Chapter 16 — The Cat's Soul
Soma lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind spinning in quiet disbelief. The twin mountains… the unmoving suns… the crimson mangrove forest—had it all truly been a dream?
A soft knock broke his thoughts. The door creaked open, and Grandma entered, balancing a small tray with bandages, cotton, and a plate of freshly cut fruit glistening in the afternoon light.
Without a word, she set the tray down on his desk and took his hand. Her wrinkled fingers were gentle yet practiced, wrapping his finger in clean white cloth.
"How did you cut your finger?" Savitri asked, her voice half worry, half reproach.
"When I was cleaning the broken glass," Soma said quietly. "The biggest piece was sharper than I thought."
She sighed, shaking her head. "You and your curiosity—always finding trouble."
Soma hesitated, then asked, "Grandma… when you found me unconscious in the storeroom, did you see anything strange? Like a silver structure, with seven rings and a closed eye in the middle?"
"No, nothing like that," Savitri said, frowning. "Just the broken frame and scattered glass."
His gaze fell. "But it felt so real," he murmured. "The twin suns, the mountains, the rivers… even the beasts. It was all so vivid. I can still see them when I close my eyes.
Savitri chuckled softly. "Seems that painting followed you into your dream."
"But Grandma, I'm serious," Soma insisted, his brows furrowed.
"I know, I know," she said, patting his arm. "Now stop thinking so much."
Soma sighed. "Is the painting okay?"
"Don't worry," she replied. "Only the glass and frame are broken. The canvas itself is fine. Once it's repaired, it'll look new again."
That drew a small, relieved smile from him. "Good."
"Now rest," she said, brushing his hair gently before leaving the room.
After eating the fruit, Soma lay back down, exhaustion pulling him into a shallow sleep.
---
When he woke again, the white moon glimmered beyond the window, bathing the night in silver light. He stretched, and notice the clock read 7:30 p.m. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and went downstairs.
In the kitchen, Savitri sat sipping tea at the wooden table, the faint aroma of ginger and cardamom filling the air. Her glasses glinted as she turned a page in her magazine.
"Grandma," Soma called softly.
"Oh, Soma—you're awake!" she said warmly. "How are you feeling? Any pain?"
"No, Grandma. I'm fine."
"Good. Then freshen up—dinner's almost ready."
After washing up, Soma joined her. The dim yellow bulb cast a soft glow over the table, and for a moment, everything felt ordinary again.
Halfway through the meal, Savitri paused mid-bite, her tone turning serious.
"Your annual exams are only a few months away, you know. Last year, you barely passed—especially in math. You got twenty-six out of a hundred. I still don't know how I'll show my face to the neighbors if that happens again."
Soma scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly. "I'll study harder this time, I promise."
"That's my boy," she said with a chuckle.
After dinner, Soma helped wash the dishes, then went upstairs. He sat on his bed for a long time, listening to the hum of the ceiling fan, his thoughts chasing each other in circles.
Maybe all of it really was just a bizarre dream…
---
The Next Morning
The sound of chirping birds and the warm glow of sunlight pulled Soma from sleep. He made his bed, changed clothes, and checked the clock—7:00 a.m.
He grabbed his stack of unopened books. The corners had curled from months of neglect. They had been sitting there for almost a year, untouched—silent witnesses to his lack of interest. Yet when he ran his fingers across the surface, they felt strangely new, as if he had just bought them yesterday.
He forced himself to read, but the lines blurred. The words refused to stay still. His mind wasn't in the room—it was wandering somewhere far away… beneath the twin suns, over crimson forests, hearing again the faint hum of otherworldly life.
He shut the book gently and rubbed his eyes. "What's the point…" he muttered under his breath.
The smell of toasted bread drifted faintly from downstairs, pulling him back to reality.
When the clock struck eight, he stood and headed to the kitchen.
Savitri was already there, wearing her faded green shawl, stirring tea in her favorite steel cup. The morning light spilled through the window, catching the wisps of steam that curled above the pot.
"Good, you're up early today," she said with a smile. "Your breakfast is ready."
She handed him a plate—toast, butter, sliced banana, and warm milk. The smell brought comfort.
After finishing his meal, Soma slung his bag over his shoulder, waved goodbye, and set off for school.
---
At School
The schoolyard buzzed with morning chatter. Inside the classroom, Soma took his usual seat at the back.
Dev leaned over his desk. "Hey, man, what's with the long face?"
Soma rubbed his neck. "Nothing. Just… had a weird dream."
Tina, sitting nearby, smiled mischievously. "A dream? What kind?"
Before he could answer, the teacher walked in, slapping a book on the desk.
"Everyone, sit down and open your history book," he ordered sharply.
Soma's focus drifted again as the teacher's voice droned. *These wars happened centuries ago. What's the use of remembering them?*
Then—thunk!
A piece of chalk hit his desk.
Soma's head shot up. The teacher was glaring at him, fury in his eyes.
Sleeping in my class again?
N-NO, sir! Soma stammered.
"Oh, really?" The teacher crossed his arms. "Then tell me—when was the Battle of the Hydaspes fought?"
Soma froze. His mind went blank.
Then—a tap on his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tina's palm, with tiny blue letters scrawled across it: *326 BC.*
"326 BC!" Soma said quickly.
The teacher narrowed his eyes. "Sit down. And keep your eyes open this time."
Tina hid a grin. Soma exhaled and mouthed a silent *thanks.*
The rest of the school day passed in a blur. When the final bell rang, the students spilled out in laughter and chatter, scattering like birds.
