Chapter 10 : New teacher (3)

it had been 2 months since that day Anika had confessed. They now used to practice in the newly made training room fortified by Demon crystals that regenerated any damage they caused.

Krishna had also allowed the students to use their weapons and they were certainly improving. Anika was especially making him put more and more effort in defending the chair. she even managed to touch it once but that was it. Anika was getting used to her Foundation a lot faster than anticipated but she still had not been able to use it's full potential. it could be because drawing power from a broken down unstable foundation was a very strenuous effort but she still managed to do it.

one thing that had not changed for now was Anika and Krishna's status. They had returned to their normal selves but still were not bringing up the topic of what had happened in the terrace. That still did not stop Ganesh from making them feel awkward, in fact it was his favourite topic to tinker with to get some entertainment in the house.

Also the gaps were showing up now in Rajdeep's power and that of the others. it worried him a lot because they had achieved a lot more than he could in all this short time. In terms of raw power even Reema had closed the gap very fast but he knew it wasn't the raw power that made her dangerous.

The training sessions were getting shorter these days as Krishna had been hooked to a new multiplayer game he played everyday in his office. today it was over in 30 minutes and Krishna left by giving them a thumbs up. Rishi smiled and sheathed his new and expensive trident he had bought for himself. it was partly because trident made him feel like Poseidon and mainly because it was a very powerful artefact that came from a demon who was also a water controller. that gave him a big boost in control and power.

"He sure is an amazing teacher, while Rusjeet singh holds our hand at every step, Krishna sir lets us advance in our own direction, all the while ever so subtly nudging us in the right direction."

"You can't blame Rusjeet though he is a rookie teacher and Krishna sir is a professional chosen personally by non other that President Sardar." Said Anirudh as he put his denim jacket back on and everyone nodded in agreement while Anika still frowned and thought 'those idiots still don't understand, do they?'.

Still there was no doubt about it that training against Krishna brought a big change in their style. every time they would come up with an amazing strategy Krishna would just overpower through that strategy like a breeze exposing their flaws. The way he moved sometimes distracted her in ways she never knew she could be distracted. Her way of looking at Krishna was ever so slightly changing. Anika then shook her head and thought 'what am I thinking, he is just a lazy teacher that's all'

_____

Krishna was in the middle of a big clutch in the game as he was owning the ground using the machine gun and destroying noobs in the game but Rajdeep came in and he got killed off by a sniper hiding in the grass.

"Sir, I wanted to talk to you about my progress."

Krishna who picked himself up from his sadness and turned to smile at Rajdeep said, "What's bothering you?"

"In my own way I have been improving at a very good rate but it's not enough."

Krishna leaned in at his desk and said, "So you are worried about you colleagues leaving you behind? I can't change your growth rate, you will just have to do more than those who are blessed with better luck. you should not expect unreasonable goals when you don't put an unreasonable amount of effort."

"I know. still I just wish I could be of any use. At present I am just the weakest link holding everyone back."

Krishna thought about it and said "Maybe I can help you in some way but it will be very dangerous, I am not sure if you can handle that."

Rajdeep's sad face got lit with hope, "please sir, I am ready for anything. you yourself said I should be ready to put effort into it to get some results."

"This won't be your normal kind of effort, You need to be ready to face the consequences if you fail. Because if that happens, you will die."

_____

Anika and Reema were practising while Rajdeep had taken a leave.

"what happened to Rajdeep he seemed fine in the morning?" Asked Anika to Reema

"I don't know, he has been a little down lately, I think." Reema took the opportunity to ask a question that had been looming in her mind lately, "Hey, did anyone approach you from any clan?"

"Yeah, Butterfly from lions came to see me once in the cafe while I was waiting for you."

"They approached me too, sadly it wasn't butterfly, you lucky girl. Have you thought about joining? our first internship is coming up and it seemed like a good opportunity to me."

"I don't know, I am unable to think much these days."

