(Aarav looked back, trembling with fear.)
Two people—a man and a woman—were sitting in the corner of the cave. His condition was as if he was saving someone with his body. From behind his back, half his body looked badly scratched and eaten. But his way of sitting clearly showed that he was trying to save someone by hiding them.
Aarav's eyes got stuck on that scene. His heart started beating so fast, as if it would come out of his chest. His hands and legs became numb with fear.
He looked around him. There was blood all over his body. He himself was not able to understand whether it was his blood or someone else's.
"So, it is you that these 'Homo Sapiens' tried to save with their lives," the dark shadow said in his deep, resonant voice. Her red, shining eyes were fixed on Aarav. "That means you are their child! HahahahahaSadly, his death was in vain, because like him, you too will soon be entering my womb."
Aarav's whole body was trembling with fear. But as soon as he heard that those two humans, who were trying to save him till their last breath, were his parents in this world, his heart was filled with some invisible light.
Such a storm of anger arose inside him that swallowed all his fears.
In Aarav's previous life he was an orphan. He had never seen, never felt his parents. But now, in this new world, he realized that the people he saw for the first time were his parents. And this monster standing in front had killed them.
Aarav took a deep breath. There was a strange mixture of tears and anger in his eyes. He clenched both his hands into tight fists, as if he was gathering all his strength.
"Oh, you got angry?" Saya(monster) said laughing. His voice became more terrifying as it bounced off the walls of the cave.
"Felt bad, didn't it? But it's the truth And the funny thing is that you can't do anything." He looked at Aarav from top to bottom and laughed out loud.
"You don't have the strength, you don't know how to fight. You don't even know me. And now you won't even have the chance to know me. Because, you..."
Saya(monster) bowed a little, her red eyes sparkled more.
" You're going to go into my stomach."
Aarav looked at her angrily in the eyes even before she could finish speaking. His breathing was now becoming heavy not from fear, but from anger.
Aarav tightened his fists further. The tears flowing from his eyes now looked like flames of anger. He shouted loudly, "Shut up, you monster!What harm did those poor people do to you? Why did you kill them?"
His voice was trembling, but the depth of anger was clearly visible in every word.
"Because of you, I lost my parents! I never thought that I would get another life… and that it would have parents in it. But you…You took them away from me. Again!"
Aarav paused and took a breath, his eyes shining with anger and pain.
"How do you know the meaning of family? A monster like you doesn't even have the right to understand all this!"
The black shadow standing in front stopped for a moment after listening to him, then filled the entire cave with his scary, resonating laughter.
"Oh! So now you're giving me the wisdom of family and love?" Saya(monster) said, laughing.
"Are you trying to hit me with your weak words? How funny! Your words don't matter to me."
Saya(monster) moved forward a little, his red eyes started shining more.
"It would have been nice if you had said something that would have made me enjoy it Then maybe I would have let you live a little longer. But now..." he said in his terrible voice.
"Your game ends here. Sadly, you couldn't even properly see the faces of those who gave birth to you.
As soon as he said this, he laughed loudly once again. But Aarav's anger was now swallowing that fear.
Aarav's anger was at its peak. He gathered all his strength and ran towards that black shadow. He hit his chest hard with his head. The impact was so strong that he staggered a little. As soon as Aarav got the chance, he caught hold of her and started pushing her. He pulled him out of the cave towards the sunlight.
As soon as both of them reached outside the cave, Saya quickly recovered and laughed, stopping Aarav there.
"That's enough strength? Now it's my turn!" He said in his deep, resonant voice.
Saya raised his hand and got ready to attack him. His red eyes became more dangerous. Aarav started trembling with fear. His heartbeat increased, and he closed his eyes, as if awaiting his end.
But then, a strange thing happened. As soon as the sun's rays fell on Saya's skin, it started burning rapidly. Smoke started rising from his skin, and he fell down in agony
"Aaaaa!" The screams of the shadow started echoing in the entire forest. There was only pain in his red eyes now. He was moaning badly looking at his burnt hands.
Aarav was stunned to see all this. For some moments he could not understand what was happening. But then, as Saya's screams reached his ears, his anger returned.
Aarav looked at her, there were tears as well as anger in his eyes.
"Now do you understand, sinner, what pain is?" He said in a stern voice.
"You have ruined the lives of so many innocent people. Now enjoy the consequences of your actions Now you must be enjoying it, right? Die like this in agony for your sins."
Saya(monster) started burning slowly in the sunlight, her screams started becoming weak. Aarav moved away and took a deep breath. His anger was calming down, but the pain of losing his parents was still clearly visible in his eyes.
"Stop...save me!"
Saya said in pain, her voice was the weakest it had ever been.
Aarav looked at her with angry red eyes. "What did you say? Should I save you? That too you? You took away everything from me. My parents, my dream of a new life—everythingThat too such a loss which I cannot get back even by sacrificing my life. I will never forgive you for this sin!"
Saya groaned again and said, "Stop! If you don't save me, you too won't be saved. This entire mountain, forest... nothing will be saved."
Aarav's eyebrows raised. He looked at Saya with suspicious eyes. "What do you mean?"
Despite the pain, Saya said with a wry smile, "You are mourning so much for two 'Homo Sapiens', aaa... But there are hundreds of 'Homo Sapiens' living in this forest, this area. What about them? Are you Won't you save them?"
Aarav's mind got confused. He could not understand what was Saya's motive behind saying all this.
Saya's voice echoed again, "It seems that you are having trouble understanding. I am an 'Upper Rank' demon. There is no one more powerful than me in this place. But it is not just a matter of my power. When a powerful When a demon dies, his dead body affects the entire areaWherever it falls, that place becomes barren. No grass grows, not a drop of water remains."
