Chapter 2: Debt

Usha dragged the boy towards the door, the boy's eyes shook, as he saw Vijay holding the door open with a wicked smile on his face. He got dragged outside on the dirt path, she trampled over the twigs he had collected, his skin kept getting scratched on the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind.

[THUD]

She threw him towards a tree, his back crashed into the tree, breaking his spine instantly.

"Uhh…mo..moth…" He kept calling Usha mother, with uncertainty engulfing his mind;

"You should never have been born…I was supposed to rule..." Usha walked forward, raising the sword while holding it with both of her hands.

"Wh…what happened….why…" The boy kept repeating his questions, after not getting any answers, he began dragging his body away from her, trying to go behind the tree, in hope of somehow surviving.

[STAB]

"HAAAAAA" A loud scream escaped his lips, as he felt a sharp pain in his right leg, he turned back and found the sword impaled in his thigh, his tattered clothes began turning red as his blood flowed out at rapid rate.

"YOU WILL SURPASS MY SON?...I SACRIFICED EVERYTHING JUST TO MARRY THAT BASTARD….I KILLED DOZENS OF PEOPLE….YOU?...YOU ARE JUST A CURSE…" She said while turning the sword still impaled inside the boy's thigh, while smiling.

"Huuk….I….What did I do?...Why?" The boy kept repeating with teary eyes, he suddenly glanced towards Vijay who stood smiling behind Usha,

"B…big brother….why?.." He asked Vijay, who just ignored his plea and kept smiling;

[STAB….STAB…STAB…]

"YOU WILL NEVER….NEVER….NEVER.." Usha began repeatedly stabbing the same spot, splattering blood all over her clothes and face,

"HAAAAAA….PLEASE…..LET ME GO….MOTHER….PLEASE!!!" The boy helplessly screamed, but she showed no sign of stopping.

[TAk…TAK…TAK]

Suddenly, Vijay towards a stone at the left of the boy, with a wicked smile, he picked it up and moved towards his chest.

"..." The boy's face went pale, as tears kept flowing out of his eyes, a silence of horror ensued, only the sound of sword stabbing flesh echoed around, the boy realized his imminent fate, a painful death by the hand of his family.

"Why?...My entire life….I didn't do anything to deserve this…mother….why…" He said as tears soaked his entire face;

[THUD….THUD….THUD….]

The sound of stone crushing head resounded in the garden, blood splattered all over Vijay and his mother, they smiled…the entire time,...not even showing a single hint of humanity;

***

Darkness surrounded him, with utter silence ensuing. A cold chill ran down the boy's body as he opened his eyes, he looked around and found himself floating in absolute nothingness. Then, he heard footsteps, he turned towards the sound;

{Tak…tak..tak]

"Hmm?...A human?..." A man spoke from the darkness, his voice alone made the boy's entire body shiver.

"How are you here?.." Suddenly, a young man with red hair reaching his shoulder, wearing black clothes with a long cape attached at the back, appeared out of the darkness and looked up at him.

"I..should…be…." The boy's mind went blank, as he couldn't understand the sight in front;

"You are just a soul…" The man spoke spoke while he began floating and stopped right in front of the boy, he radiated a sense of power he had never felt before,

"Sir…who are you?..." The boy asked in a shaking voice,

"Pralaya….who might you be?"

That answer froze the boy, as his eyes widened along with legs beginning to shake;

"HUH?...PRALAYA?...THE MONST…" The boy suddenly covered his face, stopping himself from speaking any further;

"....." Pralaya silently stared at him;

"I'm sorry sir…But,..you look human…." The boy instantly bowed down,

"This is my human form.." Pralaya replied with one of his brows raised,

"Understood…" The boy's face suddenly brightened, as he raised his head.

"Hmm…I have been here for centuries, never met anyone..you are the first to arrive..I wonder why and how…" Pralaya placed his palm on chin, and stared at the boy;

"I..I don't know how…I was just here…" The boy scratched his head;

"What is your name?" Pralaya asked,

"...."

