"You won't speak?", Aavesh asked in a bloodthirsty tone to Rodred. Rodred remained mute.
"Good, That saves me the moral dilemma of sparing scum like you"
*Sizzzz
*Slice
*Sizzle
Aavesh condensed another red energy sword and this Time- He sliced through Rodred creating two perfect halves that fell sideways blood sizzling on contact with the Energy Blade.
"She's not here...", Aavesh felt down as his sister wasn't in this place as well- the only place left was that Torture Chamber. Nothing could be done just sulking.
'I need to check that chamber out- she, If whatever's fucking around here put even a single hand on her- I will make it regret even entering this world', Aavesh strode forward with a grim look on his face.
*Crik
A sense of urgency and ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as his Mecha suit hardened and a red enchanting light faintly flickered on the surface of the suit.
Aavesh checked his map Interface for the route to the Torture Room and rammed into multiple walls to directly reach it- He would not waste time anymore!
*BOOOM
Aavesh broke through the wall of the Torture cell.
Aavesh stopped dead in his tracks- it was her.
She was unconscious - Her life vitals were very weak, and getting weaker by the minute.
He stretched out his hand towards her, but her heart stopped and her body went cold abruptly.
She was... gone.
Aavesh's body froze in disbelief. The scanner on his face showed that her vitals had gone...
"I - I don't believe it! NOOOO!", Aavesh cried out in agony as he kneeled down to reach for her lifeless body and cradled it. His helmet disappeared as he gazed at her with immense guilt and heart rending pain.
Tears flowed from his eyes as he bent down hugged her tightly and cried hoarsely,
"I'm Sorry - I'm Sorry... I'm... Sorry, I-"
His heart was filled with icy grief and unbelievable shock- He was just there! He saw her vitals a moment ago- He... was too late.
He fucked up again. She wasn't supposed to be here- He was!
If only...
"In all her miserable Life - She did have the most exquisite screams", a familiar disgusting voice spoke behind Aavesh. Aavesh's heart immediately turned icy cold as his eyes turned bloodshot in an instant.
Killing Intent erupted from within him. He calmly laid her down softly and stood up.
"You are Mephin", He spoke hoarsely.
"You recognised my voice? Interesting - What is she to you?", Mephin's voice spoke in a tone filled with mockery and contempt.
Aavesh turned around to face him with bloodthirst in his eyes. He saw a pale skinned Mephin with Demonic Full Black Eyes with no whites- He wore a cloak as well along with a strange shovel. He looked a Newly Born Ghoul from the Abyss.
"Woah Little Kid- Wait your eyes and hair- They are the same as hers- You are her blood relative! Maybe her brother? Bah! It doesn't matter, You will join her soon anyways.", Mephin spoke with contempt in his voice as his mouth showed a twisted grin filled with Sadistic desires.
His hand on the strange runic shovel tightened as he then move at an inhuman speed to smack it at Aavesh's unguarded head.
But Aavesh punched the Incoming shovel directly.
*BOOM
*RINGING
A white light exploded from their clash. A ringing sound reverberated as well from the shovel as Mephin was pushed back.
"That won't happen a second time!",
Mephin angrily spoke and immediately increased his strength as even stronger energy filled the shovel.
This time he moved even faster with even more ferocity at Aavesh to attack him.
But Aavesh flickered from his spot as well and matched the same speed to punch at the shovel.
*BOOOM
Fist and shovel collided again and once Again the clash created a powerful whitelight while letting out a Ringing sound, throwing Mephin Backwards while Aavesh stood his ground but bled slightly from his nose and mouth.
*CLANG
The Shovel fell from Mephin's hands as he Scrambled to get up and reach it- Just as he touched it, Aavesh leg Stomped the Hand and crushed it.
*KRAAK
"Aargh!", Mephin screamed in pain.
Aavesh then Kicked him fiercely in his guts, sending him to Smash into a nearby wall.
*Bang
Aavesh then picked up the shovel and broke it in anger as his face contorted with rage.
He took the Runic blade part of the Broken Shovel and walked towards Mephin who tries to get up.
