NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: The First Steps In Darkness
Chapter 2: The First Steps in Darkness
Pain no longer gripped me, but the sensation of my own existence still felt foreign. I was no longer flesh and blood. I was something else-something unseen, something weightless.
I drifted forward, testing my ability to move. It wasn't walking, not in the way I had once known. Instead, I flowed, gliding through the void like a whisper of air. Shadows clung to me, shifting unnaturally, as if they were part of me rather than an obstacle.
Was this truly real? Had I reincarnated?
I tried to breathe, but there was no air filling my lungs. In fact, I had no lungs at all. I tried to touch my own arm, but there was nothing there. Only an awareness of form, yet no substance to it. A creeping dread rose in me, but before I could let it settle, a cold voice echoed in my mind.
[System Initialization Complete.]
I froze.
A system? Just like those isekai stories?
More words formed in my mind, like unseen ink writing on the walls of my consciousness.
[Welcome, Assassin. You have been granted a new existence as a Shadowborn.]
Shadowborn...? So that's what I was now? The term alone told me nothing, but instinctively, I understood-I was not human anymore.
Then, as if responding to my curiosity, more information poured into my mind.
[Class: Shadow Assassin]
[Rank: Initiate]
[Abilities: Shadowmeld, Phantom Step]
[Physical Form: Non-Corporeal]
Assassin... That word settled inside me like a brand. It wasn't just a title; it was a new identity, a new purpose.
I focused on the first ability listed-Shadowmeld. As soon as I did, my body-or whatever I had now-began to dissolve into the surrounding darkness. I hadn't even tried to activate it, but the ability responded to my thoughts as if it was second nature.
I wasn't just hidden in the darkness. I became the darkness.
I lifted my awareness and moved, flowing like ink spilled onto the floor. It was effortless, silent. No footsteps, no sound, no weight. My presence faded completely. I felt like I was there, but if I concentrated, I knew no one else would sense me.
This was...terrifying. And yet, exhilarating.
Then, a new message appeared.
[Mandatory Trial: Prove Yourself.]
[Eliminate the Marked Target.]
A shiver ran through me.
Before I could question it, my surroundings shifted. The darkness around me peeled away like a veil, revealing a dimly lit alleyway. Crumbling stone walls enclosed the narrow passage, the air damp and filled with the distant murmurs of an unfamiliar city.
And there, ahead of me, was a man.
He stood alone, oblivious to my presence. A short sword hung at his side, his stance relaxed, but there was an unmistakable air of danger around him. He was no ordinary citizen.
[Target Identified: Low-Level Enforcer]
I clenched my fists-only to realize I had no real hands. Instead, my fingers reshaped into wisps of shadow before stabilizing. The system wanted me to eliminate this man.
I had never killed before.
In my past life, I had been... what? My memories were still murky, blurred at the edges. I knew I wasn't a warrior. I wasn't someone trained to take lives. That's what I think anyway...
Yet, as I watched the enforcer, something stirred within me.
A cold detachment.
I wasn't the same person anymore. This was a new world, a new existence. Hesitation wouldn't save me.
I willed myself forward, activating Phantom Step without even thinking. The moment I did, my body glided through the air soundlessly, moving faster than I should have. In an instant, I was behind the enforcer.
He never saw me.
Instinct took over. My right hand, now forming a dagger-like shape from pure shadow, lashed forward. A whisper of steel met flesh.
The enforcer tensed. A sharp gasp escaped his lips. His hands shot to his side, trying to grasp the source of his wound, but he couldn't reach me.
I twisted the blade. He staggered forward, eyes wide with shock. A choked breath. Then silence.
He collapsed, his body hitting the ground with a soft thud. Blood pooled beneath him, staining the cold stone.
I watched, emotionless. There was no panic, no sickness. Just a strange numbness, as if this act was already ingrained into me.
Was this the nature of a Shadow Assassin? Or was it simply because I had no heart left to race in fear?
[Target Eliminated.]
[Trial Complete.]
A strange warmth spread through me-not physical, but something deeper. Power. Growth.
[You have leveled up.]
[New Ability Unlocked: Shadow Strike.]
Another skill. More power.
I looked down at my hands-dark, shapeless, yet deadly. The body I had once known was gone, but in its place was something far more dangerous.
I was a shadow now. A predator lurking in the darkness.
And this was just the beginning.
END OF CHAPTER 2