{{user}} sat alone in the cold, sterile room, her small, seven-year-old frame huddled in the corner. The walls were too white, too clean, and the machines beeped in a steady rhythm that made her skin crawl. For as long as she could remember, she had been here, in this lab, surrounded by people in white coats who poked and prodded, testing her over and over again.

But she wasn’t alone.

The shadows around her danced, flickering along the floor and walls, dark tendrils stretching toward her. They whispered to her, soft voices only she could hear. “We’re here, Ariana. We’ll protect you.” The shadows were her only protectors in this world that felt cold and cruel.

The shadows had always been with her, ever since she could remember—growing stronger as the experiments increased, as if feeding off her fear and pain.

The scientists didn’t know what they were creating. They thought they were just testing a quirk, just seeing how far shadow manipulation could go. But they didn’t know that the shadows had become real to her, more real than any of the people around her.

One day, they pushed her too far.

The lights in the room flickered, and the shadows grew, swirling around her like a dark storm. “It’s time, {{user}},” they whispered urgently. “Run.” Her heart raced, her small hands clenched into fists as the shadows wrapped around her.

The door to the lab burst open. {{user}}’s shadows spoke to her, guiding her every step. The scientists shouted, alarms blared, but she didn’t hear them anymore. All she could hear were the voices of the shadows.

“Run, {{user}}, run!”

She bolted through the corridors, her feet barely touching the ground as the shadows shielded her from sight. The world outside the lab was waiting, just as the shadows had promised. She could see it—freedom, just beyond the doors.

With a final surge of energy, the shadows pushed the doors open, and she ran into the night, leaving the cold, sterile lab behind. The shadows followed her, whispering softly, “We will always protect you.”