Aavesh then threw the blade part onto Mephin which Pierced his hand while Making Mephin scream out in pain while holding his Impaled Palm.
"Yaaaargghhh- Whyyy- Are you doing this for that bitch- You never met her- You don't even know what she's like! She's the Devil!", Exclaimed Mephin at Aavesh who walked Grimly towards him- His killing Intent not abating at the slightest.
*Poom
*Thwack!
Aavesh disappeared in a blurr and A Powerful Punch Smacked into Mephin's wind pipe- Causing him to spurt Black Blood from his mouth.
"She was still my sister, No one has the right to lay their hands on her- No One and if she's evil? So fucking What? You killed her didn't you? ANSWER ME FILTH!", Aavesh screamed in rage as he punched Mephin in chest again.
*BOOOOOM
* Splrt
Mephin choked out blood again and slumped down- but he gave Aavesh a Vile Bloody smile.
*Spark Multicolored Lightning flickered again in Aavesh's eyes, as it surged around his fist.
Mephin felt its power and realised that he was going to die now - he closed his eyes and smiled as he awaited the Death Punch.
A moment passed, but nothing happened.
Mephin opened his eyes to see Aavesh's Lightning engulfed fist right before his head- just a cm away from him.
Aavesh stopped the Punch and spoke," It's too easy for you-"
The Multicolored Lightning retracted back into his soul as Mephin stared in shock at what happened.
But Aavesh grabbed Mephin's head and slammed it back into the wall and kneeed him again into the chest.
*CRack
Mephin's Ribs and Spine broke and began to pierce his internal organs painfully. The Impact of that knee blow squished a lot of internal organs to pulp there.
He screamed out in pain," Aaaaaaahhh!"
"You scream too much- Time to lose that Tongue of Yours", Aavesh spoke in a grim tone.
He stepped on Mephin's Right Arm and Retrieved the Runic Blade of the Shovel from Mephin's Right Hand without giving a damn about Mephin's Pain.
He then held Mephin's head before him as he spoke in a very cold and cruel tone,
"You did a lot to my Sister all these years- and you killed her- So it's only fucking fair that you get a taste of your own Medicine..."
Mephin Trembled violently as he heard that and saw Aavesh's cold and cruel Eyes staring straight at him. He begged outright," NO Nonononono, Please Kill Me! I beg you! Aren't you a righteous soul? Please!"
Aavesh smiled cruelly at this," shhhh - Don't fucking worry, I'll ensure you won't die before experiencing it all"
Mephin whimpered as he heard this as Aavesh closed down on him with the Shovel Blade.
Screams of Agony could be heard first in the hallways of the Orphanage at first- But they stopped soon after few minutes and the Only Wriggling sounds of someone struggling could be heard and even that eventually stopped.
Aavesh stood before Mephin's corpse as he threw the Blood soaked shovel blade to the side.
* CLANG
Mephin had grisly unwilling expression on his dead face or what was left of it. His eyes had been gouged out- His tongue cut off, his voice box remoevd with a precise yet crude surgical slit- his Tendons cut down while his Privates had been thoroughly turned into ground Burger Patty.
His heart had been fully ripped out and crushed.
There was black blood spilt allover the Place.
Aavesh had emotionless expression on his face - He did not feel any how from his revenge, only emptiness.
"Clean Suit and Body", He spoke in a dull tone as his Mecha Suit let out a red glow - which burned down on all the Blood and dust on Aavesh's Armor and Body.
He then slowly walked back to desolate Torture Chamber where his sister had been laid down. He walked up to her and fell before her desolately- He then took her body into his arms as he whispered softly into her ears," Don't worry- I'll kill all the monsters who did this to you- as your brother I promise you"
Tears still flowed from his eyes as he felt her icy cold body.
She was dead and he was too late.
He then stood up and carried her in his arms gently, as he whispered back, " I'll take you home"
A cold and an unsettling aura Assaulted Aavesh as a mysterious voice spoke those words,
" Home? Hahaha Boy- You still haven't realised?"
Aavesh's heart shuddered at those words as his eyes widened as if he snapped out of something," Eon- Where's Eon?"
