Vashuki's blood cells burrowed into the ground, forming a web-like pattern beneath the soil. Their speed suddenly increased, moving as rapidly as bullets.
Seeing this, Darshaka thought to himself, They're moving as if someone is controlling them.
Suddenly, the cells disappeared into the soil.
Vashuki screamed in pain, as though his head were about to split apart. The heat surrounding him had become so intense that white smoke began rising from his body, drifting toward the sky.
Then something happened that no one could have imagined.
Vashuki's wound suddenly began to heal.
But the truly astonishing part was what appeared over the healed wound.
A green diamond-like structure.
Darshaka's eyes narrowed as he witnessed it. He slowly pulled his katana back, preparing for another strike.
I have to keep this boy away from that book.
Vashuki's veins bulged as he continued screaming.
"AAAAAAAH!"
"AAAAAAAAH!"
It sounded as though he were taking his final breaths.
Yet Darshaka showed no reaction.
Instead, he stood motionless in the air with his eyes closed, as if he were meditating.
Suddenly, another transformation began within the wound that had been healed by the green diamond.
This time, Vashuki's skin slowly began spreading over the diamond-like surface, covering the healed area.
Vashuki could do nothing but stand there, one hand clutching his head as the unbearable sensation continued.
Then—
A circular beam of light suddenly pierced through the clouds in the sky.
The light descended and fell directly into Vashuki's eyes.
For a moment, the radiance surrounding him seemed almost divine.
As if a god had descended from the heavens. ✨
Tears welled up in Vashuki's eyes.
"Is all this pain really necessary? All I can do is feel the pain… and watch my own end approaching."
He looked at the palm of his hand, slowly tracing the lines with his finger.
"If you have neither the knowledge nor the ability to do anything… then life itself is meaningless."
Then he felt the pain beginning to fade.
But it was nothing more than the calm before the storm.
Suddenly, Darshaka opened his eyes.
They had turned completely white, with a cold blue glow burning within them.
In a voice filled with rage, he said to Vashuki,
"Your end is now certain."
Then, in an almost unbelievable burst of speed, Darshaka began running through the air.
With every step he took, the clouds seemed to part before him.
Slowly, the sky cleared, revealing both moons hanging above them.
Yet neither of them noticed the presence of a third person.
From within the burning garden, someone was calmly walking toward them, his hands buried in his pockets.
He was neither Ajina nor any king they knew.
His eyes glowed yellow through the flames.
And with every step he took, the burning garden seemed to grow quieter. 👁️🔥
Darshaka tightened his grip around the hilt of his katana.
Suddenly, the scorpion thrust its sharp stinger toward Vashuki at tremendous speed.
At the same moment, Darshaka leapt forward. He swung his katana toward the head of the mysterious figure—
But there was nothing there.
Only dust.
Darshaka landed and stared intensely at the ground.
Then he looked ahead.
Someone was standing before him.
Mara.
One of his eyes was completely white, while the other glowed yellow.
Above him, a gigantic black shadow resembling a lion loomed in the sky. Within its darkness, faint traces of Mara's face and eyes could be seen.
Darshaka stared at Mara's face.
Mara was completely calm.
Darshaka's expression changed.
"How is this possible?"
His voice trembled with disbelief.
"Because of that book, I broke through the Red Moon's system just to get here… and my attack missed?"
He stared at Mara in shock.
"No… that's impossible!" 😳🔥
The scorpion's tail stinger shot forward at tremendous speed, as if it were carrying destruction itself.
Yet Vashuki still didn't move. He remained focused on the open book in his hands, staring at its pages as though desperately trying to read them.
Darshaka glanced behind him.
Mara was gone.
He blinked.
And when he opened his eyes again, Mara was already running toward them.
Suddenly, Mara's hand began to glow red.
At that exact moment, the scorpion's stinger reached Vashuki's head.
But Mara leapt.
Above his body, a gigantic shape resembling a lion's paw materialized in the air. The veins and bones within the spectral paw were clearly visible.
Mara stretched his hand toward the incoming stinger.
The enormous spectral paw slammed down and clamped around the stinger.
CRACK!
Mara shattered the scorpion's stinger and continued forward without slowing down. 🦁🔥
Darshaka was stunned by what he had just witnessed.
How can someone this young use the First Form, Ishak?
Darshaka leapt forward, following Mara.
A short distance away, he saw Vashuki sitting on his knees, reciting a few words with a defiant expression.
"The burning rays of the Sun seek to consume me…"
The pain in his voice was unmistakable. It felt as though he were trying to escape from a mysterious web that had trapped him.
Darshaka suddenly froze.
He felt a strange, piercing sensation spreading through his body.
Suddenly, blood began flowing from his hand.
Darshaka immediately started running.
Vashuki was about to fall backward when the veins in his hands suddenly began emerging from his skin in a frightening manner, stretching toward the blood cells embedded in the ground.
Vashuki screamed in agony.
As the veins moved farther forward, his arms were pulled toward them.
Darshaka's gaze suddenly shifted toward Mara—
who was lying on the ground. 🩸🐍
The pressure continued to increase until Vashuki's skin began to tear. Unable to withstand it any longer, he lowered his head and rested it against the book.
This time, his screams had completely stopped.
Then, suddenly—
The book burst into flames.
Darshaka's movements slowed.
I have to stop this somehow… even if I have to leave bodies behind.
His expression became serious. It was as if some invisible force was desperately trying to hold him back.
Suddenly, Vashuki began screaming again.
And then—
he saw a light.
A strange, radiant light that seemed to be showing someone the way forward. ✨🔥📖