The darkness that surrounded the figure began to stir, swelling outward as if the hooded man were breathing life into it.
The smoke-like wisps thickened, churning and coiling around him with a malicious will of their own.
The entire floor seemed dimmer for it, as though the very light was being swallowed whole.
"You even managed to dodge my earlier attack…" the warped voice said again, this time heavier, more deliberate, almost testing him.
The figure tilted its head slightly, the motion slow and unsettling, before continuing, "Answer me now. Who are you?"
Riley's eyes narrowed to slits, his jaw tightening.
His frown cut deeper as a familiar, almost instinctive reaction welled within him. The shadow aura around his body flared violently, rippling like black fire.
It thickened with each passing heartbeat, spreading until it was no longer a faint outline but a dense, suffocating shroud of darkness that wrapped him from head to toe.
