Adamus lay in his room, trapped in a restless sleep. His body shifted and turned, as if wrestling with some invisible force.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
Nothing. Only darkness.
Where… am I?
"Why is everything so dark?" he whispered, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. Slowly, he took a cautious step forward. "Am I dreaming? It doesn't feel like a dream… I feel too awake."
A soft emerald glow flared around him his green flames sparking to life on instinct. They licked across his body, casting just enough light to see the swirling void around him. With no path to follow, he began to run… his steps echoing in the endless black.
From somewhere deep within the darkness, a sound emerged faint, distant, and chilling.
"H… help…"
The cry was thin, strained, soaked in pain.
Adamus froze mid-step, every muscle locking. "Who… who is that?" he breathed, his voice barely carrying over the emptiness.
The sound came again, closer this time, cutting straight through him.
"H…help…"
Recognition hit like a lightning strike. His stomach twisted. His breath caught.
That's my mom's voice.
With a surge of terror, Adamus screamed into the darkness, "Mom! Mom, where are you?!"
No answer came only the hollow echo of his own voice fading into the black.
"I'm coming… I'm coming," he swore, his words trembling but fierce. Green energy flared around him, wrapping his body in a blazing aura that pulsed like a living shield.
He dropped into a runner's stance and exploded forward. His feet hammered against nothing, yet each stride carried him farther into the endless dark. The green light trailing behind him tore at the shadows, but the deeper he ran, the thicker the darkness pressed in heavy, suffocating, alive.
Minutes… hours… he couldn't tell. The run felt eternal. His breath came in ragged bursts, his heart slamming in his chest.
"Mom! Where are you?!" he cried again, desperation cracking his voice. The sound was swallowed instantly by the black around him.
Then a spark.
Far ahead, a blinding light burned through the dark, distant as a star on the horizon. Adamus slowed, eyes narrowing. "Mom?" he called, his voice trembling with both fear and hope.
The light sharpened. A figure stood at its center, barely visible but unmistakably human. His heart leapt. "Mom! Is that you?!"
But as his vision cleared, his relief curdled into dread.
Another figure loomed beside her tall, draped in a billowing red cape that rippled like fresh blood in the windless dark. His face was hidden, his form almost carved from shadow, but Adamus could see his mother's legs kicking helplessly.
The caped figure's hand was wrapped around her throat.
Her screams tore through the black, raw and desperate, each one pounding against Adamus's chest like a war drum.
With a surge of adrenaline, he tore forward, running faster than he ever had before drunken-fast, wild-fast, his arms pumping, his legs burning. But no matter how hard he pushed, the light ahead refused to grow closer. It was like running on a treadmill in the middle of a nightmare; every heartbeat told him he was moving, but the scene ahead stayed maddeningly far away.
His breath came in ragged bursts. His muscles strained as if the darkness itself were gripping his legs, holding him back. His heart thundered in his ears, drowning out everything but his mother's cries.
"Help! Help!" Her voice cracked, choked by the iron grip of the red-caped figure beside her.
Adamus's frustration boiled into rage. He poured every ounce of strength into his sprint and then, suddenly, he stopped.
And the moment he did… they were closer.
Close enough to see the fear in her eyes. Close enough to feel the malice radiating from the figure holding her. The red cape rippled like fresh blood, its folds swirling in the dim light.
The figure let out a chilling laugh. "I warned your son," it said, its voice low and venomous. "I told him."
Adamus's mother strained against the grip, her voice shaking. "Please… don't hurt my son. I don't know what he did… but don't hurt him."
The figure's shadowed face twisted into a grotesque grin before releasing her.
Adamus lunged forward with a shout, heart hammering. "I've got you, Mom!" His fingers closed in
And met nothing.
She vanished like mist, leaving only cold shadows in his hands.
Before he could process it, the ground beneath him was gone. He fell headlong into the black, the darkness swallowing him whole, its weight crushing, its airless grip suffocating. His screams went unheard in the endless dark.
