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The Code of Shadows
Chapter 4 – The Shadow Within
The street shook. The Prime Clone's black eye glowed brighter, feeding the darkness.
Kairo knelt on the ground, clutching his arm. Black cracks crawled up his skin. His own reflection inside the shard smiled back at him — a shadow version of himself.
The second voice whispered:
> Stop fighting. Let me take over. Together, we can win.
Kairo gritted his teeth. "Shut up… you're not me!"
Lyra's golden eyes flashed. She pressed her hand against his chest. "Listen, Kairo! That's your Fragment trying to consume you. If it wins, you're gone!"
The hooded man shouted from across the street, flames bursting around him. "Hurry! I can't hold the Prime Clone forever!"
The Prime Clone raised its arm. The fire broke apart like paper. The hooded man was thrown into a wall, coughing blood.
Lyra pulled Kairo up. "Choose now. Control it… or be erased."
Kairo's body shook violently. His vision blurred. The shard screamed inside his head.
The shadow version of him in the shard whispered louder:
> Why fight me? We are the same. I am the part you've always buried. The anger. The fear. The power.
Kairo's breath quickened. For a second, he almost believed it. Almost gave in.
But then he remembered. The rooftop. The first crack. The moment he almost died.
"I don't want to erase myself," he said. "I want answers."
He clenched his fist, pressing against the shard. "If you're me… then you'll obey me!"
The shard pulsed. White light burst out, fighting against the black cracks. His body stopped flickering.
The second voice laughed.
> Interesting… You're stronger than I thought. Fine. I'll wait.
The cracks faded, but not fully. The shadow version of him disappeared from the shard, but its smile lingered in his mind.
Lyra's eyes widened. "You pushed it back… no one does that their first time."
Kairo fell to his knees, gasping. "What… am I?"
Before she could answer, the Prime Clone's voice shook the street.
> "You are the key. And the key must break."
It raised its arm. Black energy formed, heavier than anything before.
Lyra's face turned pale. "He's going to erase the whole block!"
The hooded man struggled to stand, his flames dim. "We can't stop him…"
Kairo's shard pulsed again. Lines of code lit up around the street, floating in the air. He could see it — the structure of the city itself, like it was written.
His chest burned. His hand glowed white.
"I don't know how this works…" he whispered. "But I won't let it end here."
The world slowed. His shard whispered one word:
> Rewrite.
Kairo thrust his hand forward. The black energy in the Prime Clone's hand… disappeared. Erased.
The Prime Clone staggered back, roaring. Its black eye cracked, light leaking out.
Lyra's jaw tightened. "He deleted an attack that strong… no, this is more dangerous than I thought."
The Prime Clone glared at Kairo. "You will destroy this world. Just like I will."
And then, before anyone could stop it, the Prime Clone stepped back into the crack in the sky. The fracture sealed shut.
Silence fell.
Kairo collapsed on the ground, shaking. The shard dimmed, returning to a quiet glow.
Lyra looked down at him, her golden eyes unreadable. "Congratulations, Kairo. You survived your first hunt. But now you belong to us."
Kairo stared at her weakly. "…Us?"
She smiled faintly. "The Code of Shadows."
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⚡ Chapter 4 ends with:
👉 Do you want me to make Chapter 5 next