Run, Aarav, run!
The words echoed in the gleaming, golden streets of 'Arunachal,' a city built upon the surface of the Sun. These were not someone else's words, but Aarav's own, screaming inside his mind. His lungs were on fire, each breath feeling like he was inhaling molten gold. Behind him were three figures, their footsteps thudding like a predatory beast chasing its prey.
The city of Arunachal was home to the inhabitants of the Sun, the Solarians. Every building here was crafted from a special crystal that absorbed sunlight, causing them to glow day and night. The people here, the Solarians, were born with the Sun's energy within their bodies, an energy known as the 'Solar Aura.' This aura was their strength, their identity, and the symbol of their status in society.
But Aarav? He was an exception. A disgrace. The Solar Aura in his body was almost non-existent. He was a snuffed-out candle, a flower that had withered before it could bloom.
"Get him! The 'Null' can't escape us today!" a proud and cruel voice boomed. It was the voice of Kael, the leader of the trio.
Kael was the son of a powerful family in Arunachal. The golden aura emanating from his body was so bright that even his shadow seemed to shimmer. He wore light armor studded with gold and rubies, and his eyes held nothing but hatred and contempt for Aarav.
Aarav didn't dare to look back. He knew they were close. He used all his strength to leap into a narrow alley, hoping to find a place to hide. But it was a mistake. The alley was a dead end. A massive, glowing wall blocked his path.
He was trapped.
"Ha ha ha! Look, the rat walked right into the cage," one of Kael's companions said mockingly.
Aarav's breathing became ragged. He slowly turned around. Kael and his two henchmen stood at the mouth of the alley, a devilish grin on their faces.
Kael walked slowly towards Aarav, his Solar Aura intensifying with each step. "Why were you running, Aarav? Don't you like playing with us?"
Aarav said nothing. His eyes were fixed on the ground. He knew there was no point in arguing. He was weak, and in this world, there was no place for the weak.
"It's this silence of yours that infuriates me the most," Kael said, and then suddenly, a sharp slap landed on Aarav's cheek. Aarav's head spun, and he fell to the ground. A burning mark formed on his cheek, as if a hot piece of metal had been pressed against it.
"People like you have no right to live," Kael said, spitting with disgust. "Your family did the right thing by abandoning you. They were wise. They knew you were nothing but a burden. What do you think, why does someone as weak and powerless as you even exist in this world?"
The mention of his family made something inside Aarav break. A wave of pain, humiliation, and helplessness surged through his heart. His parents, his sister... their faces flashed before his eyes. He knew Kael was telling the truth. They had left him because he was weak. But to hear this truth, especially like this... it was unbearable.
Tears welled up in his eyes, but they didn't fall. They burned within him, intensifying his despair.
"What's wrong? Feel like crying, 'Null'?" Kael laughed. He delivered a swift, powerful kick to Aarav's stomach with his foot.
"Ah!" Aarav groaned in pain.
Kael didn't stop there. He grabbed Aarav by the hair and yanked his head up. "Today, I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget, so you won't show your face in Arunachal again."
He raised his other hand, and the Sun's energy began to gather in his palm, forming a small, blazing orb. He was about to strike Aarav's face with that solar sphere. The attack wouldn't be fatal, but it would leave an ugly, permanent scar on Aarav's face.
Aarav looked at the blazing orb. It wasn't the fear of death, but the fear of humiliation that gripped his heart. He remembered his family's faces. He never wanted them to see him in this state.
Hatred.
Anger.
Helplessness.
Infinite agony.
All these emotions rose within him like a storm. His mind went numb. All the sounds of the world faded away. All he could hear was his own heartbeat, which was now growing slow and deep.
And then, something strange happened.
The light in the alley where they stood suddenly began to dim, as if something had eclipsed the Sun. Kael and his companions looked up in surprise, but the sky was clear.
Kael looked back at Aarav, and his eyes widened in fear.
Aarav was still on the ground, his head bowed. But beneath him, his shadow... it was moving. It wasn't like a normal shadow. It was deep, black, and looked alive. It was spreading, like ink in water.
