Night had fallen once again.
Like the nights before, Fearlessness led me back into the Shadow Realm, a place cloaked in endless darkness and eerie silence. It had become our training ground—our battlefield—and over time, my fear began to fade. Slowly. Piece by piece.
I came closer to defeat one of the shadows. It was always the same one, and every time we fought, I got just a little better. At first, I died over and over. But now? I no longer fell. I fought. Again and again, with nothing but sheer will.
It became a routine. A strange one, but ours.
Until one night, as we sat in a rare moment of quiet, I asked a question that had been gnawing at me for days.
"Hey… can you control every shadow in this realm?"
Fearlessness didn't even hesitate. He shot me a cocky grin.
"Of course I can. I'm basically the main character here. I can do whatever I want."
I rolled my eyes at his arrogance. He always had that air of superiority. But then… something in his expression shifted. His voice softened, just a bit.
"Well... almost every shadow."
I blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"
"There's one shadow I've never beaten," he said, looking away. "I've only seen it once. A massive presence—more ancient and powerful than anything else in this realm."
My heart skipped a beat. "Wait, wait… are you saying there's actually a shadow that you, the embodiment of Fearlessness, are scared of?"
He didn't laugh. Didn't deny it.
Instead, he stared into the darkness, eyes narrowed.
"A long time ago, I was lazy. I didn't train, didn't fight. While the others kept growing stronger, I came here, to the shadows. It was quiet. I could be alone. No responsibility. Just peace."
He paused, his voice lower.
"But deep in that silence… I heard something. A sound. Faint, but strange. And with it came an aura so heavy, so suffocating, that even I felt fear. Real fear. Before I could even see what it was—"
He snapped his fingers.
"—I was down. Cut in an instant."
I sat there, stunned. The idea that even Fearlessness had a weakness—it didn't seem real.
"How long were you here before that thing showed up?" I asked.
"Longer than we've been here now," he said, waving lazily. "So don't worry. We're still safe."
But just as he said it—
We heard it.
A low, resonant sound. Not loud, but terrifying. It hummed through the darkness, vibrating in my chest.
Both of us turned sharply toward the shadow I had been fighting for days—the weakest one. The harmless one.
But now it was changing.
Its form twisted, warped, and expanded. It grew taller, broader, more grotesque. What once looked like a small, feeble creature was transforming into a hulking beast of shadow and malice. A demon unlike anything I'd ever seen.
And it was staring right at us.
My body froze. I couldn't move. Couldn't think.
"CONTROL!" Fearlessness shouted, his eyes flaring a deep violet. His power surged forward, trying to suppress the beast.
For a moment, it worked.
The creature paused.
But then it roared—shattering the stillness—and broke free of his influence. The pressure alone knocked Fearlessness to the ground, gasping for air.
"No... no no no," I whispered, stepping back.
He was down.
And the monster was still coming.
I looked at Fearlessness, struggling to breathe. This man—this symbol of fearlessness—had protected me, trained me, believed in me. And now he was about to die?
No.
Not again.
I'd already lost too much. I wasn't going to let him die even if he would wake up again!
Then something sparked inside me.
Not bravery.
Not strength.
But something even deeper.
Hope.
A connection. A bond. One I didn't want to lose.
My inner flame, long dormant, ignited with ferocity. It burned hotter than ever before.
Without thinking, I rushed to Fearlessness, threw him over my shoulder, and ran.
I ran like hell.
Dodging black tendrils of shadow, weaving between pillars of darkness that rose from the ground. The monstrous shadow howled behind us, sending waves of destruction that barely missed.
Fearlessness groaned. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused.
"We… we need a portal," I shouted.
He raised his trembling hand and summoned a swirling gateway just ahead. The exit to Hell.
We were so close.
But just as we reached it, the beast fired a final, devastating blast.
We were hit mid-air.
The force sent us flying through the portal, and we crashed violently onto the ground on the other side.
Everything went black for a moment.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the scorched stones of Hell, blood in my mouth, pain in every limb. But we were alive.
I turned to see Fearlessness lying beside me.
"You… saved me," he whispered, a weak grin on his lips. "I never thought you would be the one to save me."
I let out a shaky breath, forcing a smile. "Yeah, well... I guess even heroes need a break sometimes."
Then a voice rang out.
"Took you guys long enough."
I froze.
I knew that voice.
We both looked up.
And there they were.
Our friends.
We had found them again.