I Awakened The Shadow System

Chapter 4. Phantom of Ravenhold

Wind howled through the academy towers. The bells rang, not the morning bell, not the curfew bell, but the alarm. Ravenhold was under attack.

Students poured into the halls in chaos. “Rift breach! The outer barrier’s broken!”

“The monsters are inside the west courtyard!”

Liam jolted upright from his bed. His heart pounded. The voice of the System whispered sharply in his head: [Warning. Rift Beasts detected nearby. Survival priority activated.]

He threw on his jacket and ran, joining the flood of terrified students.

Outside, the rain came down in silver sheets. The ground trembled. Through the storm, he saw it, a monstrous wolf-shaped beast, its skin cracked with molten light, eyes burning red.

Its roar split the night. Screams followed. Kane Drayden stood at the front line, golden aura blazing.

He raised his hand and unleashed a spear of light that struck the beast’s shoulder. It howled but didn’t fall. Kane shouted, “Form the barrier!”

Four students joined hands, magic circles glowing, but one faltered, terrified. The barrier flickered. The beast lunged.

“Move!” Kane shouted, pushing two students out of the way, too late. The monster’s claws tore through the air, inches from his face, then, Everything froze.

The world dimmed. The shadows around the courtyard deepened, alive, twisting.

Liam stepped from the darkness. His eyes glowed faintly violet. The System’s voice was calm, steady:

[Skill Activated: Shadow Step Lv.2]

[Skill Activated: Shadow Strike Lv.1]

He moved faster than thought, reappearing behind the Rift Beast, blade of condensed darkness in his hand. He slashed once. The wound sizzled.

The beast turned, roaring. Liam’s shadow split and lunged like a mirror image, attacking from the other side. Two strikes. Then three. The monster’s head hit the ground with a thunderous crash.

The courtyard fell silent. Only the rain spoke. Liam stared at the body, chest heaving. “It worked.”

Before he could move, a whisper echoed from the pendant around his neck, not the System this time, but that deeper voice. “Well done… my vessel.”

He froze. “No… not now.”

The shadow around his feet pulsed once, then faded as the voice receded. When he looked up, the other students were just starting to react. 

Kane’s light dimmed. He blinked, dazed. The beast was dead, and no one had seen who did it.

By morning, the rumors had spread like wildfire. “Did you hear? A phantom saved the courtyard!”

“They said he appeared from the shadows!”

“Maybe it was a teacher?”

“No, no, someone saw black flames!”

Liam sat quietly at breakfast, pretending not to hear. Mira and Dax exchanged glances. Dax leaned in, whispering, “Liam… you wouldn’t happen to know who that phantom was, right?”

He didn’t look up. “No idea.”

Mira frowned. “You came back drenched in rain. And your jacket,  it’s torn.”

Liam forced a weak laugh. “Guess I tripped on the stairs.”

Dax raised an eyebrow. “Tripped on a monster, maybe.”

“Enough,” Liam muttered. His tone was sharper than he intended. “Drop it.”

They fell silent. From across the hall, Rhea watched him again. Her eyes weren’t suspicious this time, they were… curious. Almost afraid.

…

Later that day in the Headmaster’s Office, Rhea stood before Varian, rain still dripping from her sleeves. “I saw him again,” she said quietly. “During the attack.”

Varian’s eyes flicked up from his desk. “Liam Cross?”

She nodded. “He moved through the shadows. Faster than any ability I’ve seen. The Rift Beast died by a cut of pure darkness.”

Varian didn’t answer for a long moment. He turned toward the window, where the storm still raged. “The Shadow System stirs once more,” he murmured.

Rhea frowned. “System?”

He faced her. “Long ago, there were relics forged from the Rift itself. Systems meant to guide humanity to power, but one went rogue. It devoured its host and nearly the whole continent.”

She swallowed hard. “You think Liam is?”

Varian’s gaze hardened. “The System doesn’t choose at random. It always returns to the same bloodline.”

…

The rain had stopped, leaving mist hanging in the air. Liam stood in the middle of the empty courtyard, gripping his pendant. 

The memory of the beast’s blood still lingered in his mind. “System,” he said softly, “what happened last night?”

[Host exceeded safe output.]

[Warning: System instability increasing.]

He frowned. “Instability?”

[The seal restraining the Shadow Core weakens each time you kill.]

His breath caught. “What seal?”

[Classified.]

He clenched his fists. “I deserve to know.”

Silence. Then the System’s tone changed, lower, almost human. [Would knowledge comfort you… or destroy you?]

He swallowed hard. “I’ll take my chances.” No answer. Only the faint pulse of dark light within the pendant.

Behind the trees, Rhea stood quietly, watching him train, the way his movements blurred into smoke, the shadows that seemed to breathe with him. Every strike, every flicker of darkness made her chest tighten.

When he finally stopped, she stepped forward. “You saved us last night, didn’t you?”

He turned slowly. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I’m not here as a spy,” she said. “I just wanted to say… thank you.”

He looked away. “Don’t thank me. I didn’t do it for anyone.”

“You risked your life.”

He smirked faintly. “Maybe I don’t value it much.”

Her voice softened. “That’s not true. You fight like someone who’s afraid to lose everything.”

He flinched. “You don’t know me.”

“Then let me.”

For a second, the air between them stilled, soft, fragile. Then, the sound of footsteps shattered it. Kane.

He stepped from the fog, golden light crackling faintly around him. “Well, isn’t this cozy,” he sneered. “The healer and the hero of the night.”

Rhea’s eyes narrowed. “Kane, stop.”

He ignored her. “Tell me, Cross, where were you during the attack?”

Liam’s tone was calm, controlled. “In my room. Like everyone else.”

“Liar.” Kane’s smirk vanished, replaced by fury. “I saw the shadow move. I felt it. It wasn’t human.”

Liam’s eyes darkened. “Then maybe you should stop chasing ghosts.”

Kane took a step closer. “You think you can play hero? You’re still the same worthless rat from Lowtown. Don’t forget your place.”

Liam’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Maybe it’s time someone changed that place.”

Kane’s aura flared. “Say that again.”

Rhea stepped between them. “Enough! Both of you!”

But neither listened. The air between them crackled with power, light against darkness, pride against defiance.

For a brief, terrible second, the shadows around Liam stirred. Kane froze. “What… was that?”

Liam blinked, the aura vanished. “Nothing.”

Kane’s jaw tightened. “I’ll find out what you are.”

He turned sharply and walked away. Rhea exhaled shakily. “He won’t stop.”

“I know.” Liam’s gaze followed Kane into the fog. “Neither will I.”

…

That night on the Dormiatory rooftop, Liam sat alone under the stars, soaked in moonlight. The pendant gleamed faintly against his chest. He whispered, “You heard him, didn’t you? They all think I’m a monster.”

[Monsters are only those who lose control.]

He laughed bitterly. “Then I’m halfway there.”

[No. You are evolving.]

He frowned. “Evolving into what?”

Silence. Then, faintly: [Into what you were meant to be.]

A gust of cold wind swept across the roof, and for a moment, he swore he saw a figure standing in the shadows, tall, cloaked, eyes glowing faint red. He blinked. Gone. The System chimed once more:

[Warning: Entity ‘Watcher’ proximity detected.]

[Host is being observed.]

Liam’s blood ran cold. “By who?”

[Unknown.]

The pendant pulsed again, heartbeat fast, light growing brighter, and from the courtyard below, a whisper rode on the wind: “The Phantom walks again.”