"What... what is this?" one of Kael's henchmen stammered.
Aarav's shadow was no longer just a shadow. It began to elongate, to distort. Two sharp hands emerged from it, resembling sharp claws. The shadow detached itself from Aarav's body and stood behind him like a demon. It had no face, just two red, glowing eyes that shone in the darkness.
Aarav felt nothing. He only felt a strange coldness, a cold that shouldn't exist on the Sun. His own body no longer felt like his.
"Run!" Kael screamed, but it was too late.
The henchman closest to Aarav was frozen in fear. One hand of the shadow demon shot forward with the speed of lightning. It was a solid, sharp tendril of shadow that pierced straight through the boy's chest.
A moment of silence.
Then, a fountain of blood erupted. The boy's eyes were filled with disbelief and pain. A faint gasp escaped his lips, and he collapsed to the ground, lifeless. The most terrifying thing was that the wound where the shadow had passed through wasn't burning; it had turned black and was emitting a faint, dark smoke.
Kael and his other companion trembled at the sight. This was no Solar Aura. This was something else. Something unholy, something terrifying.
Aarav (or whatever was now controlling his body) slowly stood up. His head was still bowed, but when he raised it, his own eyes were closed. The shadow demon stood behind him, as if he were its puppet.
"What... what are you?" Kael asked in a trembling voice.
There was no answer.
Just one step forward. And then another.
The shadow demon was now advancing towards Kael and his remaining companion.
Where did this terrifying power, the complete opposite of the Sun's energy, come from within Aarav?
*****
1.1: The Shadow's Embrace
A deathly silence descended upon the alley. The air was thick with the scent of fresh blood and a strange, unnatural cold. Kael's remaining companion, a boy named Rio, stared at his friend's corpse, his eyes wide with pure terror. He tried to back away, but his feet felt as though they were fused to the ground.
"Kael... what... what is that thing?" Rio's voice trembled.
Kael was just as terrified, but the pride and anger within him were desperately trying to overpower his fear. He focused all his strength into his palm. A larger and far brighter solar orb than before blazed to life on his hand.
"I don't care what it is! It's an unholy entity on the sacred lands of Arunachal! I will eradicate it!"
He screamed and hurled the solar orb at the shadow demon standing behind Aarav.
As the brilliant sphere neared the dark figure, an unbelievable sight unfolded. The shadow demon raised one of its hands. The orb collided with it, but there was no explosion. Instead, it was as if the light was being swallowed by darkness. The blazing solar orb began to shrink, its light dimming, until finally, it vanished completely into the black shadow, as if it had never existed.
Kael's jaw dropped. "Impossible! Nothing can just... absorb solar energy like that!"
That was the final straw. Rio's courage shattered. He turned and ran for his life. But he didn't get more than two steps.
From the ink-like shadow spreading on the ground, dozens of thin, black tendrils suddenly shot out. They whipped through the air like venomous snakes and, with lightning speed, wrapped themselves around Rio's body. They ensnared his arms, legs, neck—everything.
"No! Let me go!" Rio shrieked, struggling frantically, but the shadow's grip was stronger than iron.
The shadow demon, which had remained behind Aarav until now, began to glide forward. Its movements made no sound on the ground. It stopped directly in front of Rio. Its red, glowing eyes were fixed on Rio's terrified face.
Then, the inky shadow, which had seemed like a separate entity, began to flow back towards Aarav. It was like liquid darkness, climbing up his legs. It was merging into his body.
What Kael witnessed next was the most horrifying scene of his life.
Aarav's body began to convulse. His skin's golden hue started to pale, turning ashen, as if all his life and warmth were being drained away. His eyes, which had been closed, slowly opened. But they were not Aarav's eyes. The pupils, the irises, the whites—everything was gone. In their place were two deep, black pits from which a faint, dark smoke was seeping. His hair lost its shine, becoming the color of ash. A hellish cold emanated from his body.
Aarav and the shadow were now one. He no longer looked like a weak, abandoned boy. He looked like an incarnation of death.
"You... you're not Aarav," Kael stammered. "Who in the world are you?"