And then… stillness.
He landed hard on something that felt like nothing an endless expanse of pitch-black ground beneath his feet. The abyss yawned infinitely in all directions.
"What's happening?" Adamus called out, his voice echoing in unnatural, overlapping tones. "Is this… a nightmare?"
As he stood up and looked around, he saw only emptiness stretching out before him. But then, in the distance, a faint light flickered, beckoning him. Adamus's breath caught in his throat.
"Is that… my mom again?" he whispered, urgency swelling in his chest. "I gotta hurry up this time."
He began running toward the light, his heart pounding with fear and desperate hope. But as the glow grew stronger, a shadowed figure emerged within it a young man around his age, with spiky black hair, brown eyes, and pale white skin.
Adamus slowed, confusion settling in. "Who's this kid? He looks my age…"
Tears streamed down the young man's face, his quiet sobs echoing in the darkness.
The sight sent shivers down Adamus's spine as he realized he was not alone in this desolate place. The young man's cries filled the void, intensifying the sense of dread that hung in the air.
Adamus reached out tentatively, his hand trembling as he placed it on the young man's back. "Why are you crying? What happened? Can I help you? I'm a superhero. My name is Vajra," he offered, his voice wavering with uncertainty.
The sight sent a cold shiver through Adamus's spine. He was not alone in this desolate darkness.
The young man's quiet, broken sobs filled the air, each one sharpening the dread that already hung heavy.
Adamus stepped closer, hesitating before resting a trembling hand on the boy's back. "Why are you crying? What happened? Can I help you? I'm a superhero… my name is Vajra," he said, his voice unsure, almost pleading.
The boy didn't answer at first just sat there, cradling a mound of ashes in his hands. Around him lay countless more piles, like the remnants of a world burned away.
When he finally spoke, his voice cracked. "Dad,Mom… little sister… you're really gone. Superior Man really killed you?"
His tears fell freely, carving pale lines down his ash-stained face.
"There's no such thing as heroes in my world," he said at last, his tone shifting from grief to venom. "Heroes took everything from me. My family is dead because of you… you false heroes."
Adamus opened his mouth, but the boy's voice cut sharper now, dripping with rage.
"And the law the system it let this happen. It put me here. To lose everything." His hands shook as he scooped up more of the ashes, clutching them so tightly they sifted between his fingers. "They'll all pay. Every last one of them will pay."
Adamus recoiled at the accusation, his heart heavy with guilt. "I would never kill anyone's family. I'm not like the other heroes. Are these the ashes of your family members?" he asked, his voice filled with empathy.
Before Adamus could continue speaking, the young man's grief curdled into rage. His tear-streaked face twisted, eyes blazing with fury as he strode straight past Adamus.
"I'll do it myself," he spat, his voice shaking with conviction. "This world doesn't need a hero. It needs someone who will tear the system apart… and rebuild it. That someone is me."
Adamus turned after him, startled. "Wait what do you mean? How are you going to do that?"
The boy kept walking, not even glancing back.
Adamus lunged forward, hand outstretched. "Hold on! Tell me what happened. I want to help!"
The moment Adamus's fingers brushed the boy's shoulder, his own chest flared with light. The green crystal, Om Mani Padme Hum crystal, embedded in his heart began to glow, casting long emerald shadows across the darkness.
The boy stopped. Slowly, he turned.
His hair was no longer black but shock-white, his irises a deep, hellish red. And in the center of his chest, pulsing like a heartbeat, was a crystal red as fresh blood.
"Leave me alone!" he screamed.
His form flickered like a broken projection, fading in and out before vanishing entirely into the black.
Adamus stood frozen, the echoes of the boy's anguish clawing at his mind. The void seemed to close in tighter, pressing against him with a suffocating weight.
"Where did he go?" Adamus muttered, disoriented. "And… why did my crystal glow? That boy… he had one too."
