Chapter 3: Shadows Within Shadows
The abandoned subway tunnel beneath Sangdo Station had been my sanctuary in both timelines. Ten years ago—or tomorrow, depending on how you looked at it—I'd discovered it while running from school bullies. Back then, I'd thought its darkness would hide my shame. Now I knew it would hide something far more dangerous: hope.
[System Alert: Optimal Training Location Confirmed]
[Environmental Analysis: Shadow Density - 94%]
[Warning: Temporal Energy Accumulation Detected]
The service tunnel stretched before me, its darkness absolute. Most people would have brought a flashlight. But I wasn't most people, not anymore. In the pitch black, my F-ranked shadow affinity hummed beneath my skin, responding to Gaia's modifications in ways I still didn't fully understand.
"Show me," I whispered to the darkness. "Show me what you really are."
[Tutorial Initiated: Advanced Shadow Manipulation]
[Objective: Manifest Solid Shadow Construction]
[Difficulty: SSS]
[Note: Failure May Result in Temporal Feedback]
In my previous life, shadow manipulation had been limited to creating areas of darkness, useful for hiding but little else. But in those final moments, as Pride's asteroid turned the sky to flame, I'd seen something more. Shadow wasn't the absence of light—it was the space between possibilities.
I reached out, not with my hand but with that other sense Gaia had awakened in me. The darkness responded, coiling around my consciousness like curious serpents.
[Energy Signature Stable]
[Processing Original Timeline Data]
[Unlocking: Shadow Memory Formation]
The system's interface flickered with new information, but I barely noticed. Something was happening to the shadows around me. They were... deepening. As if the darkness had layers, dimensions I'd never perceived before.
I thought of Pride's face, of that cruel smile as he summoned the asteroid. The shadows pulsed.
[Warning: Emotional State Affecting Shadow Density]
[Recommendation: Maintain Psychological Balance]
"I know what you can do," I told the darkness. "I've seen it. When everything ended, you were there. You were always there, waiting. Now show me how to use you."
The shadows trembled, then began to move. Not just shifting or flowing, but... folding. Like origami made of pure darkness. They twisted into shapes that hurt my eyes to look at, geometries that shouldn't have been possible.
[Achievement Unlocked: First Revelation]
[New Skill Acquired: Shadow Architecture]
[Current Progress: 0.001% of Maximum Potential]
My hands moved through forms I'd never practiced but somehow remembered—movements from a future that would never be. The darkness responded, condensing into solid shapes. First a sword, then a shield, then something more complex: a perfect replica of Pride's face, rendered in living shadow.
The sight of it made my heart race, but I forced myself to stay calm. This was what I needed. Understanding my enemy. Learning their—
[DANGER: Temporal Anomaly Detected]
[Multiple Timeline Fragments Converging]
[Emergency Protocol Initiated]
The shadows exploded outward, then snapped back like rubber bands. Images flashed through the darkness: Pride summoning the asteroid, Yeong-suk burning, Joon-woo's final apology, Professor Kim's lecture from a timeline that no longer existed, Halmeoni's knowing eyes—
"Stop!" I commanded, and to my surprise, everything froze.
The shadows hung suspended around me, still showing fragments of multiple timelines. But now I could see the patterns in them, the ways they connected. Each shadow was a thread in a vast tapestry of possibility.
[System Analysis Complete]
[Conclusion: Subject Has Accessed Shadow Archive]
[New Ability Unlocked: Timeline Visualization]
[Warning: Use With Extreme Caution]
I stared at the frozen images, understanding flooding through me. Shadow wasn't just an element—it was a record. A library of everything that had ever been or could be. And I was its librarian.
With trembling fingers, I reached out and touched one of the suspended shadows. It showed Halmeoni in her pojangmacha, but something was different. Her eyes were glowing with a soft silver light, and around her neck hung a pendant I'd never seen before: a dragon devouring its own tail.
[Critical Information Acquired]
[Quest Update: The Old Woman's Secret]
[Timeline Stability: 97%]
[Recommendation: Proceed With Caution]
I let the shadows fade back to formlessness, my mind racing. One training session, and already the universe was revealing secrets I'd never imagined. But with each revelation came new questions, new dangers.
The system's interface pulsed with one final message:
[Tutorial Complete]
[Overall Assessment: SSS]
[Note: Subject Shows Unprecedented Compatibility]
[Warning: Power Signature May Have Been Detected]
I leaned against the tunnel wall, exhausted but exhilarated. This was just the beginning. Shadow manipulation was more powerful than anyone had guessed, but it was still only one-seventh of what I needed to master.
As I gathered my things to leave, a new notification appeared:
[Quest Alert: Unexpected Visitor]
[Warning: High-Level Entity Approaching]
[Recommendation: Prepare For Confrontation]
I froze, listening to the tunnel's darkness. Footsteps echoed from the entrance, accompanied by the soft tap of a wooden cane.
"Interesting practice session, young one," Halmeoni's voice called out, but it wasn't quite Halmeoni's voice anymore. It was older, deeper, filled with power that had nothing to do with human awakening. "Perhaps it's time we had a proper talk about what you really are."
The shadows around me stirred, responding to my tension. Whatever came next would change everything.
Again.