Splash! Splash!

"Ahh…ahh..."

A 74-year-old man opened his closed eyelid and took a deep breath.

He was sitting in the wooden chair and his body was wrapped by the ropes, only his hands were free. He looked around the surroundings and saw a group of people standing in front of him.

The old man gazed at the tall man who was standing in the middle of the group.

"What do you want from me?" Raj stared at him and confusedly asked.

Raj never saw this man in his entire life, nor did he ever had enmity with anyone.

He was a kind and easy-going person who rarely committed evil in his whole life. Even in the school days, he always stays quiet to avoid problems.

Although he was the top student, not many students wanted to associate with him. Moreover, he was a valuable individual for the school bullies.

Raj remembers they kidnapped him from his office directly.

When he was working on his secret welfare project, they suddenly appeared from space.

"Old man, I will fulfill your life's curiosity and answer the questions you are searching for your entire life but in exchange, you have to hand over the locket you are wearing on your neck?" The tall man said.

"Locket?"

"Yes, the locket which you found in the America deep secret Valley in your younger days."

Raj glanced at the locket which was always a kind of mystery for him.

Nonetheless, it is not equal to the answer, he has been searching for his entire life.

For some people, it may look childish, silly, or ridiculous but for him, the purpose of his life was just to find the answer to his question at any cost.

Now, he felt happy to be kidnapped by this group. Raj had already seen at his office that this group of people are capable enough to answer his questions.

Life? Nah! He never cares about it. On the other hand, it was his fantasy to see the afterlife.

One can say that death was the last option to know the answers to all his questions.

Raj again looked at the tall mysterious person and thought for a second.

'Maybe he is capable enough to resolve all my doubts. I have already seen that he can travel in space. So from this, it is clear that my long last doubt is clear ,Real Magic exists in the earth". It can't be fake.'

"Are you able to clear all my doubts and answer my question?" Raj asked.

"Maybe not, but you don't have many options." The tall man Chuckled.

Raj stared at him for a second and then nodded his head.

"Does magic exist on earth?"

"Yes,"

"From when?"

"From the birth of planet earth, you can say magic exists even before the earth."

"So, why doesn't a single person on the earth know about it? Even after searching for 45 years, I can't find a single solid proof."

"Really, haha!"

"Let me tell you, I think you have seen or noticed something which was secretly hidden by us. But due to the rules of the Great Magic Alliance, your memories are altered."

"Ohh! So my assumption was correct."

"What assumption?" The tall man asked.

"That's I had already found the answers to my questions but someone powerful one altered my memories," Raj replied

"Why did you think so?"

"I believe this is the only reason that no ordinary people know about the real earth."

After saying that Raj continued," Well, Is it true that some extraordinary humans and other races live with us, ordinary humans? Like a vampire and werewolf."

"Vampire and Werewolf, are you living in fantasy stimulation? The werewolf has been long extinct from the earth since the age of colonization. In contrast to werewolves, some say vampires are on the line of extinction."

The tall man gazed at Raj and said," Any other question?"

Raj moved his head down and thought for a few seconds.

He had already asked the basic questions which he had been searching for a long time.

However, there are many mysteries he wanted to cover now. Many of his questions come from the myths and stories of different countries.

As an Indian American, Raj learned about the mystic saga of Indian culture as well as Christian theology. Moreover, he also knows about the different myths of different countries.

One of them was Greek and Norse Mythology.

People say in ancient Greek and Norse there were people who could control elements.

Some say they are immortals, some say they are the people who had high longevity.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

What is true no one knows, but on modern earth, these stories just become fairy tales?

Raj internally thought," Is he able to tell me the reason why some mysterious event happens in some countries? How would I know without asking him?"

"Are events like 'dancing plague' which struck Strasbourg Alsace in 1518 and Miracle of the sun were real?"

"Haha,"

"I am giving you a chance to ask any questions you want but you are asking this silly question. Well, ok I have to do my work."

The tall man motions his hands in a strange movement and when his hand stops in front of his chest, a white light shows up in Raj's vision.

Suddenly, his vision started circulating and a motion of pictures appeared around Raj.

It was like he was experiencing time travel. He saw scenes where people wear ancient clothes.

The culture of Ancient Egypt!

Rome's army expanding territory!

Ancient Sculpture!

The tribe which ruled ancient America!

Finally, he saw the answers to his questions. It is weird, but he learned and discerns many ancient things which nowadays have become a myth.

While Raj was stunned after learning about many shocking incidents. The tall man laughed and inquired," Is there anything else which you wanted to know?"

Raj takes a huge breath and relaxes his old body. He calms his intense mind and then closes his eyes for a second.

"My last question, who are you? Why did you want this locket and why couldn't you take it by yourself?"

"Haha,"

"Someone has told the truth, curiosity kills a man."

The hulking figure slammed his fist on the table, his voice gravelly with frustration.

"Don't waste our time, old man. I've already told you what you've sought your entire life. This is a pointless question."

