Chapter- 8 (White)
"The winds of summer aren't that great. The air is dry, the sun is angry. I like winter more. The calming and cold winds drives me to sleep everytime. You love winter too, right?" Asthav asked.
"I don't know. I feel like that, summer is more exciting" his brother replied.
Both of them were lying under a tree, situated just on the edge of the Haruma village. By looking at the scenery of the Banava mountain, Asthav asked "How do you train, brother?"
"Well......" his brother took a little pause and then said "It's just normal training that I do with our father. Me and your brothers. We meditate, train in the field, hunt down some beasts etc."
"Oh, I see." Asthav said.
He took a deep breath and stood up.
"Brother, fight me." he said.
"Oh, where did that came from?" his brother asked with a smile.
"Nothing, just wanted to test how far I've gotten." Asthav said.
"Okay, then. Let us start, shall we?" his brother replied and got up from his place.
Asthav took the stance.
"Indra Style : Roar of the hand" he said and straightened his back.
He separated both of his legs and bent his knees. He clenched his fists and placed them on his waist. He moved his torso a little forward, taking a fighting stance.
"Woah!! That stance looks really good! It's different from what father taught us!" His brother said.
His brother rushed forward to deliver a roundhouse kick, but was stopped by Asthav's palm. He moved his palm backwards, where he caught his brother's leg, and slammed his other palm to his brother's face. He then slammed his face into the ground, but not that hard. The match was over in a blink of an eye.
When his brother gained the knowledge of what's happening, he quickly realised that Asthav has surpassed him and his father, in martial arts skills.
"That speed, that precision, that strength, where did you gain those?!?" His brother asked with astonishment.
"Ah! These skills? I learned them from myself. I've trained myself in the woods, situated behind the temple. I've battled many beasts and lost to them many times. heck! Sometimes I've almost died but, it was my courage and my will to get stronger that had kept me alive till now." Asthav said.
His brother understood. There's a big difference between training in the woods and training in comfort. His father never let him and his brother experience something that is dangerous or risky to survive from.
"You only grow when you stay on the edge, is what I've learned." Asthav exclaimed with confidence.
"I see" his brother said. He just can't seem to believe that his little brother, who was once use to be a lot weaker than him, could grow this much. Asthav had a lot muscle, as compared to his brothers.
They both again lied down under the tree, and continued their talk.
"Hey, Asthav." His brother said.
"Yes brother?" He replied.
"How many stances are there in your Indra Style?" His brother asked.
"Ummm...there are total 15 stances, but if the situation requires a special treatment, then there's also a 16th." He answered.
"Umm..you sure are training really hard! Keep it up brother! I am sure that one day you will surely achieve your dream!" His brother said to him with a sense of pride in his tone.
"Thank you so much brother! I appreciate it, and same to you!" Asthav said with a smile.
After that, they talked about what fun they've had last year. The time passed away with a blink of an eye, and the evening came.
"Looks like it's evening. I think that we should be start heading towards the temple." His brother said.
Asthav responded with a nod followed by a "hmm".
They started moving towards the temple.
It was becoming darker evey minute. Asthav was sensing a danger that was lying ahead of them. He saw an Aashram on his way, and requested his brother stay in it, till the morning.
His brother replied with "If we don't go there right now, then Guruji would be mad at us".
Asthav reacted with concern, and tried to convince him to stay in the Aashram nearby, but he refused everytime.
The Temple is situated on the very edge of Haruma, some people even consider it to be outside of it, just because of how far it is from the actual village. There's a small woods situated between Haruma and The Kurava temple. It is known as The Dhrishyam forest.
After a few minutes of walking, they reached to the woods.
Suddenly, his brother turned around and said "Asthav."
"Yes brother?" He replied.
"There's somewhere I want you to come with me." He said with a dead tone. His tone usually was always filled with enthusiasm, but this time it sounded more dreadful.
"But at this time. It's almost night. I think we should move." Asthav said.
"No." He turned around and replied.
The atmosphere of the environment around him started to change. It felt more terrifying and more deadly. His brother's eyes almost looked like that of a dead crow's.
