LEGEND -Gaze of the Eldritch- PART- 9
*Gulu *GULUG
Aavesh woke up underwater and almost panicked but quickly calmed himself as he noticed that he was able to breathe in this water- Or Rather He was in a Protective Chamber filled with Spiritually Enhanced Breathable Liquids of Sorts-
He sensed incredible light which illuminated this Blue Chamber and let him view his surroundings.
Curious about the Place - There were Red Chains around him but they were not wrapping him up anymore.
They floated aimlessly and seemed to be pretty harmless.
He suddenly noticed that he was not wearing clothes...
Well he did become naked in the mental Realm... He also noticed his body reflected all the changes he had in the Mental Realm.
He then placed his right hand on this Glabella and sensed a closed Eye Slit- His heart trembled and flushed with excitement- It was the Third Eye of the Legends! Although he did not know how to use it now- he knew it would incredibly powerful in the Future! Just as he was smiling to himself- a familiar spine bending voice spoke,
"How long are you going to stay here?"
Eon's voice sounded in his head which startled him almost to the point that he almost choked- almost!
Eon appeared before him in his orb form and spoke,
"Yes I saw what you did- I sensed your emotions and your choices- The Contract binds us closely -Remember? I am truly speechless- You..."
Eon went silent again- He truly did not have the words to frame what Aavesh had done, He grit his teeth and spoke,
"For now- Get up, We are in Your Grandfather's Demiplane- to be more accurate- you are in a Testament- Yes this chamber is a part of the Testament- A Priceless Relic that even the New Gods would not look down on and You... are using this chamber as a swimming Pool..."
This Explanation froze Aavesh- His Mind went Blank and his mouth formed an '0' shape. He then frantically swam up to the surface and got out of the swimming pool chamber... Oops, I Mean The High Tech Blue Liquid Chamber.
The Sight before him nearly popped his eyes open-
A Vast Paradise of a world lay before him- He saw lush Green Forests and A beautiful Blue sky- It seemed to be even more beautiful than Sarkon- He then saw a Grand Floating City- with hundreds of thousands of automatons still working on it .
There were Beautiful Elegant Eco- HAB(Habitation) Units blending with Nature around him.
He even saw some rare flying-type alien life forms - They looked like Sting Rays but were able to move in air instead of Water.
This World... Was Breathtaking.
Eon appeared beside him and spoke with admiration in his voice,
"It is only a small part of Your Grandfather's Demiplane- Like I said you are in the Testament Area- Your Grandfather has truly worked hard to create this - Even I must admit it is quite Good for a Demigod."
"Aavesh- You have yet to complete the final Phase of your Mythic Path Initiation- You Must Name it..."
Aavesh was stunned on Hearing this,
"What Eon- You! This Mythic Path has no name?!"
He then took a deep breath and calmed himself, and spoke with his teeth clenched,
"And you did not think to tell this to me before?"
"Well- It made no difference whether I told you or not- You would only be able to cultivate this Mythic Path- Don't be to held up on it- Besides This was an Idea - a draft plan created by my old Partner before his death- He never got to name it..."
Aavesh sighed on hearing this, well it was a name... It was not impossible to name it... and He was the only person to have cultivated it...
But before he could come up with a name- A energy Body of a middle-aged Man appeared before him like a bolt and threw some Grey and black clothes at his face. It was his Grandfather who sent him here.
Aavesh did not retort and simply quickly wore the clothes- This Cloth belonged to the Magni Brand it was of the AB cloth readjuster model series - It had white nanopatterns all over it. This cloth was Prime Inner Ring Tech- It could adjust itself to one who wears it and even had a portable comm unit embedded in. It allowed the user to face adverse conditions and improved survivability by at least 15%!
This Cloth was enough to Buy 10% of Sarkon Land- This was good stuff!
*Zip
The Clothes quickly adjusted to his body size and fit him like a glove. He then stared back silently at the Middle aged man who stared right back at him.
The staring contest continued for a minute before the Middle-aged man broke the silence a bit awkwardly,
"You blame me?"
Aavesh shook his head and spoke,
"No- You saved my life"
The Middle-aged man raised his eyebrow and asked with curiosity in his voice,
"How did you know?"
Aavesh spoke quite calmly but this time with honesty,
"I have a friend, I can't talk much about him as he would prefer it that way, but he told me about what happened after you sent me in, Thank You for Saving me Grandpa!"
