Arav stood frozen, his breath shallow as the ground beneath him trembled violently. The towering trees around him swayed and cracked under the immense force, collapsing like fragile twigs. His eyes stayed locked on the shadowy lake, where the Buru still lingered, its dark, ominous presence filling the air. But he knew. He knew that the force behind him wasn’t the Buru.
It was something else.
Swallowing hard, Arav slowly turned around, clutching Dhiran and Buddhi tighter, as if their unconscious bodies could offer some anchor to reality. His heart pounded like a drum, but when he turned, his eyes widened in confusion.
There was… nothing.
Only the eerie forest, the oppressive mist, and the faint rustling of leaves. He blinked, his instincts screaming at him that he wasn’t alone, yet his eyes revealed no danger.
What is this? Arav thought, his breaths quickening.
Suddenly, the ground erupted beneath him with a deafening roar, sending chunks of earth and shattered trees flying into the air. Arav stumbled backward, barely keeping his balance as he shielded Dhiran and Buddhi from the debris.
From the earth emerged a magnificent dragon-like entity, unlike anything Arav had ever imagined. It rose with a celestial grandeur, its form stretching into the heavens, casting a radiant glow that illuminated the forest in both golden warmth and silver serenity.
This being was a sublime embodiment of cosmic harmony, its scales divided between the brilliance of the sun and the soft glow of the moon. On one side, the sunlit scales shimmered with golden iridescence, rippling like sunlight over water, their glow comforting yet commanding. On the other side, the moonlit scales glistened like pearls sprinkled with stardust, painting the image of a living night sky.
Its eyes were galaxies, swirling with the colors of dawn and dusk, as if the universe itself peered through them. Its vast, translucent wings shimmered with trails of auroras, leaving a luminous, celestial residue in the air.
Arav was awestruck. His fear momentarily gave way to pure wonder. “What… what is this creature?” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the symphony of celestial chimes the dragon exuded with its every movement.
The forest seemed to hold its breath as the dragon turned its massive form toward the lake, where the Buru finally emerged from the depths.
And the Buru was every bit as terrifying as the dragon was majestic.
The water churned violently as the serpent rose, its obsidian-black scales etched with pulsing crimson runes that glowed like molten magma. Its sheer size dwarfed everything around it, stretching over 200 feet, its body coiled like a living nightmare.
Its head, a grotesque blend of basilisk and hydra, was crowned with jagged, ichor-dripping horns. Its glowing, abyssal eyes burned with an ancient malevolence, locking onto the dragon with a gaze that could unravel the sanity of any mortal.
The Buru’s maw opened, revealing a cavern of jagged teeth, each dripping with corrosive mist that hissed and sizzled as it fell. Its forked tongue flickered, crackling with dark energy.
Every movement it made seemed to twist the air around it, bending reality itself.
The two massive beings locked eyes, their energies clashing so fiercely that the ground shook beneath them.
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Arav was frozen in place. The sheer presence of these creatures was overwhelming, their auras pressing down on him like the weight of a mountain.
“This can’t be real,” he whispered, his voice trembling. He watched, both awestruck and terrified, as the celestial dragon faced off against the nightmarish serpent.
The dragon’s song filled the air, its light growing stronger as it spread its wings, bathing the forest in a radiant glow. Meanwhile, the serpent let out a chilling wail that sent shockwaves through the landscape, darkening the sky and snuffing out the light.
The clash of their energies was like nothing he’d ever felt—a battle of light and shadow, creation and destruction.
And yet, Arav couldn’t look away. He had never seen anything so breathtaking, so terrifying, so utterly beyond comprehension.
As the titans prepared to act, Arav felt like a speck of dust caught between gods.
Arav stayed frozen, still clutching Dhiran and Buddhi, his eyes glued to the lake where the Buru had retreated. Suddenly he colossal serpent's shadow slipped beneath the water, leaving nothing but an eerie calm. For a brief moment, everything was still.
Then, a blinding flash of light erupted, forcing Arav to shield his eyes. When the brilliance faded, the dragon-like creature was gone as well.
Arav collapsed to the ground, trembling. His entire body felt heavy, his breathing shallow. He was exhausted—not from any battle, but simply from witnessing the sheer magnitude of what he had just seen.
“They weren’t even focused on me,” he muttered to himself, his voice barely audible. Yet, the oppressive strength of both entities had overwhelmed him, as if the weight of their existence was too much for any mortal to bear.
As he lay there with Dhiran and Buddhi’s unconscious bodies by his side, the forest seemed to come alive again. The oppressive silence gave way to faint whispers, the rustling of leaves, and… voices?
Arav’s eyes snapped open. He sat up slowly, his heart pounding. Shapes began to emerge from the mist—figures dressed in traditional clothing of the Mishmi tribe. Their translucent forms glided silently, their faces calm yet haunting.
“Oh… right,” Arav whispered to himself. He had forgotten where he was—Echoing Hollow, the part of Nyigong Thicket where the souls ancestors of the Mishmi tribe were said to gather.
One of the spectral figures stepped forward and gestured to Arav, silently beckoning him to follow. Arav hesitated, but something about the spirit felt… safe. He gently set Dhiran and Buddhi’s bodies over his shoulders and followed.
The spirit led him through the dense forest until they reached a serene clearing. At its center was a small, crystal-clear lake, shimmering under an ethereal light. Nearby, a shrine stood—weathered but sacred, its surface adorned with ancient carvings that pulsed faintly with energy.
Arav’s heart skipped a beat as he realized what he was looking at. “The relic…” he whispered. “This is it. The Lumring Stone.”
The stone rested on a pedestal within the shrine, its faint glow radiating warmth and protection. Arav gently placed Dhiran and Buddhi on the ground, his focus entirely on the relic.
But then, his gaze shifted to the lake, and his breath caught in his throat.
From the water emerged a serpent unlike any other. Its iridescent scales shimmered in a cascade of colors, reflecting every hue of light like a living rainbow. A crown of lotus flowers adorned its head, and its presence exuded an aura of serenity and grace.
Arav froze, his instincts telling him not to make any sudden movements. But as the serpent’s calm, wise eyes locked with his, he felt no fear.
The serpent glided gracefully around the lake, watching Arav closely. Then, as if satisfied, it lowered its head and moved aside, revealing the path to the shrine.
“Is this… a test?” Arav thought.
He took a cautious step forward, then another. The serpent made no move to stop him. Instead, as Arav approached the shrine, a profound sense of clarity and peace washed over him. The fear and tension that had gripped him since encountering the Buru and the celestial dragon began to melt away.
The air around him seemed lighter, the oppressive weight lifted. For the first time since entering the forest, Arav could think clearly.
He knelt before the Lumring Stone, his hands trembling as he reached out to touch it. The stone pulsed with warmth, a comforting presence that reassured him.
“I did it,” he whispered, his voice filled with relief and awe. For a moment, he simply knelt there, letting the serenity of the moment wash over him.
The serpent, still watching from the lake, let out a soft, melodic hiss before retreating beneath the water. Its shimmering form disappeared, leaving only ripples in its wake.
Arav stood, holding the relic tightly. He turned to Dhiran and Buddhi, who were still unconscious but stable. The clarity he now felt gave him the strength to push forward.