The Shadow

The city stretched beneath Tyla in a dreamlike haze, shifting and breathing like a living thing. She floated weightlessly, the streets below humming with eerie stillness. Buildings flickered between past and future—one moment, a towering skyscraper; the next, a crumbling ruin whispering forgotten voices. The sky above was an oil-slick void, pulsing as if something massive lurked behind it.

The shape in the mist shifted again and a whisper skittered through the air.

Tyla spun, heart hammering. "Did you hear that?"

System 111 hovered beside her, its tiny wings beating frantically. "L-Lady Boss, we should leave! This place feels wrong!"

Then she saw it.

A figure stood atop a nearby rooftop amid the mist , barely more than a shadow stretched into human shape. It had no face, only a void where features should be. Its form rippled like ink bleeding through water. When it moved, the area around it distorted—as if reality itself recoiled from its presence.

Then it twitched.

A single, jagged movement—impossibly fast. It was closer now.

Tyla's breath caught. It moved, but I didn't see it move.

The thing cocked its head. It had no eyes, yet she felt it watching. A slow, suffocating dread curled around her, sinking into her bones.

"RUN!" System 111 shrieked.

Tyla bolted, soaring through the shifting cityscape. Streets warped beneath her; roads twisted and stretched, turning short distances into endless chasms. Windows flickered with blurred figures watching from the other side, their distorted faces pressing against the glass.

Behind her, the shadow moved again.

Faster.

A flicker—now it was beside her.

Tyla screamed, veering away. The thing twisted unnaturally, its limbs bending in ways that defied logic. A clawed hand reached for her, its fingers too long, shadows writhing like living tendrils.

A breathless whisper coiled in her ear:

"You do not belong."

Cold terror shot through her. She blasted forward, dodging between buildings that warped and folded in on themselves. Doors opened into nothingness. Streets led in endless loops. Her surroundings breathed, shifting when she wasn't looking.

The shadow kept pace.

No matter how fast she moved, it was always there—just behind, just beside, just too close.

System 111 wailed. "T-Tyla!It is reaching out!"

Tyla gritted her teeth casting the only spell she has learnt. Purification!

She clenched her fist, summoning white light to her palm. The moment the glow flared, the streets around her screamed. Buildings trembled, their facades flickering between timeworn ruins and impossible future towers. The shadow recoiled violently, its form convulsing as if the light burned it.

Tyla turned mid-flight, thrusting her palm forward. A brilliant surge of purifying energy erupted, slicing through the suffocating darkness. The creature shrieked, its soundless wail echoing in her skull. Its form distorted, breaking apart like unraveling threads.

But it wasn't gone.

Not yet.

The shadow reformed, writhing against the white light, fighting it.

Tyla's pulse pounded. Not enough!

She inhaled sharply and summoned more—brighter, stronger! Pure white energy pulsed around her, spreading like wildfire. The area warped, and for a moment, the streets themselves seemed to reel away from her.

The shadow let out a final, warping cry—then collapsed into itself, vanishing into the depths of the city.

Silence.

Tyla hovered unsteadily in the air, her chest heaving as if she had run for miles. Her limbs felt leaden, drained of strength, and a deep, aching exhaustion pulsed through her veins. Her vision swam, dark spots creeping at the edges.

System 111 clung to her hair, trembling. "L-Lady Boss…?"

Tyla barely heard her. Her entire body hurt—a bone-deep weariness that made even staying afloat a struggle. She had used too much mana. The pure light that had once flared so brilliantly now flickered weakly in her palm before vanishing entirely.

"Is…is it gone?" the tiny pixie whispered, voice tight with fear.

Tyla forced herself to swallow past the dryness in her throat. The city still shifted, still breathed around them, its unnatural stillness pressing in. But the thing was gone.

For now.

Her body sagged, and she barely caught herself before plummeting. I need to get out of here.