---
After School
At the gate, Dev waved. "Hey, Soma! Want to go stone-skipping at the park?"
Soma shrugged and smiled. "Sure, let's go."
They walked together under the fading afternoon sun, talking idly. The scent of wet grass filled the air after last night's rain.
At the crossroads near the park, the roar of an engine shattered the calm.
A red car sped down the road—far too fast.
From the garden bushes, a white cat darted across the street—
—and in an instant—
THAG!
The car struck it.
The impact flung the cat several feet away. The car slowed, hesitated for half a second—then sped off, leaving nothing but the echo of burning rubber.
"Shit!" Dev shouted, running forward.
Soma and Tina followed.
The cat lay twitching, blood bubbling from its mouth. Its back legs kicked weakly, scraping against the asphalt as if trying to crawl away from death itself.
People gathered quickly, whispering, pitying—but Soma barely heard them. His eyes widened, fixed on something impossible.
Above the cat's body hovered a small, glowing orb—white, luminous, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.
*The soul.*
It trembled, refusing to leave the ruined body. Then, as if pulled by an invisible current, it drifted toward him.
Soma's heart stopped.
The soul touched his chest—
—and vanished inside him.
A rush of icy fire flooded his veins. His breath hitched, his mind blurring under the shock. It was the same cold light, the same feeling from that other world.
Before he could react, someone yanked his arm.
"Come on!" Dev shouted, pulling him through the crowd.
They ran, not stopping until the street vanished behind them.
Panting under a banyan tree, Tina wiped her tears. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "Because of me, you saw… that horrible thing."
Soma caught his breath, his voice trembling. "It's not your fault. No one could've stopped that."
Dev shook his head. "Yeah. Maybe we should skip the lake today."
"Yeah… maybe another day," Soma murmured, still dazed.
He turned and walked away, faster and faster, heart hammering against his ribs.
---
At Home
When Soma reached home, the house was quiet. Grandma was nowhere in sight.
He kicked off his shoes and hurried upstairs, his bag thudding beside the computer as he dropped into the worn wooden chair, staring at his faint reflection on the dark screen.
His mind raced.
*What was that?
If that world was only a dream… then how could I absorb that cat's soul?*
The question hung in the air like a whisper—unanswered, but alive.
Soma sat in silence, the ticking of the clock fading into the background.
He closed his eyes and took a slow, steady breath as he tried to connect the dots in his mind.
Everything strange that had happened—his fainting, the dreamlike world, the blue flames, the beasts—it all began after he found that rune.
He pictured it clearly: the metallic surface, the seven rings, the single eye at the center.
As the image sharpened in his thoughts, a faint vibration stirred deep within him. The air grew still. Then, from the darkness behind his closed eyes, something began to take shape.
A dim silver light flickered, expanding outward like ripples on water.
Seven luminous rings emerged, slowly spinning in the void before him.
They glowed faintly, engraved with intricate, spider-like markings that moved as though alive. Each character pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, whispering meanings into his thoughts—not in words, but in understanding.
And as if remembering something long forgotten, he began to read:
---
**First Ring — Anima: The Ring of Souls
**Second Ring — Caelion: The Ring of the Seven Elements
**Third Ring — Chronos: The Ring of Time
**Fourth Ring — Aetherion: The Ring of Space
**Fifth Ring — Genesis: The Ring of Creation
**Sixth Ring — Nihilion: The Ring of Destruction
**Seventh Ring — Dominion: The Ring of Law
---
Each ring bore twelve glowing symbols—twelve stages of awakening—and at the very center of it all rested the closed eye, silent yet oppressive, radiating a presence that felt both divine and dangerous.
A faint hum filled the darkness. Rings one through six began to vibrate gently, their leading symbols glowing brighter.
Soma felt the pulse resonate through his chest.
*Those symbols are already awakened,* he realized.
His gaze shifted to the fifth ring—**Genesis, the Ring of Creation.** As soon as he focused on it, the ring drifted upward and unfolded into a glowing, translucent board. Strange symbols rearranged themselves across its surface until they formed lines of readable script.
---
**1. Soul Fragments:-180,790
**2. Awakened Souls:- 770,590
**3. Intelligent Souls:- 0
**4. Immortal Souls:- 0
**5. Divine Souls:- 0
---
Soma's breath caught.
He stared at the numbers as they flickered softly in the silver light.
His rational mind screamed that this couldn't be real—but deep down, he knew it was.
That feeling—the same cold rush he'd felt when he absorbed the cat's soul—it wasn't a dream.
Taking another deep breath, Soma forced himself to focus on the first ring—**Anima, the Ring of Souls.**
With that, a wave of dizziness struck. The world blurred, and his consciousness seemed to split apart.
In an instant, he opened his eyes—and noticed he was hovering, weightless, in midair.
Below him, his own body sat motionless on the wooden chair, eyes closed, hands limp over his knees. The air shimmered faintly around him, bending like heat haze.
Soma blinked. He could see himself.
"What… what is happening?" he whispered. His voice echoed strangely, like sound underwater.
The walls seemed unreal—half-transparent, as if made of light and smoke.
He reached out a trembling hand toward his body. The tips of his fingers brushed against his skin—
—and a sharp jolt ran through him, cold and electric.
Before he could react, the force dragged him downward.
The world blinked.
And suddenly, he was back in his body—heart pounding, sweat cold on his skin.
He gripped the edge of the chair, gasping for air. His vision swayed for a moment, then steadied. But the memory of floating lingered—vivid and heavy.