Beginning of the dark energy

The streets hummed with life, a blend of flickering neon signs, the scent of sizzling street food, and the rhythmic chatter of humans weaving through the night. Dhruv moved among them, his sharp eyes taking in the vibrancy of a world so different from his own. The artificial glow of city lights painted his sharp features in gold and blue hues, making him appear even more otherworldly, a celestial being hidden in plain sight.

Though he walked with measured steps, his mind remained unwaveringly focused. He wasn't here for distractions. The celestial lords had entrusted him with a mission, and he intended to fulfill it.

Then, he felt it.

A flicker in the air. A ripple, so faint yet unmistakable. The delicate balance of energy had shifted.

Dhruv halted mid-step, his entire being attuned to the sudden change. It wasn't just an anomaly, it was something far more sinister. The dark energy was here.

His midnight-blue eyes flickered with a sharper edge as he turned toward the source. A chilling stillness settled in the air, swallowing the usual sounds of the city. The distant honking of cars, the murmurs of late-night crowds, all of it dulled as if someone had muffled the world itself.

He followed the disturbance.

With every step, the energy thickened, curling around him like invisible tendrils. It was an unnatural force, one that did not belong here. A force that had not yet fully taken form but was growing.

He turned a corner and stepped into a deserted alleyway.

The contrast was jarring. One moment, he had been in a bustling street filled with life, and now, he stood in an eerie silence that made his celestial instincts hum with caution.

Something was here. Watching. Waiting.

The shadows along the brick walls shifted unnaturally. They didn't stretch in response to the streetlights, they moved on their own.

A faint whisper slithered through the air. It wasn't a voice, not yet. Just a presence, something raw and unshaped, like a force clawing its way into existence.

Dhruv's expression remained unreadable, but his muscles tensed subtly. He wasn't afraid, he had faced darker things before, but this was different. This entity was not fully formed, and that made it unpredictable.

Then, from the deepest part of the alley, a figure began to take shape.

It wasn't solid. Its form flickered, twisting like smoke caught in an unseen wind. The edges of its being shifted, unable to maintain a fixed structure, but the energy it radiated was unmistakable.

A low, distorted chuckle echoed.

"You're here," the voice murmured.

It wasn't a greeting. It was a realization.

The entity had sensed him just as he had sensed it.

Dhruv's gaze remained steady, his celestial presence unwavering against the suffocating darkness pressing in. "You're not complete yet," he observed coolly.

The shadows trembled in response. The entity pulsed, as if amused.

"Not yet," it admitted. "But soon."

A flicker of emotion passed through Dhruv's usually impassive features. It wasn't fear, he didn't fear anything, but he recognized the implication.

This thing wasn't fully born yet. But it was growing. And if it continued to feed on whatever energy it was consuming, it would soon become a fully formed entity, one powerful enough to bring chaos to the human world.

"You have no place here," Dhruv said evenly, but there was an edge to his voice now.

The entity hummed, its form flickering more violently now, almost as if laughing.

"And yet, here I am."

A sharp gust of wind rushed through the alley, though there was no natural source for it. Dhruv's coat billowed slightly, but he didn't so much as flinch. He had seen beings like this before, creatures of imbalance, born from cosmic disturbances.

But this one… it was different. It was tied to Earth in a way that others had never been.

Dhruv exhaled slowly, a silent acknowledgment that his mission had just become more complicated. This wasn't just some stray dark energy that needed to be neutralized. This was something far more deliberate.

"Who created you?" Dhruv asked.

The entity stilled. Then, in a voice that was more fragmented than before, it answered:

"You already know."

A frown flickered across Dhruv's face. The words weren't a lie, but they weren't the whole truth either.

Then, before he could press further, the entity began to withdraw. Its form shuddered, breaking apart like smoke dissolving into the night air.

This wasn't a retreat. It was a warning.

Dhruv remained standing in the dark alley long after the entity disappeared. The world slowly regained its normal sounds, the distant hum of traffic, the chatter of late-night wanderers, but the weight in the air remained.

His jaw tightened slightly.

This wasn't just about Earth anymore.

Something bigger was coming. And it had already begun.

- - - to be continued - - -

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