He spoke the last few words sincerely and he acknowledged the Middle aged man as family, This man had worked incredibly hard to just save him- He even showed him his flaws and the vicious cycle he had trapped himself in! Maybe their relationship did not start up on the best note but Aavesh saw the depths this man was willing to go through for them...
The Middle-aged man felt a bit choked in his heart. For Years after the incident which forced him to separate from Antrix to protect him- he had not experienced familial love only hate - Even a Demi-God had emotions, even they would feel Pain, and they were not as indifferent as Cultivators made them out to be. Aavesh's sincere gratitude and the word Grandpa moved his heart.
His heart warmed up but he held the emotions on his face back and sighed, he did not care about the 'friend' Aavesh had- it was probably a contract spirit from the Astral Plane and as far as things went- He had already sensed Eon's presence, rather it was because Eon allowed him to detect his presence. He could tell that Eon was a being of Law and quite Neutral at that. Eon even shared information about their contract- So he did not care as long as Eon did not harm Aavesh.
It was nice that a spirit like Eon had formed a contract - He knew Aavesh could not Cultivate Mythic Power and this contract would at least improve his self-esteem. He did not want Aavesh to feel powerless and He knew why Eon revealed his existence to him, He would definitely keep it a secret.
He spoke softly, "Its good that you are awake... Good"
He patted Aavesh's shoulder and was about to ask something more when Aavesh asked what had been in his mind for quite some time,
"Who are you Grandpa? I don't know much about you- Even though Dad calls you Father but I want to know who you are really?"
The Middle-aged man sighed again and clenched his fist with a frown as he looked at the Sky and Spoke,
"Ahh I wish I could say it to you Brat... But for your safety I will not- We will talk about this later"
The Ominous Presence that had appeared when Aavesh ask him this disappeared immediately after he refuted Aavesh.
Even Aavesh noticed something was off as soon as this question was asked and decided to suppress this thought for now- It seemed there were some restrictions...
His Grandpa then changed the topic to him and asked with worry in his voice,
"But first- What happened to you in your Heart Demon Tribulation and Why did Cosmic Energy Manifest Tribulations on Your Body? and What is that Slit on your Glabella? And I sense A Dharma Chakra on Your Chest- Brat what did you Experience?!"
He truly was flabbergasted as he observed Aavesh - there were a lot of changes- His Grandson had incredible changes to his Body! If He performed a Genetic Test on Aavesh- He knew all results would Be A+ and this brat's temperament... had changed! Before Aavesh always seemed to have been like a mentally scarred pup- Now he felt like a calm and... happy child? He still had a mature outlook but he seemed to not be numb anymore... It was like Aavesh had found hope and peace...
It was like a staring at a new yet familiar person.
Usually people who underwent sudden Heart Demon Tribulations would suffer from extreme Psychological torment and have deep trauma but Aavesh did not show any signs. It was mysterious!
Aavesh smiled calmly and explained briefly what happened.
This time it was his Grandpa's turn have his eyes Pop out!
"You and your 'friend' decided to cultivate a New form of Mythic Power to fight your heart Demons?"
"You then faced a Tribulation because of it!?"
"You refined your Body with Tribulation?!"
"You defeated your Heart Demons with Tribulation Lightning?"
"You dared to merge the Heart Demons into yourself and You succeeded?"
"You managed to make peace with them and then this transformed your soul?"
"WHAT THE FUCK! YOU EVEN HAVE A THIRD EYE!?"
The Middle Aged man stared at Aavesh with eyes wide as if he was looking at a Monster! Monstrous! Impossibly Monstrous!
Realizing that he had lost his composure and his face not displaying the appropriate face, He quickly calmed himself with deep breaths but stared at Aavesh not knowing what to say...
Those Cosmic Cultivators cough out blood if they heard about a mortal clearing the Infamous Heart Demon Tribulation...
Their Mythic Cores would shatter if they heard a mortal child had opened his Third Eye. Even his Mythic Spirit shook as he heard this!
He observed Aavesh's soul in Astral Vision and was stunned by what he saw- A Multicolored Soul! With A Dharmic Hymn of Balance surrounding it... This was an unknown never before seen phenomenon!
This Brat defied fate ahh! Now he cultivates a new Type of Mythic Power- His Soul seems to be at Another Level, His Body had peak potential and He even opened His Third Eye!
