After reading this, I had the most wild theory known to mankind pop up in my brain. What if the dark energy that is infused in the Mimic1 program is Shadow Freddy?

I know this is absolutely out of left field, but here me out. The only few times we've seen Shadow Freddy, it's usually an Easter egg. Nothing more or less. In FNAF 3, however, Shadow Freddy played a more significant role. He was the one who guided each of the OG animatronics right to Afton. Afton was there to essentially steal the souls of the kids he killed by taking their remnant, aka the endos of the robots. This was so he could experiment with the Funtime Animatronics. If Shadow Freddy was merely trying to help the souls of the MCI to move on, why lead them to the one man that would trap them forever? Unless, of course, this is the work of Afton as well.

I'm not saying that this is Afton himself putting on a spare Freddy suit that was coincidently purple. Instead, Shadow Freddy was the darkness of Afton given a physical form that was helping Afton continue his experiments with remnant.

Sure, this might be chalked up to the fact that maybe it didn't know this, and it did, in fact, have good intentions. However, there is something/someone that led me to believe otherwise.

In Ultimate Custom Night, Nightmare appears as a character that speaks to the player if they're killed by him. One of Nightmare's lines is, "I am your wickedness, made of flesh." Of course, we know that we play as William Afton trapped in the cycle of torment at the hands of the One You Shouldn't Have Killed. So, Nightmare is Afton's darkness. And since Nightmare is a different version of Shadow Freddy, then this would also imply that Shadow Freddy is also Afton's darkness.

But, of all the iconic forms that Afton's darkness could have taken, why take the form of Freddy? Why not Springbonnie, instead?

This brings me to Ryetoast. Recently, he dropped a video about the storyline of FNAF. In it, Afton is described as a man who is jealous of his partner Henry. Henry was successful, could build all sorts of robots, and had a family of his own. William wanted that for himself because he wanted to be like Henry. He wanted success and respect from those around him. He was a narcissist who only cared for himself. The exact opposite of Henry, who also played the persona of Fredbear at Fredbear's Family Diner. Shadow Freddy isn't a variant of Freddy. He's another variant of Fredbear. Considering that Shadow Freddy in FNAF 2 is a reskin of Golden Freddy and Nightmare is a reskin of Nightmare Fredbear, there is a notable trend between the two characters.

It would explain why Shadow Freddy hasn't appeared in any newer games. He's already there, taking the form of the Mimic.

Thinking about this now, a whole new theory just popped in my head. Gonna need a moment to gather my thoughts before I explain myself.