The True Shadow of Death

The sky was already orange and yellow. Olavo, outside, feels a tap on his shoulder. When he turns around, it's just his grandfather.

— Grandpa! — Olavo hugs him and asks for his blessing.

— Where were you? I was curious because I didn't see you here — he asks with a smile on his face.

— Well, I was fishing. I spent almost the whole day fishing. It looks like my grandson is finally going to spend two days here. What happiness! — Gerson spins Olavo delicately so as not to hurt him.

Olavo's parents then leave with smiles on their faces.

— Bye, Olavo — his mother and father say at the same time as they get into the car and leave, waving. Before they got in, he had hugged them.

Olavo had tears in his eyes, so he rubs his face so his grandparents wouldn't notice he was emotional.

— Well, Olavo, it's time for dinner. — says his grandmother, holding his hand and leading him to the dining room.

— But grandma... It's only six forty-eight... — says Olavo, a bit confused.

— The time doesn't matter, but surely you'll be hungry later, so it's better to do things quickly before you regret it. — Fátima then goes to the pots with the food, opens the microwave, puts dinner in, and sets it to heat up for a few minutes.

— Well, in the meantime, I'm going to take a shower. — Olavo goes to the bathroom, takes a shower, goes to his room, changes clothes, grabs his cell phone from the top bunk, and returns to the table. His dinner is already there, so he starts eating.

Meanwhile, his grandmother is just watching the soap opera on Globo, sitting on the sofa. After a few minutes, Olavo washes his plate and goes to the living room, sitting next to his grandmother.

— Olavo, I need to show you something. — she says with a smile on her face.

— What? Don't tell me it's grandpa talking in his sleep... — he asks excitedly.

— No, something much better. — Then she gets up and opens the door, taking Olavo by the hand.

The house was surrounded by fireflies; it was incredible how they could surround such a dark house, especially that one. Olavo is amazed by it.

— How beautiful, grandma! — he says with his hands on his cheeks, finding it amazing. They then sit in two chairs, watching the fireflies surround the house while she tells stories to Olavo.

Hours had passed, and they were having fun. It was exactly 9:30 PM.

— Well, Olavo... It's late, let's go to sleep — she says, getting up and yawning.

His grandmother, after getting up, holds Olavo's hand, and they both go to the bathroom and brush their teeth. They were happy after the storytelling and seeing the fireflies surrounding the house, but everything in life has the right time to do, doesn't it? That's what Olavo thought. After brushing their teeth, Fátima goes to her room, and he sets up the hammock in the living room, lying down and soon falling asleep... Until suddenly, it was as if Olavo was in a different place. He was in the field of the farm, it was autumn, with leaves falling, and in front of him was his grandfather and a small mud hut.

— Grandpa? — says the confused boy, wondering what was happening. He gets up and goes to him.

— There's something I wanted to show you, Olavo. — replies his grandfather, who then enters the small hut, and Olavo just follows him.

They see a small table with old photos and, in the middle, some religious objects. There was a doll of the Virgin Mary.

— Olavo... Since ancient times, humanity has committed many sins, crimes, and murders. Amid all this, it was promised that a boy would have a stone that would protect him and have enough determination to save all of humanity, a stone granted by God... What would the saints think if someone tried to replace their own child? — Gerson asks with a smile.

— What are you talking about, Grandpa? — Olavo says nervously.

— You know very well, you useless worm. Everyone knows the truth and how, in this great period of human history, someone as useless as you!

The house starts to be covered in blood, and his grandfather's eyes turn as black as coal. Blood begins to flow from the eyes of the saint's doll, and from the wall where the table was leaning, a huge hand emerges and grabs the boy.

— Stop! — he screams, desperate, begging for divine mercy and also from his own grandfather.

— Wake up! — a voice from beyond emerges, and amidst that crowd, everything begins to turn to dust until there's absolutely nothing left, just the boy... until he wakes up in the yard of his grandmother's farm, about to be pierced by a shadow formed by the light of the fireflies.

— Get out! — Olavo throws a big punch at the demon's face, causing it to be thrown far away and hit a tree covered in thorns.

— Damn, the technique Yume o Kowasu Saimin-jutsu didn't work completely. Did you notice something different... Argh, but it doesn't matter, you're weak, and I can finally stay in my form. The light from these fireflies is like nothing, your light against me is completely useless. It's time for your death, Olavo! — Then the shadow begins to gain color and a new form, clothes.

