[THHP]
Drona landed on the ground, with Digvijay lying on the yellow energy. Drona opened the shed’s door, with a blank expression he waved his hand, causing the energy to slowly descend towards the ground.
[WOOSH]
The energy brought Digvijay inside and placed him on an old bed. Drona walked towards a bunch of utensils placed in the corner of the room, picked a glass of water;
[BHM!]
The glass fell down from his hand, he quickly turned towards his son, a dark portal had appeared right in front of Digvijay.
[WOOSH]
Drona summoned energy at his hand, and prepared to attack;
[TAK..TAK..TAK]
A black humanoid figure stepped out of the portal,
[SWOOP]
Drona send his energy slashing towards it,
[WOOO]
The energy disappeared before it could reach the figure. It turned towards Drona, revealing its faceless appearance while raising its hand, the energy on Drona’s hand disappeared. He tried to summon it again, but it felt as if all of his energy was drained;
“WHO ARE YOU?!” Drona exclaimed while continuously trying to summon his energy again.
The figure turned away from him and forwarded towards Digvijay,
[HUM!]
The moment it raised its hand, a dark mass of energy began rapidly moving towards it from Digvijay’s body, Digvijay’s body twisted in all directions with a cracking sound echoing inside the room.
“STOP!!” Drona rushed towards it, but it slapped him out of the shed;
[THUD...SPLASH]
Drona fell on the muddy ground,
“URGH!!...” He groaned and looked forward, the figure turned away from Digvijay and stepped back in the portal.
“HRRP…” Drona forced his body to stand up. Hastily hitting his walk stick on the ground, he forwarded towards Digvijay, his foot and the stick brought mud inside the shed as he entered. Drona’s eyes shivered and were wide open, he saw a black liquid flowing out of Digvijay’s eyes, nose and ears, with him lifelessly lying on the bed with all of the limbs twisted.
With shaking hands, Drona closed Digvijay’s eyes.
***
[HUM!]
A brilliant light appeared out of Arav. Yaksh stepped back, feeling his body get lighter. Ambu began changing in a mass of water, with her eyes still staying on Arav.
[FLASH]
Arav glanced around, he stood on a grass field with flowers growing around him. In front of him, there was a small town with wooden houses. A bright light covered the town, with its origins unknown. Arav felt an urge to step forward, so he did. As the distance between him and the town decreased, children laughing and the sound of cooking entered his ears.
He noticed a group of students next to the pedestal with their eyes closed. While a few ran around the town while holding sticks and laughing. Arav turned to his left and entered a small house, a woman cooked in a clay furnace, her eyes were bright with skin glowing brilliantly.
Arav exited the house and forwarded towards a small hill in the distance, he noticed the path had grass growing on it with colorful butterflies flying around in groups. The moment he climbed to the peak, his eyes widened as he saw himself sitting under the tree while meditating. He had the old skinny appearance with silver hair waving in the wind.
“Arav?” A familiar voice caught his attention, he looked towards the leaves of the banyan tree.
[THUD]
A warrior wearing green clothes jumped down from the tree;
“Ho..how are there two of you?...” The warrior asked in a curious tone,
“This is a reflection of your soul’s nature, the only thing that you desire the most.” Arav responded while sitting beside himself;
“Uhh…I died?”
“Affirmative.”
[ZHOOM]
The area around them changed rapidly, and soon Arav found himself sitting on the pedestal with a group of people standing in front. Recognising the scene, he turned to his left and found Drishti talking to him. But soon, something unexpected happened. The Arav next to Drishti grabbed her hand and began moving towards her, a wave of anxiety washed over Arav’s heart. He jumped down the pedestal and dragged her away from the other Arav.
“This world will create what you desire..It’s not just a reflection of your soul, something has created this world to drain your essence..” Arav pulled her closer to the point of their chests touching each other, he placed his hand on her head,
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
[WOOSH]
The world around them trembled, and soon everything went dark. A cold silence filled the surrounding, with not a single source of light. Arav got away from Drishti, she opened her eyes and found a dark place with no end or beginning.
“What..what is this place?” Drishti asked as her heart felt a strong sense of loneliness from the place;
“This is where I stayed for centuries..”
“WHAT?...FOR CENTURIES?”
“Your time is fleeting…You were caught in the world of spirits for far too long. I have a way of return…”
“How will you do that?” Drishti asked with a concerned expression;
“I can use my life force to repair your essence.” Arav instantly responded with a hint of urgency;
“....What will happen to you?” After a brief silence, Drishti asked while her anxious eyes stared at him,
“I’m not sure…I am not completely aware of my current strength..”
“I refuse..” Drishti spoke in a determined tone, while taking a step away from Arav. His brows expanded, with a slightly confused expression appearing on his face;
“Why would you do that?..You have a single chan…”
“NO!...You have a goal..I have felt it..From the very first day we met,..I don’t want to become a hindrance in your way..” Tears flowed out of her eyes, while her shaking lips continued speaking.
