Shadow Man

"I'm completely stumped. Who knew I could do that kind of thing?" Michael said as he lay on his bed. After the entire incident, he teleported to the place he'd bought. It was the main motivation for him learning to use his powers. After he finally arrived, he synced his navigation device with the computer, getting an update on current matters in this universe and checking if there were any events that might affect him or his purchases.

"Maybe I should get a base for myself," Michael thought. Since the day he got a feel for how to use his powers, he kinda knew now how to use them—things like teleporting to universes he's been to, coating himself in energy for protection, buffs, etc., even the energy blasts he did. But he wasn't sure how to scale himself. After confronting that shadow beast, he had a strange feeling the entire time. "It felt like it was my natural enemy or something," Michael muttered. This entire thing felt off for him.

"Anyway, I've checked up on my orders and spent the remaining money on some raw materials and advanced engineering courses. Once I finish my finals, I'll head back here, sort out my stuff, and then look for my own personal base," Michael said as he got up. His eyes sparkled cosmic green as he teleported back to his room.

'Dun!' Shock filled his eyes as he couldn't believe it. His body shook as he fell to his knees, and tears erupted. Michael let out a large cry. "Why? How? And when? When did this happen?" he cried, kneeling on the rubble of what should be his home. There were no bodies, just rubble and a crater that was glitching black and red. Michael cried, filled with great sorrow. "Who did this? Who, damn it!!" He punched the ground, his powers out of control, causing a small explosion from his tantrum.

Suddenly, he heard cracks as if glass shattered behind him. He quickly got up and turned around, taking a few steps back. There came a shadowy figure similar to the one he dreamt of. But Michael wasn't scared, not even a bit. He was filled with rage, knowing he was facing the perpetrator. The figure was saying something, but what was it?

"The hell are you even talking about, bastard?" Michael yelled, interrupting the shadowy figure.

"Hmmm," finally, the translation module picked up its language. "I thought all... spoke..." He heard some words that weren't translatable, so Michael didn't understand what the figure meant.

"Cut the crap. Are you the one? Did you do this?" Michael cried. After he said those words, the shadowy figure tilted its head. Then, with its featureless face and crimson red eyes, it let out a smile, revealing its jagged teeth, enough to creep a person out.

"And were you not the one to end my pet?" the figure said, suddenly standing behind Michael again. He turned completely in shock, facing it again. Although he felt it was a strong foe, this more than confirmed his feeling.

"Chh. Your dog came barking at me, so I silenced it. What did you want me to do, huh? Let it bite me?" Michael replied, sweat on his face showing his nervousness.

"Well, I suppose we can call it... what is the term... ah yes, even," the figure said.

"You mean even," Michael muttered.

"After eliminating my pet, I sought revenge. So..." The figure opened a crack in space-time, making the same glass-shattering noise as before. With a swipe of a finger, two bodies floated out. Michael immediately charged.

"How dare you!" he cried, tackling the figure into the distance. The bodies fell to the ground, and as Michael stood up, he saw that the figure was gone.

"Do you really think you are my equal?" he suddenly heard as he felt a strong blow from the right side of his face. His ear popped as the pressure from the impact caused the ground to crumble and the air to be displaced, causing a loud boom. Michael was sent hundreds of kilometers to the east, stopping by crashing into a half-destroyed building. The building collapsed on top of him, causing dust and smoke to cloud the area.

"Haaaaa!" Michael screamed as he got up, his right eye bloodshot. The pressure released around him caused the dust to clear. Right there in front of him, from a crack in space-time, came the shadowy figure, its face expressionless. Behind it followed Michael's sister and brother-in-law. They had holes in their hearts, filled with black mist, their eyes glowing red, and a red mist seemed to be emanating from them.

"Since you took my pet, I chose to take yours for myself," the figure said as it snapped its fingers. Michael's sister and brother-in-law screamed as if they were in pain. For a brief moment, he saw his sister smile as red tears streamed down her face. She seemed to have said something as Michael flew with all his might towards them, but it was too late. The moment he reached his sister, he noticed her husband throwing a punch at him. His body was now covered with black mist, red spikes grew from his back, and his fingers turned into red claws. He howled, releasing a sonic attack after Michael had blocked the punch.

"Well then, I'll leave you three alone for a while," the shadowy figure said as it went back into the crack, which closed behind it.

Michael crossed his arms, concentrating the energy in his ears as the sonic attack hit him. He was blown back, but only a short distance, as he stood his ground, floating in the air. He looked at his sister, who was now gone from where she had been. Michael scanned the area, but she was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, the sky turned red. Looking up, he saw two shadowy figures almost identical, with red claws and spikes. He knew these were them—somehow, that shadowy figure had transformed his family into shadow beasts. They fired beams simultaneously from their mouths, shooting straight at Michael.

"Penny, Njabulo, I'm sorry," Michael said, wiping his tears. He vanished before the beams could hit him.

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