Kaal stirred.
The sun scorched above, and the desert wind whispered like ghosts through the dunes. His throat was dry. His body weak.
And then-he heard a voice.
Soft at first, almost playful. A whisper in the silence.
"What happened? Are you looking for someone?"
Startled, Kaal turned around instantly.
But there was no one.
Just the vast emptiness of the desert.
Hot sand. No shade. No shadow.
No figures lurking behind dunes.
"Maybe I imagined it," he muttered to himself, still shaken from everything that had happened.
But the voice came again. That time, louder... and teasing.
"If you're searching for something, at least let me help. Oh wait... you can't see me right?"
"Why? Are you shy or something?"
Kaal froze.
His body tensed.
His breath quickened.
"What the hell is this..?" he whispered
"Am I... going to crazy?"
His chest felt tight with fear. the events of the past day crashed back into his mind-his mother, her death, the blood, the strange man... the power that had awakened.
Everything was to much. Too fast.
Now this voice?
Was he really losing his mind?
"No... No, I can't go mad. Not now. I haven't even taken revenge yet..."
he thought bitterly.
looking up at sky with desperation in his eyes , he whispered like a child:
"God... please. Don't let me lost my mind. I'm still young... I haven't even lost my milk teeth yet."
That's when then voice chuckled.
"You're not mad. At least not yet," it said, sounding amused.
Kaal's eyes widened.
"Than what are you?! A ghost?"
"Are you one of those spirits my mother warned me about? The ones that take over people's bodies and control them?"
He looked around again, panic rising.
But the voice respond-cool, sarcastic, and a little irritated.
"Wow. Really? A ghost?"
"No, I'm not one of those body-snatching creature. I already have my own body, thank you very much-and it's way better than yours."
Kaal blinked.
"Than what are you? Way can I hear you but not se you?"
" I told you already," the voice said. "I'm your guide. I was assigned to you when your system activated."
Kaal 's eyes twitched.
System? Guide?
Still unsure, he rubbed his eyes and blinked several times.
"Is this a dream?" he mumbled, "Am I in a coma or something?"
Than he asked, hesitantly :
"So... are you my Aaiya?"
"like in those bedtime stories? Magical being that help heroes?"
The voice screamed back instantly.
"NO! I am NOT your Aaiya!"
"I'm here to help you become the strongest, using the system inside you. That's it."
"And my name is Kapil. So don't get any weird ideas-just call me Kapil."
Kaal, now half-annoyed and half-curious, squinted his eyes. the shimmering screen of his system appeared before him, glowing softly in the desert heat.
Kapil's voice boomed behind him:
"HELLO?! I'm talking to you! Why are you ignoring me?!"
But Kaal was more focused on the new things he saw on the screen.
His gaze fixed on a tab marked: Skills.
"What are these... skills?" he asked.
Kapil sighed as if he'd been waiting for this question all day.
"Skills are abilities. Powers granted by your system. They make you stronger and give you special talent."
"For example, you have a skill called God Eyes. With it, you can see hidden information about anything or anyone-names, power levels, even weaknesses."
Kaal's jaw dropped slightly.
"That's ...kind cool."
"Kind of?!" Kapil sounded insulted.
"it's extremely rare! Don't 'kind of' me!"
Kaal ignored the rant and pointed to another skill.
"What about this one... 'Ashtabuja'
What does it do?"
Kapil's tone turned proud.
"That's a divine-grade skill. With it, you can grow eight powerful arms behind your back. arms strong enough to tear through monsters, block bullets, or even wield eight weapons at once."
Kaal raised an eyebrow.
"Eight? Sound a bit much..."
Still, he decided to try it.
He focused his thoughts on the skill.
Suddenly, he felt something behind him-like a surge of energy bursting from his back.
Two massive arms exploded out muscular and glowing, floating just beside his real arms.
"Wha-?! Only two?!" Kaal tuned around, shocked. "You said eight!"
Kapil stammered:
"W-Wait-give it a second! The full power takes time to unlock-"
But he was cut off.
The ground trembled.
A loud crack echoed across the desert.
The sand split open-and something huge, and monstrous began to rise from the earth.