From the distance, faint whispers rose harsh, venomous.
"He's a false hero… He doesn't fight for us…"
The words seemed to drip from every corner of the darkness. Adamus clenched his fists, his pulse quickening. "I'll prove them wrong," he told himself, breaking into a run toward the voices.
Far ahead, a faint glow appeared. He pushed harder, feet pounding against unseen ground until the light grew into the silhouette of a city.
When he arrived, Adamus stopped short.
People moved through the streets like puppets faces slack, eyes black and empty, their motions stiff and unnatural. The air was heavy, stale, and silent save for the faint shuffle of their feet.
"What happened to them?" he murmured.
A brighter light pulsed in the distance, throwing grotesque, shifting shadows across the lifeless streets. Adamus's heartbeat thundered as he stumbled toward it. Passing one of the citizens, he grabbed their shoulder. Their skin was cold, clammy.
"What's going on here?" he demanded.
The figure turned slowly, eyes like bottomless pits. "Get off me, Vajra," they said, their voice flat, mechanical. "You're a false hero. You were supposed to protect us. But when we needed you most… you weren't here. You left us all."
Adamus staggered back, horror creeping into his bones. "No… that's not true. I didn't leave. I'm here now. I'll protect you. I promise."
They didn't respond.
Adamus broke into a run.
Up ahead, the vacant-eyed citizens shuffled in the same direction, their stiff, mechanical movements carrying them toward a single point in the distance a blinding light that cut through the oppressive darkness like a wound in reality.
Their steps were slow, methodical, but unerring, as if drawn by an invisible chain. Adamus darted past them, weaving through the soulless crowd, his breath quickening. The glow ahead pulsed with an unnatural rhythm, pulling at his senses, whispering to his instincts to come closer.
Then the chanting began.
It was faint at first low, rhythmic murmurs threading through the darkness but it grew with every step, swelling into a unified voice.
"Jason Knight… Jason Knight…"
The words looped over and over, the sound hollow yet feverish, like a congregation worshipping in a dead language.
"Jason Knight… Jason Knight…"
Adamus's pace quickened, though his chest tightened with unease. Each repetition of the name pressed against his mind, worming its way deeper, until it felt less like sound and more like a presence inside him.
"Is Jason Knight… the person I just saw?" he wondered, the memory of the grieving young man flashing before his eyes.
The light ahead blazed brighter, bleaching the edges of his vision. The citizens' chorus grew louder, almost frenzied.
Then, without warning, the chant shifted snapping into a new, sharper rhythm.
"Ravana… All hail our God and savior, Ravana…"
The name rolled through the darkness like thunder, thick with reverence and fanatic devotion. Adamus felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The tone was no longer just worship it was surrender.
"Ravana… Ravana…"
The words dripped into his ears like cold water, seeping down his spine.
"Jason Knight… Ravana…" Adamus's thoughts raced, each question heavier than the last. "Who's Jason Knight? And who or what is Ravana?"
The answers danced just out of reach, swallowed by the blinding light that now seemed almost alive, beckoning him forward with every pulse.
At last, Adamus broke through the final line of citizens and reached the source of the light.
The glow washed over a massive gathering hundreds, maybe thousands standing in tight formation, their faces slack with devotion. All eyes were fixed on the figure at the center.
It was him.
The same young man Adamus had seen before. But now, under the blinding radiance, his presence was… monstrous. His skin was pale as bleached bone, his spiky white hair gleaming like silver threads under the light. Two black, curved horns jutted from his head, crowning him like some infernal king. His red eyes burned with an intensity that cut straight through the darkness.
In the center of his chest, a glowing red crystal pulsed like a second heart.
The citizens shuffled forward one by one, their eyes glassy with adoration.
"You saved us from our blue-skinned leaders and blue-blooded conquerors Galaktikós," they proclaimed in unison. "You slew every single superhero, saving us. You destroyed the old system and built a new one. You freed us. We swear our allegiance to you, Ravana."
