𝙱𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝙸𝚗 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚜

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟶: 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛(𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍)

---

The hallway was dim, shadows flickering at the edges of

her vision, but she caught sight of Darius at the far end,

his back to her, his posture rigid. His focus was on the

door to the apartment, his hand raised as if to keep

something at bay.

A low growl echoed through the air, primal and chilling.

Elara’s blood ran cold. She had heard that sound before

—in her nightmares, in the moments just before the

creatures had emerged from the darkness.

Something was outside.

"Darius," she called softly, her voice shaking despite her

best efforts to sound brave. "What’s happening?"

He didn’t look at her, his attention fixed on whatever

was beyond the door. "Stay back, Elara," he said, his

voice sharp. "You don’t want to be near this."

She hesitated, but fear for her own safety pushed her

closer to him. She needed to know what they were up

against. "I can’t just—"

Before she could finish, the door to the apartment

rattled violently, as if something was trying to break

through. The growling grew louder, and Elara’s heart

pounded in her chest.

The shadows near the door seemed to thicken, twisting

into strange, almost humanoid shapes. Darius extended

his hand, and with a swift motion, the shadows shrank

back, recoiling as though in fear of him.

"Darius," she whispered, panic setting in. "What is that?"

He glanced over his shoulder at her, his eyes burning

with intensity. "You’re about to see."

And then the door shattered.

Elara screamed as a creature burst through, its massive

form blotting out the light. It was like nothing she had

ever seen—tall and grotesque, with jagged limbs and a

body made of writhing shadows. Its eyes gleamed with

hunger, its mouth filled with rows of sharp, glistening

teeth.

Darius stepped forward, placing himself between Elara

and the creature. His own shadows rose to meet the

beast, swirling around him in a dark, protective barrier.

But the creature wasn’t like the others Elara had

encountered before. It was stronger, more primal, and

as it lunged toward Darius, the sheer force of its attack

sent a shockwave through the room.

Darius blocked it, his powers surging as the shadows