If He helped Train him, Aavesh would become an Unbeatable Battle God- and there was the Curious Case of a Dharma chakra on his chest! By the Eternal Soul what stuff did this brat not have- This Was Turning the GALAXY UPSIDE DOWN!
Looking at Aavesh calm and sincere smile, He felt choked with emotion again!
This Child- He has worked too hard! Too Hard! TOO FRICKING HARD! His inner expressive emotions were showing again and his Wise Stoic Grandfather image seemed to be breaking... Calm - I need to Calm down.
He spoke with emotion in his voice again,
"Man you had quite an adventure Brat- You took quite the risk and dove into the flames only to rise like a Phoenix! You are a Mortal But More than a Mortal- Its been so long that I have been so shocked, If your Grandma was here- she would throw a huge feast to celebrate your success! Hah..."
Aavesh asked silently as they walked forward,
"What was Grandma like?"
A moment of silence took place and the Middle-aged man spoke, " She is like the Rain that comes in Spring on Earth"
As he spoke, a soft drizzle of gentle Rain fell on them. Aavesh was silent and did not speak anymore.
"Anyways come brat, we just need to face a final test after which huge changes will take place I'm afraid"
"Is it the Gaze of the Eldritch Serpent?"
Aavesh asked.
His Grandpa replied back with contempt in his voice,
"Yeah it's that garden snake..."
"Don't worry I have countermeasures prepared already, It will never be able to take you, Come Let us go out, You have been inside for an hour, your family is worried sick-"
To which Aavesh asked back in surprise,
"Its only been an hour?"
His Grandpa Chuckled and explained," Time works differently in Mental Realms- You may been there for years but the it will only be days in Reality, My Demi-Plane also adjusts the Time Flow as well but not to the level of the Mental Realms that the Cosmic will creates for Heart Demon Tribulations- Even I saw your Physical body endure Tribulation at an incredible speed, So don't be too surprised- We have stayed long enough here..."
*FLOWING WATER
His Grandpa then merely gazed into the distance when a White Portal made of glowing bright liquid like water appeared before them, The way it blended into space and fabric of reality was really eye-opening.
Aavesh could not help but Marvel at his Grandpa's ability to casually gaze and create portals- He must be at an incredibly High Level!
He then followed his Grandpa into the Portal.
*ZOOOM *WOOOSH
He came out right to see the ruins of his house, but his family was safe but had worried looks on their faces, They seemed to be guarded by a group of strangely cloaked People while on the Other End he felt the Predatory Gaze of the Eldritch Demigod Snake staring at him closely.
"HMMPH!"
His Grandpa had already entered back into in his armored form and looked like he wanted to eat the Snake alive.
"Noth-Yidik, Don't try to play any more tricks- My Grandson is out- we will hold our end of the bet- but if you dare to break yours- I wont Give a Damn about your Eldritch Daddy or the Clocksmith- I will pound you into snake meat- and I will use your Body to make Snake Burger- You have my word"
His words made the Eldritch snake shiver in its place and then it looked back ferociously at him as if wanted to swallow him alive,
'Damn Grandpa is too Hardcore - Even an Eldritch being shivered at his words- No wonder he could snap me out of my Problems, Grandpa is a real expert' thought Aavesh as he watched this confrontation.
"As if you are even capable! Hmmph- Whatever Get on with it- I don't have all day and I have souls waiting for me to devour them- Now bring the Punk Forward!"
Aavesh looked at his Grandfather and he nodded back at him. Aavesh then stepped forward to face the Eldritch snake to the horror of his family who tried to speak up but their voices had been suppressed by the other Cloaked People. Worry and Fear was on their faces- Aavesh was going to face an Eldritch Being for Dharma's sake!
No one would want their child to be in Danger. Both Kriti and Antrix stared back at the Middle Aged Man with blame in their eyes, but he scoffed and kept his focus on the Eldritch Snake.
The Orange Cloaked Man readied the wooden wand hidden in his sleeve and pointed it at Aavesh, ready to break any bewitching Spells that came to target the child.
The Test was about to begin as the Noth-Yidik spoke in malice filled tone with its chaos filled beady snake eyes staring intensely at Aavesh, "Come Brat, Don't be shy, I won't devour you- We will play a Game- Just stare into my eyes and I will show you a truth about your broken soul..."
