Chapter 33 Light Promise and Vengeance
Every breath inside the cave stopped. The frozen density of evil that had been pressing down on the air shattered all at once like the stretched tension just before a bubble bursts. A white pure light shot through the mouth of the cave. Not like fire. Not like lightning. It was like a concentrated strike of pure moonlight. It struck the Chhayagrasini (a witch like entity who drains age and life force) directly in the chest.
Aaaaahhh.
The Chhayagrasini's scream was not just a sound. It was an aggressive shockwave that echoed through the stone splitting the silence apart. Some invisible force hurled her backward. She flew through the air her black robes spreading behind her like a dark stain and she slammed into the far end of the cave. Dust and shards of rock exploded outward.
Slowly she lifted her head. For the first time real shock and deep rage were carved across her face. Her eyes locked onto the source of that light.
And there standing in front of Kiyan was Aarav.
His simple jeans and t shirt were coated with the dust and dirt of the cave but there was no confusion in the way he stood. His eyes were ordinary but inside them burned an unshakable resolve. His hands were empty yet the air around him was trembling as if some invisible heat was radiating from his body.
The Chhayagrasini stared at him speechless. Devanshik (a divinely blessed one who wields divine power). How are you here.
A faint victorious smile played on Aarav's lips. It was not a cruel smile. It was touched with sorrow. As if he had come to know a painful truth and still found a way to rise above it.
You really are naive Chhayagrasini Aarav said. His voice was clear and echoed through the cave. You still have not figured it out.
The Chhayagrasini rose to her feet. Her nails lengthened and blackened turning into jagged blades. What is there to figure out. I kept everything under control.
No Aarav said quietly shaking his head. When you left the room for those fifteen minutes I told Kiyan the whole truth about you.
Flashback. Aarav's hostel room. A few hours earlier.
A knock came at the door. Aarav opened it. Kiyan stood in front of him. That same old confusion was in his eyes along with a new deep worry.
Aarav. You closed the gate. What happened Kiyan asked.
Aarav gestured for him to come inside. The air in the room felt hot and heavy. Aarav looked directly into Kiyan's eyes.
Kiyan. Do you trust me.
The question was so direct and serious that Kiyan froze for a moment. Then he looked into Aarav's eyes. Into that deep honest shine that had never once told a lie. He nodded slowly.
Yes. More than I trust myself.
A soft smile spread across Aarav's face carrying a pained sense of relief. Kiyan. I know how much you love your mother. But she is only using you.
Those words hit Kiyan like a physical blow. He stepped back. His golden eyes went wide. What. How. Aarav what are you saying.
I found something Aarav said keeping his voice steady. When we went to check the Aagya Sangathan (the Aagya organization) cameras I saw a page from a book. It said that a Chhayagrasini gives birth to a human child only when she wants to become immortal. She can gain the gift of immortality by sacrificing her own child.
Kiyan's face began to drain of color. No. That cannot be true.
I did not understand it at first Aarav continued. But when I heard that voice. Your mother's voice. I understood. That woman was the Chhayagrasini. And she wants to sacrifice you to become immortal. She is the one who set all of this in motion.
Aarav stepped closer. That page also said that a Chhayodhbhav (a nightborn entity who drains age) can only be sacrificed on Amavasya (the darkest night of the moon cycle). And your mother has been waiting for that exact Amavasya. That Amavasya is tonight.
Kiyan's entire body began trembling. He covered his face with both hands. No. She is my mother. The mother I have been separated from for all these years. She cannot betray me.
Aarav's voice was gentle but firm. The truth is right in front of you Kiyan. You just do not want to accept it.
How can I accept it. Kiyan shouted. Tears filled his eyes. How can I accept that my own mother wants to kill me.
Aarav took a deep breath. Fine. Then tonight you will find out for yourself whether I am telling the truth or not. But you have to promise me one thing.
What promise.
That you will protect yourself.
Kiyan thought for a moment then nodded slowly. Yes.
And one more thing Aarav said. He closed his eyes. Kiyan watched. The mark of the Aadisrashta Chakra (divine discus of the creator) on Aarav's wrist began glowing with a faint golden light. A hum spread through the air.
I am placing an invisible shield on you Aarav said opening his eyes. It will block the power of dark magic. It will give you a moment of protection.
Kiyan said nothing. He just kept looking at Aarav feeling the trust and sacrifice that were shining in his eyes. Then he turned and walked out of the room.
But before he left Aarav raised his hand. An invisible subtle layer of energy wrapped itself around Kiyan's body. Like a protective sphere of air.
Present. The cave.
The Chhayagrasini listened to Aarav's words and her face twisted with fury. A growl of pure rage rumbled from her throat. You. You deceived me.
You are the one who deceived Aarav said. His voice was hard as iron now. You called yourself a mother and yet you came here to sacrifice your own son.
He is not my son. He is my tool. The Chhayagrasini screamed and lunged at Aarav. Her speed was so fast that she became nothing more than a blur of black smoke.
But Aarav did not even try to move. He simply raised his hand. His palm open.
Stop.
A shield of silver white energy materialized in the air before him marked with the faint outlines of the Aadisrashta Chakra. The Chhayagrasini crashed straight into it.
The impact detonated. Black and white sparks exploded outward. The Chhayagrasini was hurled backward with a shriek. Smoke rose from her hands as if she had just touched fire.
In that moment Aarav looked toward Kiyan. From Kiyan's body near his chest the fake Golden Dagger rose into the air and flew straight into Aarav's hand. This was Aarav's Devanshik power. Pure. Protective. Capable of drawing out hidden evil.