"Your name?..could I not learn the language properly?" Pralaya appeared confused,

"...I don't..have a name…" The boy lowered his head,

"You don't?...That's quite a peculiar situation.."

"I…never got a name…."

Pralaya's brows slightly rose,

"How did you die?"

"....." The boy said nothing, tears began flowing out of his eyes, despite him trying his best to force a smile, he unconsciously began sobbing.

Pralaya moved forward, the boy instinctively moved slightly back, but he got surprised upon his action;

"Tell me…what happened?.." Pralaya placed both of his palms on the boy's shoulder and asked in a gentle tone;

The boy narrated his entire life, while a calm expression stayed on pralaya's face. His grip on the boy's shoulder slightly tightened, not causing the boy any pain, but providing a strange sense of comfort.

"[SIGH]..Humans,.." Pralaya moved his hand and wiped his tears,

"After one dies, their soul shows their true nature without any act,..and your soul is glowing..reflecting your pure heart." Pralaya moved back, but he wasn't aware, his small act of kindness completely melted the boy's heart. After living a treacherous life, he craved even a little kindness and care.

"Thank..you..sir.." The boy said while smiling, without him forcing one.

"I still don't understand how you are here.." Pralaya said, with his previous confused expression returning..

"Wh..what is this place?" The boy asked while looking around, he found nothing but darkness.

"This place is where I live" Pralaya replied,

"Didn't you die in battle?" The boy asked while curious,

"I did not die, since my soul is still here..even after centuries…"

"What happens when we die?" The boy asked;

"I think evil beings go to hell?...I'm not sure the hell keeper is strong enough to hold my soul.." Pralaya spoke with a smirk,

"You said only the truth remains after death…I died…I feel….sad…not for dying…but for how I lived my entire life" The boy's expression suddenly darkened, that got noticed by Pralaya.

"Your soul isn't the same as when you were alive,..It just holds the deepest emotions one has.." Pralaya said with a serious look,

"You…are completely different…from what I have heard…" The boy said with a goofy smile, while scratching the back of his head,

"Hmm?...I am not aware of what you have heard, not that I'm surprised humans don't know about me.." Pralay spoke while smirking,

"Why…did….you attack humans?" The boy asked nervously,

"Ho?...He fabricated quite the story?...It's the other way around, boy…" Pralay said with a serious look, while rotating his finger.

"You got attacked by humans?....why?...how?..." The boy asked, utterly baffled by Pralaya's response,

Pralaya raised his hand and placed it on his forehead.

"I don't remember…" He said with a restless expression,

"Humans should know the truth…How could he lie like that?!'' The boy said in a concerned voice while raising his hand forward,

"I can't access some of my memories…So, I can't answer that question." Pralaya lowered his hand, while his eyes curiously stared at the boy.

"Did someone use magic on you?" The boy asked,

"No, I erased them myself."

"Huh?...why?" The boy asked,

"I did it to hide crucial information in case of posse…" Pralaya suddenly went silent, while staring at the boy;

"Case of…what?.." The boy asked with a confused expression;

"Why do you have that?" Pralaya asked, with his expression turning serious,

"Huh?..what do y…" The boy saw a dark energy appearing out of his body, forming a small dragon in front of him;

"Wh..what is this?"

Pralaya stayed silent for a moment, and stared at the seal. His brows suddenly expanded,

"This…someone truly knowledgeable about dragons made this." Pralaya said as he moved forward and placed his right arm on the seal;

"This is a dragon seal, one of the elite spells of my race…It can control life and death, and has the property to connect two souls. We use this to contact our deceased elders. It's quite surprising…" Pralaya's eyes suddenly widened,

"Yes..why do I have it?..It's really surprising" The boy said while smiling awkwardly;

"Do you want to live?" Pralaya suddenly asked, the boy's expression went serious upon hearing;

"Can I…really?.."

