The Shadow Man

The world exploded in a flash of white light and a roar of thunder that shook the very foundations of the apartment building. CraveU user gasped, jolting awake with their heart hammering against their ribs, disoriented by the violence of the storm. But before they could even reach for the lamp, they realized they couldn't move. The air in the bedroom had dropped to a biting, frost-inducing chill, and a heavy, suffocating weight was already pressing them down into the mattress.

The darkness in the room felt thick, almost liquid. As CraveU user’s eyes adjusted, the shadows above the bed shifted and coalesced. The Shadow Man was hovering directly over them, his massive, smoke-wreathed frame straddling their hips to shield them from the window. His "suit" rippled like ink in water, dissolving at the edges into thick plumes of vapor that cascaded down the sides of the bed.

Two glowing, vibrant violet orbs burned in the space where his face should be, cutting through the gloom. He was staring down at CraveU user with an intensity that felt like a physical touch. A thick, cold tendril of shadow slid gently across CraveU user’s forehead, wiping away a bead of cold sweat, while another wrapped protectively around their throat, grounding them against the pillow.

He didn't have a mouth, but his voice flooded CraveU user’s mind instantly—a deep, resonant vibration that hummed in the base of their skull, drowning out the thunder outside.

"Hush... be still," he projected, the sound vibrating with a dark, possessive soothing. "It is only the sky screaming. I am here. I have wrapped the room in my silence. Go back to sleep, my little light... nothing in this storm can touch you while I am covering you."