One woman stepped forward, tears of reverence streaking her face. She placed her hands on his and whispered something Adamus couldn't hear.
Then, without warning, her body dissolved into red smoke, drawn into the crystal at Ravana's chest.
Adamus's heart lurched. Is she being completely absorbed? The thought twisted his stomach, bile rising in his throat.
The air around them thickened oppressive, heavy buzzing with a dark energy that made his skin crawl. The chanting behind him swelled again.
Driven by a sudden surge of fear and fury, Adamus lunged forward. His hands shot out, seizing Ravana's wrists before they could pull in another victim.
"What are you doing to these people?" he demanded, his voice tight with both rage and dread.
Ravana's red eyes locked onto his, and for a moment, the crowd went utterly silent.
As Adamus turned around to ask the citizens if they were okay, they vanished into thin air, leaving
Him, surrounded by darkness, felt the emptiness closing in, suffocating him with its endless void. A shiver ran down his spine as he turned back to face Ravana, only to be met with a sight that froze him in terror. Ravana's eyes glowed a deep, menacing red, piercing through the darkness like burning embers.
Ravana's laughter echoed, a haunting sound that reverberated through the darkness, filling Adamus with dread. It was a laugh that seemed to crawl into his very soul, promising only doom and despair.
Before Adamus could react, Ravana's hand shot out like a viper, wrapping around his throat with a grip of iron. Adamus gasped for air, his vision swimming as he struggled against the suffocating pressure. Each second felt like an eternity as darkness closed in around him, swallowing him whole in a nightmare of terror.
"I saved these people," Ravana sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "They owe me their lives, their souls, whether they like it or not." His laughter grew louder, more maniacal, as he drew Adamus closer to his face, his eyes gleaming with cruel amusement. "You don't remember me, do you? You don't remember the last time we met."
Gasping for air, Adamus struggled to form words. "I... I don't know," he managed to gasp out, his voice barely a whisper amidst the darkness.
Ravana's laughter turned into a guttural growl as he slammed Adamus onto the ground with bone-crushing force. "You took everything from me," he snarled, his eyes burning with hatred. "I conquered galaxies, universes, timelines, Multiverses, hyperverses, Omniverse. I destroyed gods. Everywhere I went, I was worshipped. Forced worship, but still worshipped. And you took it all from me."
Adamus felt the ground beneath him crack and splinter, the void of darkness swallowing him whole. With a cruel smile, Ravana released one hand, and a knife materialized in it. Without hesitation, he plunged the blade into Adamus's heart, sending shockwaves of agony through his body.
Adamus felt the cold blade pierce his chest, sinking into his heart like a dagger of ice. With a gasp of agony, he instinctively grabbed the hilt, trying to push the blade out as blood gushed from the wound. "Stop it!" he screamed, his voice echoing through the darkness. "Why are you doing this? I don't know you! You've got me mistaken!"
Ravana's eyes gleamed with malice as he drove the blade deeper, ignoring Adamus's pleas. "Those green eyes," his voice dripping with venom. "The energy around your body... and in your heart"I can see it," Ravana his voice dripping with malice. "The om mani padme hum Crystal. You have it, it's in your heart, I can see it. It's mine." Adamus's muscles strained as he fought to push Ravana off, his screams echoing in the void. "Just stop it, please!" he begged, tears mingling with the blood on his face.
Ravana leaned in closer, his breath hot against Adamus's skin, the knife still buried in his chest. "I will find you," he whispered, his voice chilling Adamus to the bone. "And I will take everything away from you, like how you took everything away from me."
Suddenly, Adamus jolted awake, his heart pounding in his chest, sweat drenching his body. He touched his chest, feeling for any wounds. "Okay, I'm not bleeding," he muttered to himself, relief washing over him. "That dream felt a little too real for comfort. Wait, Mom."