The moment the dagger left Kiyan's body his wounds began to heal. His breathing deepened. The confusion in his eyes was replaced by a painful clarity.
Kiyan. Are you okay Aarav called out.
Kiyan nodded. Tears filled his eyes. Yes. You were right Aarav. My own mother tried to kill me. Tried to sacrifice me.
The Chhayagrasini lay on the ground across the cave. But she was not ready to surrender. A mad gleam ignited in her eyes. There is still time. She shrieked. Only moments remain before midnight.
She spread her arms wide. From the ceiling of the cave black threads that looked alive descended and wrapped around Kiyan. They lifted him into the air and dragged him toward the Agni Kund (sacred fire pit) burning at the center of the cave. Its flames were blue black now giving off a sickly sweet stench of rot.
The Chhayagrasini conjured a blade of dark energy from the air. She brought it close to Kiyan's throat. Her eyes were fixed on the clock. Just a few more moments.
But then Aarav moved. It was not ordinary speed. It was the kind of movement that bent space itself and crossed distance in a single instant. He slammed into the Chhayagrasini with brutal force.
The Chhayagrasini reeled backward. The blade flew from her hand. Aarav caught Kiyan. The black threads wrapped around him burned to ash the moment they touched Aarav's Devanshik energy.
You. The Chhayagrasini snarled. She stretched out her hand through the air and the Golden Dagger shot toward Aarav like a lethal projectile.
Aarav swiped his hand. The dagger froze in midair trembling then clattered to the ground as if it had struck an invisible wall.
Your magic has no effect on my power Aarav said. A quiet certainty filled his voice.
The Chhayagrasini's eyes went red. She thrust both hands forward. From her palms emerged a dense orb of black red fire. This was no ordinary fire. Screaming faces flickered within it. The souls of everyone whose age she had drained doing umr choosna (age draining). This was the flame of hell itself.
Aarav raised his hand to meet it. But this time he did not form a shield. He opened his palm and from it came a pure blue white glow. The essence of water. The essence of life. Cold as ice. Flowing like a river.
The two forces collided in the air.
Fffssssssssssss.
A terrible hiss filled the cave. The black fire and the blue light wrestled against each other. The screaming faces inside the fireball began to burn away dissolving into steam. The Chhayagrasini's power was being pushed back.
Aarav turned his hand toward the Agni Kund fire. A stream of blue light poured directly into those blue black flames. The very flames that were meant to grant her immortality.
Shhhhhhhhhh.
The Agni Kund fire went out with a violent hiss. Like boiling water being doused in ice. Sudden silence swallowed the cave. Only the sound of rising steam remained.
No no no. The Chhayagrasini screamed. Her entire body began convulsing. Her plan. Centuries of planning. Reduced to dust in a single moment.
She rose into the air. Her black robes spread wide like the wings of a giant bat. Bloody tears began streaming from her eyes. You destroyed everything. I will not let you live.
Aaaahhh. You destroyed everything.
The Chhayagrasini's scream was no longer just a sound. It was a physical force that slammed against the cave walls and sent shards of stone raining down. Her entire body shuddered in an unnatural convulsing rage.
And then she rose into the air.
This was not flight. This was rebellion. Against gravity. Against nature. A manifestation of the monstrous fury boiling inside her. Her black smoke like robes spread out behind her like the broken wings of a vast deformed bat. Her braid which had always clung to her back was now thrashing through the air like a living black serpent with its hood flared wide.
But the most terrifying thing was her eyes.
Those golden pupils which had always shone with a cold and merciless gleam were now filled with fire. Gold had melted into lava. The gleam had transformed into a searing blaze and at the center of that blaze burned rage. Pure blind world destroying rage. It seemed to pour out of her eyes spreading across her face like a web of black veins.
Look at her hands. Her nails already sharp had now grown even longer. They were no longer thorns. They had become thin lethal blades of black obsidian their edges gleaming with the light of hell itself. A deep venomous violet glow seeped from every nail tainting the very air around them.
And the most grotesque thing of all. Her feet. Below the knees her feet had twisted into an impossible deformed angle. The ankles and toes no longer faced forward. They were bent backward now like the claws of a massive insect or a bat hanging upside down. The sight was a violation of every law of nature transforming her now into a fully supernatural monstrous entity.
In the midst of all of this her eyes. Those burning golden red depths of hell. Locked directly onto Aarav.
And then without any further warning she shot forward.
Her speed was so fast that she became nothing more than a smudge of black smoke in the air. She tore through the space between them with a painful shrieking whistle heading straight for Aarav. Behind her stains of black and violet energy scarred the air like the slime trail of a venomous snail. Her target was clear. Aarav's heart. This time no magic. No tricks. Only pure blind physical annihilation.
With a piercing ear splitting shriek she lunged at Aarav. This was a strike of her raw primal power. She seized his throat and lifted him into the air.
Aarav struggled but the Chhayagrasini's grip was like iron. And then he felt it. A terrible pulling sensation. His energy. The essence of his youth. It was being drawn out of his body and into the Chhayagrasini's hands. Her eyes blazed with a hungry victorious glow.
See. See how even your Devanshik power is helpless before me. She screamed. Your age. Your strength. It will all become mine.
Aarav's vision began to blur. He looked toward Kiyan who was still weakened and standing at a distance. Was this how it would all end.
And then Kiyan's eyes blazed to life. In that golden glow there was no fear anymore. Only a burning absolute resolve.
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