Chapter 84 — Shadows Over Habitat.
The city of Florida lay beneath a heavy, unnatural twilight. Even in the heart of the metropolis, where streetlights normally cast warm glows, darkness pressed down. It was heavier than night, tinged with crimson and black, as if the world itself were bleeding.
Raze emerged from the fortress that morning, battered, bruised, yet unbroken. The Iron Fist burned faintly around his knuckles, a reminder of the energy he had wielded against the ancient presence. But even with his power, the city felt… wrong.
Lyra and Kade walked beside him silently. The streets were empty, but whispers filled the air, low and persistent, like the walls themselves were trying to communicate.
"Something is spreading," Lyra said, her voice tight. "It's not just the Hand anymore… it's something deeper. Older."
Raze's eyes narrowed. "I felt it beneath the fortress. It wanted me… it knows me now. And it's coming."
A sudden wind gusted through the streets, slamming doors shut and sending trash spiraling into the air. It wasn't a natural wind. It carried with it a sharp scent of decay, of iron, and of something ancient, primal.
Kade frowned. "Whatever's coming… it's testing the city. Looking for weaknesses."
Raze clenched his fists. "Then we'll give it none."
As they walked, shadows moved unnaturally along the alleyways. Figures emerged, not fully solid, not fully shadows, their edges flickering with dark light. They were fast—faster than any normal human could move.
Raze's heart hardened. He had faced the Shadow before, but this was different. These weren't constructs of the Hand. They were alive, yet not. They were probes—scouts sent by the First Hunger itself, reaching upward from the abyss below the fortress.
The first figure lunged at them from a side street, claws extending like blackened knives. Raze reacted instantly, swinging his Iron Fist. The strike connected with a resonating thud. The shadow dissolved into smoke-like tendrils, but more emerged in its place.
Lyra drew her blade, striking three at once, each swing leaving faint traces of golden energy as she carved through the shadows. Kade chanted softly, fingers tracing patterns that sent arcs of light darting across the alleys, disintegrating anything that came too close.
Even together, they were outnumbered.
"They're learning," Raze said, teeth gritted. "The more we fight, the faster they adapt."
A shadow darted between them, moving with unnerving intelligence, and slammed into Lyra, sending her skidding across the pavement. She coughed, spitting blood, but pushed herself upright.
"They know us," she said, voice shaking. "They know how we fight."
From above, the sky darkened further. Thick, creeping clouds swirled unnaturally, funneling toward the city center. Red streaks cut across the clouds like rivers of blood.
Raze knew instantly: the First Hunger was waking. Its influence was no longer contained beneath the fortress. The energy he had forced back yesterday had only slowed it—it was spilling outward, creeping into the world, touching everything.
A low rumble shook the ground. Not thunder, not a quake—but a pulse, resonating through the concrete and steel of the city like a heartbeat… enormous and alive.
"They're awake," Kade muttered. "And they're angry."
The shadows coalesced into humanoid forms now—faster, more precise, less like tests and more like hunters. One emerged at the end of the street, taller than any man, faceless, armor flickering between darkness and firelight. Its presence radiated a suffocating pressure, forcing Raze to take a step back.
The city had no protection against this. No one else would even notice what was coming. People walking in the streets might be swallowed whole before they could scream.
Raze's Fist flared. "Lyra! Kade! Form the circle! Keep them contained until I can find the source!"
The two obeyed, forming a defensive perimeter as Raze surged forward, golden light trailing his movements like comets. Each strike crushed shadows, but each strike also seemed to empower the others—every shadow destroyed spawned two more.
The pressure grew. The entire city felt it: a low, resonant vibration that rattled windows, shook loose signs, and caused streetlights to flicker and die.
From the darkest corner of the alley, a voice whispered into Raze's mind.
You cannot stop what has chosen you.
It wasn't the Hand. It wasn't Lyra. It wasn't a voice he could reason with. It came from below, from the pulse of the city itself, from the growing hunger that slumbered underneath.
Raze's jaw clenched. "I'll choose." He slammed a fist into the ground. The impact exploded in golden energy, sending a shockwave that flattened several shadows at once, but the pulse from below only intensified in response, a mocking rhythm of power.
Then came the scream.
Not human. Not animal. Not any sound that had ever existed. It echoed across the city, bouncing between buildings, shattering glass and rattling the pavement. It came from the fissure beneath the fortress, reverberating upward like the voice of the world itself.
Raze felt the vibration in his bones. "It's communicating… or warning."
A shadow leapt from the top of a streetlight, landing directly in front of him. Its speed was blinding, claws raised to strike, but Raze intercepted it with both fists. The collision of light and darkness echoed down the street like gunfire.
Lyra's sword flashed, cutting down two shadows at once, but each swing carved into nothing—they reformed before she could strike a third. Kade's incantations flared, sending arcs of protective energy, but the waves of shadows pressed closer, intelligent, relentless.
Raze's thoughts raced. This was no longer about fighting. This was survival—against an intelligence that could learn, adapt, and anticipate.
From the corner of his vision, he saw movement in the sky. The red clouds thickened unnaturally, and streaks of darkness descended like tendrils, reaching toward the city. Every street, every alley, every rooftop became a potential threat.
"The Hand warned me," Raze muttered. "But this… this is worse than anything even it imagined."
Lyra's hand gripped his shoulder. "Then we fight anyway. We survive, or we die trying."
Raze nodded, feeling the familiar surge of the Iron Fist. His golden light burned brighter, illuminating the street and the walls of nearby buildings. The shadows recoiled for a moment—enough for him to push forward.
He punched the nearest one with a speed that bent the air, golden energy searing through the darkness. It dissolved into a cloud of writhing black mist—but from its core, a new shadow sprouted instantly, larger, more defined, moving faster than before.
"They evolve," Kade shouted. "Every strike you make… they learn."
Then, above the city, a massive fissure ripped open in the sky itself. Red and black swirled together, twisting and forming shapes too large to comprehend. Tendrils of darkness extended downward like fingers, seeking the ground.
Raze's pulse accelerated. "It's not just coming for me… it's coming for the entire city."
The Iron Fist burned hotter. Every strike, every movement, had to count. He couldn't hold back. If he faltered for even a second… Florida would vanish beneath the hunger.
And then, from the shadows, a figure stepped forward. Taller than the others. Its form flickered between solidity and darkness, and for a brief moment, Raze recognized the shape.
Jared.
But not the friend he once knew.
The power from the abyss had consumed him, twisted him. His eyes glowed with the red pulse of the First Hunger, his movements fluid and terrifyingly precise.
"Raze," Jared hissed, voice layered with something both familiar and monstrous. "You stopped me before… but you cannot stop it now."
Raze's fists flared golden. "I stop everything that threatens this city… even you."
The two stared at each other, friend against friend, both changed, both fueled by power beyond comprehension.
The air itself seemed to hold its breath as shadows swirled around them. Every step could ignite the streets, every movement could summon devastation.
And in the distance, from the fissure beneath the fortress, the pulse of the First Hunger throbbed like a heartbeat, marking the city… marking its next victim.
Raze's teeth clenched. "Then we end it. Tonight."
But even as he spoke, he knew the truth: This fight was only beginning.
And the darkness above, around, and below the city was watching.
Waiting.
Hungry.