Aavesh stood forward and gazed directly into the Eldritch Snake's eyes, with his clear calm eyes. The Snake began to whisper in a bewitching voice with its 2 heads- It spoke in gut-wrenching tone, " The Pain of your soul lies in your heart Demons, as long as they exist you will feel them kill you every night and your dreams will turn into reality one Day, But You don't have worry - I can help you remove them permanently, You only need to whisper and Pray with me to Azathoth, Father Azathoth will burn all your pain away - Come Chant with me, Chant with me, ChAnT wItH mE, CHAANT-" It raised it bewitching voice to its peak and activated a secret rune that sent terrifying Greyish Eldritch Voices made by the Clocksmith to target Aavesh's soul but just before they could enter Aavesh's Mind-
*BOOM
As If a Reflex Aavesh's Third Eye Briefly Opened and illuminated the Eldritch Runes before them- The Snake was Cheating! It was using another's Power to target Aavesh!
*SNAP
The Snake was surprised at Aavesh having a third Eye but Quickly used its front head to Gobble Aavesh into its mouth. It Snapped at Aavesh its jaws transforming into cave sized mouth to fully swallow Aavesh- But
*BOOOOM
In an instant his Grandpa appeared before him protecting him with his back and turned into a Giant to hold the Jaws with his bare arms- He Roared angrily, into the Snake's massive mouth,
"I KNEW YOU WOULD CHEAT - YOU DISGRACEFUL GARDEN SNAKE! I WILL HAVE ELDRITCH BARBEQUE TONIGHT!"
The Snake hissed back angrily with his jaw struggling to clamp down on the Demigod!
"I'm Not Done Yet- You garbage of the Human Race!"
*HISSSSSSSSS
Its Other Rear Head Elongated out to snatch Aavesh from the back but a Gigantic Silver Dragon appeared from the Void and bit at the Other Snake Head Preventing it from touching Aavesh.
*GRRRRRRRR
*MUNCH
It brutalized the Rear Snake Head and disfigured by chewing Repeatedly on it. Blood Splashed down brutally as the Silver Dragon Mangled the Eldritch Snake's Head. The Draconic head looked gruesome and brutal as it was filled with Eldritch Blood. But scary part was that the Dragon looked on very calmly at the Snake, as if its actions were very natural. It then proceeded to leave the twitching mangled head and pierced the neck of the Eldritch snake with its Sharp Silver Claws!
*SLICE
*CRACK
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
"AAAAAAHHHHRGGGGHH!!"
It Yelled out Violent cries of madness as the Silver Dragon did not stop to break the Spinal Connecting bones of the Rear Head. Sensing the Snake's distorted pain and its weakening hold on him- The Middle Aged Man then forcibly removed the Jaws and clamped it down on the Ground.
*SNAAPPP!
*CRACKK!
He then stomped his foot on the Snake hard- so hard that the fragments of its skull and teeth pierced its lower jaw and flesh brutally. Its eyeballs were long crushed into black paste. His Stomps sent shockwaves into the ground while the other cloaked people protected the Land and the People from Damage and Pressure of the Demigod fight.
Aavesh was personally protected by both the will of the Silver dragon and his Grandpa!
The Silver Dragon and the Middle Aged Man nodded at Each other and proceeded to pull both Ends of Eldritch snake in different directions - They Were essentially using the Eldritch Snake as the rope in the tug of War Game! But this was the Brutal Edition!
"MMMMHHHH"
*EMRMMMEERMRMMRMRM!"
"MAWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
With their monstrous strength - They Pulled so hard that the Pain caused the snake to forget that it could Elongate itself.
It Screamed in agony at the pain it underwent while a blood-soaked Aavesh looked on the Battle in awe, These methods to kill were really mind blowing!
The Snake let out its final cry of agony before Ripping apart and its blood and flesh splashed randomly into the Ground.
*SNAAAAAPPP
*SPLAASHHH
A Pool of Blood formed between them with the floating remains of the Eldritch snake...
However unknown to the people an invisible egg with the Eldritch tattoo of a broken clock fell out of the Torn apart snake body as well but simply sank into the pool of Eldritch snake blood and it absorbed the Essence Clone Spirit of the Snake. It trembled vigorously with bloodlike cracks and was about to hatch. But no one was aware of it.