"Come on, it becuase of that, isn't it? both of you need to talk about it at least, it's out on the table now what are you afraid of."

Anika could not answer that but it seemed to her that there was still some resentment of the past left in Krishna and so she wanted to take it slowly for him.

_____

Krishna and Rajdeep went to the spot where he trained Anika. faint grass had already taken its place but there were still some things that said this wasn't some natural clearing in the forest.

Krishna extended his hand and a magic circle appeared from which he pulled out a pair of gauntlets.

"I made this once when I was...out somewhere. I wasn't the best at forging but these gauntlets helped me somewhat in my way. Now they are useless to me so you can have them."

Rajdeep thrown back by what Krishna just did, such spatial space to store takes up too much aura so only heroes used it and to think that he fought with them just this morning and he hadn't seen him go anywhere in the meanwhile meant that he had been keeping that space active all this time. 'what kind of a teacher is he?'

"but you said it would be risky, how?"

"you have probably heard of this that a weapon made from a demon still holds it's personality. it is true but there is also a fact that the stronger the demon, the more a tool holds the wishes of it's past self."

"Yeah I have heard about it but nobody has exactly proven it."

"Yes you wouldn't exactly notice something too weak and the longer it takes after death to forge the weaker are the effects and personality retention. This one was pretty strong and I Actually made it out of Him when he was alive."

Rajdeep was thrown back again 'isn't that a bit too cruel even if it was a demon', he imagined Krishna doing it while having an evil laugh and it gave him goosebumps 'poor demon'.

"So if I am not able to control the personality I would die?"

"No, I will kill you."

That threw back Rajdeep enough to give him chills down his spine.

"why would you do that to your student."

"You won't be my student any-more, you will inherit the demon's will and I can't let a demon loose now, can I?" Krishna shook his head "that would be too irresponsible."

"can you at least tell me what I should expect?"

"Oh don't worry about that it will be over swiftly, you won't feel much pain." Said Krishna immediately realising the folly of his ways. Rajdeep looked mildly terrified now trying to hide that expression. Krishna smiled and scratched his head.

"It depends on you actually, the personality will try every way to get control but what you do in response will determine the outcome."

So, Rajdeep took the gauntlets in his hands. there were grey steel shimmering without a scratch. even touching them exuded massive amount of power. it made him wonder what could have this demon been when he was alive. when he wore the gauntlets his aura started turning red and was getting pulled into the gauntlets. these majestic gloves extended themselves to his shoulder like a transforming armour and sucked in even greater amount of his aura. soon the red mist of aura started pulling in all the colours and everything around him throwing him into a dark room with no end. how could you even tell if there was an end he thought staring into the eternal darkness that he could sense extending on and on with no tail or head or an opening. there was something about being in the dark that always made him afraid as a kid, even till now he would sometimes feel the abyss creeping up on him from the back.

Rajdeep ran in the darkness for what seemed like an eternity and finally fell down from exhaustion. there was no end. there was no door. he tried sitting there for the illusion to end but it never did.

he was alone in the dark for too long. longer than what seemed to be an eternity. he started to believe this was true or maybe he had already lost to the whim of the demon and was killed by Krishna. 'Is this what end would look like? Empty, Dark and Alone.' That is what he actually thought death would be like, but you never know until you experience it.

what do you do alone when you have nothing, you talk to yourself and that's what he did. he started hearing voices of his own.

'you are weak, you have lost already'

'There is no short cut you hoped for'

'look at him he hasn't grown up yet, still afraid of the dark.'

"Shut up! I am much stronger than before."

'look at him whining'

'He thinks just having muscles makes him stronger.'

'He did not know that he was just a kid stop bullying him you guys.'

'what good is it, you will never be able to protect anyone.'

Rajdeep covered his ears but the voices never stopped he closed his eyes, hoping that maybe it would work but what good is closing your eyes in the darkness. He could feel his head getting wet as something fell on it. he swiped his hand, it was blood.

