(A/N):
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Ghost Rider stared at him silently.
The flames inside his eye sockets intensified.
Because now he understood.
This thing before him—Wasn't alive in the normal sense.
And whatever sins coated its existence…
They were immense.
The bald man wiped sparks from the corner of his mouth before speaking again.
"You know what excites me most?" he asked.
He looked directly into the burning skull.
"You didn't hesitate."
A grin stretched across his face.
"Most creatures fear what they don't understand."
Electricity exploded outward from his body again, stronger than before. Nearby trees burst apart from the pressure alone.
"But you attacked immediately."
His muscles enlarged further as blue-white arcs wrapped around his body like living serpents.
"That means somewhere deep down…"
He took another step forward.
"…you recognized me as dangerous."
Ghost Rider slowly tightened the chain wrapped around his fist.
Hellfire dripped from the metal onto the scorched ground.
Then his voice rumbled across the forest once more.
"NO."
The flames surged upward violently.
"I RECOGNIZED YOU AS GUILTY."
The storm above the forest twisted violently now.
Clouds churned in circles over the burning clearing as if the sky itself had become restless.
Ghost Rider stood motionless amidst the flames, chain wrapped around his fist, hellfire roaring from his skull hard enough to turn falling rain into steam before it could touch him.
Across from him, the bald man slowly straightened his spine with several wet cracking sounds.
Electricity pulsed beneath his pale flesh in brighter waves now, illuminating the forest in flashes of violent blue-white light. The tattoos across his body no longer looked inked.
They looked branded.
Alive.
For several seconds he simply stared at Ghost Rider with wide fascinated eyes.
Like a starving scholar discovering forbidden knowledge.
Then—He smiled.
"My manners," he said softly.
He placed one hand against his chest and gave a small theatrical bow despite the destruction surrounding them.
"Arkady Volkov."
Arkady Volkov
His accent rolled thickly beneath the rain.
Russian. Cold. Measured.
"I came here for a very boring assignment,"
Arkady continued with visible disappointment.
"A few vampires. Revenge work. Money."
His glowing eyes slowly wandered across Ghost Rider's burning form again.
"But then…"
A sharp grin spread across his face.
-Grin!
"…I found you."
Biffer growled deeply from the side, flames rising higher along its skeletal frame.
-Grrr!!!
Arkady glanced at the hellhound briefly before returning his full attention to Ghost Rider again.
"I have studied creatures for many years,"
He said almost conversationally.
"Vampires. Wendigos. Failed experiments hidden beneath old governments."
Electricity crackled harder around him.
-Crack! -Crack!
"But you…"
His breathing quickened slightly with excitement.
"…you are a perfect specimen."
The forest suddenly exploded with light.
⚡
Electricity erupted from Arkady's body in a blinding surge.
The ground beneath his feet detonated apart.
And then—He vanished.
Not truly vanished. Moved.
Fast enough to resemble teleportation.
Even Biffer reacted too slowly.
Ghost Rider turned—Just as Arkady appeared directly beside him wrapped completely in violent lightning.
His hand slammed against Ghost Rider's flaming skull.
The impact sounded like thunder exploding at point blank range.
The earth shattered beneath them.
Arkady roared with manic excitement as he drove Ghost Rider forward at monstrous speed, dragging the Rider's skull across the forest floor.
Hellfire and lightning tore through the earth together.
Trees exploded apart around them.
The ground carved open into a massive trench stretching across the forest as Ghost Rider's flaming skull scraped through dirt and stone beneath Arkady's grip.
Arkady laughed the entire time.
Wildly. Ecstatically.
"LOOK AT YOU!"
Lightning burst violently around his body as he continued dragging Ghost Rider through the forest.
"NO FLESH!"
Another tree exploded apart.
"NO NERVOUS SYSTEM!"
The trench deepened.
"YET YOU MOVE!"
Then suddenly—Arkady stopped.
Pivoted violently.
And drove his foot into Ghost Rider's abdomen.
The kick landed with horrifying force.
The shockwave blasted outward through the forest in a circular wave, uprooting nearby trees instantly.
Ghost Rider was launched downward.
Not backward. Down.
The ground collapsed beneath him as his body smashed deep into the earth like a meteor strike.
For one brief second—
Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Then—
-Bang! -Bang!
-Bang!...
Lightning descended.
Again. And again.
And again.
Massive bolts crashed directly into the crater with deafening force, each strike shaking the forest harder than the last.
Arkady floated slightly above the ruined ground now, electricity pouring endlessly from his enlarged body as he bombarded the hole below without pause.
The smell of burning earth filled the air.
Stone melted. Roots vaporized.
The crater widened further with every impact.
Arkady's eyes shone with feverish delight.
"LET ME SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN TAKE!"