Asthav blinked.
The head of his brother was lying infront of his feet. The body was nowhere to be seen, just a bleeding head.
His heart skipped a beat.
He whispered "Brother?"
Asthav's eyes were staring intensely at his dead brother's head. He was totally shocked.
Then suddenly, all of the scenery got burnt out, and he woke up from that terrifying nightmare.
He found himself in a place, that seemed unreal.
A completely white sky with no clouds, no sun, no atmosphere. A completely white plain of existence, that seemed to be infinite, as far as the eye goes. Just a ruined tower, covered in white, with a man standing on it.
"Aarrey? Is it already over? Man, I wanted to see more of that. It was so intertaining!" He said with a smirky and a mischievous tone. His voice sounded so devilish and so heavy.
Asthav was totally shocked. He didn't understood what's going on.
When he took a close look at the man's face, he saw that half of his body was completely burnt. His other eye was completely black, with a red pupil. He was wearing a torn apart white Kurta, and both of his hands were lightly covered in rusted chain. He had white long hair, leaning towards his upper back.
Asthav was completely frozen, just by seeing him.
He yelled furiously, "Who are you, and what do you want? Why am I here?"
"Areyy?! You don't know?! You are the final sacrifice, to resurrect a God that will save us all, The Pramakam Pankh (wing). I am the leader of the Samantha cult. You are currently inside the locket, where the sacrifice shall take place." The man said with a mischievous smile.
It was as if, he cannot stop laughing. His tone was like that of a ruthless devil's, and as mischievous as a child's.
"You see, there's an apocalypse upon us. It's unavoidable, unless you bring upon god. It was difficult to even think about, but we found a way and now, only you are the final sacrifice." The man said.
Asthav brought all the information in his mind and placed them together. He finally understood what he's facing against. After a few seconds of silence, Asthav finally spoke.
"If you were that eager to resurrect The Pramakam Pankh and save the world, then why wouldn't you just sacrifice yourself? I know your intentions, you are trying to take the power for yourself" He yelled.
"Ohh! I see. So, you're pretty smart, huh? I never knew that you would reach that far. Well, you're going to die, so there's no reason for us to talk." The man said.
The man jerked his hand, and a metal rod came from his palm. The rod then turned into a sharp and black metal sword.
The tower on which he was standing, suddenly started to sink into the ground, and stopped by the roof. He started to move towards Asthav.
"It's over, brat. You cannot win against me. There's a big power difference between me and-." Asthav smashed his face with his fist, before he could even complete his sentence.
"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE, BUT I AM NOT GONNA HOLD BACK!! I HAVE A DREAM, AND I AM NOT GONNA DIE HERE WITHOUT COMPLETING IT!!" Asthav yelled with confidence.
"Tsk! This brat! I never saw him come near me! How is he that fast? What's his Mantra type?" The man thought.
"Bring it on then!" The man exclaimed with a devilish laughter.
In the Pratham Guruji's room, he was still praying. The man sitting infront of him, was drinking his tea very calmly. He had a light sense of danger, and he urged to go.
"Well, continue your prayer, Hashan. I shall go, I have other things to deal with. Oh! by the way, thanks for the tea. It was really good." He said and moved out of the room.
The outside of the room was completely filled with silence. The cold wind was moving the grass. It was, as if the storm is coming very soon. The footsteps of the man echoed throughout the entire hallway. He noticed this, and tried to move without making any noise.
The moonlight fell towards him. He was wearing a Black Shaal (an Indian wearing) on White Kurta Pajama, and a small white Turban on his head.
He started moving fast, because he sensed that the danger is near. Then suddenly, his right shoulder bumped into something, it doesn't seem like a "thing", it seemed more like a humanoid figure. It was indeed, a human.
He turned his head towards the person. The person was The Royal Hawaldar Raman.
The man's senses suddenly stopped. It was too late to sense something that is standing right infront of you.
-(Chapter 8 end)
Next chapter's quote:
"Let's dance, shall we?"