Chapter 05 - Kalpa

The night was cold and lonely. But not only the night that was lit by a full moon, but also the sole temple that stood in the forest. Abandoned for who knows how many years, it still stood there covered by moss, dust and cobweb but broken. That temple looked like it was carved out of a single black rock. That temple was small, enough for a room for a single person and it had a dome-like structure on top of it. The right side of the temple was destroyed, sending cracks all over the places and making way for moonlight to enter. The whole temple also had a design of snakes covering its entirety.

Inside that temple was nothing but crumbled stones and a podium-like table standing. If one looked closely, it had a small hole in the top of it. That hole was also lit by the moon.

***

Outside of that temple, two strong pillars stood in front of the entrance. Those pillars were unlike the temple which was plain black, it was blue obsidian with a carving of a snake crawling to the top and had not a single scratch on both of them. If one had to enter the temple, he must have to pass through them.

Those two pillars started to glow in low blue light. It was at that time a fog started to cover up the whole temple and through that pillars, a man with horns on his head walked out.

That man had long white hair and was taller than an average human. His sharp horns were grey and are above his ears, curved horizontally in front of his face like a bull. He had a handsome yet sharp face with a golden iris. His lean and tanned body was strongly packed with muscles and some parts of it were even covered by the same material as his horns giving him a demonic look. He only wore a type of cloak that covered only his broad shoulders to cover his whole upper body and a traditional pant to cover his lower body. He also wore various golden accessories that made him look like a divine demon warrior.

When he looked around, the fog that covered the whole temple started to form like a dome covering the whole area around the temple. That fog did a good job hiding him and the whole temple from the prying eyes of anyone who tries to see it.

He started to walk towards the temple and stood in front of it. He looked for a while and a smirk formed on his face. With a powerful voice filled with pride, he spoke to himself.

"Finally! Only mere moments are what remain until I ascend to greater power." With that, he stretched his arms out, his smirk turned to laugh and he laughed like a madman.

It had been 100 years since he talked to anyone or even himself. To become stronger, he travelled a far distance from his realm and meditated for 100 years in a place that can only be described as hell.

His laugh came to an end when he heard a loud rumble.

"I had forgotten that I haven't eaten for 100 years. I have to consume something before performing the last step of the ritual."

He looked around the temple holding his right hand on his stomach. Now that he is walking and talking, his hunger also started to return. He also summoned his dark trident and held it in his left hand. But before he would do any action, a bolt of lightning struck behind him.

He turned right away as soon as he heard the strike and raised his trident to assume a defensive position. The whole area around the temple was covered by his fog and even the slightest of moments wouldn't go without him noticing it. With this power, he also knew that this isn't normal lightning and there was a powerful person hidden inside that blinding light.

"Zuusha, You're finally returned!!!"

Zuusha identified this angelic voice and dismissed his trident. All his guard against this uninvited guest vanished in that instant. He also raised his arms and soon, a beautiful woman with golden caramel-like skin fell into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you so, soo much you know. I couldn't even bear a single day without seeing you and went to slumber, hoping that I would get to meet you when you returned"

Zuusha's face turned gentler when he held her in his arms. It had been a long time since he left her warm.

"I've returned dear, and guess what? I've also succeeded in getting nagmani"

He spoke with enthusiasm and started to stroke her black hair like it was something precious.

"I've never doubted once in your abilities you know. I always believed that you'll achieve everything that you set your eyes on. That's one of the reasons I loved you" *hehehe*

He suddenly sat on the floor and started to hug her even more ferociously as soon as he heard her giggle, losing control of himself. Kalpa also locked her legs behind his back. Spending 100 years without a woman on his side had taken a number on his body. But before he would proceed on to the next stage, another large rumble sounded inside the temple.

Hearing the sound, Kalpa finally let go of her hold on Zuusha and got up from his lap. Zuusha looked away a little, avoiding his eyes from Kalpa. He cursed under his breath for his hunger.

Kalpa, forming a devious smile walked towards the place where she landed through lightning. He also observed her and got up.

"Dear, look at this. I hunted it myself. It will be plenty for you to regain your stamina."

Kalpa held a creature that she brought and showed it to Zuusha.

"What is that, a Red Swan?" he asked her perplexed. Red Swans are creatures that lived in lower realms and are extremely hard to find. They are violent and always stayed with their flock that numbered in hundreds. Unlike normal swans, they are as long and big as a human and is said that their meat can restore the energy to its fullest. If someone attacked them or even discovered their flock, they will attack at their fullest to that person until they kill and migrate. They even hold grudges against someone who escapes their attack.

"Yeah. I especially hunted it just so you can eat it. I knew you would be hungry after returning"

She looked proud holding that giant swan in her hand and looked like she was expecting a praise. Zuusha also understood that she did a good job hunting a Red Swan and bringing it here.

'wait, here?'

"Hey, now that I think about it how did you even get here? I myself have to use the power of nagmani"

There were no normal ways for one to travel through realms. And especially coming here to Bhu-Loka even requires the permission of even greater power and she just came from a bolt of lightning and strolled around like it's not a big deal!

Kalpa giggle like a child and showed a dark red ring on her left hand.

"I took this enchanted ring from my father's treasure pile"

"So, master has equipment like these. I never knew"

Zuusha wondered about this and a frown appeared on his face.

"My, my. I never knew it myself and found it accidentally. Here take this"

She then handed the corpse of that Red Swan to Zuusha.

'I'll think about it later, for now restoring my stamina takes the utmost importance'

The swan in his hands was in perfect condition. Kalpa may have given one hell of a head-butt for it to lose its life like that. He took that swan and sat in front of the temple. On his right hand, his index finger's nail grew a few centimetres and he cleanly sliced its head off.

He lifted that empty neck and placed it near his mouth. Blood started to gush out slowly from the cut and he drank it all with a smile on his face.

"How's it? Is it your liking?"

Kalpa saw how Zuusha's expression turned after he started to drink the blood and she herself wanted to try some. But as she is the one who offered it, she can't ask for a return. It goes against the teachings of her father.

"Truly marvellous, it goes beyond the explanation. I can already feel energy returning to my body. How did you even get this?"

Zuusha then placed that body on the ground after sucking the last drop of its blood. He then closed his eyes and started to concentrate on something. Soon, his neck started to glow orange and just like that, he breathed out fire on that body.

"I went to the edges of the realm and found their flock. I turned into a giant snake and ordered them to bring me a sacrifice."

After making sure that his fried chicken is properly cooked, he asked her wondering is that even possible?

"Can you do that?"

"Of course, I can!"

She placed a hand on her chest and exclaimed in pride. All Nagas have an innate ability to transform into a snake. But some of the major families have more than one power. Just like Zuusha inherited 'Fire Breathing' which is unique to his own family, Kalpa also inherited 'Giant Transformation' which is also one of the Royal's abilities that belonged to the Demon ruling the entire 'Patala-Loka'.

Zuusha finished the entire swan in less than 3 minutes, finally satiating his hunger. With a full stomach, all the unnecessary thoughts left his mind and he felt revitalized. After crunching the bones, he looked at Kalpa, standing there in a seductive dress. The golden armour she wore was nowhere to be seen, exposing her curves. Her sleek and slender figure was a feast to his eyes. He looked at her body with eyes filled with lust to the brim. Kalpa also smiled seductively and started to slowly walk where Zuusha sat.

Finally, they can become one after spending soo many years without seeing each other.