Another bolt descended.
Then another. The lightning became relentless.
As if he intended to break every last piece of bone Ghost Rider possessed.
Meanwhile, several miles away inside Cullen's mansion—
Bella's fingers suddenly clenched hard enough to crack the wooden bedframe beneath her unconscious hand.
The lightning finally stopped.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Silence rushed back into the forest so suddenly it almost felt unnatural.
Steam rose from the shattered earth in massive waves.
The clearing had been transformed into a scorched wasteland of molten stone and burning craters.
Entire sections of forest were simply gone now, erased beneath Arkady's relentless bombardment.
The massive hole before him smoked heavily.
Deep. Black. Bottomless.
Arkady floated slowly back toward the ground, electricity still twitching around his enlarged frame in small violent bursts.
The tattoos across his body dimmed slightly as the storm clouds above began calming.
For the first time since the fight began—He frowned.
-Frown!
No movement. No roar of flames.
No chains. Nothing.
Only thick black smoke crawling upward from the crater like the dying breath of a volcano.
Arkady tilted his head slightly while staring downward.
"…Did I overdo it?"
There was genuine disappointment in his voice.
Behind him—Biffer lunged again.
The hellhound exploded from the smoke behind him with burning jaws wide open, flames spiraling violently around its skeletal frame as it aimed directly for Arkady's spine.
But Arkady reacted instantly.
Without even turning fully around, he shifted sideways with inhuman speed.
Biffer's flaming claws barely missed him.
Then Arkady spun.
His leg cracked through the air coated in violent electricity before slamming directly into the hellhound's ribs.
The impact sounded like a cannon blast.
Biffer was launched sideways through the clearing, smashing through one tree after another before finally crashing into a massive trunk hard enough to split it apart.
Flames scattered wildly through the rain.
Arkady watched the hellhound for a brief moment.
"…Sorry," he muttered casually.
"You are adorable, but the skeleton interests me more."
Then he turned back toward the crater.
Smoke still poured upward endlessly.
No movement. No sound.
Arkady slowly approached the edge.
Curiosity returned to his eyes.
The excitement. The hunger to understand.
Rain dripped from his pale shoulders as he peered into the darkness below.
Nothing.
Just pitch black emptiness disappearing deep underground.
His smile slowly faded.
"That would be unfortunate," he admitted quietly.
"I was beginning to enjoy myself."
The forest became still again.
Even the rain seemed quieter now.
Arkady placed one foot closer to the edge of the crater and leaned slightly forward for a better look.
Then—Something changed.
At first it was faint.
A glow. Deep below. Dark red.
Arkady's eyes narrowed.
"...."
The black pit slowly began illuminating from within.
Not like fire.
Not like electricity.
Like magma awakening beneath the crust of the earth itself.
The red glow intensified.
Brighter. Hotter.
The smoke rising from the crater suddenly twisted unnaturally as heat exploded upward from below in violent waves.
Arkady stepped back instinctively.
Not fear. Instinct.
The ground trembled.
Small stones near the edge of the crater began vibrating.
Then melting.
The red light surged upward again.
And inside that impossible darkness—Something moved.
A low metallic rattling echoed upward from the depths.
Chains.
Arkady's eyes widened slowly.
Then—He smiled again.
But this time even he looked slightly unsettled.
"…There you are."
The rattling grew louder.
Slower than before.
Heavier.
Each metallic scrape sounding like prison gates being dragged open deep underground.
Then came the flames.
Not ordinary flames.
Hellfire erupted upward from the crater walls in spiraling waves, turning the entire pit into a burning abyss. The surrounding trees bent violently away from the heat blast.
And from within that inferno—A figure began rising.
Slowly. Deliberately.
The burning skull emerged first.
Then the shoulders.
Then the chains hanging from blackened skeletal arms glowing molten red from the heat.
Ghost Rider climbed out of the crater one step at a time.
Every movement carried monstrous weight.
His body burned hotter than before.
Far hotter.
The flames pouring from his skull had turned darker now, almost crimson at the center.
Molten cracks spread beneath his feet with every step.
The forest around him began catching fire despite the heavy rain.
Arkady stared at him with complete fascination.
"…Magnificent."
Ghost Rider slowly lifted his head.
The flames inside his eye sockets blazed like twin furnaces.
Then his voice rolled across the burning forest.
Not loud. Not rushed.
But carrying enough force to make the ground itself tremble.
"YOUR SINS…"
The chains around his body slowly tightened.
Hellfire dripped from them like liquid lava.
"…ARE FAR GREATER THAN I FIRST THOUGHT."
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(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Guys My New Fic name is:
-->Karuppan: King of Openings.
Check it out... I hope you will like it
Whats your thought's guys.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review and power stone!!!