Chapter 1: The Blood in the Woods

The sky above was heavy, pregnant with monsoon clouds that hovered like brooding gods. The earth below, damp and softened from days of drizzle, squelched underfoot with each step through the dense woods. In a world where power marked worth, two boys wandered through nature's underbelly, unknowing that their lives were about to be changed by fate, blood, and fire.

"Rabbani, wait up!" Raihan called, nearly tripping over a gnarled root. He was twelve, a wiry boy with unkempt hair, eyes too sharp for his age, and the last name 'Pramanik' — a surname that in their world was a quiet curse, a mark of irrelevance.

His cousin, Rabbani, turned and grinned. Unlike Raihan, Rabbani was sturdier, his smile easy, his eyes shining with mischief. "You're too slow, Rai."

Raihan scowled. "I'm being careful. Grandfather said not to go deep into the woods."

"He also said there are beasts here that bleed power," Rabbani replied, eyes alight. "Maybe today's our lucky day."

Raihan frowned. He didn't believe in shortcuts to strength. In a world where drinking the blood of rare beasts granted godlike abilities, he still clung to the old teachings of his grandfather, Soraf Pramanik. The path of aura — of Zahir, Nafs, Zirah — was one of training, pain, and will.

But the world didn't care much for paths that took time.

They reached a clearing choked with silence, birds gone, wind still. A strange smell filled the air — coppery and thick. And then they saw it.

A beast.

It was larger than a bull, sleek like a panther, fur dark as shadow, but its body was broken, bleeding, wounded. Red, unnatural blood pooled around it, too thick, too radiant. A wound had sliced through its torso, ribs cracked open like snapped branches.

Raihan's breath caught. "That's... it."

Rabbani stepped forward, awe-struck. "Is it still alive?"

"No." Raihan knelt beside it, eyes filled with conflict. "Grandfather always said... this is the blood that changes everything. That creates monsters and heroes."

Rabbani looked at him. "What should we do?"

Raihan hesitated. Everything in him screamed to walk away. To not give in to the temptation of shortcuts. But something else stirred — a sense of fate.

And then he stood, took his cousin's hand, and pressed it into the beast's bleeding wound.

"What are you—"

"Drink it," Raihan said.

"What?!"

"I'm not meant for this power. But maybe you are. Grandfather always said... some people are born different."

Rabbani stared at him. Confused. Grateful. And afraid. But he drank.

Pain followed instantly. Rabbani screamed, his veins lighting like rivers of magma, body convulsing, eyes rolling back. Raihan held him, praying he'd made the right choice.

When it was over, Rabbani collapsed — unconscious, but alive. His skin steamed, and the air around him crackled with elemental instability.

The beast's body turned to ash.

---

They returned home to the edge of the forest, a small hut nestled under the looming cliffs. Their grandfather, Soraf Pramanik, stood waiting outside, his weathered face pale as he saw them approach.

"You... found it?" Soraf asked, already knowing the answer.

Raihan nodded. Rabbani still swayed, his breath ragged.

Soraf closed his eyes for a long moment. "So it begins again."

"What do you mean?" Raihan asked.

"That power... it's the same one my old friend had. The only man who could bend five elements to his will. It's not just rare — it's ancient. And now it lives in your cousin."

Raihan flinched. "It should've been me."

"No," Soraf said. "You've chosen a harder path. And perhaps, a greater one."

He ushered them inside, lit a small lantern, and sat them down.

"You must both begin training. Rabbani, you'll learn to control the beast's gift. Raihan, I will teach you aura. There are 3 types of Aura:

Zahir – Aura of Domination

Nafs – Aura of Sensing

Zirah – Aura of Defense."

Thus began the months of grueling labor.

---

Rabbani's powers erupted early — a burst of wind, a flicker of fire. He was clumsy but strong. Raihan, however, struggled.

Zahir — the aura of domination — refused to emerge. Nafs — the aura of sensing — flickered like a candle in a storm. Zirah — the defensive shell — wouldn't form. Day after day, Raihan trained until his hands bled, until his muscles screamed.

"You're trying too hard," Soraf said. "Aura isn't about force. It's about who you are inside."

"But what if I'm... nothing?" Raihan whispered.

Soraf's eyes grew cold. "When the time comes, it'll be too late."

Those were the last words Soraf ever said to him.

---

That evening, they hunted again, laughing as they chased rabbits with wooden spears. But something was wrong. The air shifted. The wind stilled. And then — screams.

They returned home to fire.

The hut was aflame. Blood sprayed the dirt outside. And inside — Soraf.

His body lay sprawled, stabbed through the heart, blood soaking into the wooden floor. Around him, the earth was scorched. Ash and debris told the tale of a man who fought with everything he had.

Raihan dropped to his knees.

"No... no, no, no—"

Rabbani shouted behind him. "Who did this?!"

Then they saw it. The sword. Still embedded in Soraf's chest. Etched with symbols — one of the Five Empires. A weapon of royalty.

"Why would an Empire kill our grandfather?"

They didn't have time to ask. Shadows moved behind the trees. Knights in silver armor, cloaked in silence, closed in.

Rabbani reacted. Fire leapt from his hands. One knight burned. Another drowned in a conjured wave. But there were too many.

And Raihan — Raihan just knelt there.

He clutched Soraf's body, shaking.

"No powers... I have nothing... I couldn't protect you..."

And then something broke.

Inside him, a dam shattered. Rage poured in. Grief boiled over. Loss became lightning.

His eyes burned. His voice roared.

And red.

It exploded from his body — a crimson aura so violent the trees bowed, birds fell dead, the very ground cracked.

The knights screamed — and then dropped, blood leaking from their eyes and ears. Not unconscious.

Dead.

The forest trembled. Rabbani stood frozen. The fire in his hands died.

Raihan's red aura swirled like a vortex of fury. His body hovered inches above the ground. And then — silence.

His aura collapsed. He fell, unconscious, beside his grandfather's corpse.

---

 "The boy who never had power... became a storm the world wasn't ready for."

---

End of Chapter 1