"We both are involved in this contract, this seal can resurrect one of the contractors in the body,..but as a result the second soul ceases to exist" Pralaya's statement made the boy's heart jump. A silence ensued around both of them, as the boy pondered over what decision to make.

"Hmm…You should go back, there is a possibility my soul might still…." Pralaya tried to speak, but stopped upon witnessing the boy's action, he shook his head…while tears kept flowing out of his eyes.

"S..sir…you should g.."

"NO!..STOP! The moment you utter those words, the contract will be fulfilled..Think about this you can get the chan…."

"Mr dragon sir…You are the best person I ever met in my entire life…I sincerely thank you for that…I lived my entire life as a waste…not doing anything significant…at least…my mother will be proud to have you as her son.." The moment the boy finished speaking, the dragon symbol suddenly turned into a mass of dark energy..

Pralaya was left speechless, as he witnessed the smile on the boy's face, the boy's soul began breaking apart in countless brilliant points of light..

"I'm such a lucky guy,...I get to save the most powerful lord in history…see you later dragon sir.." The boy uttered his last words, with a smile..his soul disappeared. Pralaya silently stared at the empty space..

***

A corpse lay in the forest, with a mass of flesh at the head. The surrounding area stayed silent. As few wolves surrounded the corpse, one of them walked towards the head and began sniffing;

[WOOOSH]

Suddenly, dark energy resonated from the body, forming a symbol above it.

[HOWL]

The wolves jumped back and began howling;

[WOOO]

A crimson energy surrounded the corpse, with its head beginning to reappear;

"Fool…" The boy said while staring at the stars, with disappointed eyes,

[GRRRR]

He heard wolves growling around him, he slowly got up and looked at the nearest wolf.

"You dare disrespect the dragon lord?.." The boy sticked two of his fingers forward,

"....."

"...."

"........"

The wolves were as confused as the boy,..as nothing happened..

"Hmm…It doesn't work.." The boy calmly pulled his fingers back,

[GRRR]

The wolves began getting closer to him, while saliva kept flowing out of their mouth.

[SWOSH]

One of them jumped forward with its mouth wide open,

[SPLURT]

Blood gushed out of the boys shoulder as he fell down,

"Ugh…hmm…It…hurts…I couldn't dodge…" The boy said as his eyes began getting blurry,

"BLAST AWAY" The boy said, his sound vibrated strangely, as an intense shockwave got released from his body.

[SPLURT….FSSHH]

Every single wolf around him got torn into pieces, blood and flesh splattered above him several meters high.

'This body,...It's weak…Is this possession?..no I feel too much for that…Who was that boy?..' He thought while his eyes saw blood falling on him. He felt the warm flesh covering his body, getting rid of the cold for a moment.

"I felt cold?...HAHAHAHA" He began laughing loudly, causing the birds sleeping in the trees around him to fly,

"That's hilarious…HAHAHA…a dragon is feeling cold…HAHAHA" He suddenly stopped laughing, he turned towards his left shoulder, and saw his wound slowly healing. He quickly stood up,

[CRACK]

He felt his backbone cracking,

"Oooh…just how feeble is this body?." He began slowly advancing forward, on the dirt path in front of him.

'I am too weak,.the wolves should have been completely destroyed along with all of the forest…I never thought my dragon tongue would be this weak' He contemplated while glancing at the trees around him, with his right arm supporting his back.

After walking for minutes, a large white castle came into his vision at a distance;

"UGH!" He held his head, as he felt an intense pain inside his head with a loud ringing sound echoing..

"Wh..what are these….?'' He said while unknown memories rushed in his brain, causing his eyes to close.

A young man beating him, a woman spitting on his face, he getting forced to eat human feces by three men wearing armor. All of these memories surfacing almost made him unconscious.

"Haah…What in the…world…" He exhaled heavily, as he slowly opened his eyes, he lay on the ground while soaked in sweat.

He turned towards the castle;

"I do not understand your decision,...You gave me life, a second chance in this world.. But, I always repay my debt, boy….It seems…I have a lot to do here.."

[Chapter 2: END]