🎶🎵 "Centuries" – Fall out boy
----------
Darkness welcomed him like an old friend.
It always did.
The moment Silas stepped through the shadow of the ruined entrance, the noise outside dulled, sirens fading into something distant, irrelevant.
Inside the bank, it was quiet.
Too quiet.
Dust hung in the air. The lights flickered weakly overhead, some already dead, leaving patches of thick, suffocating shadow across the floor.
Silas stood still for a moment.
Listening.
"…Alright," he murmured. "Big, ugly, and bulletproof. I'm already not a fan."
Something shifted.
To his left.
Fast.
Silas didn't turn.
Didn't flinch.
He just sighed.
"You know," he said casually, "there's usually a dramatic pause before the monster attacks. It builds tension."
A blur exploded out of the darkness.
Claws first.
Silas moved.
Not away.
Through.
His body dissolved into black smoke the instant the creature's limb tore through where he'd been—
—and reformed a few meters behind it, stepping out of a patch of shadow like he'd just taken a casual stroll.
"…You're rushing things," he finished.
The creature skidded to a stop.
Turned.
Up close...
....It was worse.
Far worse.
Its body was thick, armored in layered chitin that glistened under the dim light. Its limbs were too long, too jagged, bending at angles that didn't feel natural. Its face..
If it could be called that...
Was a distorted fusion of human structure and insect horror.
Mandibles clicked slowly.
Its eyes locked onto him.
Silas tilted his head.
"…Yeah," he said. "That's not something I'm getting used to."
The creature roared.
Loud enough to rattle glass.
Then it charged.
Fast.
Way too fast for something that size.
Silas exhaled.
"Alright," he muttered. "No more warm-up."
The shadows around him shifted.
Subtle.
Like they were paying attention.
The creature slammed into him...
...or should have.
Silas dropped.
Not falling.
Melting.
His form collapsed into darkness, slipping across the floor like liquid ink as the creature's massive body crashed through where he'd been standing.
Concrete cracked.
Desks shattered.
Papers exploded into the air.
Then...
Silas rose from the shadow behind it.
"…You really need to work on accuracy," he said.
The creature spun instantly, claws tearing through the air again.
Silas stepped sideways....
...and disappeared.
The claw passed through empty space.
He reappeared to the creature's right.
It attacked again.
Gone.
Left.
Gone.
Behind.
Gone.
Each movement smooth.
Effortless.
Like he wasn't dodging...
He just wasn't there anymore.
The creature's attacks grew faster.
Wilder.
More aggressive.
It roared again, louder this time, frustration bleeding into the sound.
Silas clicked his tongue.
"Careful," he said. "You keep swinging like that, people might start thinking you're emotional."
That did it.
The creature lunged with everything it had.
Silas didn't move.
For once.
The claw came down...
And stopped.
Halfway.
Frozen.
The shadow beneath the creature twisted.
Rose.
Wrapped around its arm like living chains of darkness.
For a brief moment...
Everything stilled.
The creature struggled.
Hard.
The floor cracked under the pressure.
The shadows trembled.
Unstable.
Silas' expression shifted slightly behind the mask.
"…Okay," he said quietly. "You're stronger than I'd like."
The creature roared...
And broke free.
The shadow snapped apart like it had never been there.
Silas stepped back this time.
Genuine.
Interested.
"…Noted."
The creature didn't hesitate.
It charged again....
But this time, Silas moved first.
He stepped forward...
Into its shadow.
And vanished.
The creature skidded to a stop.
Confused.
Its head jerked around wildly...
Searching.
Waiting.
Nothing.
Silence.
Then...
A whisper.
Right behind it.
"Hey."
It turned...
Too slow.
Silas stepped out of its shadow mid-motion, already moving.
His hand lashed out...
Not striking the armor...
But the joint.
A precise hit.
There was a crack.
Not loud.
But enough.
The creature staggered.
Silas slipped back into shadow before the counterattack could land.
Reappeared again.
Another strike.
Same spot.
Crack.
The creature roared, thrashing violently now.
But it was slower.
Just slightly.
Silas exhaled.
"See?" he said. "We're making progress. You're still terrifying, but now you're slightly less terrifying."
Another hit.
Another crack.
The joint gave.
The creature collapsed partially on one side, balance ruined.
Silas stepped out of the shadows one last time, directly in front of it.
For a moment...
They just looked at each other.
The creature hissed.
Silas shrugged.
"…Nothing personal," he said.
Then the shadows surged.
Not from the ground.
From everywhere.
Stretching.
Climbing.
Pulling.
They wrapped around the creature's body, tightening, dragging it down into the darkness beneath it.
The creature thrashed.
Fought.
Roared...
But the shadows didn't let go.
They swallowed.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Until...
Silence.
The bank was still again.
Dust settled.
The flickering lights buzzed softly.
Silas stood there, breathing steady.
Then...
"…Huh," he muttered.
He looked down at his hand.
Flexed his fingers slightly.
The shadows lingered a moment longer than usual.
Clinging.
Watching.
Then they slipped away.
Back to normal.
Silas tilted his head.
"…Yeah," he said quietly. "That's new."
Outside...
The silence broke.
Officers rushed forward cautiously.
Weapons raised.
Reyes at the front.
They reached the entrance....
And stopped.
The destruction inside was obvious.
But the creature...
Gone.
Only one person remained.
Standing in the middle of it.
Untouched.
Reyes narrowed her eyes.
"…Where is it?"
Silas glanced at her.
Then at the ground.
Then back at her.
"…It's taking a nap," he said.
She didn't look amused.
"Shadow Crawler."
He sighed.
"Right, sorry," he said. "I forgot we're being serious."
A pause.
Then....
"…It's dealt with."
Reyes studied him.
The room.
The shadows.
Something about this didn't sit right.
"…You killed it?"
Silas hesitated.
Just briefly.
Then...
"…Something like that."
Outside, cameras were already rolling.
People were already talking.
A name spreading faster than anyone could control.
Shadow Crawler.
And for the first time...
It didn't sound like a joke.
------------
đź“– Quote
"He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster."
— Friedrich Nietzsche