Kenji didn't move.
The shadow beside him loomed in silence, its tall shape stretching across the cracked pavement like a living stain. The attacker's wrist remained trapped in its grip, bones creaking under the pressure.
But Kenji wasn't looking at the man anymore.
He was watching the shadow.
For the first time since waking up in the hospital, he felt uncertain.
The man's words echoed in his mind.
That thing… isn't your shadow.
Kenji spoke quietly.
"Then what is it?"
The shadow didn't answer.
But its head turned toward him—slow, deliberate, almost curious.
The attacker saw it too. His breathing grew uneven.
"You really don't know," he whispered.
Kenji didn't look away.
"Apparently not."
A dry laugh escaped the man.
"That makes this worse."
Kenji raised an eyebrow slightly.
"For who?"
"For everyone."
The shadow's grip tightened. The man gasped.
Kenji lifted a hand, just a little.
The shadow paused.
Not obeying.
Not exactly.
But listening.
Kenji studied it.
"You understand me."
The shadow tilted its head again.
"Can you speak?"
Silence.
Clouds drifted slowly overhead, and the air felt wrong—too still, too heavy, like something was waiting.
The attacker laughed again, though it sounded thinner now.
"You're trying to talk to it?"
Kenji glanced back at him.
"Why not?"
The man shook his head.
"You don't understand what came back with you."
Kenji exhaled.
"You keep saying that. No one's actually explaining it."
The man's expression hardened.
"That thing isn't attached to you."
Kenji looked down.
The shadow stood beside him—not beneath him, not following his movement. It stood like a separate presence.
"Shadows belong to the living," the man continued.
Kenji listened.
"But that thing…" the man hesitated, "…belongs to the dead."
The words settled heavily.
Kenji turned back to the silhouette.
"So you're from the crowded darkness."
The shadow didn't deny it.
Instead, it raised its free hand.
The movement was smooth. Controlled. Almost gentle.
The attacker panicked.
"No—!"
Too late.
The shadow touched his chest.
Not violently. Not forcefully.
Just a light tap.
Everything stopped.
The man's body locked. Every muscle froze. His eyes widened in silent terror.
Kenji watched, calm but focused.
"What did you do?"
The shadow didn't answer.
But the man's shadow began to stretch across the pavement—longer, thinner, pulling away from him like something being peeled loose.
He tried to scream.
Nothing came out.
Kenji frowned slightly.
"That seems unpleasant."
The shadow peeled off the ground like fabric being lifted.
Slowly.
Carefully.
The man collapsed the moment it separated—empty, like something had been taken out of him.
Kenji looked down at the body.
"Is he dead?"
The shadow turned toward him.
Then shook its head.
Kenji blinked once.
"So… worse."
Across the street, the parking garage lights flickered.
One by one.
Floor by floor.
Like something deep inside the structure had just woken up.
Kenji turned toward it.
"What now?"
A voice brushed through his thoughts.
They felt that.
Kenji narrowed his eyes at the building.
"Who did?"
The ones who make the rules.
Kenji let out a quiet breath.
"That sounds annoying."
Then—
movement.
Upper levels of the garage.
Not one figure.
Many.
Standing between the concrete pillars.
Watching him.
None of them casting a shadow.