As he doubted his own instincts, death crept closer. The boy was lost in thoughts about himself when suddenly, he was attacked by a claw the size of a sword. He barely dodged it by a few inches.
"How did I do that? No, this isn't the right time to think about it. I have to rely on my instincts. The more I doubt myself, the closer my end comes," he thought.
The cloaked boy's body moved like that of a seasoned warrior who had fought endless wars. Even though he had lost his memories—his very name—he hadn't forgotten how to fight, as if it was ingrained into his muscle memory.
The red beast charged toward the boy again, its eyes filled with bloodlust, as if its sole reason for existence was to kill him. But it failed to harm him again. In a counterattack, the boy grabbed the beast's wrist and threw it into the air. Just as it began to fall, he leapt up and landed a clean kick to its stomach—swoosh!
Everything went silent for a moment—so silent that he could hear the tick-tick of a clock and the beat of his own heart. When the fog cleared, there it was—the beast, dead.
"That was close. My life could've ended there. But I don't even have the slightest clue how I was able to beat—no, that's an understatement—how I killed it," he thought, taking a sigh of relief.
But then he felt it—something watching him, eyes burning with penetrating glares.
He turned to look behind. Five—no, dozens—of the same red-skinned creatures were staring at him with pure bloodlust, surrounding him like a pack of wolves.
"How can I be relieved after killing only one of them when so many are left?" the boy murmured. His voice was confident, excited, and afraid—not afraid for himself, but for the girl's life. He wasn't sure he could protect her while fighting. Still, he was determined to do everything in his power to save her.
As he gathered his courage, the beasts suddenly stopped. They were looking up at the sky, their attention shifting as if they had seen something even more dangerous than the boy.
He looked up too—and there she was.
A beautiful young woman with radiant golden eyes, eyes that burned with passion and talent, bright as the sun itself. Her long auburn hair flowed like waves, glowing at the tips as if one with fire. On her palm, a mark glowed—a miniature sun, pulsing with energy.
Behind her sat a little girl, barely more than a child. She looked familiar to the boy—something clicked in his mind. It was the same girl he had tried to protect. Relief surged through him.
"Thank God, she's safe," he thought.
The older girl jumped off her hoverbike, calm and collected, not a single ounce of fear in her eyes.
"Run! I'll introduce myself later. All you need to know right now is that I'm going to protect you. So—run," she said, her voice commanding yet caring.
Before he could speak, the beasts charged at them. Neither the girl nor the boy flinched.
"You're quite brave," she said sharply, "but right now, that's nothing more than foolishness."
The sun-mark on her hand began to glow, and in an ancient language, she chanted an incantation. Her dialect was different from the cloaked boy's, yet he understood every word—as if he were a native speaker.
She said:
"Let the fire burn the sinners.
Let flames shield the innocent.
By my life, by my oath—I walk the path of Dharma!"
Suddenly, the temperature soared. The ground dried, the grass ignited. A colossal fireball appeared at her palm and incinerated the beasts in an instant. Their screams filled the air as the flames danced in a controlled inferno, reducing them to ash. When it ended, only a sun-shaped mark remained on the ground—identical to the one on her hand.
The girl walked toward the boy.
"Hello! I'm Aureya Vahnara, senior trainee at the Holy School of Indraprastha," she said proudly, though not arrogantly. "And you?" she asked sweetly.
She looked around and noticed the dead beast nearby.
"What are you doing here? Did you kill that one? But how? It's a red-skinned rakshas, as you can see."
The only thing the boy understood was her name. Nothing else.
He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came. His mind was blank.
"Hello? Are you okay? If not, you'll be treated immediately by the top doctors in Indraprastha," she offered.
"I'm fine," the boy said. "I've lost all my memories. I don't even know my name. All I remember is falling from the Abyss after being attacked."
Aureya thought for a moment. "Amnesia?" she murmured. "Must be tough for him… and the Abyss part must be a dream. He's unstable because of the memory loss."
She then gave a fake smile—the boy saw right through it.
"I've decided—I'll lend you my aid until you're stable again. And since you have nowhere else to go… what do you think about coming with me?"
"I am stable," the boy replied.
"Yeah, yeah," Aureya teased.
She extended her hand. For a moment, he hesitated. What if she isn't a good person? he wondered. But then he looked into her eyes—eyes filled with truth. He decided to trust his instincts and nodded.