The Silver Dragon Transformed into a beautiful Silver Draco Agathion- the Female Silver Draco Agathion- who was basically an Angel with Dragon and Mermaid features, and she wore a Silver Scaled Armor as she stepped in. She looked incredibly benevolent and nurturing apart from the fact that her mouth was stained with snake blood creating a very mature-themed contrast. She spoke playfully at the Middle Aged Man,
"So well- I'm sorry about the snake barbeque you wanted to hold earlier- I may have caused... a mess"
The Middle Aged man rolled his eyes and replied back," Its fine- We only killed a clone, there's always the True-Body later- We'll go snake hunting after we get back! Thanks for your help!"
But she replied back in annoyance while her elegant palm cleaned off the Blood on Aavesh's curious face.
"AWW Don't be like that with me, You seriously thought I would obey the funny Contract between you and Gold Devil Face- You really did not think I would step In!? But that doesn't seem like you-"
The Orange Cloaked man stifled mid-air as he heard the Silver Draco Agathion call out his nickname. He shook his head bitterly, he was not going to ask for death from the Silver Dragon Demigoddess!
The Silver Draco Agathion then gave translucent Jug of water out of thin air too Aavesh which he immediately accepted and gulped down. His face was still covered in snake blood and he remembered the snake's attempt to eat him from the behind. Luckily this friendly Demigod saved him! He then spoke in relief to her,
" Thank You"
"Oh its Nothing, You are my Grandchild as well-", She replied back kindly with a smile.
"..."
"..."
"Grandchild you say? Are you his -" Aavesh pointed at the Armored Middle Aged Man who cocked an eyebrow at her.
"No - I am your Maternal Grandmother, Your Mother Kriti is my Daughter", She spoke quite freely while looking at Kriti with Tender Maternal Eyes.
"Oh, That explains why you are so nice- WAIT WHAAT!?", Aavesh looked flabbergasted at this stunning revelation. Was this the Legendary day he Got those Special Grandpas and Grandmas?!
"Yes, I had hidden Kriti here with Adhav Kumaran and his Wife, because they are my cousins- Back then, I had just given Birth and wanted to stay with My Daughter... But I got dragged into an Interplanar War because an Undead Princess took fancy to My Husband and Kidnapped him"
"..."
"Don't worry your Maternal Grandpa is quite strong and alive - We both came back and he is currently in a deep regenerative sleep, We just need to wait for a few centuries till he completely heals and wakes Up"
"..."
"Back to what I did, I am sorry, But I could not possibly leave Kriti with just anyone, I wanted her to have a peaceful life and so I requested my cousins to deliberately hide in the Outer Rings and they ended up here- Looking at how you are doing now Kriti, I am very very Proud of you and Your Mom Approves of your Husband- He's quite good to make this Crude Old Codger even reply back - Not bad Boy!"
She gave Antrix a thumbs up after saying all this.
"..."
'This New Grandma is a bit... special?'
"*Cough Cough" Aavesh coughed at the situation- it was really... one of a kind...
"Hah I bet you predicted something weird would happen! so that's why you tipped me off you crude foggy! But I am glad you did that- Your wife would be very proud that you are learning to be a good parent and Grandparent"
On Hearing her mention his wife, the Middle aged man's tone became soft, " Hmmph, I won't let my family be bullied- informing you was purely the logical choice, considering your daughter is my daughter-in-law and is Aavesh's Mom- Of course I wont leave things to chance like your Flute Playing Husband!"
"Annnnd there you go, Mr.Grumpy Face is Back as soon as I give you a complement!"
"I only state the facts-"
"Now Shut Up!"
Hearing her retort the Middle Aged Man went silent and closed his eyes ignoring this irritating In-Law.
But just as the Group of People were about to relax. A creepy spine chilling voice came out from the Pool of Blood-
"Oh Well- I'm sorry to interrupt this Heart Warming Family reunion, I almost feel bad, But if You'll excuse me- I have a child to kill"
*SMACK
*SMAACKK
A Blood Soaked arm with broken clock like Patterns on it- emerged out of the Blood Pool and tore through the Defense of the Cloaked Demigods easily in an instant- the arm smacked them away like flies and caught hold of Chhavi. Another Arm swatted the Middle-Aged Man and the Female Silver Draco Agathion. They could not resist a single touch.
It then brought her in front of the horrified Aavesh-
"I'm Going to fix this timeline- I will kill her and you will watch- anything else happens I will wipe every living thing on this Planet apart from you- Do you understand Aavesh? Try any forbidden Spell or God Invocation and I will butcher your family one by one - in the most painful way Possible"