Prologue-Faithful Night

Day 1 Of My Summer Vacation. (11th May, 2023)

We all woke up at 5:00 a.m. We were all excited about our camping. When I got inside the washroom, I saw Ria brushing her teeth. I told her "Good morning, you seem excited for the picnic too". She looked over me, and a strand of her hair fell on her face, gently moving the hair aside she said with a smile on her face "Good morning to you too bhaiya, and yeah I am excited about the camping". "Then you should hurry up" I stated. "OK," she said. I then started brushing my teeth too. While I was brushing my teeth, Ria got into the bathroom, to take a shower. After brushing my teeth, I waited for Ria to come out of the bathroom so that I could take a shower too. As she came out of the shower, I saw her wearing a white top and shorts. I Said to her "You look good". Ria chuckled and said, "I know bhaiya, and don't just stare at me you need to take a shower too". "Oh, yeah, sorry" I stated. I got inside the bathroom and took a shower. After that, I got inside my room and started dressing up. I wore a new hoodie and jeans. Packed My Bag with warm clothes and a few other necessary things. After that, I walked downstairs and got to the dining room. I saw my father sitting on the chair while reading a newspaper. My sister was just sitting on the chair, waiting for to dig in. Mum, after seeing me said "Good morning Dear, come take a seat, we need to go too you know". I nodded in agreement and took a sit beside Ria. "So, what did you prepare for breakfast" I asked my Mum. Mum said, "Omelette and butter toast dear, here you go". The food was delicious as always.

We all started eating our breakfast. After finishing, we got out of the house. Father locked the door. We all had a backpack. We got inside the car, we took our respective seats. Father started the car and the car ran forward. I and Ria were in the back seat of the car. I asked Ria "What are you going to do when we reach there She responded, "I don't know, maybe walk around the forest, take lots of pictures, and enjoy myself." Father looked in the rearview mirror and said playfully "I was expecting thanks for arranging this, but you all seem to be lost in your world". Ria and I realized our mistakes and we told Dad "Thank you for having us, Dad". Dad said, "You two are welcome". A little smile was tucked at the corner of Mum's lips which evolved into joyful laughter. She said while laughing "You three are so funny sometimes". Dad replied, "Pleasure is all mine, Dear". Ria and I started laughing too. After reaching the rendezvous point, Ria opened the car door excitedly and hopped out. After that, all three of us got out of the car. We looked around, breathing the clean air, looking at the trees, and saw birds and other animals. This place was supposed to be free of carnivorous wild animals. Afterward, we walked toward our campsite. We set up camp next to a crystal clear river. The water was so transparent that only the sun's direct rays could reveal our reflections. We started putting on our tents. One for Mum Dad and Ria and the other for me. After that, we all decided upon which work we would all do.