Aarav was standing silently. He was understanding that Saya's death could not only lead to his defeat but also the destruction of the entire forest and the people hidden within it.
Saya looked at Aarav with her red, burning eyes. "So, will you still let me die? Will you burn the entire forest to ashes because of your anger?"
Aarav (angry) - "It doesn't matter to me! If there is no water left, people will move to other places. But I'm never going to save you, never!"
Demon groaned in pain but maintained his slyness, "What! Are you crazy? Okay, if you won't save me like this, I'll make you an offer. I'll give you two of my powers.
Aarav turned his eyes away. "I don't need you."
Demon ignored him and said, "Listen first. My first power is 'High Absorption'. With this power you can absorb me inside you. Doing so would be worse than death for me, because I would be a prisoner inside you. Will stop likeI will always be your slave."
He took a deep breath and then said, "The second power is 'Summoning Magic'. With this, you can call me out at any time and make me do whatever you want. I will become your complete slave. Think, this is for you. What a great opportunity."
Without thinking, Aarav said, "I told you, I don't want anything."
Damon said angrily, "What! I have never seen a bigger idiot than you. If I stay inside you, all my power will be yours. And you were talking about punishing meIf I wasn't in such a condition, I would have eaten you by now."
Damon laughed, "You may not know it, but strength is everything in this world. The weak, like your 'Homo Sapiens', struggle just to surviveFor demons, we are just like food in their food chain, so that we can increase our powers. This is the rule of this world. You are also a part of it.
Hearing this, Aarav became silent for a few moments. His eyes were deep in thought. Suddenly he remembered something old.
Aarav took a deep breath. His mind got entangled in old memories.
His sister... the sister he'd met while working part-time at the hotel, when the owner and mistress took her in as part of their family. She called him "bhaiya" for the first time.
It was a matter of one day. He had gone to pick up his sister from college. On the way he saw that some goons were harassing an old shopkeeper. People standing there were watching the show, but no one showed courage. Those goons were the most powerful people in that area.
His sister had said that day, "Brother, if I had been powerful in place of these people, I would never have troubled anyone. Instead, I would have helped those people who were really in need."
That innocent thing had left a deep impression on Aarav's heart. And today, that very thing changed the biggest decision of his life.
Aarav's eyes sparkled with a new determination. She looked at Damon and said, "Okay. I accept your offer."
Damon's red eyes flashed for a moment, but Aarav raised his finger and warned, "But listen. Don't even think of playing any trick with me. Otherwise, in whatever condition you are, I will destroy you immediately.
"So here it is, from today onwards all my powers are yours."
As the demon's voice echoed, suddenly a bright, golden light emerged from his chest. That light spread in the air, then moved towards Aarav and got absorbed into his body. Aarav felt as if something strange had started running through his veins—hot, but equally powerful.
"Now you have my powers." Damon's voice was now quieter, but resonant. "Now absorb me quickly, otherwise you will not get my full powers."
Aarav listened to him attentively, but his head perked up at Damon's next statement.
"But remember one thing, you can summon me only when you become as powerful as me. Before that you will neither be able to summon me nor be able to use all my powers."
These words started revolving in Aarav's mind. But he controlled himself and took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's try it."
He slowly moved his hand forward. At that very moment the demon's body began to turn into a thick black smoke. The smoke started swirling around Aarav like a whirlpool and finally got inside him through his hand.
Aarav felt as if a storm was raging in his soul. Damon's dark, heavy clothes fell to the ground along with the plume of smoke.
Aarav took a step back and looked at his body. He was feeling something strange inside him.
"I've absorbed it," he murmured softly, "but it feels like... I've eaten it."
Demon's words started echoing in Aarav's mind again.
"Food chain? What did that mean? Is this really a world where the strong swallow the weak?"
He looked around. There was complete silence in the cave now. Every trace of the demon's presence was gone, except his clothes.
"Looks like everyone here is non-vegetarian," she said reluctantly. Uneasiness was clearly visible in his eyes.
Aarav looked at the clothes and took a deep breath.
"What will happen to me now?" he asked himself. But somewhere within him a slight faith awakened.
"I have to survive in this new world. But how? I have to be strong. And strength is needed not just for myself, but for those who are capable of having it.
Aarav stopped outside the cave and looked back. Tears were flowing from his eyes, as if the pain of his soul was spilling out in every drop.
He took a deep breath and slowly went inside the cave. It was difficult for him to see those two bodies lying there. Seeing the bad condition of their bodies, his heart felt heavy. He immediately picked up Damon's torn clothes lying there and covered both of them.
"You gave your life for me," he murmured. His words were slow, but from the heart.
Aarav saw a place nearby and started digging a pit. While removing the mud, his mind was entangled in the past moments.
"I never saw my parents," he began to think. "But today, for the first time in this world, I could see both of you. I wish I could spend some time with you. At least I could know what kind of people you were, what you thought...
After digging the pit, he placed both of them in it with great care. After covering them with mud, he sat down in front of them. He folded both his hands and closed his eyes.
"May your soul rest in peace," he said in his mind. "I can never repay you for what you did for meYou guys protected me till your last breath. Loved me so much that I didn't even deserve."
Aarav's voice was starting to break. He sat there silently for some time. But then he heard something – a rustling.
He looked around alertly. His ears clearly sensed that someone was standing behind him.
Aarav slowly looked back, and was finding it difficult to believe what he saw.
"It's...it's a goblin!" He stammered.
A small, ugly but dangerous figure was standing in front. Her skin was green in color, and her big eyes were staring at Aarav.
Aarav's breathing became faster. His head started feeling light.
"No...that can't be true," he murmured. And then, suddenly, his body faltered and he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Thank you.
Chapter 03 Ends.....