The room darkened as the man stepped forward, his very presence twisting the shadows into something more than just the absence of light. The faint glow of the hallway lamp barely pushed through the half-open door, casting long, wavering lines on the wooden floorboards.
Nervously, Hikari swallowed hard, a futile attempt in mentally preparing himself. The air felt thick, charged with something he couldn't quite describe.
"Stand before me, um... what's your name again, kid?"
"Kurayami Hikari."
"All right, once again, ehrmm~! Stand before me, Kurayami Hikari." The man's voice carried an undeniable weight, as if the words themselves pulled at reality.
Hikari sighed. "This really is happening, huh?"
The man—no, the Shadow Manipulator—grinned, his dark eyes gleaming. "Of course. I wasn't joking when I asked if you wanted to be my successor." He raised his hand, and suddenly, the shadows stretched unnaturally, coiling around the room like living threads.
Hikari tensed. He had seen enough movies to know when something was about to go horribly wrong.
"What exactly are we doing?" he asked warily.
"Your coronation," the man replied, stepping forward. "Every Shadow Manipulator must undergo this ritual. It is the moment where the darkness chooses its next vessel."
Hikari didn't like the way that sounded. "Darkness chooses? Wah, so it's like a possession or something?"
The man didn't answer. Instead, he lifted both arms, and the room shifted. Hikari's breath hitched as his own shadow began to rise from the floor, twisting and writhing, taking on a shape that wasn't his own.
As if affected by some unseen power, the walls flickered. And for a moment, it felt like the entire room had lost its dimensions, flattened into a two-dimensional void where only he and the man remained.
The man pressed his hand to Hikari's forehead. "I, Ru Ryu, the bearer of shadows, bestow upon you the legacy of the unseen."
Hikari flinched as cold surged through him. It was as if something crawled beneath his skin, slipping into the marrow of his bones. He gasped, eyes widening as black tendrils slithered up his arms, wrapping around him like ink being poured into water.
Ru Ryu continued. "From this moment forth, you are no longer just Kurayami Hikari. You are bound to the darkness, and the darkness to you."
The shadows tightened, pressing into his skin, seeping into his very being. Hikari clenched his teeth as an overwhelming sensation flooded his senses—like standing at the edge of a vast abyss and knowing he could fall at any moment.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over.
Hikari stumbled, catching himself on the edge of his desk. The shadows receded, retreating into their normal forms as though nothing had happened. His breath came in short gasps, his body tingling with an unfamiliar energy.
Ru Ryu let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, that went smoother than I expected."
Hikari stared at him, his mind still reeling. "What... just happened?"
Ru Ryu smirked. "You'll figure it out."
"Wait, that's it? No manual? No tutorial?"
Ru Ryu turned toward the window. "Nah. You'll learn as you go. Besides, I'm not exactly in the best condition to be your teacher." He gestured toward his still-bleeding wound, though the bleeding had slowed. "I have my own matters to attend to."
Hikari frowned. "You're just leaving?"
Ru Ryu chuckled. "I'll be watching. We'll meet again."
And with that, he stepped into the shadows—and vanished.
With the commotion coming to an end, Hikari heaved a sigh of relief... no, more like a sigh of concession. Although it was already over, he still had no idea what just happened.
— — —
The scent of hamburg steak filled the house, a warm, savory aroma that made Hikari's stomach grumble despite the insanity he had just experienced. He shook his head, trying to compose himself as he descended the stairs.
At the dinner table, his mother smiled at him. "You were in your room for a while. Studying?"
Hikari forced a grin. "Uh, yeah. Just… school stuff."
His father scoffed. "School stuff, huh? You looked like you ran a marathon when you came home."
Hikari shoved a bite of food into his mouth, hoping they wouldn't pry further. He needed normalcy, even if it was temporary.
"I'm fine," he mumbled, stabbing a piece of meat with his chopsticks a little too aggressively.
Hikari's mom narrowed her eyes. "You sure? You look like you saw a ghost."
"Maybe he finally realized his grades suck," his father said, laughing.
Hikari rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha."
As the conversation flowed around him, he found himself lost in thought. Did that really just happen? Did he really inherit some supernatural power from a man who bled out of his shadow?
He glanced at his reflection in the glass of the window. For a moment, he swore his shadow flickered unnaturally, as if it were watching him.
Later that night, Hikari lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. His body still tingled, like a phantom sensation running through his veins. He closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep.
When he woke up, everything was different.
The world around him felt... wrong. It wasn't just a feeling—it was as if the depth of reality had been flattened. His room, the furniture, even his own hands—they all seemed strangely two-dimensional, as if they lacked substance.
No, it wasn't the room that was flat... it was him!
Somehow, while he was sleeping, his body had seeped into his bed, and he couldn't get up from it. It was as if the evilness of sleep paralysis had engulfed him. A certain heaviness weighed down on his chest, making it more difficult for him to breathe.
He tried to scream, but nothing came out of his vocal cords. For the first time in Hikari's life, he felt trapped in the darkness, something that he had dreaded to experience ever since he was a child.
A deep, echoing voice resounded in his mind. You are now one with the shadows.
Hikari gasped, his breath coming in short bursts. He struggled to move, to force himself out of whatever strange state he had fallen into.
Will I be trapped in my shadow forever? He asked himself, panicking.