Chapter 14: Echoes of a Forgotten War

Shadows of the Past

A deafening silence filled the space as Aditya stood in the vision, his feet sinking into the cold marble of his father's throne room. The air smelled of blood and fire. His father sat on the throne, his golden eyes piercing through the illusion.

"Do you understand now?" the shadowy figure's voice echoed from behind.

Aditya clenched his fists. "What am I supposed to see?"

The vision around him flickered. Suddenly, the grand doors of the throne room burst open, revealing a younger version of himself—barely ten years old—standing beside a woman cloaked in silver. She gripped his hand tightly, fear evident in her glowing violet eyes. His mother.

"You have to leave, Aditya!" her voice trembled. "They are coming."

Aditya's chest tightened. This wasn't just any memory; it was the night everything changed. The night his world burned.

Before he could react, the scene shifted again, and the masked figure appeared beside his father. The air turned thick with an unseen force, and the vision blurred into chaos.

"Now, Aditya," the figure whispered. "Witness the truth that was hidden from you."

The walls of the throne room cracked, revealing an abyss beneath. Aditya felt himself being pulled in, the weight of reality collapsing around him.

Descent into the Abyss

Aditya plummeted into the abyss, his body twisting as gravity itself became meaningless. The darkness was infinite, stretching beyond his understanding. Whispers slithered through the void, ancient voices calling his name. Each sound felt like claws scratching against his soul.

Suddenly, the fall stopped. Not with a crash, but an eerie stillness. Aditya found himself standing in a space that was neither land nor sky—just endless shadows. A golden glow flickered ahead. He took cautious steps, his heartbeat echoing in the emptiness.

As he moved forward, figures emerged from the shadows—ghostly silhouettes of people from his past. His father stood among them, his face unreadable.

"You were never meant to see this," the masked figure's voice returned, now surrounding him. "But fate demands it."

The golden light flared, revealing a battlefield—a war that had taken place long before Aditya was born. Titans clashed, the ground trembling beneath them. And at the centre of it all… was his father, wielding a blade of pure darkness.

Aditya's breath hitched. "What is this?"

"The war that decided your destiny," the figure replied. "And the truth that was kept from you."

The battle raged around him, and Aditya felt himself being pulled into its heart.

Shadows of the Past

The moment Aditya's feet touched the ground, the battlefield roared to life. War cries echoed through the air as titans clashed with monstrous beings, their weapons sending shockwaves across the ruined landscape. The ground beneath him trembled, cracked, and bled darkness.

A monstrous creature lunged toward him—a towering beast with molten eyes and jagged claws. Instinct took over. Aditya dodged, barely escaping its strike, but the raw force sent him tumbling across the battlefield. As he staggered to his feet, a deep, commanding voice cut through the chaos.

"Stand, warrior."

He turned—his father stood in the distance, a blade of pure shadow in his grip. His presence was overwhelming, radiating an aura that bent reality around him. But Aditya wasn't prepared for what he saw next. His father was fighting another figure cloaked in shifting darkness—one whose face was eerily familiar.

Himself.

A twisted version of Aditya, draped in an obsidian cloak, wielding a blade just like his father's. Their battle sent ripples through space itself, tearing through the remnants of time.

"This war never ended," the masked figure's voice whispered in his ear. "It simply changed forms. And now, you must decide which side you belong to."

Aditya clenched his fists. The truth was slipping through his fingers like sand, but one thing was clear—this battle wasn't just about his past. It was about the future he had yet to understand.