Aarav's face was a mask of placid emptiness, but his lips curled into a faint, cruel smile. He glanced at Rio, who was still trapped in the shadow tendrils.
"His noise... displeases me," a voice emerged that was not Aarav's. It was deep, raspy, and seemed to be a chorus of many voices, as if speaking from beyond the grave.
The next moment, the shadow tendrils tightened.
CRACK!
A sickening, bone-shattering crunch echoed through the alley. Rio's body was twisted like a doll, and his scream was choked in his throat. The light in his eyes extinguished. The shadow tendrils uncoiled, dumping his lifeless body onto the ground.
Kael was now alone. Before him lay two corpses and a demon wearing his friend's body. His mind had shut down. He could neither run nor fight.
The demon that was Aarav turned its head, its empty, black eyes locking onto Kael. It began to walk slowly towards him.
With every step it took, Kael stumbled backward until his back hit the cold, unyielding wall. "Stay... stay away from me!"
Aarav stopped right in front of him, only inches away. Kael could feel the cold and smell the dark smoke that was rolling off Aarav's body.
Aarav raised his hand, his fingers looking pale and elongated. He touched Kael's chest plate. The spot he touched, made of gleaming gold, instantly turned black and began to crumble like rusted metal.
"You... are lucky," the demon's voice whispered. "You have awakened... what was sleeping. For today... this much blood is enough."
He pulled his hand back. "Go. And tell everyone... that the Shadow has awakened. Run."
It was a command. Kael felt life rush back into his limbs. He didn't waste a single moment. He turned and fled from the alley, running faster than he ever had in his life. He didn't dare look back.
As Kael vanished from sight, Aarav's body began to tremble violently. The black smoke billowed from him as the inky shadow poured out of his body, receding back to the ground and resuming the shape of a normal shadow. Aarav's knees gave out, and he collapsed unconscious next to the bodies of his former tormentors.
Several hours later...
Aarav's eyes fluttered open. His head was pounding. His entire body ached as if it had been severely beaten. He tried to sit up, but he had no strength.
"Where... am I?" he whispered.
He looked around. He was in the same dead-end alley. The sunlight had softened, which meant a lot of time had passed.
And then he saw them.
The bodies of Kael's two companions were lying there. Their eyes were open, frozen in terror. Their bodies were twisted at unnatural angles, and the areas around their wounds had turned a sickening black.
Aarav's heart sank. "Who... who did this?"
All he remembered was Kael and his friends beating him. Everything after that was a blur. Did someone come and save him? But why would a rescuer kill them so brutally?
He scrambled to his feet in a panic. He had to get out of there. As he stood, a sharp pain flared in his chest. He reached inside his tunic and touched his chest.
A patch of his skin... felt strangely cold. He quickly pulled his tunic aside and looked down.
Right in the center of his chest was a black spot, the size of his palm. It wasn't a bruise or a contusion. It looked like a part of his skin had been dyed with ink. And the strangest thing... a very faint, almost invisible wisp of black smoke was rising from it.
Aarav's blood ran cold. "What... what is this on my body?"
Fear seized him. This mark, this smoke... it looked just like the blackness around the wounds on the corpses.
Whose mysterious voice was it that said, "the Shadow has awakened"? Is it a second personality within Aarav, or an ancient entity?
*****
1.2: Fear and the First Lie
Fear.
It was a chill that seeped deep into Aarav's bones. It was far colder than the unnatural cold of the alley. This cold was coming from within him, from the inky black spot on his chest.
He stared at the black mark, his fingers trembling. It was real. It was part of his skin. And the faint smoke rising from it... it was evidence he couldn't deny. He looked at the corpses, at the similar blackness around their wounds. A terrible idea, a truth that seemed impossible, flashed through his mind like lightning.
Did I... Did I do this?
No! It couldn't be. How could he? He was floored by a single slap from Kael. He possessed no Solar Aura. He was weak. A 'Null'.
But this mark...
A war raged in his mind between logic and a terrifying intuition. He didn't remember what he had done, but his body was telling him the story. Some beast hidden inside him had awakened, it had hunted, and now it had left evidence behind.