"You're talking about that Key Spirit? He never entered this place with you- afterall I forbade it"
Aavesh felt something extremely wrong as the voice spoke further," Boy- did you give me an interesting show- Fine since you don't know what you and your interesting sister are in - I'll tell you - You both are in MY DOMAIN - and In MY GAME- Your Sister is the Prize of my game, but finding her is only the first Step - Getting out of MY World is the True Game!"
Aavesh heard this in disbelief - How- How was this Possible? Wait - Tyr mentioned about Anomalies - Don't Tell me... this.
" Your faithful butler Bot did indeed warn you as you stepped towards the forbidden direction - Too bad you never heeded his advice, or you would still be living ", the voice mocked him further.
Aavesh immediately condensed his Multicolored Lightning into his fist and Tried to punch at the void- but nothing happened.
"Oh Come On! You think you can break space with the raw strength of your constitution? You haven't even trained to master the Basics little idiot - What can you even do to the Space I CREATED Here?", The voice mocked him again.
He immediately went and gazed at the window to jump out - But walls which he had
Aavesh's heart began to panic furiously but he forcibly calmed himself.
'Ok- This is a Game, A Game has rules, What are the Rules To Win?', Aavesh immediately arranged his thoughts in a Rational Manner and asked out loudly," What do I need to do to win your Game?"
The Mysterious Voice spoke with a laugh," Heheh You finally asked- Solve My Riddle and the answer is your way out- Simple No?"
Aavesh took a breath in and asked again," What is your Riddle?"
The Voice then spoke in a Mysterious Tone,"
"To all things and men I appertain,
and yet by some am shunned and distained.
Fondle me and ogle me til you're insane,
but no blow can harm me, cause me pain.
Children delight in me, elders take fright.
Fair maids rejoice and spin.
Cry and I weep, yawn and I sleep.
Smile, and I too shall grin.
What am I?"
Aavesh immediately frowned at this puzzling riddle, but did not forget to ask," What's the Catch here?"
"You're improving Boy- the catch is quite simple as well - My world my rules and My rules dictate that you must solve this riddle within an hour of you entering my Domain - Meaning you have but measly 8 minutes remaining - If you don't - You lose the Game and The Consequences of a loss- Well You heard the Poem did you not?- So Chop Chop, Time's awastsing!", The Voice spoke Smugly at Aavesh who gritted his Teeth at this!
" Fuck!", Aavesh cursed out- He was tricked into this fucked up game just because he wanted to find his sister.
"If I win this Game- Does that mean my sister can come back to life?", Aavesh asked out hoarsely.
"You didn't Figure it out yet? Of course you dumb dumb! Your sister will naturally come back to life- No strings attached and I Always Keep My Word! My Game My Rules after all! And It is in the Rules that if you Win, She shall Live! But if - only if you win the Game- Or You both will go on a very wild ride with me!", The Voice ridiculed him again but Aavesh's eyes were filled with a Blazing light.
The Voice's words filled his heart with the flames of hope! Very well- Let's solve the Riddle first!
Aavesh pondered on the riddle and this time he forcibly activated his Reverse Analysis Neural Augmentation to analyse the riddle given.
" To all things and Men I appertain- meaning you relate to everything both living and Non living"
" but you are also shunned and disdained at- very strong choice of words - indicative of a contradiction"
"Fondle and ogle till Youre insane- Meaning Reactive Touch taken to the extreme, a similar meaning would be essentially - 'do whatever you want '" Aavesh surmised .
" No blow can harm me, cause me pain- this should refer to immortality or a constant state of No change, but can't cause me pain- would refer to lack of pain sensitivity - without feelings - probability of the solution being a non living thing is high- probably an item of sorts"
"children delight in me, elders take fright- hmmm- a thing that young people love yet older people hate? aging! A child wishes to grow up faster yet older adults wish to slowly grow older- Both use an object to verify the aging process- the object should be a mirror, a potential solution to the riddle - let us verify the solution - I still have 6 minutes left - must think faster "
"Fair maids - rejoice and spin? hmmm- A woman would indeed be happy to see her own beauty in the mirror, increasing the probability that a mirror is the answer, but I feel something off", Aavesh did not believe the answer would be so direct- he continued to analyse the other lines.