The being had blonde hair and clothes for the cold, but also very stylish. Light brown eyes like the sunrise, gray pants, and two black boots. Then, the individual takes a pistol out of his pocket that was completely dark like a solid shadow.

— Who are you?! — Olavo shouts, frightened, looking scared of the man, standing up trembling and getting into a fighting stance.

— Oh... I apologize for not introducing myself. Well, I'll give you the honor of knowing my name before you die and I acquire the stone you ate... I am Shadow Maker. It's a pleasure to meet one of the Chosen of the Stone. How does it feel to know that the entire spiritual world is after you?

— What are you talking about? I know absolutely nothing, "spiritual world"? What nonsense. Leave me alone, get off my grandmother's farm! — Olavo shouts, filled with fear and anger.

— You're dumber than I thought. How could Israel have chosen such a pathetic being to protect Earth? What foolishness. Well, I'll continue with my job. Tell me, what are your last words?

— Please, Dear God... Save me! — He cried out, tears streaming down his face, with his palms together, pleading for help. It was too much for an eight-year-old child. And so, Shadow Maker fired a shot at the boy's head, but he didn't expect something to happen at that moment... A large shield formed in front of the boy. Wait... An "elder" had awakened from her sleep, GRANDMA FÁTIMA!

— Don't worry, my grandson, I am here to protect you. — She said after having defended her grandson, dissolving the shield and looking at the demon with disdain.

— Old woman?! How did you wake up? I thought I had put you under Yume o Kowasu Saimin-jutsu! Damn, damn, but you can't beat me, your energy is low just like your physical attributes. Even in your spiritual form, I'm sure you won't last long. Your time should have ended a long time ago, HAHA! — He laughed, reloading his weapon, converting his spiritual energy into a solidified shadow shaped like bullets, and then pointing it at the woman.

— Don't talk about Grandma like that, but what's happening? What is a spiritual form!? And why do you look so young, Grandma? — Olavo was confused by all of it, using the intelligence he barely had to think of something.

— Calm down, my grandson, we'll talk later, okay? I have some matters to settle now. Get inside the house. — She said, looking at several fireflies gathering in her hands.

— But... — Olavo was interrupted by his grandmother.

— Now! — She shouted, and the boy immediately ran inside the house.

— Finally, you would be more challenging if you knew how to use the technique you have. You can create illusions using shadows that interconnect with the spiritual energy of any living being. The problem is that there's a flaw in all this: the lights from my fireflies diminish and locate any spiritual energy smaller than mine. When you tried to put me in the illusion, I used my combat experience and assumed you would use stupid techniques to prevent me from waking up. But my own aura converted into light prevented the shadow from connecting to my brain and eyes to use what it wanted. Now, where can we start? — Said the woman with white, silky hair, a white hood over her head, and eyes as yellow as honey. Her clothes were as white as sheep's wool, and fireflies seemed to approach the woman as if they were intimate, just as a dog is a friend to man, gathering a large number of fireflies, forming "spiritual gloves."

— Damn old woman, how do you have so much experience and knowledge about spiritual energy being just a common human? ANSWER ME! — Shadow Maker shouted, filling with rage.

—Hail Mary, full of grace... — Why was she praying?

— Shut up, bitch! ANSWER ME OR I WILL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW. — He shouted, looking furious. She seemed to ignore him.

— The Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. — Fátima began to walk towards him.

— ARE YOU DEAF? ANSWER ME NOW, DAMN OLD WOMAN! — His eyes burned with rage as he pointed the gun at her mouth.

— Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners. — Her expressions changed. Instead of looking disdainful, she seemed neutral and continued to ignore him.

— Enough, Su ju no Yami no Dangan! — The demon decided to attack.

**Su ju no Yami no Dangan**: The user fires multiple bullets from their spiritual weapon at once, aimed at the enemy's vital points. They travel at incredible speed and can increase in speed and attack power, requiring good reflexes to "dodge."

— Now and at the hour of our death. Amen! — Fátima used a defensive technique called **"Faiafuraiharikēn"**.

**Faiafuraiharikēn**: The user manipulates fireflies with spiritual energy, making them swarm around the individual, preventing anything from penetrating the hurricane. The fireflies move at bullet speed and are as hard as steel. They release wind waves that can turn any common bullet to dust before it even reaches the hurricane.