"I... I have to get out of here!" The realization sent a jolt of adrenaline through his system.
He had to run before someone found him. If anyone saw him here with these bodies, no one would believe his story. They would think he was a monster. A murderer.
Maybe... maybe he was.
Shaking that thought away, he quickly adjusted his tattered clothes, making sure the black spot was completely covered. He cast one last, terrified glance at the bodies and then bolted towards the mouth of the alley.
Returning to the golden streets of Arunachal felt strange. Everything was just as it had been a few hours ago. Solarians were busy with their tasks, a faint hum of energy filled the air, and the buildings glowed as they always did. But for Aarav, everything had changed. He felt as if he were watching the world from behind a pane of glass. He was no longer a part of this bright world. He had a darkness inside him, a secret that no one could ever know.
Every person who glanced his way felt like a stare, as if they knew his secret. Every laugh sounded like a jeer directed at him. He kept his head down, avoiding the crowds, and walked quickly towards the outskirts of the city.
His home was far from the splendor of Arunachal. He lived in an old, dilapidated service tower on the edge of the city. It was once built to store solar energy but had been abandoned for decades. It was here that he had carved out a small corner for himself.
He slipped inside and bolted the door. It was dark and quiet inside the tower. The solitude helped to slow his racing heart. He was alone. He was safe.
Or maybe not.
The monster was inside him, after all.
With trembling hands, he removed his tunic again. The black mark was still there, like a hideous stain on his pale skin. He dipped his hand into a nearby pot of water and tried to scrub the mark away. He scrubbed hard, so hard that his skin turned red, but the blackness didn't fade in the slightest. It had become a part of him.
Defeated, he slid down the wall, burying his head in his knees. The tears that hadn't fallen in front of Kael now flowed freely. They were tears of fear. Fear of himself. What have I become?
Just then, a faint memory of his mother surfaced in his mind. Years ago, before his family had abandoned him, his mother used to tell him stories at night. Stories of Solarian heroes who had saved the universe. But there was one story that had always frightened him.
She would tell him about the 'Chhaya-Purush'—the Shadow Men.
"Long ago, when the Sun was new," his mother's soft voice echoed in his memory, "there wasn't only light. Where there is light, there is also shadow. And within those shadows lived ancient beings. They were the Shadow Men. They had no bodies; they were made of pure darkness. They were the devourers of light. They would drink Solar Aura like we drink water. Our ancestors fought a great war against them. Thousands of heroes fell, but in the end, they imprisoned the Shadow Men in the darkest corner of the universe."
"Can they come back, mother?" a young Aarav had asked.
His mother had stroked his hair. "No, my child. They are just a story, meant to scare children into staying away from the dark. Shadows are weak; they always lose to the light."
Shadows are weak...
Aarav looked at his own shadow. In the dim light of the tower, it looked perfectly normal. But was it? Was his mother's story just a story? Or was it a forgotten history that had now awakened inside him?
At the same time, in a grand palace in Arunachal...
Kael burst into the main hall of his home, panting, and collapsed onto the floor. His expensive clothes were torn, and his face wore an expression of terror that no one had ever seen on him before.
"Son!" a deep, authoritative voice boomed.
A tall, powerfully built man rose from his throne-like chair. This was Devaraj, Kael's father and a powerful member of Arunachal's council. His golden aura was many times brighter than Kael's, and his eyes had a steely glint.
"What is the meaning of this? And where are your friends?" Devaraj demanded sternly.
Kael was trembling. "Father... they... they are dead."
Surprise flickered in Devaraj's eyes, but his face remained a stoic mask. "What are you saying? Who killed them?"
"Aarav... that 'Null'," Kael stammered.
Devaraj let out a short, humorless laugh. "Are you joking? That insect couldn't kill a solar-fly. Tell me the truth, Kael."
"I am telling the truth!" Kael shrieked, his voice hysterical. "It... it wasn't Aarav! It was a demon! A shadow! His shadow killed Rio! It... it drank the solar energy you gave me! Like it was nothing!"
