Chapter 5: War between Light And Dark

A familiar sensation crawled up my spine—thick, suffocating, like invisible hands pressing down on my shoulders. 

My eyes snapped open. 

The air had changed. 

The wind that had been rustling the trees moments ago had stilled completely. The sounds of the park—the chatter of people, the distant hum of cars—faded into eerie silence. 

And then I saw it. 

Across the street, just beyond the lamplight, the shadows pulsed. 

Something was there. 

Something was watching us. 

Axel noticed it too. I felt him shift beside me, his body going tense. 

"It found you again." His voice was low. 

The darkness rippled, stretching unnaturally against the pavement. 

I stumbled to my feet, my breath coming out in short, uneven gasps. 

"What do we do?" My voice was barely above a whisper. 

Axel's jaw clenched. 

"Run." 

Then the shadows lunged. 

Everything happened at once. 

Axel grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward just as something dark and massive crashed into the bench where we had been sitting. The impact shattered the wood into splinters. 

A sharp, ear-piercing screech filled the air. 

We ran. 

I didn't look back. I didn't have to. I could feel it chasing us—the weight of its presence pressing down on me, the air growing colder with every step. 

Axel's grip on my wrist was firm, guiding me through the empty streets. His pace was fast, but controlled. He knew where he was going. 

We turned a corner, then another. The streets blurred together, my pulse hammering in my ears. 

"Axel—" I gasped.

"What—what is that thing?" 

"Dark Matter." His voice was tight.

"It won't stop until it gets to you." A chill ran down my spine. 

"Why?" Axel didn't answer. 

Instead, he suddenly stopped running and spun around, pulling me behind him. 

I barely caught myself, stumbling as I turned to face whatever was chasing us. 

And then I saw it clearly for the first time. 

A twisted, shifting mass of darkness loomed in the alleyway, its shape constantly warping—never staying solid for more than a second. It had no face, no eyes, but I could feel it staring at me. 

A deep, rattling growl echoed through the night. 

My legs trembled. 

Axel exhaled, stepping forward. His entire posture changed—his shoulders squared, his hands steady. 

He wasn't running anymore. He was ready to fight. 

"Stay behind me," he ordered. 

I could barely breathe.

"What are you—" The air around Axel flickered. 

A faint glow surrounded his hands, pulsing like an unseen force was bending to his will. It was the same thing I had seen before—back in the alley when he saved me. 

Except now, it was stronger. 

Brighter. 

Axel's fingers twitched, and suddenly, the glow expanded outward. A shockwave rippled through the space between him and the Dark Matter, distorting the air like a heatwave. 

The creature recoiled, letting out a shriek that made my blood run cold. 

It felt pain. 

Axel didn't waste time. He moved fast, faster than any normal human should be able to. 

I watched in stunned silence as he raised his hand, palm out. 

A sharp, golden light erupted from his fingertips. 

The Dark Matter twisted violently, screeching as the light struck it. 

Axel stepped forward, his voice steady.

"You don't belong in this world." The creature howled. 

Then— 

It shattered. 

The darkness split apart, dissolving into the air like ink dispersing in water. 

And just like that, it was gone. 

Silence fell over the street. 

I stood frozen, my body trembling as I tried to process what had just happened. 

Axel lowered his hand, the glow fading. He turned to me, his expression unreadable. 

My mouth was dry. 

"What..." My voice cracked. "What are you?" 

Axel hesitated. 

Then, finally, he spoke. 

"I'm the only one who can protect you."

Third Persons POV.

The evening air was cool against Selene's skin as she walked beside Axel. The streets were quieter than usual, the hum of distant traffic blending into the rhythmic sound of their footsteps.

She should have been exhausted after work, but after everything Axel had told her, sleep felt impossible.

I'm not from this world.

The thought had been sitting in her chest for days, heavy and unshakable. It wasn't just the dreams anymore. It wasn't just paranoia. It was real.

"You've been quiet," Axel said, breaking the silence. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. Worry, maybe.

Selene exhaled.

"What am I supposed to say?"

Axel glanced at her eyes sharp under the streetlights.

"I don't know. Yell at me. Call me a liar."

Selene scoffed.

"You don't seem like the type to make up stories about impending doom and creatures made of darkness."

"That's what you're upset about?" He chuckled, but there was no amusement in it.

She stopped walking, turning to face him.

"Of course not," she muttered.

"I just—" She hesitated.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do with all this." Axel studied her, his expression unreadable.

"You don't have to do anything. That's why I'm here."

She frowned. "To protect me."

"Yes."

She didn't know why that frustrated her.

"And what about you? You keep telling me what I am, but you never talk about yourself. Who are you, Axel?"

For a moment, he didn't answer. His gaze drifted to the sky, where the stars flickered faintly.

Then—

Axel tensed.

Selene felt it, too. A shift in the air, a prickling sensation at the back of her neck.

The streetlights flickered.

Axel stepped in front of her in an instant.

"Selene—"

Her stomach twisted. She already knew what was coming—again.

The Dark Matter had found her.

Selene barely had a second to react before the air around them shifted. A low, guttural sound echoed through the empty street—a sound that made her stomach twist. 

Dark tendrils slithered from the shadows, writhing like living creatures, their edges flickering unnaturally against the dim streetlights. The Dark Matter had found them again.

Axel stepped in front of her, his hand instinctively reaching behind him as if to shield her. His golden energy flickered around his form, illuminating the darkness creeping toward them. 

"Stay behind me," he ordered, his voice sharp. 

Selene clenched her fists. "I'm not just going to stand here—" 

A tendril lashed out toward them. Axel moved in an instant, golden energy crackling from his fingertips as he slashed through it mid-air. The severed piece writhed before dissolving into nothing, but more emerged, twisting toward them with relentless hunger. 

Selene dodged back as another tendril lunged for her. She could feel the coldness radiating from it—a void that threatened to swallow her whole. But she wasn't afraid anymore. She knew what these things were. She knew what they wanted. 

And she wasn't going to let them take her. 

Axel moved like lightning, his golden aura burning through the darkness as he struck down the tendrils one by one. But no matter how many he cut down, more kept appearing, their movements growing more erratic. 

"They're adapting," Axel muttered under his breath. His jaw tightened as he grabbed Selene's wrist and pulled her back.

"We need to get out of here—" 

Before he could finish, the ground beneath them cracked. A massive force erupted from the darkness, sending them both flying backward. Selene hit the pavement hard, a sharp pain shooting through her side.

To be continued.