“There is the possibility that we both can retu…”
“I SAID NO!...you are not a god..I died for my people, finally succeeded in freeing them from their misery. Just a single regret still plagues my heart,..I couldn’t get to know the man who changed my world..”
[HUM!]
As Drishti’s words stopped, her body began breaking down in tiny light particles, slowly disappearing in the endless darkness around them. Arav’s heart got heavy, as his eyes witnessed Drishti slowly fade away.
[FLASH]
Arav opened his eyes and found Yaksh sitting next to him, his hand holding Drishti’s wooden bow with her quiver on his back.
“She-..”
“I know.” Yaksh spoke in a heavy voice,
Arav went silent, he got up while lifting Drishti in his arms.
“Idiot..” Yaksh whispered while turning his head away, Arav saw tears fall down on the bow Yaksh held. They both forwarded towards the south.
***
[SWWOSH]
The dark portal opened, with the humanoid figure stepping outside. It walked in a long corridor, the floor was made of a dark polished stone, with black pillars radiating an ominous energy around him.
[TAK..TAK..TAK]
The humanoid figure walked with a stiff movement, without taking a single look around him. It entered a dark room, with slight sunlight and a small amount of snow coming inside from a small window in the room.
[THUD]
It quickly went on its knees and placed the right fist in front of him on the ground. And gazed at a small pool in the center of the room.
[BLUPL..]
“Haah…” A man with long red hair appeared out of the water, he placed his palm on his face and wiped the water off his eyes.
[DRIP…DRIP]
The man walked outside the pool with water continuously dripping down his body. The humanoid figure lowered its head.
[TAK..TAK]
A woman wearing black clothes from top to bottom, entered the room with a towel in her hand.
“It seems some inconvenient events have occured.” The woman spoke while tying her hair around her finger;
“%$#@*..” The humanoid figure produced a strange sound;
“Oh?..A prince returning for revenge?..Aided by the elves?..” The women spoke with her eyes widening with curiousness;
The man silently listened to her while his red eyes stared at the humanoid;
“What do you think we should do dear?” The woman forwarded and placed her hand on the man’s shoulder;
“...Padma kingdom’s value is insignificant to me, let the prince have his revenge.” The man turned away and began walking towards the exit of the room, while dark clothes appeared on his body.
“@#$*%..”
The man’s feet stopped, he slowly turned towards the humanoid;
[KRRCK!]
The humanoid suddenly began floating above the floor, with its limbs bending in different directions. The woman’s face darkened, she stepped back from them without saying anything.
“He..is..dead...” The man’s voice caused the room to tremble, while the snow entering from the window vaporized in an instant;
[THUD]”
The man turned and exited the room, and the humanoid fell back on the floor. The woman’s expression got clouded with fear and concern, as her shivering eyes stared at the humanoid repairing itself.
***
The silence of the forest was interrupted by the steps of Arav and Yaksh, they crushed twigs under their feet while forwarding on a dirt path. Yaksh’s eyes were teary, he held Drishti’s bow in his left hand while clenching his fist of the right. He could hear nothing but his own heartbeat racing due to the intense emotions he felt. His mind was flooded by the memories of his past, the time spent in the town while growing up with his sister, their training under the chief elf. These memories acted as a sharp dagger slowly penetrating his heart. His lips shivered, as breathing steadily became harder and harder.
Arav kept walking, his blank gaze stayed on the path upfront, while his arms gently held Drishti. With his steps, Drishti’s body shook causing her face to hit against Arav’s arms. A wave of intense emotions rapidly washed over his heart, making it progressively difficult to stay calm.
They went past the forest and arrived on a small hill. In front, the town appeared with a small amount of fog covering it. Arav’s eyes reflected the town's image, as a slight hesitation found its place in his heart. Arav got bewildered, as he never felt so tensed in his entire life, not even in the face of death. His movements continued, with the gap in his steps getting smaller and smaller. Arav felt his heart getting heavier as the town neared.
The very first gaze realizing his presence was that of a small child. Her face instantly brightened, she hastily moved towards them with a smile, revealing two of her teeth missing.
“Big brother!..” The girl sprinted with wide arms while exclaiming, causing the entire town to get aware of their presence. The old man moved towards Arav, just behind the girl with the entire town following his movement.
“Is big sister sleeping?!.” The girl asked in a bright tone, while continuously hopping to get a glimpse of Drishti’s face.
The old man’s smile disappeared, as he saw Arav holding his daughter with Yaksh looking miserable. His heart sank, with lips failing to utter words.
“Tell me!..Tell me big brother!..How did you free them?”
The girl continued her questions while hopping, Arav’s gaze fell on Yashi standing on the left of the town, with the rescued elves right behind her. All of their expressions turned dark, tears flowed out of the entire town’s eyes in unison.
The old man stretched his shaking hands forward, Arav slowly placed Drishti in her father’s arm and stepped back. Not desiring to intrude, he began walking away from the town, leaving them alone grieving for their fallen warrior, as he stepped towards the hill behind the town.
[Chapter 15: END]