Mum and Ria would collect kindling, little twigs, and branches for a campfire while me and my dad would go to the river beside and catch fish. Me and my Dad took our fishing rods and walked toward the river while Mum and Ria started collecting dry wood for the fire. Me and my father sat at a comfortable place in front of the river and started fishing. Soon it became a competition about who would catch the most fish. Whenever the sunlight fell directly on the water I could see my reflection. I saw my reflection several times. Then I saw something ominous. In my reflection I saw a black shadowy figure behind me, I immediately looked behind me but there was no one. My dad noticed the fear on my face and said "Son, are you fine, shall we stop now?". I said, "No, it's nothing, No need to stop". Afterward, Dad caught the most fish and won the match. My Dad beamed with joy. He was so proud of himself. I looked at my wristwatch, It was exactly 5:00 p.m. now. We started walking toward the camp and saw the girls had already done their job and had started a campfire. Ria asked me to get her sweater from her bag as it was getting extremely cold. I nodded and brought a sweater for her. She thanked me. Afterward, we all found ourselves wearing warm clothes. It was 7:00 p.m. now. We all sat in a circle in front of the inferno. While Mum and Dad were sitting together and I and Ria were sitting together. Started cooking the fish on the bonfire which I and Dad caught. We added some salt to the cooked fish and started eating it. I asked Ria If she liked it or not. She replied with a smile on her face "It's good bhaiya, and thanks for asking". We all chatted and laughed at each other. Suddenly I felt a sinister presence, I started having goosebumps. I thought someone was looking at us from behind the trees, but when I looked around I saw no one. My Mum noticed the fear on my face and asked "Sweetheart, is there something wrong, you look pale". I replied, "It's nothing, Mum, I was just looking around". Ria said mischievously "I think bhaiya is scared". I gave a soft slap on her shoulder and I said "Eh, it's nothing like that, ok". Ria said, "Yeah, Yeah". I looked at her annoyingly. Our father said "You two, stop fighting, It's getting late, go to your tents and sleep. We nodded and walked into our respective tent. Ria asked Mum and Dad if she could share the tent with me. I was a little surprised at her remark about sharing a tent with me. Mum and Dad looked at each other and then looked toward Me, My Dad said "Son, if it's okay with you then I guess she can share a tent with you. Ria said pleadingly "bhaiya, please say yes". I wasn't able to say "No" to Her. So I said "Okay". Afterward, Ria and I slept in the same tent while Mum and Dad slept in the other tent. Ria snuggled me tightly in sleep. However, I couldn't seem to fall asleep due to a feeling of uncertainty that was bothering me. It seemed as if someone or something was calling out to me, urging me to explore the nearby forest. I carefully shifted Ria, who was cozily nestled against me while sleeping, without waking her up. Without making any noise I walked toward the forest. Deep inside the forest, I could hear the voices of screeching owls. Cold chilling winds moved against my body, sending chills down to my core. There was a cacophony of spooky forest sounds. After exploring for a while, I decided to head back to our campsite. As I walked, I heard a twig snap. When I turned around, I saw a dark figure lurking behind a tree. I was terrified and froze, despite the cold, I was sweating. It reminded me of a figure I had seen earlier while fishing. However, upon closer inspection, I realized it was not the same figure. I thought I was just imagining things, but here it was looking at me. But upon close inspection, it wasn't the same figure I saw. Slowly the figure moved toward me. I couldn't able to move a muscle. As the figure slowly came forward I saw it metamorphosing into a humanoid figure. As the figure came under the moonlight, I saw that it wasn't a shadowy figure but rather a girl my age. She was beautiful. She was stunning, wearing a cozy white hoodie and pajamas. The moment our eyes met, it felt like we had known each other for ages, even though we had just met. She asked me with concern etched on her face. "Um… uh, did I startle you, sorry for that". Her voice was absolutely beautiful. I asked her "What are you doing here?". She said cutely "Uh, I was waiting for you". I Thought "What? Why was she waiting for me? I don't even know her". I asked her "Really, But Why?". She replied with a calm voice "I will tell you everything. Now that I finally found you". My heart skipped a beat at her words. I said "Okay". She then told some crazy that, was right out of a storybook". The girl explained that in this world, there exist creatures from mythologies such as Elves, Dragons, Dwarfs, Pixies, Fairies, and Demons. These creatures reside in a place called "Ombra". Among the Demons, there are two types: Good and Bad. The Good Demons known as "Iyi" are peaceful and coexist with other mythological creatures. On the other hand, the Bad Demons do not live peacefully with other creatures and attack humans. They are called "Kotu.". She further told me that I am a Demon hunter and I have special powers to hunt demons, My work was to hunt and kill "kotu". and my hair and eye color are proof of that". All this new information made my head hurt.

