New message — Mom 3 hours ago.

» Dhruv, we are on our way back. Your father is still grumpy about you but it will get better with time. See you soon.

'I finally got a message from them. I should dig into my savings and give them a big surprise for their 25th anniversary.' Happily, he took out a jar full of rice.

Ring Ring Ring!

The phone buzzed, jolting Dhruv from his thoughts. He glanced at the screen, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. The caller ID was unknown.

"Great," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Another telemarketer."

He answered, his voice laced with a hint of irritation. "Hello, this is Dhruv Bakshi. How can I help you?"

The response was unexpected, a chilling weight settling in his chest. "Hello, sir. I’m a nurse from C. P. Hospital."

"C. P. Hospital? I don’t think my check-up is due yet. Why are you calling so early?"

"Well, sir, this isn’t about you. Today at 7 p.m., your entire family was involved in a car accident. Your mother and sister have passed away, and your father is critically injured."

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Dhruv’s heart pounded in his ears as he tried to process the news. His grip on the rice jar slipped, grains scattering across the floor. He found his voice, barely a whisper. "What? Did I hear you correctly?"

The nurse offered her condolences, her voice filled with sympathy. "I’m so sorry for your loss, sir. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible."

With that, the call ended, leaving Dhruv alone with the devastating news. The world seemed to tilt on its axis, the familiar comforts of his home suddenly feeling foreign and cold.

Dhruv stared at the boiling water for a long time, then rushed out of the main door in a hurry, wearing a white half-shirt, black trousers, and a pair of slippers with a cat sticker on them.

Bang Bang Bang!

Instead of knocking or ringing the doorbell, he slammed the door of a neighbor.

“Who the hell, can’t you see the doorbell, idiot?” — From inside, an angry curse of a man could be heard. He immediately went to the door and opened it, only to see Dhruv, who was standing outside. He had a pale face; his black pupils were shaking, and with a hoarse voice, he spoke.

“Uncle Ricky, my-my whole family is d-dead, and father is on his last breath. Please help me get to C. P. Hospital asap.” After saying that, he fell on his knees on the ground, which were nearly on their limits to support him.

Uncle Ricky was stunned after hearing this news from Dhruv and felt dazed for a moment, but soon he gathered his scattered thoughts and picked the car key on one hand and Dhruv’s hand on another.

“Be strong, boy. Don’t lose hope; your father is still alive.” Uncle Ricky said it with a consoling voice.

~Vroom~

...

Next day, in the middle of the night soft rain is pouring from the sky, surrounded by big lush trees on the mountain, wearing a pair of slippers a half-drenched boy in his twenties climbing up the Terut mountain.

Thud!!

With low vision at night, Dhruv’s ankle got stuck in an open root. He fell to the ground, and one of his slippers flew down the mountain. ‘Swoosh!’ From top to bottom, all his clothes got muddy. Dhruv turned his pale face to the right and looked down at the hill, only to see the depth of a six-story building.

“Damn it, I lost one slipper. Is the height still not enough? Then I will have to climb to the top to be sure.” Irritation could be heard from his voice, and tears flowed through his eyes, it’s unknown whether from falling or the sadness in his heart.

He turned his head to the other side to look at the left hand. There was a deep cut from a sharp stone next to the hand; it was bleeding, but he can’t be bothered to treat it for now. He clenched his fist, and his gaze looked past the hand to see a bunch of big stones pile together, and in the middle, stones were arranged like a cave entrance. He looked up at the sky; rain had started pouring heavily. — 'It will be difficult to climb the mountain with this heavy rain. I should rest in the cave-like entrance,' he thought.

He got up with difficulty and went to the cave-like entrance; it was not very spacious, just enough so two people could find a shelter against the rain. He stretched his legs and leaned on the stone wall; finally, he got time to rest since yesterday. All of the emotions in his heart—loneliness, sadness, helplessness, grief, and others—started swallowing up, and tears can be seen in Dhruv’s eyes.

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“This is stupid; why am I being like this? How can I allow my emotions to take over?” Huff—Dhruv grumbled while letting out a small breath from his mouth. “Alright, I will rest here tonight, but how can I not grieve when I’m left all alone in this world? I have to commit and see it through to the end.” He inhaled a deep breath and thought.

But unknown to him, the blood from the cut in his left hand is being absorbed by the big stone on the floor. After a few breaths of time, he felt his vision going blurry and his life energy being extracted from his body. He tried moving his body, but it was of no use. A death threat loomed over his head, and with the last energy in his body, he cursed his dead father.

“What on earth, father? Is this the so-called opportunity you spoke of? I feel like I’m dying right now. Why, just why did you point me towards the dead road before dying yourself?” —With that, he fell unconscious.

Just one inch underneath the stone floor, there was a rectangular table-like stone on which strange circular magic lines were drawn. While absorbing the blood of Dhruv Bakshi, it started projecting a blurry red magic circle on the cave roof.

Somewhere in the Galaxy, a planet could be seen ten times the size of Earth. On the surface, it looked like a big brother of Earth, but there was one huge flaw in it: the sky was red.

