Page 12

Chapter 11

WHAT FANTASY NOVEL HAVE I STEPPED INTO?

C lean clothes waited for us when we woke. Gray uniforms of tunic, pants, and soft leather boots. There were three small washrooms, so we were forced to take turns to shower and do morning business, and I’m not sure who I went in after, but boy, these toilets could do with some freshener.

Umbra returned to collect us for orientation once we were done. This morning, she was dressed in a dark green robe over black slacks with knee-high boots. The robe came down to her knees, folding around her upper body and hiding it from view. She could be carrying an arsenal of weapons beneath it for all we knew. Her staff poked up over her shoulder, the shaft hidden beneath the folds of her robe. The outfit was obviously carefully designed to assimilate a holster.

She led us through the double doors set in the arch on the other side of the courtyard and onto a platform that ran along the lip of a vast arena.

Figures moved about below, already in mock combat—several males and a couple of females—drohi, if their size was anything to go by. But I spotted some smaller figures watching from the sidelines. More demigods like us?

“You’ll join them soon enough,” Umbra said. “Come along.” She ushered us across the platform and through another door then down a flight of steps and into a stone corridor that curved around the arena, past windows that sat under awnings supported by thick pillars.

Metal clanged on metal as two drohi sparred—a woman with azure hair and pale blue skin and a male with deep brown skin and close-cropped silver hair. They moved like silk, fluid and fast, wreathed in a mist of arena dust as they clashed in a dance of unrestrained aggression.

Umbra led us away from the sight and deeper into the white stone complex. We passed through another archway, then clambered up a flight of steps into a room that looked like a university lecture hall with ascended seating. We’d entered at the upper level, looking down on a lone podium. Tall, arched windows sat all along the right-hand wall, giving us a view of a crystal blue sky.

Umbra instructed us to sit as the door below opened and a tall man entered .

He was an older guy, probably in his forties, dark hair threaded with silver, eyes like chips of ice as they looked up at us. He was dressed in a black armor outfit like the elites and Guru Mihir, but he didn’t have wings, not that I could see, anyway.

“Good morning, potentials.” He didn’t raise his voice, and yet it echoed around us. The room had great acoustics. “My name is Guru Chandra, and I oversee all training here at Aakaash Sansaar. I’m sure you have questions, and I hope to answer the majority of them today, but if you are still in doubt about anything after we’ve spoken, please feel free to come see me in my office.” His gaze swept over us, intense and almost probing, making my skin prickle with unease.

“You have been brought to this world because this is where you belong,” he continued. “This broken world houses your divine roots. Here you will find your true self. But it is also a world locked in a war that has raged for eons. A war against a threat that does not tire and cannot be killed.”

He stepped off the podium and walked up the steps toward us, and it was suddenly a little harder to breathe because his presence was so large, so potent it was almost oppressive.

He stopped a few steps below us, but even then, he was able to look us in the eye. How tall was he? He had to be the same height as a drohi. Was he a drohi too? No, he looked too human for that, if you discounted the glowing brown skin and hair that looked like he spent hundreds on luxury products. Shit, he was talking again.

“Svargana was once a peaceful world where gods and mortals could coexist,” he said. “But I scarcely recall that time now. War has raged for an eternity, it seems. A war between factions of gods. A war that forever shifted and changed. But there was always hope of peace, of resolution, until we unwittingly released a threat that none of us had anticipated. We call it the devouring force, and it comes from a place deep within the core of this world. A place that houses a primordial evil that has been incarcerated from the beginning of time.

“The devouring force belongs to the primordial evil, and it has infected the gods of this world with a malevolence that has altered them entirely, putting them in the control of the primordial evil.

“All factions of gods: Deva, Asura, and Danava, were affected. They have become revenants, like the ones who attacked you on your journey to Aakaash Sansaar. Over the centuries, these stolen gods have spawned many abominations to do their bidding, and our world has all but fallen.”

“The mortals of Svargana now live underground in the space between the earth and a place called Patala, the realm of the naga, because the land, sea, and air have become battlegrounds.”

“Svargana?” Remi said. “What’s that?”

His gaze darted to Umbra, and he frowned slightly before responding. “Svargana is this world. Our world. Tantric Umbra should have explained that much.”

Twin spots of colour appeared on Umbra’s cheeks, and I felt bad for her. She’d done her best considering we’d been attacked so soon after she’d picked us up. Her energies had probably been on keeping us safe not playing tour guide.

But she didn’t defend herself now, accepting the veiled reprimand in silence.