After receiving this new information, I asked for her name. She replied timidly, "Um, my name is Aisha.". I asked Aisha, "Did you wait all this time just to tell me the truth about myself? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you telling me, but I have this feeling that I've seen you before." Aisha blushed and came closer to me to say something when suddenly we heard a loud cry from the campsite that sounded exactly like my mother's voice. We quickly ran towards the campsite. We reached there we saw a black shadowy figure attacking our camp, My whole family was injured and unconscious. Suddenly Aisha cast some spell and attacked the figure with a beam of light. It was a direct hit. I was surprised that magic was real. "Aisha, that's fantastic!" I declared with unwavering certainty as I gazed at her, I noticed her cheeks turning a deep shade of red. With a timid voice, she asked, "Really? You think so, Thank you". As I approached my family, I discovered that they were alive but injured. I attempted to wake Ria, but she did not respond. Suddenly, the figure appeared out of nowhere and attacked me. In a split second, Aisha intervened and blocked the attack. I was stunned by her sudden appearance, as she had been ten feet away from me just moments before. Witnessing her fight against the figure caused my heart to race. While fending off the attack, Aisha shouted, "Take your sister and run!" I refused to abandon her, insisting that she had saved my family and me. Frustrated, she urged me to use my powers to help. I inquired about how to achieve my goal from her. She exclaimed, "Feel it, search within yourself, consider the individuals you care for and want to safeguard." I shut my eyes and attempted to feel it, but it was futile. I yelled, "Nothing is happening. What should I do next?" She suggested, "Then, take your sister and flee." All of a sudden, the entity grabbed her by the leg and hurled her onto the ground. The Kotu leaped towards Aisha, but she avoided it by jumping backward. She yelled, "I can't keep this up for much longer. Run now!" I felt confused, with many conflicting thoughts racing through my mind. What about my parents? What would happen to Aisha? Even if I ran, there was no guarantee that the Kotu wouldn't pursue me after attacking Aisha. Meanwhile Aisha on the other hand thought "If I don't finish this fast, Yohan will be in trouble, I can't lose him again". Aisha deep into her thoughts didn't realize that the Kotu was about to pull something. The figure ran toward me. That Kotu noticed something about me. Just when the Kotu was about to hit me, Aisha came in forward me and took the hit. Aisha falls to the ground. Seeing her on the ground awakened something in me, I lost my senses. I started punching the Kotu with powers I didn't know I Had and the sheer force of my punch sent Kotu flying a few miles away. However, in a split second, Kotu flew back towards me. Aisha, who was injured on the ground, said, "I knew it. I knew you could do it. Now kill that Kotu." I started hitting Kotu with kicks and punches so powerful that Kotu couldn't even move its fists. Suddenly, Kotu jumped towards Ria. Aisha shouted, "No!" and rushed towards Ria, curling her body around her. Just as Kotu was about to hit them, I moved quickly and got in between them, punching Kotu so hard that it disintegrated into nothing. Suddenly, I fell unconscious and hit the ground, and during that moment, I could hear Aisha shouting my name before darkness took over my consciousness.

When I woke up, I realized I was lying on Aisha's lap, and she looked at me with concern. She had a slight blush on her cheeks and a warm smile on her face, as she greeted me with, "Good morning, you finally woke up." I suddenly remembered the Kotu, and sat up from her lap, looking around for any signs of it. However, I couldn't see it anywhere, so I asked Aisha anxiously about it, "Where is that Kotu? And are you okay?" She responded calmly, "Calm down, don't you remember?" I didn't know what she was talking about, so I asked her, "What can't I remember?" She replied excitedly, "You defeated that Kotu with your sheer strength." I was surprised because I didn't remember doing so. She then asked, "How did you unlock your powers?" to which I replied, "I don't remember using any powers or defeating any demons, but I do remember seeing you on the ground before everything went dark." She blushed at my words and smiled, saying, "Really, you did that for me?" With that, she gave me a gentle kiss on my cheek, and I blushed as well, saying, "Thank you." I then asked about my family, and she pointed towards the tents. I saw that everything was normal, the tents were fine, and there was still a campfire burning. I looked inside the tents and saw that everyone was sleeping soundly. I asked Aisha, "What did you do?" She smiled and replied, "It's not the first time a Kotu has attacked humans, so there are precautions in place. I'm not working alone; there's an agency behind this. That's why there's no news about demons. We make people forget what happened and fix their belongings." I questioned why she didn't make me forget, to which she replied, "Why would I? You're a special case, a demon hunter, and one of us." I nodded in understanding. Suddenly, Ria called out to me from inside the tent, sounding scared. She said, "Bhaiya, where are you? I'm scared." I reassured her and said I was coming. Aisha whispered into my ear and said she had to go for now, but we would meet again. I was about to protest, but she gave me another kiss on my cheek and disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Ria called out to me again, and I went inside the tent where she hugged me tightly. She told me she had a nightmare where a big bad monster attacked us. I comforted her and told her to go back to sleep. But she refused to let me go, so I suggested we sleep together, and she agreed. We lay down on the soft pillow inside the tent, and after a few minutes, we both fell asleep.

Stay tuned for the next episode as the story continues...