He looked up and there were two black bodies hanging there upside down with their throats slit. He tried to reach for them but could not move his hands, they were tied behind his back and so was he. tied to a chair only to watch as the two people above him died, drenched in the blood that wasn't his but it was his own.

'look he is dreaming'

'no it isn't a dream, it is his past, one that he thinks he forgot.'

'oh poor boy can't even move, should we help him?'

'why should we, it's his fault he is there. He wished for it.'

"I did not know I was a kid who was angry at my father for hitting me, I did not want them to die,"

'But it happened because of you. You got caught by the enemy'

'They were his father's enemies'

'But he should have been careful.'

'He just tried to fulfil his own wish.'

Rajdeep then heard the screams of his sister. there were men forcing her into things she did not want to do. His 9 year old self did not know what was going on. He tried to move again but the ropes would not break.

'He is watching, He likes it.'

'But that's his sister.'

'He killed her too, she couldn't take it after her brother had watched her like that.'

'why didn't he look away, she would have been alive.'

"I didn't know what to do, I tried talking to her but she wouldn't talk." Said Rajdeep sobbing harder with uncontrollable tears.

'Making her feel uncomfortable, how insensitive.'

'He thinks he can help people, such a crybaby.'

'all his new friends will die too just because he wasn't able to fight.'

'He should just quit.'

"I won't quit, I will get stronger, I will fight!"

Rajdeep broke the ropes holding him and a door appeared.

'What is that door?'

'He found the exit, He did it!'

'He did nothing.'

Rajdeep opened the door. he wanted to escape this nightmare. all his life he had trained to become stronger but now he was the weakest. that was the sensation that had haunted him, The weakness. Behind the door there was a grey sky and a bridge leading to a platform where a familiar silhouette waited for him.

The door disappeared behind him and the bridge disintegrated with every step. There was no turning back.

'look isn't that his father.'

'looks like someone's about to get some spanking.'

"Why are you here? Haven't you already taken enough from me?"

'look at him blaming others for his own weakness.'

'maybe this is it, he needs to fight his inner demon.'

'kill that man, he took everything from you.'

Rajdeep collected himself and wiped his tears off. He stood there in a boxing stance ready to punch his darkness. every other man he could remember and those he could not also appeared in full black bodies.

'Kill them all, have your revenge.'

'What good is revenge, it won't help him'

``it's not like he has a choice, if he wants to get out, he needs to kill them.'

Rajdeep started punching anything black he could see from his hazy teary eyes. He knew revenge would do nothing but yet it felt good to let out his anger. for every shadow he destroyed two more appeared. these shadows were now also attacking Rajdeep.

The fight went on for a long time. beneath the grey sky there were endless shadows. Rajdeep was injured and breathless. he was bleeding from every opening in his body profusely. He wanted to rest but the shadows would not stop. he had stopped feeling little things like pain from cuts and bruises. it was just like he was alone in the dark but he could not give up now. That is what the demon wanted.

Then suddenly the shadows stopped attacking as Rajdeep fell on his knees. "Come at me, I haven't given up yet." he tried to get up and move but a chain pulled at him. He looked back and they were the bodies of his family. he hadn't noticed but he had been pulling that weight all along. Guess he wasn't strong enough now to pull them.

"Let go of it son."

Rajdeep turned around. there were two figures emitting light that kept the darkness away.

"You need to let go, my boy." one of the more mature looking figures kneeled down and held Rajdeep's cheek. "You have dragged these empty husks of regrets for too long. let go."

'Is she her mother?'

'She is dead, that's not possible'

'It's a trick of the demon, you can't give up.'

Rajdeep held the hand and started crying into it. "I wish I was stronger mom. Dad wouldn't have hated me then. I tried but I am still weak."

"You are not weak, nor were you weak back then. Your father may not have been the best parent or even a good man, but he loved you in his own way. If he did not care for you why would he come to save you."

'I thought she was dead, she looks believable'

'The demon is using his memories against him'

"But...But I got kidnapped because I was weak."