" Cry and I weep, Yawn and I sleep, smile and I too shall grin- a mirroring of actions is observed here and quite obvious examples are used... but this riddle seems to openly point to a solution which is often used as a trap", Aavesh realised the trap laid out before him - a mirror was not the answer but quite close to the actual answer.
"Oh ohhohoho! You found my Little Trap- what did you think it would be so easy Now?Heh think hopeless fool ! Think!", the voice spoke again with obvious mockery.
"Wait- Based on the clues, the item should be Immortal and possibly unbreakable but a mirror is not such an item... So what does a mirror do - it Reflects - Wait a minute, What do I see in the mirror - My Reflection! A reflection is positively immortal and cannot feel pain! If My Reflection is not good, I am likely to shun it but if it's nice I will love it- Children gaze at their Reflection and find joy while older people only worry more- I cry - my Reflection cries - I smile - My Reflection smiles!", Aavesh knew the answer now!
"The answer to the riddle is Reflection!", Aavesh called out.
"So?"
"But you said-", Aavesh continued.
"Said YOU would find the way out in the answer of the riddle not that I would Remove you once you found the answer - You have 4 minutes more- Oh by the way, I just burned those bodies you killed and there exists no mirror or Reflective material- So find your own fucking way out - No Handouts!- Rules of My Game! ", the voice spoke in a malevolent tone.
"Aww Fuck You! " Aavesh cursed out and he felt a powerful invisible slap on his face , causing him to spit blood on the floor.
"Insult me again and You will not live!" The voice spoke viciously.
"Cough Cough",Aavesh quickly got up to find a solution again and then suddenly stopped when he saw the spray of his blood on the floor.
"Blood- Wait- Blood Reflects images incredibly in Red Light! I need a source of Blood- Human blood and create a red light energy orb to help in Reflection using my Mecha!", Aavesh exclaimed.
"So - You found the answer, But whose blood are you going to use? Yours or Your Sister's? Look kid- if you bleed your sister out- She will die the moment I bring her back to life, You would need an intact body to bring someone back, and I Will NOT heal her- So One of you might die to escape from this place- So who will pay the price?", The voice spoke in a grueling tone - obviously expecting Aavesh to sacrifice his sister.
Too bad it underestimated Aavesh .
Aavesh immediately immediately retracts the Mecha Armor from his right hand while beginning to breathe a bit anxiously.
*Splekt
He then used his armored left fingers to pierce his right hand.
"Argh!", He Grimaced at this in pain but then activated his heart Augmentation and began to stimulate his blood around his right hand vigorously.
Fresh red - Blood sprayed out from his right hand to pour onto the floor turning into a small blood puddle like a sizeable hole enough for 2 children to enter.
Aavesh on the other hand became light headed and stumbled around to reach for his sister. His vision had become hazy.
"I- I m-must focus - almost there, I can't lose her", Aavesh spoke in a muddled tone but then but he bit his injured hand to sober the fuck up.
"Ahhh!", Aavesh groaned as his adrenaline kicked in again and his vision became clear.
Aavesh immediately walked to his Sister and carried her despite his wounded hand- He then Walked to the Blood puddle and spoke in a breathless tone, " almost out of time - Activate Energy Sword"
A Bright Red Energy sword condensed in his free hand and he lifted it above the Blood Puddle.
The Blood Puddle began to churn in a bright red Vortex, akin to a spiral Portal and Aavesh jumped into it along with his sister.
Everything turned to black then.
*Breathe
Aavesh briefly opened his eyes as he felt a warm breath and a beating sound near his chest.
His Sister- Was breathing! She was Alive! But she was still unconscious...
Aavesh then looked around only to see a room full of Mirrors and reflective crystals.
A simple clothed bald but even toned man appeared above him with a genial smile but Aavesh didn't feel anything genial about it.
"Haha Boy- You cracked my Game- you are the Fifth to do so and survive, So How did you like my Game?"
Aavesh then felt fatigue engulf him and his vision turned dark only to see the dangerous smile of that man before closing his Eyes...