I've always said my life couldn't get any worse.

Like, I've literally said it out loud—standing in the rain, getting stiffed on tips, staring at eviction notices on my door. You'd think by now I'd stop tempting fate, but nah.

Today?

Today, Fate decided to go pro.

It started with a delivery. A normal one, or so I thought.

"Rivers!"

My boss, Don, yelled at me from the back of the shop. The smell of grease and cheap fried food clung to his voice.

"Got one more run for ya. Big tip, maybe enough to cover that tab you still owe me."

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, grabbing my delivery bag.

He didn't need to remind me—I owed him, like, a hundred bucks for "accidentally" eating leftover orders.

You'd think he'd understand how expensive rent is in Shard City, but Don only cares about two things: greasy noodles and yelling.

The address was weird: Zone Twelve, the abandoned district on the edge of the city. No one lived there, not unless you liked tetanus and ghost stories.

"Hey, Don, you sure this isn't a prank?" I asked, holding up the receipt.

He waved a spatula at me like it was a sword.

"What, scared of the dark? Just get it done. Big tip."

Big tip. Right.

I hopped on my busted bike and started pedaling. The city was a blur of neon lights, smog, and misery—Shard City in all its glory. The Gifted lived in the fancy towers up top, while the rest of us Mundane scraped by below, breathing their trash air.

Me?

I wasn't even scraping. I was just… existing.

I reached Zone Twelve as the sun dipped below the skyline, leaving the streets washed in shadows. The buildings here were cracked and broken, covered in vines like nature was trying to eat them. The address led me to an old library. The kind of place that screamed…

Don't go in, idiot.

So, naturally, I went in.

The air inside was heavy, like the building was holding its breath. Shelves of books stretched into the darkness, their spines coated in dust. My footsteps echoed as I walked toward a table where a single candle flickered.

There was a box sitting on it—black, metal, and way too fancy for a place like this.

"Hello?"

I called out. My voice sounded small.

No answer.

I checked the receipt again. Yep, this was the place. But no one was here to take the delivery. No customer, no tip, just… this box.

And that's when I saw it.

The note.

"For the one who seeks the shadows."

I laughed nervously.

"Okay. Creepy. Cool. Not my problem."

I turned to leave. That's when the box opened.

No one touched it. No sound, no trigger—just pop. The lid slid off, and a pulse of black energy shot out, slamming into my chest. My lungs seized. My vision blurred. It felt like a thousand needles were stabbing into my brain.

Then I heard it.

[SYSTEM INITIALIZING.]

"What the hell—"

I staggered back, clutching my head.

A glowing interface flashed in my vision, lines of text scrolling faster than I could read.

[BINDING COMPLETE.]

[Welcome, Host.]

Host? What the hell was a Host? Before I could panic properly, my legs buckled, and I hit the floor. Shadows swirled around me, cold and alive, like they were trying to crawl inside my skin.

[Congratulations! You have unlocked Shadow Magic: Tier 1.]

Shadow Magic? Was this some kind of hallucination? Maybe the noodles I'd stolen from Don were past their expiration date.

[Ability Unlocked: Shadow Grasp.]

Suddenly, the shadows obeyed me. They coiled around my arm, forming a whip-like tendril. I stared, too stunned to move.

[Warning: Magic drain will begin shortly. Side effects include nausea, exhaustion, and existential dread.]

Oh, great. Existential dread. Just what I needed.

Before I could fully process the fact that my arm was basically a weapon now, I heard footsteps. Heavy ones. I spun around, shadows flickering at my fingertips.

A man stepped into the candlelight. No, not a man—a Gifted enforcer, judging by the glowing runes etched into his skin. He looked at me like I was an insect he was about to squash.

"Well, well. A Mundane with forbidden magic. Didn't think I'd see that in my lifetime."

Forbidden magic? Oh, fantastic. As if my life wasn't already complicated enough.

"Look, man, I don't know what's happening, okay?"

I held up my hands, the shadows swirling nervously around me.

"I'm just a delivery guy. Wrong place, wrong time."

He smirked.

"No such thing."

Before I could blink, he raised his hand, and a wave of fire shot toward me. Pure instinct kicked in. The shadows around me surged, forming a shield that absorbed the flames.

Holy crap. Did I just block fire?

The enforcer's smirk faded.

"You shouldn't have that power."

"Yeah, well. I shouldn't have student loans either, but here we are."