“Now, where was I?” Guru Chandra said. “Ah, yes, the devouring force…It cares not for the etiquette of war; it seeks only to grow, and if it succeeds, then the gates holding back the primordial evil will crumble, and all will be lost, not just for this world, but for every world in this multiverse.”

The multiverse had been a fictional concept found in graphic novels, movies, and books. But being here proved it was very real, and the concept of a force powerful enough to bring it all down was terrifying.

“Good…” Guru Chandra said. “I can see you understand the implications of what I speak of. Now let me enlighten you as to the importance of your presence here.

“With gods being forcefully recruited to the enemy ranks, our numbers were falling. We were close to collapse, and so in a desperate attempt to swell our numbers, we recruited demigods from our world. The most promising were offered ascension to godhood. And through this we discovered a vital fact—that although born gods are susceptible to infection, ascended gods are not.”

My mind worked to assimilate all the information, hurtling toward the conclusion he was meandering toward.

“Ascended are immune…” He continued, glowing with inner fervor. “Do you see now? This is where your existence is vital, because each of you is a demigod; therefore, each of you has the potential for ascension.” His smile was like the sun breaking cloud cover. “Each of you has the potential to become a god like me.”

Silence followed Guru Chandra’s declaration as we absorbed the fact that this guy was a god. A real life, in the flesh, god. And he was telling us that we could be gods too.

So that’s what Guru Mihir had meant about realizing our potential.

Potential to become gods.

“I am a born god from the Asura faction,” Guru Chandra said. “And if you ascend, you will meet more of my kind. They reside in Shahee Kshetra, the royal domain of Aakaash Sansaar. There are other demigods like you here. Mortals native to Svargana, born from divine seed. You will meet them soon. Befriend them. Unite with them, for there is power in unity, in working as a team. Together you will train and take the tests that will prepare you for the labyrinth.” His gaze grew solemn. “The labyrinth is the final test and will determine whether you ascend. Scores on all tests leading up to it will decide whether you are fit to even walk the labyrinth. I will be there to guide you all. I have faith that you will embrace this greater purpose.”

The guy with the black eye, who I’d since learned was called Joe, raised his hand. He was sitting beside the weepy woman, whose name was Sylvie. She was looking at him with a mixture of awe and panic, as if she couldn’t believe he had the balls to ask a question.

Guru Chandra inclined his head in Joe’s direction. “Yes?”

Joe dropped his arm and cleared his throat. “What if…what if we don’t want this honor?” His gaze flicked briefly to Sylvie. “What if we just…just want to go home?”

Was that pity in the Asura’s eyes? “There is no going back for you. Only a god or a reaper and his vessel can move through the ether without being unmade.”

Eve raised a hand but didn’t wait to be called on before blurting out her question. “So, if we become gods we can leave?”

His gaze narrowed. “If you harbor that goal, then you will never ascend. It will reflect in your test scores, and when the time comes for the Shakti to determine whether you should take the labyrinth, the powers will refuse you entry. Only those that pass the labyrinth can ascend.”

“So we’re stuck?” Her voice trembled as she continued. “I had a life...I was…was going to be married.”

He nodded slowly, an expression of compassion softening his aquiline features. “You worry that you will be missed. That your loved ones will search for you, mourn you? But fear not. Your existence has been wiped from your world. No one will remember you there.” He made it sound like a favor, and his gaze raked us over in anticipation of, what? Sighs of relief? Cheers?

He got the opposite.

Remi burst into sobs, and so did Sylvie. Dharma and Priti hugged each other, and the despair was palpable because until now, we’d all hoped that this state of affairs was temporary, that we’d be able to go home, and as everyone around me quailed, a pit opened inside me because there was no one back home for me to miss. No one who’d give a damn about my absence. The one person who I’d loved and who’d loved me unconditionally was gone. Taken by a force that was here, in this world, and there was no doubt in my mind that I was in the right place.

Guru Mihir had said that I’d have the power to kill the creature that murdered Nani, once I reached my potential. Was that potential becoming a god? I needed to be certain .

I raised my hand. “Do I need to be a god to kill a pishacha?”

Guru Chandra’s eyes narrowed. “Who told you about the pishacha?”

“Her grandmother was killed by one,” Umbra said. “In the mortal realm…”

Guru Chandra’s brows went up. “And I’m hearing of this now?”

I didn’t care about their protocols. I needed answers. “Please. Answer my question.”

His icy blues softened with sympathy, and I gritted my teeth because the last thing I wanted was to cry again.

“Only a god can kill a pishacha,” he said. “And in the absence of a god, the consumption of a soul can temper it, giving others an opportunity to escape.”

