Human Mutants

One of the human mutants turned toward me, then the others turned slowly as well. They began charging.

I got panicked and spread my Shadow Dominion to engulf the area but it didn't slow them down as they could still see through the darkness. They attacked like beasts and faster than any mutants I had faced before.

One opened its massive jaws, its mouth impossibly wide and unleashed a fireball. 

This had to be a fire mage!

They retained their archetype abilities even after mutating.

Another mutant launched a thorn-covered vine that struck me and sent me tumbling backward. Pain flared as the thorns tore into my skin. I scrambled to my feet. 

There was no way I could defeat them all.

Suddenly I felt a pulse from the red pendant on the necklace Kael had given me. It glowed faintly. Then shadowy smoke began to rise from the ground in front of each mutant swirling and coalescing until it took on a shape. An exact replica of the mutant standing before it.

[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Mirroring]

[Skill Activated: Shadow Mirroring]

I watched in stunned disbelief as the shadow figures began to mimic the mutants perfectly. They moved with the same speed and ferocity and mirroring their every strike and spell. The fire mage's shadow even unleashed its own fireball. Each move countered as though they were reflections of one another. 

But the shadows had an edge as they could dissolve and reappear instantly within the Shadow Dominion so they can be faster and more unpredictable than their originals.

One by one, the mutants fell as its unable to outmatch their shadow counterparts.

Suddenly a voice boomed through the darkness.

"SHADOW!"

It was one of the light mage. Before I could react, my Shadow Dominion dissipated in an instant.

But instead of finding me, the only scene before him were dozens of dead mutant bodies scattered across the ground.

***

"Kael!" I gasped as my surroundings suddenly shifted to somewhere completely unfamiliar.

I realized Kael was holding me from behind, his massive black wings spreading wide and flapping powerfully. We were flying.

"AHHHHH! PUT ME DOWN!" I shrieked. 

Fear gripped me as the tingling sensation felt in my soles.

Kael chuckled before descending and gently placing me on the ground.

"Where are we?" I asked, my eyes drawn to the glowing purple sky that seemed to shimmer like the fragments of chaos.

"We're in the Underworld," Kael said as he tucked his wings back.

I staggered slightly, dizziness overwhelming me. My hand instinctively flew to my nose as I felt the warmth of blood trickling down.

"Your body still couldn't handle being here."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When you used to come to the demon realm, it's only your astral form. This time, I brought your physical body here," he explained.

But his words barely registered as the dizziness became unbearable. My vision blurred, and everything went dark.

***

CHAOS.

The word thundered in my mind shaking the very essence of my being. The air thickened with a suffocating anger that clawed at my soul. From the distance I saw red flames ignite.

CHAOS.

I WILL MAKE YOU RETURN TO NOTHINGNESS!

A shadow surged forth, its power so immense it made the air quake. It clashed against the flames with unimaginable force.

SHADOW.

The word reverberated through the void, a voice so immense and overwhelming that its very presence crushed my spirit. There was no describing it, this was a force beyond comprehension.

A brilliant blue light erupted. It hurtled toward the shadow illuminating the void with an intensity that banished the surrounding darkness. The shadow wrapped in a swirling purple glow and fought desperately but the light forced it deeper and deeper, dragging it into an endless darkness.

SHADOW, SLEEP ASSURED. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO NOW.

The voice spoke again, commanding and absolute with undeniable power. 

***

With a sharp gasp, my eyes flew open. My body trembled before I could process what I had just seen in my dream.

"You're awake," Kael's voice drew my attention. 

I turned my gaze toward him. He sat by the window with his chin resting lightly on his hand. The room around me exuded opulence with a blend of black and gold decor. 

"Where am I? What is this?" I was wrapped in a blanket that shimmered faintly with purple light.

"It's infused with fragments of chaos."

"Is this keeping me safe from this world's presence?"

"Something like that," he replied. "But you shouldn't keep it on for too long."

"Why?" I asked. "What exactly are the fragments of chaos? And why did you stop me from collecting them?"

Kael exhaled, his gaze drifting out the window. "I'm not entirely sure what effect they're having on your body."

"Well, for what it's worth, I felt stronger every time I collected one."

"It's not that simple."

I stared at him, trying to make sense of all of his actions.

"Kael," I started again. "Why do you keep helping me?"

Kael turned his gaze toward me. "Didn't I tell you I'd be watching you closely? What's there to watch if you're nothing but dead meat."

He had a point.

"But why bother watching me at all? I'm not even collecting fragments anymore."

"Because," Kael said, "You're the first human across all the universe to ever collect fragments of chaos."

"Are you saying… Wait," His words stunned me. "Was that supposed to be Maerion's job?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Maerion was responsible for your Earth's dimension."

That bastard truly deserved his punishment. 

"It's causing instability, that's why I've been keeping an eye on your dimension," Kael added.

"Wait. Are you saying there are other participants on other dimensional Earths too?"

Kael just smiled. I got goosebumps.

"Who is Altiris, really?"

Kael stared at me for a long moment before standing up. "If you're feeling better, you need to return."

"It's not like I want to stay," I frowned. "But I still have so many questions."

Kael chuckled softly, "You can't stay longer here."

He moved to sit beside me on the bed and gently removed the blanket.

"And remember, Kira," he said, his glowing eyes locking onto mine, "Shadow is everywhere, thus it can become anything."

***

"KIRA!" Tahlia jumped up the moment I stepped into the tent.

"Where were you?" she grabbing my arm.

I looked around. Everyone's faces were pale and the tension in the air was palpable.

"Don't worry, I'm not dead."

"Did you fight with the human mutants?" Garis asked with a serious tone.

"You already know?"

"The news spread quickly. They're saying the human mutants were caused by Shadow," Garis explained. 

"A Light Mage spotted your Shadow Dominion and found all the mutant bodies."

"Well, I understand if they misunderstood," I said, collapsing onto a chair.

"You killed them all? How?" Tahlia asked. "And how did you escape the Light Mages?"

"I have my ways," I said. "But the human mutants—"

"We know," Tahlia interjected. "They're already scattered around the settlement."

"I guess it's the poison in the industrial area that turned them into that," Garis added.

"Is there really that poisonous? What did you find in there?" I asked.

"The one we entered was just a fragrance factory. There are others we haven't checked yet," Garis replied.

"So, what's the plan? Are we going to check the other factories too?"

"We don't have to," Caleb finally spoke up. "We learned that all the factories belong to the same company. Searching for more factories is pointless."

"Why?" I asked confused.

"If you were the company, would you leave the antidote in one of your factories?" Caleb asked pointedly.

"Ah… so we need to find the company headquarters."

"Exactly. And we're doing that starting from tomorrow."