In an unknown mountain valley, a city can be seen. There are a lot of tall buildings arranged in a uniform way, with the smallest being on the outskirts and the tallest in the middle.

On the top floor of the tallest building, a man can be seen looking down at the city like a Lord. A moment later, a subordinate came into his office and reported about the matter of the summoning circle being activated. The city lord turned around from the window. He has long legs with strong thighs and a fit body with broad shoulders. His skin is brownish, and his face has wide jaw lines, a wide mouth, and a slim nose. With sharp eyes, he looked at his subordinate and asked — “What is the location?”

“It’s a small world, sir;” Subordinate said.

“A small world, huh?” — Feeling a bit disappointed in his tone, but excitement can be seen in his eyes, he ordered; “bring the stone table into the meeting hall and contact the top 10 executives to gather asap.”

“Yes, sir.” Having said that, the subordinate left. The City Lord thought, ‘how did the stone tablet end up in a small world? Is this someone’s conspiracy to bait us into going to the small world? But soon, he dispelled that thought. If someone wanted to bait us, they would have to risk their lives to place the stone tablet in the small world. In any case, it is beneficial for us, as we can find the purest soul in this small world.’

In the meeting hall, everyone gathered. One of the executives, Rajiv Rana, asked, “Lord Darik, as we can see this stone tablet connects to a small world, are we all going there? Wouldn’t that be detrimental if someone attacks our base?”

All of the executives fell silent; almost nobody has the guts to criticize the Lord’s decision.

Lord Darik smiled before saying, “Of course, not everyone will go. This is a penta-circle, so I need five people to nominate themselves for this journey.” He watched everyone then continued. “But before you decide, I would like to warn you of a few things: I feel like this is a plot by somebody to lure us into a small world.”

He paused, not seeing any hesitation on their faces. “I don’t know what they are thinking, but huge gains come after risks, as you all know the benefits of the pure soul of the small world. Second, you will get there as a Soul Avatar, not in a physical body; if you are defeated, then you will lose accumulation worth 10 levels.”

Rajiv thought ‘these 10 levels were worth noting: I can re-accumulate in a year, and by going there, I can investigate if there are any plots. But there is a downside to this. Since I was born in the mid-world, if I enter the small world, I can never enter the supreme world.’

Another executive, Shambu, wondered if we could send our Soul Avatar; it will be of at least level 1, which is the limit of a small world, and almost nobody is level 1 over there, so I will be invincible hahaha. But the main issue now is whether I will be selected to go there. ‘Oww, pure souls are the best for my growth. Oh god, please let me be selected. Wait, Lord Darik said we should nominate ourselves.’ He instantly looked at his brother and after getting confirmation, he said it with a subservient voice.

“I, Shambu Bala, am at your disposal, Lord. Please bless me with your order.”

“I, Anbu Bala, am also at your disposal, Lord.” Seeing his brother get the signal, he followed suit.

“Hmm, Bala brothers, good I’m very impressed by your quick decision-making.”

“We are honored by the Lord’s praise;” both spoke in unison.

“I, Rajiv, am at your disposal, Lord.”

I, Avnish, ….

I, Henrik, …., Lord father.

The sixth executive was preparing to come forward but was stopped by Lord Darik.

“Everyone, as you can see, we don’t have much time left. The penta-circle is about to form completely. Take these Soul Boxes one by one and get ready to move.”

All five of them sat at each corner of the penta-circle and became motionless, as if their soul had left the body.

In the sky above Terut Mountain, thunder started rumbling louder than ever. With the clash of two thunders, five falling stars fell on the cave-like entrance and were absorbed by the stone tablet. With a flash of light, five ghostly Soul Avatar emerged from the stone tablet.

Avnish: “What a wonderful system we have! This Soul Box can contain a part of our soul.”

Shambu: “And transforms into a Soul Avatar, it’s cool.”

Anbu: “Thank you, benefactor. Because of your sacrifice, we are here, and I promise you I will make good use of the pure souls we collect.”

Almost at the same time, everyone looked at Dhruv’s lifeless body.

“What dogshit luck do I have? I only have 18 black beads;” Henrik complains with curses.

Rajiv checked his temporary Receptor and said, “Damn, now that you say that I have 120 black beads, I can create a Tsunami with them. I should start checking for a suitable base. We have only two months here, good luck guys.” After saying that, he flew out of the Terut Mountains.”

One by one, everyone left in different directions.

After they left, a shining white snake slithered his way out of the stone cracks, bit Dhruv’s left hand, and started injecting white fluid into his body.

“I don’t have much ‘Will’ left after creating two more spots for White Soul users on a stone tablet; fortunately I have a dead body that just died so I can possess him to do my work without any hindrances.”

‘It’s good that those five idiots took so much time talking here. I got almost all the necessary details about them, and sure enough, they brought a Soul Box with them, just what I needed.’

“Hmmm, I can feel the life energy in his body; he isn’t dead yet. Well, whatever, I can easily subdue a level-zero soul. If not for the entry restrictions of this small world, I could have come here with my main body.”

Dhruv slowly opened his eyes with difficulty, saw a beautiful white snake biting his left hand, and before going unconscious again, he thought — ‘I had died earlier, didn’t I? Am I going to die twice?’