## Title: **Shad
Darren's breaths came in shallow gasps as he clutched his side, blood seeping through his torn uniform. He struggled to stay conscious, his vision blurred and his body screaming in pain. Across the ruined lab, Dr. Elias Morwin—now a grotesque fusion of man and sentient Prism Energy—advanced with malevolent intent. His glowing eyes burned with unrestrained power, and the air crackled with his sheer presence.
"You should have stayed away," Morwin hissed, his voice echoing unnaturally. "You, a powerless insect, dared to challenge the future!"
Darren tried to lift his baton, but his strength failed him. He fell to one knee, his head spinning. The wreckage around him painted a grim picture—shattered equipment, flickering lights, and the still forms of his backup team who had been taken out within moments of entering the lab. Darren was the last one standing, and even that seemed temporary.
Morwin raised a hand, tendrils of energy coiling around him like serpents. "Goodbye, Enforcer. Your sacrifice will mark the beginning of a new era."
The tendrils shot forward, aimed directly at Darren. He braced for the end, his mind flickering with memories of his journey—the failures, the victories, and the stubborn refusal to give up. But as the energy neared, a sudden shift rippled through the room.
The sentient energy—the same force that had transformed Morwin—reacted violently. A high-pitched screech filled the air as the energy detached itself from the scientist's body, pulling him into its swirling vortex. Morwin's screams of protest echoed, but they were quickly silenced as the energy devoured him entirely, leaving nothing but silence and a faint glow.
Darren blinked in disbelief, the pain momentarily numbed by the shock of what had just happened. The sentient energy hovered in the air, its form constantly shifting and pulsing. It seemed to study Darren, its presence exuding both intelligence and a strange curiosity.
"W-what are you?" Darren croaked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The energy answered—not with words, but with a surge of understanding that flooded Darren's mind. Images, emotions, and concepts poured into him. It was a being of immense potential, created accidentally by Morwin's experiments. But it was incomplete, flawed. It couldn't exist without a host to anchor it.
Before Darren could react, the energy surged toward him. He tried to move, but his injuries left him powerless to resist. The light enveloped him, seeping into his body. Pain—blinding and overwhelming—tore through him as the energy fused with his very being. He screamed, his voice echoing through the empty lab.
Then, suddenly, the pain was gone.
Darren opened his eyes, his vision clear and sharper than ever. The aches and wounds that had racked his body moments ago were healed, replaced by a strange, electrifying vitality. He stood slowly, his uniform tattered but his body unscathed. His hands glowed faintly with a pulsating light, and he could feel the energy coursing through him—a limitless reservoir of power waiting to be unleashed.
The voice of the energy resonated in his mind, calm and measured. *"We are one now. I grant you my power, but know this: I cannot survive without you, just as you would have perished without me. Together, we are stronger."*
Darren clenched his fists, testing the newfound strength surging within him. The walls of the lab trembled as an unconscious ripple of energy escaped him. His mind raced with possibilities, but he knew one thing for certain: he wasn't powerless anymore.
The energy continued, its tone tinged with caution. *"Though I enhance you, this is only the beginning. Our abilities will grow, but so too will the challenges. You must learn to control me, as I must learn to exist through you."*
Darren took a deep breath, his resolve hardening. "Fine," he said aloud, his voice steadier than he expected. "But if we're doing this, there are rules. No innocent lives, no unnecessary destruction. You work with me, not the other way around."
The energy pulsed in agreement. *"Understood. Our survival depends on cooperation."*
As Darren stepped out of the ruined lab, the night air hit him like a wave of clarity. The city's distant lights glimmered in the horizon, and the sound of sirens grew louder. Backup was finally arriving—but Darren knew things had changed. He was no longer just a powerless enforcer. He was something new, something the world wasn't ready for.
But ready or not, Darren Cole was about to rewrite the rules.
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