As Raj suspected. There had to be a reason they hadn't simply taken the locket dangling around his neck. With their brute force, it wouldn't have been a challenge. Besides, who cared about a dying old man like him? His demise might even bring joy to his business partners and debtors.

"You promised answers," Raj countered, a sly smile playing on his lips. "If not, feel free to kill me. But the locket," he declared, his voice gaining strength despite his frailty, "stays with me."

In the cutthroat world of business, cunning was the key to rising to the top.

"You…" The large man's threat was cut short as he lunged for an unconventional weapon, its barrel mere inches from Raj's temple.”

"Old man," He fiercely stated, "hand over the locket and we'll let you go. Otherwise, your end won't be pleasant."

A resolute smile etched itself onto Raj's face as he reached up and pressed the cold metal against his own head. "My days are already over," he stated calmly, "and now I yearn for their company. Perhaps, in death, I'll see them again."

He paused, then continued, "Kill me. A bullet is preferable to a lonely deathbed."

All of sudden, booming laughter shattered the silence. The darkness in the corner of the chamber receded, revealing a young man nonchalantly puffing on a cigarette bearing the distinctive logo of the DM Group. Despite the thugs surrounding him, an air of authority clung to him.

"Raj Maurya," he addressed the old man, a smirk playing on his lips. "A-Rank student at New Howard University, 54 years ago. And an expert in the New AI system. It's been a while, isn't it, Goblin?"

He took a deep sip of cigarette and gazed at Raj. A faint smile appears on his smile.

As their eyes met, a flicker of recognition, a complex tapestry of emotions, crossed Raj's face.

The air hung heavy with unspoken tension. Raj spluttered, "Wentain!..." before a sharp hiss cut him off.

"Shhh!" the strange man admonished, his voice a low murmur. "Lord Wentian... have you forgotten about me, old goblin, or has age finally dulled your memory?"

Raj's mind reeled. The words and the sudden, suffocating dread sent a jolt through him, threatening cardiac arrest. He couldn't fathom the surreal scene unfolding.

Earlier, the word "Goblin" had triggered a flicker of recognition, a hint of his past resurfacing. Now, as he truly looked at the man's face, a sense of uncanny familiarity washed over him. Was this young man, by some twist of fate, Kim Wentian's grandson, privy to his grandfather's secrets?

At New Howard University, Kim Wentian had been an omnipresent force. Fear had practically been his middle name. Even the authorities bowed to his unspoken commands. The university was his domain, his to control with his own rule.

Yet, as the young man addressed himself as "Lord Wentian" and locked eyes with Raj, the old man felt an unsettling echo, a chilling glimpse of the past reflected in those piercing eyes. It was like staring into a mirror reflecting a younger, perhaps even crueler version of Kim Wentian himself.

But how? Kim Wentian had been Raj's contemporary, two years his senior at the university. The very notion defied logic.

Raj's mind was in a chaotic whirlwind, rendering him speechless. Suddenly, Wentian's half-smoked cigarette tumbled to the ground, followed by a blur of movement. He materialized before Raj, his shadow engulfing the old man.

"Goblin," Kim Wentian spoke, his voice a husky rumble, "age has burdened you. Speak less and surrender the locket. We were comrades once, which is why you enjoyed a life of privilege. Now, I merely fulfill your final wish."

He turned his head slightly, addressing the hulking figure beside Raj. "Isn't that right, Mitchell?"

"Y-yes, Lord," Mitchell stammered, his voice laced with trepidation.

"Excellent. But why restrain and threaten an elder? Surely, you understand his frailty. Such actions could prove... fatal."

Kach!!

The pronouncement hung heavy in the air, followed by a chilling snap. A single, silent slash of an invisible blade, and Mitchell crumpled to the floor, his body cleaved in two.

Kim Wentian, as Raj now readily accepted him to be, met the old man's wide-eyed stare. "Respect your elders, boy. They deserve your deference."

Raj broke into a cold sweat, the stark reality of the scene hitting him like a physical blow. He shakily wiped the perspiration from his brow, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.

The initial confusion had given way to horrifying certainty. This was Kim Wentian, the specter of his university days, the very man who had inspired terror in countless hearts. Whispers of his ruthlessness, of his covert killings, and his unwavering control over the university police echoed in Raj's mind. He was a law unto himself, a god-king who saw people as mere pawns in his twisted game.

Memories of university life, filled with fear and suffering at the hands of this very man, flooded Raj's mind. An icy wave of terror gripped his heart, paralyzing him as he met Kim Wentian's gaze. It was in the grip of this primal fear that Raj began to recount the tale of his university life, his voice barely a whisper amidst the chilling reality that had unfolded before him.

Suddenly, Kim Wentian wiped out the sweat from Raj's forehand with his hands.

"Old goblin! What is this? Do you fear your old friend? I just helped you...Didn't I?"

Upon saying this, a creepy smile broke out on his complexion.

…….