— Meisō shinkei shōmei! — The woman performed a support technique to continue her advance, and upon getting close, delivered a powerful punch to his face, capable of crushing a car. Shadow Maker, dazed, was thrown several meters back, managing to stay on his feet by hitting a thorny tree and stabilizing himself on the ground.

**Meisō shinkei shōmei**: The user commands the fireflies with spiritual energy, making them increase their brightness and leaving the opponent dazed and dizzy for 10 seconds.

— Interesting... These gloves increase your strength to the point of crushing a car or maybe even more, but you don't have enough energy. You're controlling your strength through spiritual energy, which is why you only broke my nose. What do you plan to do with me... Extract information? — He wiped the blood from his nose with his hand and gave a brief smile.

— Maybe I should kill you right now using my "Ultimate Attack," but you might be useful to me. This game ends here! — She shouted, concentrating a large number of fireflies on her index finger.

— You may not use your Ultimate Attack to kill me, but I will use mine for your defeat, damn old woman! **Burakkuhōru, Tsukuyomi no Yami, Ultimate Attack!** — The demon used his most powerful technique, and all the fireflies in the area began to be converted into spiritual energy. The woman tried to use a basic spiritual reinforcement technique, **"Nidanjanpu,"** but it was in vain.

**Tsukuyomi no Yami, Ultimate Attack**: Consists of concentrating all spiritual energy and darkness into a single point, causing energy-made objects like fireflies and energy blasts to be completely absorbed and nullified, making counterattacking impossible. The only option is to defend to reduce damage. After accumulating enough energy, a massive energy explosion occurs. Additionally, the technique pulls the enemy in, making escape impossible.

**Nidanjanpu**: A basic ability that involves concentrating spiritual energy in the feet to jump, staying in the air and moving at high speed, incorporating agility and reflexes.

The woman in her spiritual form was lying on the ground, appearing immobilized in all parts of her body, while the demon took small steps towards Olavo's grandmother, reloading his spiritual weapon with spiritual energy and shaping a shadow into a bullet, aiming it at her head.

— As I thought, you couldn't last long. What will Olavo feel knowing he left his grandmother behind to die? I will make sure he suffers to feel more of that emotion! — The individual gave a sinister smile, and as he was about to shoot, he heard a voice... "Hunter Mode, Decapitation." In just a millisecond, the shadow being's head was on the ground. For some reason, the one who killed him was camouflaged in the darkness.

— What? How am I dead? Why is my body disappearing... NO! Who are you, damn you? I can't even sense spiritual energy from you. Why couldn't I loca— The dark being was interrupted.

— I am Gerson, the Hunter. — He then stepped on the individual's head, making it explode.

— You shouldn't have done that, Gerson... We could have gotten information from him. The demon could have been useful, you know? — She said while lying on the ground.

— Fátima, are you crazy? I couldn't let a pathetic being like that kill you and harm our family. He could have returned from where he came and given information about our spiritual abilities, putting Olavo's life at risk. — He retorted.

— He is more my grandson than yours. I want to know what will happen to him... He seemed so scared, as if something terrible had happened. — She said, appearing thoughtful.

— Olavo is a child! Of course, he's going to be scared of all this. He is the Chosen One by the stone and is now being hunted by the spiritual worlds. What did you expect from him? — He said, looking furious.

— He's not like that, he's special... The dreams, they must be it, the dreams or illusions, whatever... They must have given a message, even if it's hidden. You're right. Please, go accompany him... I will make sacrifices and pray... Even though it's late, I need to regenerate these wounds. — A great light emerged from her, and she returned to her human form, as an elderly woman. She spat blood.

— Damn, it's been a while since I did this... — As she said this, a great hurricane of fireflies surrounded her, piercing her flesh and injecting all the nutrients, accelerating her regeneration. In just a minute, she was able to stand up and began walking in the opposite direction of the farm.

— Hm... Be careful. — With that, the shadow made a great leap, disappearing.

Olavo was sleeping on one of the bunk beds in the room, with tears still streaming down his face, hugging the pillow and covered by several blankets. He had his palms together as if praying, and his grandfather opened the door with a small smile, then entered and lay down on the bunk where his grandson was. He placed his hand on Olavo's shoulder, curled up as if he were his shield and Olavo the protected.

— May God protect you, my grandson.