Arjun could not sleep that night.
He kept looking at his hand again and again, trying to understand what had happened earlier.
"The shadow… was it real?" he whispered to himself.
Everything looked normal now, but deep inside he felt something different.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated on the table.
It was a message from his friend Ravi.
"Bro, did you see the lightning in the forest tonight? People are saying something strange happened there."
Arjun looked toward the dark forest outside his window.
The memory of the lightning strike returned to his mind.
"I think I should go there tomorrow," he thought.
The next morning, Arjun quickly got ready and left his house.
The forest was quiet when he arrived. The trees were tall and the ground was still wet from the storm.
After walking for a few minutes, he saw something unusual.
The ground was completely burned in a circular shape.
"This must be where the lightning hit," he said.
As he stepped closer, he suddenly felt the same cold sensation again.
His hand started shaking.
Then the dark smoke appeared again.
The shadow slowly formed around his hand just like last night.
"This power… it's real!" Arjun said in shock.
But before he could react, a loud growl came from behind the trees.
GRRRRR…
Arjun slowly turned around.
From the darkness of the forest, a strange creature stepped forward.
It looked like a wolf, but its eyes were glowing red and its body was covered in black smoke.
Arjun's heart started racing.
"What… what is that thing?"
The creature growled again and started moving toward him.
Arjun stepped back in fear.
But suddenly the shadow in his hand reacted.
The dark energy spread across his arm like armor.
A strange voice echoed inside his mind again.
"Fight."
The creature suddenly jumped toward him.
Without thinking, Arjun raised his hand.
The shadow burst forward like a wave of dark energy.
BOOM!
The creature was thrown backward and crashed into a tree.
Arjun stood there in shock.
"Did… I just do that?"
The creature slowly stood up again, angrier than before.
Its red eyes glowed brighter.
Arjun realized something important at that moment.
This was only the beginning.
If monsters like this were appearing in the world…
Then his new shadow power might be the only thing that could stop them.
Arjun clenched his fist.
"Alright… if you want to fight…"
The shadow energy around his hand started growing stronger.
"…then I'll fight."
The creature roared and rushed toward him again.
And deep inside the forest…
A new battle had just begun.