“Wait, so you’d have to sacrifice someone?” Dharma asked incredulously.

“A noble sacrifice,” he said.

“Not for the person doing the sacrificing,” Eve muttered.

I was sure Guru Chandra heard her comment, but he ignored it. “Umbra will pick up the orientation.” He looked across at her. “Take them to meet Eben and then prepare them for the Shaktis.”

“Yes, Regent.” She inclined her head.

“Guru will do,” he said with a smile. He swept a final look over us. “Over the next three weeks of orientation, you will learn much about yourselves, this world, and your place in it. Good luck, potentials. Know that you are finally home.” He walked down the steps, then vanished into thin air.

“Whoa!” Eve said.

“Teleportation is a skill you might be blessed with if you ascend,” Umbra said. “It has its limits, but it can be useful.” She climbed down the steps and stood at the podium. “I know this is a lot to absorb, and if we had time, we would ease you into your place here. But our numbers are waning, and we need more gods. So you will need to listen and learn fast.”

Priti raised her hand, speaking before Umbra could call on her. “You called Guru Chandra Regent?”

Umbra nodded. “He is our regent, but while here, in Prashikshan domain, he is simply Guru Chandra, head of all training.”

“Are you a god?” Dharma asked. “An Asura?”

“No. I’m a tantrik mage. My power lies in my ability to summon bhuta , what you would call ghosts and spirits. I fight when I’m called.”

“I’m so confused,” Priti said. “Gods are Asura, right? So what are Danava? Gods too? Like…what is the difference?”

Umbra pursed her lips as if organizing her thoughts, then continued. “The difference stems from their origins. Asura, Deva, and Danava, are factions that stem from the bloodlines of three sisters: Diti, Danu and Aditi. The Asura gods’ bloodlines can be traced all the way back to Diti, the Danava to Danu , and the Deva to Aditi. Over eons, the bloodlines have become diluted by gods of other worlds. The ancient gods, the purest of us, are long gone; their power and essence has become one with the chakra of energy that drives our world. The Deva however left a long time ago, moving to other worlds and leaving Svargana in the care of the Asura.

“Why?” Priti asked. “Why did they leave?”

“The why is not relevant to your task here. However, if you’re curious and wish to learn more about our history, you can visit the Vidya Tower and speak to sage Bhoomika, the head sage. She’ll be happy to educate you. There are texts written in all tongue, a language that is universal in Svargana. Most everyone here speaks it, and as demigods, you will instinctually understand it and be able to read it. But I suggest you focus on your training and the pertinent information that will help you navigate Prashikshan domain. Like understanding who you will be working with.” She grasped the podium, gaze downcast for a moment, and I got the impression that she was gathering her thoughts once more.

“You are demigods, born of mortal wombs where divine Asura seed has taken root.

You are all descendants of Asura, but there are other beings here who are also essential to our cause. Tantrik like myself. My kind draw energy from the Shakti—a trinity of power that is connected directly to the chakra. It allows us to tap into forces existing outside of nature in a place between the living and the dead.

“You’ll find yaksha in the sky world too. Yaksha are nature spirits that form the guard and protect our borders. The guard does not reside in this domain, but once you ascend, you will work closely with them. You’ll also meet rakshasa, beings who can shift into powerful beasts for battle. Some have opted to join the guard, but most reside here or in Jangal domain below.

“Like Guru Chandra said, there are other demigods here also, native to his world. There are some who did not qualify for the labyrinth, and others in training to try. And finally, we have the drohi, beings essential to our cause. These creatures are the offspring of the Danava and spirits called djinn.”

I raised my hand. “If the Danava are also gods, then doesn’t that make the drohi demigods too?”

“Technically it would, but they do not qualify for ascension.”

“Why not?”

“They aren’t compatible with Amrit, the nectar that must be consumed to ascend. It would kill them. But they are formidable warriors, and like I said, essential to our cause.” She smiled up at us. “I understand that all this information must feel overwhelming, but you are demigods, and your minds are sharper than you realise, able to assimilate knowledge quickly and efficiently. Relax, listen, and absorb. That is all you must do.” She stepped off the podium and headed for the door Guru Chandra had come in through earlier. “Come now. It’s time to meet Eben and learn about the pareekshan that you must take.”

“What’s a pareekshan?” someone asked.

“Tests,” she said. “Important tests.”

We trooped after her, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that what we were being told was only the tip of a very large iceberg. I would definitely be visiting the sage Bhoomika as soon as I got the chance.