Suddenly, the little girl screamed, "Look behind!"
The boy turned to see a beast lunging toward Aureya with a scythe-like claw. He shouted for her to dodge, but she ignored him, urging him to come.
It was too late to dodge. The beast was already upon her.
Then—snap!
The moment its claws drew near, a cyclone of wind erupted around her like a divine shield. The boy caught a glimpse of her neck—a tattoo glowing in the shape of a spiraling typhoon, with a sword embedded in its center, as if waiting to be drawn. The typhoon was her absolute defense.
The beast froze, trembling under Aureya's death stare—her gaze piercing its very soul.
Then came her absolute offense.
The blade was drawn.
With a swift, merciless strike, she obliterated the beast. Its body burst like a balloon, blood raining down across the field.
Seeing her power, the cloaked man was left in disbelief. Chills ran down his spine. But instead of being afraid of her, he adored her and didn't know why. This also made Aureya happy—that someone wasn't afraid of her even after seeing her powers.
As her work was completed, she turned to the boy, her expression softening.
"Let's go—to your new home."
They climbed onto her sleek bike. With a burst of light, it soared into the sky. The wind howled around them at supersonic speed, yet the girl, the boy, and Aureya remained unaffected.
"Take care of yourself," she said. "And don't go roaming around alone like that again. Her parents should also keep a better eye on their child. Bye! See you again."
After they dropped the child at her house, they began their journey to Indraprastha.
On the way, they were talking about lots of things, with Aureya teasing him. The boy asked things like "What planet is this?", "Where are we going?" and "What is this thing we're riding on?" Aureya answered all his questions but with a little bit of teasing. She told him that the world they were in is Mayanamay, the place they were going to is Indraprastha: The Divine Capital, and the thing they were riding on is called a hoverbike.
Then, the boy asked Aureya, "What are those sun-like marks on your palm and the cyclone and sword-like mark? And what did you mean when you said that I killed a red-skinned creature?"
"Exactly what it sounds," she said. "I think that because of the amnesia, you must have forgotten it. So, I'll tell you again."
Then she started explaining to him about the rakshas colors and the mark. She said:
"In the world of Mayanamay, the Divine Beings gift chosen humans powers. The powers they gift are called Tatvansh, and the one who holds it is called Ansh. But one person can only have one Tatvansh. The marks you saw on me are the ownership marks of Tatvansh Agni and Vayu. Whenever someone gets a Tatvansh, a mark appears on their body—the design varies, though.
"And you must be wondering, 'How do I have two Tatvansh?' So, the answer is simple. Some people are given more than one—but it could only happen once in 10,000 years. And it was me who got chosen.
"As for why I said that you killed a red-skinned beast—it's because in this world, the Rakshas are divided by skin color. The weakest is green, then yellow, then pink, then red, then black, and finally, the strongest known to mankind—silver."
As they traveled further, Aureya glanced over her shoulder. "So… what happened before I got there?"
"A lot of things happened when you weren't there. But we're all safe thanks to you," said the boy.
"What happened exactly?" she asked.
He then told her everything: the portal, the beasts, how one attacked the girl, how he somehow understood the demons' language.
"So you're saying you understand the Rakshas tongue and still claim to be stable?" Aureya said playfully.
"I'm completely stable. And yes, I really understand their language," he replied.
Then, he began to describe what happened next—but when he mentioned the dual-colored creature, Aureya's body went rigid. She slammed the brakes. The bike went from supersonic speed to a dead stop. They almost fell, but Aureya used her wind power to stabilize them.
The boy stared at her. Her face was pale. Sweat dripped from her brow.
"What did you say? Repeat that again," she said, voice tight.
"Repeat what?"
"About the dual-colored creature."
The boy thought, Did I say something wrong? No… she's not angry. She's afraid.
"Calm down. I'll tell you everything," he said, and then he told her everything—including the fact that both creatures called him Antambha.
Aureya stood in stunned disbelief.
"Are you sure that's what they said?"
"Yeah," he replied instantly.
"Okay then. What you've told me must remain private. You cannot reveal this to anyone without my permission. Please."
The boy couldn't believe what he heard—Aureya, saying please. He hadn't known her long, but he could already tell she wasn't someone who said that word lightly.
He agreed.
And so began their journey to Indraprastha.
What had made Aureya this afraid? Who was she, really?