An eerie, profound silence had finally settled over the terrifying darkness of the cave. The three ferocious Prana-Jivis had been slaughtered in the blink of an eye. Guru Kailash's broad, impenetrable back stood before Maya like an invincible shield. Thick black blood was still dripping steadily from the 'blade' that was his right index finger.
Without fully turning around, Guru Kailash slightly tilted his head over his shoulder. His calm, incredibly deep, and heavy voice echoed through the cavern, "Are the two of them alright, Maya?"
Maya's ragged, erratic breathing was slowly beginning to calm down. The cold sweat clinging to her forehead was starting to dry. She wasn't afraid of anything anymore; even if Death itself manifested before her, it wouldn't be able to touch a single hair on their heads as long as Guru Kailash was here. Maya let out a long, deeply soothing sigh [Touch] and replied in a very soft, utterly relieved voice, "Yes... they are both fine, Guru ji."
The scene shifts. The dark, bloody imagery of the cave begins to blur and fade away, and now, our entire focus zeroes in on the face of Rudra, who is lying unconscious on the cold stone floor.
Rudra was in a state of deep unconsciousness. But his mind was far from peaceful. Behind his tightly shut eyelids, a terrifying storm was raging.
The darkness parts. Suddenly, freezing rain, as cold as solid ice [Touch], crashes heavily against Rudra's face. But this is no ordinary rain; this is a torrential downpour of death and absolute destruction.
CRACK... BOOM! The ear-shattering, deafening roar of thunder [Sound] rips through the sky. Rudra finds himself in his own training ground, but the place has been completely annihilated. The earth is split wide open, craters litter the area, and shattered weapons are scattered everywhere.
Rudra's entire body throbs with agonizing pain, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer and systematically pulverized every single bone in his body. His left arm is completely drenched in thick, crimson blood. He is lying face-down in the mud. The pouring rain washes into his open mouth, carrying with it the intensely bitter, salty, and metallic taste [Taste] of wet dirt mixed with his own fresh blood.
With immense difficulty, Rudra forces his heavy, swollen eyelids open. The air is thick with the pungent, suffocating stench [Smell] of wet earth, scorched metal from destroyed weapons, and the coppery tang of freshly spilled blood.
He looks straight ahead. A short distance away, Dev lies face-down in the mud, brutally injured and completely unconscious.
But the sight that truly makes Rudra's soul tremble is something else entirely.
Guru Kailash! The man who was practically invincible, the man before whom even Death itself would tremble... that same Guru Kailash was now forced down onto his knees in the mud. Rudra's eyes widened in absolute horror. He saw that every single finger on both of Guru Kailash's hands [Sight] had been ruthlessly, brutally snapped. They hung limply at grotesque, unnatural angles. His formidable body was battered and soaked in blood.
"Guru... ji..." Rudra tried to speak, but the words died in his throat.
Just then, Rudra's gaze shifts to the person responsible for all this carnage.
Standing tall amidst the torrential rain was a lone figure. His face was hidden behind a terrifying, bizarre mask. With just a single hand, this masked figure was holding Rudra's 'Acharya' (his adoptive father and the king of the realm) by the throat, suspending him helplessly in mid-air!
Acharya's body dangled limply in the storm. Seeing his father's state made Rudra's blood boil with rage, yet he couldn't even twitch a muscle. One of Acharya's eyes had been completely gouged out [Sight], and thick, dark blood continuously poured from the empty socket, staining his entire face a horrifying red.
Coughing up blood, Acharya forced out a choked, desperate rasp from his crushed throat, "Who... who are you...?" [Sound]
The masked figure tilted his head slightly to the side. His voice carried a cold, soul-chilling venom that seemed to freeze the very air around them, "I am the seed sown by your hatred..."
Saying this, the masked figure raised his other, empty hand into the air. SHHHING! Suddenly, a terrifying, brilliantly glowing Prana-sword materialized in his grasp.
Seeing the blade, every ounce of terror inside Rudra poured out. "NO!! STOP!!" Rudra screamed with all the strength his shattered body could muster.
He desperately tried to push himself up using his elbows. He dragged his heavy legs, scratching and clawing at the muddy ground with his fingernails. But his body felt as heavy as solid stone. It was a crippling helplessness that felt infinitely more horrifying than death itself.
And then... right before Rudra's very eyes...
SPLAT... CRUNCH!! [Sound]
With absolute, ruthless cruelty, the masked figure drove the heavy, glowing sword straight through Acharya's chest! The blade pierced his heart and erupted violently from his back.
A massive fountain of blood spurted from Acharya's mouth. His one remaining eye slowly turned to look at Rudra. In that eye, there was immense pain, and perhaps... an unspoken, incomplete message.
"ACHARYA!!!" Rudra let out a soul-shattering, agonizing shriek, tears of pure despair mixing with the rain.
His vision drowned in absolute darkness. Everything faded to pitch black.
But the nightmare didn't end there.
The very next instant... Rudra's eyes snapped open again.
This time, he wasn't lying paralyzed in the mud. He was standing tall on his own two feet.
He slowly looked down at the ground beside him. And what he saw there completely shattered his soul into a million pieces.
Lying there on the ground, face-down and unconscious in the freezing rain and mud... was his own body! Rudra's body!
"What...?" Rudra's mind short-circuited, entirely unable to process this horrifying reality. If he was the one lying on the ground... then who was the one standing?
(Author's Note: If you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know in the comments! You can also support the story by voting with your Power Stones. Thank you for reading!)