The other figure also joined in, "No you were not. They made you see horrible things but you still made it through."

'That must be his sister.'

'The demon is very good at faking.'

'Ask her something only your sister would know.'

"Why did you kill yourself? Why did you leave me too?"

"Because I wasn't strong enough, I would have killed myself a long ago if it wasn't for you. You were way too strong for a 9 year old But unfortunately I was not."

'She is good, OK. couldn't have acted better.'

'But what if he gives up, He can't win against those shadows anyway.'

"Shut up!"

'He thinks he can just say shut up.'

'we are his thoughts, it's not like he can stop himself from thinking.'

Rajdeep stood up and yanked at the chain breaking it. He then took his fighting stance again and said "Thank you, Mother, Sister, But I can't just give up yet. I have important people in my life I want to protect."

Both the figures of light stood up and came closer to him. "We believe in you" said both of them

"Son."

"Brother."

and they disappeared but Rajdeep could still feel them inside him.

'What now?'

'Stupid kid, now he will die.'

'The shadows will kill him'

The shadows assimilated into a big monstrous sized darkness. Rajdeep Ran with his full might towards the darkness but was crushed by one blow. He lay there bleeding, dying, but happy. He understood that everyone has their darkness to fight. you should never give up against it. You don't lose by fighting against it, you lose when you give up the fight.

"Your will Reminds me of him."

There was black figure standing there looking on the injured Rajdeep.

"Of whom?"

"I don't know. I am not a memory. I am a feeling, a will and a wish. I can't know more than you do." The figure kneeled down and said, "But you made me feel something I have felt before."

"What?"

"Respect."

The figure gave him his hand and said, "You can use me but how much of my power you can use will depend upon your skill."

Rajdeep smiled and grabbed his hand.

Krishna was holding Rajdeep's fist who was standing to attack him. He retracted his hand and said "I am sorry"

"You finally did it. I was thinking if killing you but I guess we can hold that off."

Rajdeep was a little moved back again by the cold approach of Krishna towards death.

"I am glad it did not come to that...Sir…I saw my mother and Sister in there, wherever that was, was it all a dream?"

"No, it wasn't a dream. Just like how these gauntlets hold that demon's personality the same way people that have touched you leave their marks on your mind. They are real because they are a part of you."

Rajdeep smiled and looked down, having met them inside himself made him feel a little closure come to his regrets which were now just sad memories.

"Should we leave for college now?"

Krishna thought for a second and said, "Why don't you take today off and go back home in your car."

"I can drop you to college."

"No, I can get there on my own. And besides, I have some work."

"OK, as you wish, sir." He started walking and he turned back.

"sir."

"yes."

"Thank you." He walked away with a new found respect for his teacher in his heart

_____

Krishna sat near the place where the tree he was protecting stood. there was a new growing sapling there which he had planted at the exact spot of the tree. It had been an hour since Rajdeep had left, he kept staring at the sapling as if it would grow in minutes to be as good as the old tree itself.

"I am sorry Girshack, he needed you more than me."

"Why did you lie to him?"

"I did not lie to him, Girshack was a demon."

"Yes, But he was your friend who gave his power to you as a gift."

"A friend that I killed."

"You know you had no choice, he would have killed many more if you hadn't done it. hell if it wasn't going to be you it might have been someone else who would have killed him."

"It doesn't change the facts."

There was a white figure of a woman that held his shoulder and said "How long will you hold on to those things in your space. stop living in the past."

"I can't, I am the last one holding those memories. I can't let them fade away like this."

"Then why did you give Girshack away?"

"It was because...because he reminded me of the time when I was the weakest...Yet, here I am, The last one standing."

"let her in Krishna. Stop holding her back, It can't bring me back. She can help you."

Krishna got up to walk away and a chain pulled back at him. There was a mountain of bodies back there stretching on till infinity in every direction, all these regrets, all the people he had killed.