The creature roared and rushed toward Arjun with incredible speed.
Arjun's heart started pounding loudly in his chest. He had never faced something like this before.
"What should I do?!" he thought in panic.
The wolf-like monster jumped into the air and aimed straight for him.
Instinctively, Arjun raised his hand.
The shadow around his arm suddenly reacted.
Dark energy burst out like a wave.
BOOM!
The creature was pushed backward again, crashing into a large tree.
Arjun stood there breathing heavily.
"So… this power can fight back," he whispered.
But the monster was not finished yet.
It slowly stood up again. Its red eyes burned with anger.
A deep growl echoed through the forest.
GRRRRR…
Arjun stepped back.
"I can't keep running forever," he said to himself.
The shadow around his hand began moving again. This time it slowly spread across his arm like dark armor.
It felt strangely natural… as if the power already knew what to do.
Suddenly the mysterious voice appeared again inside his mind.
"Focus… control the shadow."
Arjun closed his eyes for a moment.
He took a deep breath and concentrated.
The shadow energy became stronger.
When he opened his eyes again, the dark power around him was much clearer.
The creature charged again.
This time Arjun didn't panic.
He stepped forward instead.
"Alright… let's try this."
The monster jumped toward him with sharp claws.
At the last moment, Arjun moved his arm forward.
The shadow stretched out like a long blade.
SLASH!
The creature was thrown to the ground with a loud crash.
For a moment, the forest became silent again.
Arjun stared at his hand in disbelief.
"I actually did it…"
The creature slowly stood up once more, but this time it looked weaker.
Suddenly it turned around and ran deeper into the forest.
Arjun didn't chase it.
Instead, he stood there quietly, thinking about what had just happened.
"This power… it's real."
But something about the situation felt wrong.
Why did that monster appear?
And why did the shadow choose him?
As Arjun started walking back toward the road, he didn't notice the glowing red eyes watching him from the darkness between the trees.
Deep inside the forest, something much stronger had awakened.
And it was watching him very carefully.