Unseen Anomaly
On the Akash Chumbi peak, dark clouds began to swirl at the top, and the air turned cold.
In a different dimension, bodies had piled up, fresh blood and shattered weapons lying everywhere.
A group of Śūrak (1) were looking for clues and possible suspects.
"In this level of domain, I have never seen this much destruction. The smell of blood is very eerie to the nose," one muttered.
"Captain Sujal, please take a look at this one. The heart is missing," a support said in an attentive tone.
Another added, "Not only that, it appears it was taken out of the body through the armor, which was pierced."
"What about the others?" Captain asked in a commanding tone.
"For the others, some are missing their hearts, and some are missing their brains."
Captain, worried by the situation, ordered, "Look for survivors and pack the bodies. We need to take them back for—"
Before he could finish his sentence, an eerie sound screeched through their ears.
Suddenly, the bodies began to shake, little by little. From one body, larvae crawled out—white bodies with black beaks, each the size of a human arm.
Everyone froze, frightened, trying to make sense of the situation. One by one, more larvae emerged from other corpses, crawling in different directions.
One member asked, "Do you think these larvae did all this, or—"
Before he could finish, a hand—long, semi-transparent—shot from the darkness like a whip. With lightning speed, it sliced off one of the Śūrak's heads.
Another member, Aditya, looked sideways, eyes wide with horror. "Captain!" he shouted.
But those were his last words. Another hand pierced his armor and ripped his heart out. Everyone stared in horror, their bodies stiff, their minds blank.
Then, through the fallen ruins near the gate, a single yellow eye shined from the shadows.
No one dared to move. Cold sweat ran down their faces as the eye blinked.
Captain Sujal, standing upfront, gave a hand sign to retreat slowly. They moved back step by step, every inch covered as if their lives depended on it.
But Rahul accidentally stepped on a larva. It screeched, and in defense immediately bit his nearest leg, pumping a purple substance into his veins. The man panicked, was about to scream, but the Captain struck his neck, knocking him unconscious.
Without hesitation, Captain Sujal cut off the man's infected leg. The pain jolted him awake instantly. His tearful eyes begged to scream, but the Captain pressed a hand over his mouth. His comrades could only watch as the stump turned purple, then melted into ooze.
They moved quickly. Captain signalled Piyush to bandage the wound while Nishant carried the injured man. Step by step, they retreated until they thought they had gained enough distance. Then, they ran into the forest with all their might.
"Coming here was a mistake. But this was a Pratham (2) level domain. How could this be happening?" one muttered.
"That's what I was thinking," another replied.
Feeling something was off. Captain suddenly stopped.
"Where are Nihit, Shashwat and Parikshit?" he asked Himanshu.
"They were just behind me," Himanshu answered, confused.
Knowing something was wrong, Captain ordered, "Now we will move in a—"
Before he could finish, a rustle came from the bushes.
Everyone took defensive stances. Captain whispered to Piyush, "Lay Rahul against the tree."
From the bushes stumbled a familiar figure.
"Shashwat!" everyone gasped.
Bleeding from his nose and mouth, one arm missing, he stammered to the Captain with a trembling voice—
"Run."
Before they could react, a hand shot out, grabbed Shashwat's leg, and dragged him back. His screams faded into silence. The squad froze, horror-stricken.
Then a dark silhouette emerged from the bushes.
Captain Sujal, drenched in sweat, forced a bitter smile. "So, this is how it ends."
With a final roar, he charged at the enemy. Moments later, his subordinates lay dead, some twitching in their final spasms. The larvae fed on their corpses.
Sujal, however, barely alive. He was lifted by the throat; eyes locked on the monstrosity. Even at the brink of death, his gaze held no weakness. With one last effort, he raised his broken sword and swung.
The creature easily snapped the blade with a swift strike.
"Just giving it a final shot…" Sujal whispered, before silence claimed the forest.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
Outside the Domain…
In Shaurya's apartment, another kind of battle was underway.
"Calm down! You'll break another one."
"No, I think it's fine—"
Crack! Pieces of plastic scattered on the floor.
"Oops."
"There goes another one of my controllers…" Shaurya muttered, half sad, half resigned.
"You don't have to get this worked up over a game," Shaurya sighed.
"But you kept defeating me, humiliating me in this damn old game from centuries ago!"
"When did I ever humiliate you?" Shaurya smirked. "You should pick battles you can win."
"Have you met Alfred before?" Suyash suddenly asked, curious.
"Who?" Shaurya raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"
"Then how can you say the same lines as him? Don't tell me you're relatives."
"I don't know what you mean. But you know controllers aren't being sold anymore, and you keep breaking them beyond repair. How am I supposed to play later? I only have a few left."
"Well, the games of old times were surely interesting," Suyash grinned. "Their imaginations were different. Like this one—one god slays all the others, then goes elsewhere to live peacefully, only to keep slaying more. I love this particular game, but I don't like one vs one."
While they bickered, Suyash's wristwatch gleamed red for a second and vibrated softly. His smile faded, though he quickly masked it with a cheerful grin.
"I have to go. My teacher called me for urgent work. See you later!" he said, rushing out.
At the Union training facility, Alfred and Miya were already preparing their weapons, waiting for him.
After Suyash's arrival, he asked, "What's happening?"
They replied, "It's Madhyam this time."(3)
Shocked, Suyash strapped on his gear, grabbed his katana, and soon returned, a confident smile on his face.
"Let's go."
(1)Śūrak = This word derived from Śūra meaning brave / valiant warrior. In the story, it refers to trained warriors who act as the first line of defense and investigation teams in dangerous Domains.
(2)Pratham =it means "the first tier" or "the primary level" of domain
(3)Madhyam = means Middle / Intermediate. It represents the mid-tier level of a Domain.