pavement and the lingering chill of death.
Lin Yan stared.
Her brother stood there—unchanged on the surface, yet completely different.
"Brother…" she whispered again, voice trembling. "What… what are you now?"
Lin Mo sheathed his sword.
The shadows obeyed instantly.
"I'm still me," he said.
That wasn't entirely true.
But he didn't say more.
He checked her carefully—arms, shoulders, face.
"No injuries?"
She shook her head slowly.
"I… I called you without thinking. I thought you wouldn't come."
Lin Mo froze for a fraction of a second.
Then he smiled faintly.
"I will always come."
They left the alley together.
Behind them, the shadows stirred once more.
Not hungry.
Not violent.
Satisfied.
---
That night, Lin Mo stood in his bathroom, staring at his reflection.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Eyes sharp and steady.
The mirror fogged slightly as shadow curled behind him, responding to his thoughts.
A translucent panel flickered into existence.
> Shadow Talent — B Rank
Sword Talent — C Rank
Realm: Elementary Warrior (D Rank)
Synchronization: Stable
Lin Mo clenched his fist.
The shadows tightened around his arm like armor.
"No witnesses," he murmured.
"No corpses."
"No chains."
For the first time since the world changed, he felt something dangerous bloom in his chest.
Freedom.