Apurv_4942

In a world ruled by warring factions, power is everything. Born powerless, Riven was destined to be forgotten—until his sister, a legendary warrior, was assassinated before his eyes. Rage and grief awakened something ancient within him: Shadowbound Powers, allowing him to raise and command the fallen.

Believed dead, he hides in a low-ranking faction, secretly growing his army of shadows. But when his true strength is revealed, whispers spread, and The Organization—the same force that watched his sister die—calls him in. They’ve been watching all along, waiting for him to break.

But he has his own plans. The war between factions is only the beginning. He won’t just survive. He will rise.

Shadowbound: Rise of the Forgotten

I move through the ruins like a ghost, my heartbeat a steady drum in my ears. The faction patrol is close—too close. The air is thick with the scent of wet stone and decay, the distant sound of boots crunching against gravel sending a cold spike of adrenaline through my veins. I press myself against the crumbling wall, forcing my breath to slow, to steady.

Stay hidden. Stay unnoticed. That was how I had survived before. That was what Selene always told me.

The shadows around me stir, restless and eager. My body still thrums from the battle before, from the power that has buried itself deep into my bones. It's like something inside me has broken open—a cage shattered, a beast unleashed. My fingers twitch at my sides, and the darkness reacts. It moves on its own, flickering, stretching—hungry.

I grit my teeth, clenching my fists to force it down. Not now. Not yet.

The soldiers stop a few feet away. Their voices are low, but I can hear them clearly in the silence of the ruins.

"Did you feel that?" one of them mutters, shifting uneasily.

"Yeah," another replies. "Like something's watching us."

I curse under my breath. I need to move. I need to disappear before they notice me.

A flicker. A small movement. Barely noticeable—but one of the soldiers sees it. His body tenses, his hand moving toward his weapon, his mouth opening to warn the others—

In an instant, my shadow lunges forward, silent and precise. It snakes through the air, a spear of pure darkness, and drives itself through the soldier's chest. He gasps—a strangled, choked sound—before his body is swallowed by the abyss.

The others freeze. For a moment, there is nothing but the heavy, suffocating silence of shock.

They reach for their weapons, but it's too late. The storm inside me has already been unleashed. My shadows rise around me, forming jagged tendrils that lash out like the arms of a beast. I don't hold back. I don't hesitate.

One of them tries to run. The darkness catches him first, wrapping around his throat, yanking him into the void. Another swings his sword wildly, his panic turning his strikes sloppy and desperate. My shadow cuts through him like he's nothing, the blade never even touching me.

The silence returns, heavier than before. The scent of blood thickens in the air, mixing with the damp rot of the ruins. I stand in the aftermath, my breathing unsteady, my hands trembling.

I killed them. Effortlessly. Like it was nothing. Like it was meant to happen.

My eyes flicker downward, and I see the last remnants of my shadows retreating back to me, slithering into my skin like living ink. The power inside me hums, satisfied, but still hungry. Always hungry.

Selene would have stopped me. She would have told me to fight against this. To hold on to what little humanity I had left.

And now, I had nothing left to hold me back.

A Monster in the Dark