Shadow Beast

"It's a monster! Run away!"

"Wait, the food! Leave it!"

The two mushroom guys panicked when they saw Michael looking at them with fascination. Initially, they hadn't noticed him as they talked to each other about their haul. However, the one at the back finally spotted Michael from a distance. This had given Michael, or more specifically the chip in his head, enough time to decipher their language from the conversation. Just as the mushroom person at the back noticed Michael and screamed, the chip translated their words.

"Is it gone?" mushroom guy one whispered, his voice trembling.

"Don't ask me," mushroom guy two replied, equally scared. Despite their efforts to hide, Michael could still hear them. They weren't far from the road; they had just reentered the mushroom forest and hidden behind some mushroom trees.

"Confronting them might waste my time," Michael pondered for a minute. "It's less likely that this world has ever contacted other life forms, so they might treat me as an experiment or something. For now, I'll just find a place to collect my thoughts about my powers," he muttered to himself, glancing around for a suitable spot where he wouldn't be distracted.

Suddenly, the forest of mushrooms where the mushroom guys came from seemed off. "What is that?" Michael muttered, noticing the forest glitching deep inside. A chill ran through his heart, telling him to run. Without wasting another moment, he bolted down the road. Loud sounds came from the forest as animals fled, as if fearing something. More and more of the forest started glitching.

"Why do I get this weird feeling that I'm the target here?" Michael remarked as he ran. Up ahead, he saw a city and encountered more traffic. The mushroom men in their vehicles stared at him as if they were seeing a ghost. A bunch of animals was stampeding behind Michael, causing an alarm to ring in the city. Panic ensued as the stampede reached the city, causing chaos.

Michael hid in the basement of a random building he entered. Amidst the stampeding animals, there was a strange creature that seemed off. It looked like a living shadow with black mist emanating from its body. With every step it took, the ground started glitching, and everything it touched turned into black particles, withering away. It was the cause of the stampede.

The creature's eyes were red with no iris, and when it opened its mouth, it looked all red inside, indistinguishable from its fangs. It stomped the ground, causing an eruption of black mist that spread into a five hundred-kilometer radius. There was no shockwave, but everything the mist touched turned into black particles, disintegrating instantly. Half the city was erased, leaving a thousand-kilometer crater. Nothing was left alive.

Michael, who was hiding, stood there, stunned. Even with all his training, there was something about this creature that threw him off. It reminded him of the fear he felt during that nightmare. This creature resembled that thing. Michael mustered the strength to stand up and face the creature. He didn't notice before, but now he realized his body was covered by green energy. His vision felt different, clearer than ever before.

The creature growled at him as if it had a grudge. It tensed up and opened its mouth. Sensing the danger, Michael ducked to the side just as a red and black beam shot forth from the creature's mouth, scorching the ground where he had been standing.

The beam shot forth, obliterating the buildings in the previously unharmed part of the city. As Michael turned back and saw the devastation, the severity of his situation sank deep into his heart. Recalling his recently acquired skills, he focused and calmed down, honing in on the energy flowing through him. He felt a sudden obligation to take down this beast.

Charging at it with lightning speed, his movements became a blur. He closed the distance in an instant, and the creature raised its paws to fight back. But Michael acted first, punching it in the stomach and sending it flying into the sky. The impact from his blow caused a shockwave. He leaped after it, but when he reached the sky, the creature was nowhere to be seen.

Looking around frantically, Michael spotted the beast reappearing from a dark crack in the air below him. It let out a howl, releasing an energy wave that sent him flying further up. While being hurled through the air, Michael managed to stabilize himself and, to his surprise, found that he was flying. Hovering in the sky, he had no time to relish this new discovery.

"!!!!" Michael dodged a missile heading his way. In the distance, he saw fighter jets approaching. Some were targeting the creature, but it tanked the missiles like they were nothing, focusing solely on Michael.

"Damn, now I have to defend against these guys," Michael muttered, clicking his tongue and ruffling his hair. "Haa, what am I even doing right now? I've anticipated something like this, haven't I?" His eyes grew colder as he gauged his surroundings. The creature was his biggest enemy.

"That shadow beast is my main concern. Although I'm certain I can travel back home if I focus, I have this feeling that the creature will follow me, so I must deal with it here and now," Michael resolved, centering his gaze on the creature rushing towards him through the air. He flew towards it, clenching his fist and channeling more energy into it.

As Michael and the creature drew closer, the jets also got nearer, firing their guns at them. Michael considered dodging, but when he saw a few bullets hit him and cause no harm, he realized he might be overreacting. The military weapons of this world felt like mere annoyances, like flies buzzing around.

Focusing on the shadow beast, Michael's determination intensified. He flew directly at the creature, ready to unleash the full extent of his newfound powers. As he closed the distance, he could feel the energy surging through him, his resolve unshakable. The air crackled with tension as the two adversaries prepared to clash.