Devaraj's expression turned serious. Drank solar energy? That was impossible. "Explain. From the beginning."
Trembling, Kael told him everything. How Aarav's shadow had become a living thing, how it had absorbed the solar orb, and how Aarav's body had transformed into a terrifying demon with black pits for eyes.
Devaraj listened in complete silence. When Kael finished, a heavy stillness filled the hall.
"A shadow," Devaraj repeated softly, as if recalling an ancient word. "A power that can consume Solar Aura." His face was lost in deep thought. He had never heard of such a thing in his life, except in those old tales that no one took seriously anymore.
He looked at his trembling son. Kael might be arrogant and foolish, but he wasn't a liar. And the fear in his eyes was real.
"You will not speak a word of this to anyone, do you understand?" Devaraj commanded. "I will handle this matter myself."
He walked to his window and looked out at the glowing city of Arunachal. A dangerous resolve settled on his face. A power that could challenge the might of the Solarians could not be allowed to grow. It had to be snuffed out at its root.
Even if that power resided inside a weak, abandoned boy.
What steps will Devaraj take to confront this new and unknown power? Will he try to kill Aarav or capture him to understand the secret of his power?
*****
1.3: The Scent of Shadow and the Hunter's Gaze
A week passed.
For the city of Arunachal, it was a normal week. The Sun shone as brightly as ever, and people went about their lives. But inside the desolate service tower at the city's edge, time had seemed to stop for Aarav. He was a prisoner, and he himself was the jailer.
His every day was spent in fear. Every sound made him jump, thinking someone had come to capture him. He barely slept, and when he did, he was plagued by nightmares—of black eyes, the sound of breaking bones, and a cold that froze his soul.
But with time, another change was occurring. The black mark on his chest.
It was healing, but not like a normal injury. It wasn't fading. Instead, it was drying up. The top layer of the mark was flaking off, but the flakes weren't of skin, but of something like ash. Every morning, he would find more fine black dust on his clothes. And the skin revealed underneath was strangely smooth and new, as if no mark had ever been there at all.
However, as the black mark vanished, Aarav felt a strange emptiness growing inside him. A restlessness. A faint, unfamiliar hunger that food couldn't satisfy. It felt as though a vital part of him was leaving, and his body yearned to get it back.
On the seventh day, when he looked, the last flake of the mark had crumbled away into ash. His skin was completely normal. There was no evidence left.
No external evidence.
But the memories and the fear in his mind were now deeper than ever. Now that the mark was gone, the whole incident felt like a terrible dream. Had it really happened?
He decided he needed to know.
He closed his eyes in the dim light of the tower and tried to recall that day. Kael's arrogant face, the stinging slap, the kick to his gut... the humiliation and the rage. He tried to feel those emotions again. He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and cursed Kael in his mind.
He wanted that power to come out again. He wanted to see it, to understand it. If he truly was a monster, he needed to know his monster.
But nothing happened.
His shadow remained still on the wall. He felt no coldness within. No black eyes, no raspy voice.
The power was gone. Or perhaps, it was merely sleeping, waiting to be awakened again.
"It doesn't come out just from my anger," he whispered, his genius mind now taking over from the fear. "It was... something more. It wasn't just anger. It was helplessness. It was when I felt I had nothing left to lose... that's when it came out."
This realization was both terrifying and strangely relieving. It meant he wasn't a walking time bomb at all times. It required a very specific set of circumstances to be triggered.
But the question now was, what next? He couldn't hide in this tower forever. His food was running out, and he needed answers.
At the same time, in the alley of the murders...
Devaraj stood silently, his eyes closed. The air around him was heavy with energy. He was not alone. Behind him, kneeling on one knee, was a man clad in light armor of black and gold. This was Arkin, the most trusted captain of Devaraj's royal guard.
The alley had been thoroughly cleansed. The bodies were removed, and the bloodstains were erased. To a common person, there was nothing unusual here.
But Devaraj was no common person.
He opened his eyes, and they held a deep, analytical glint. "The air here... is dead, Arkin."
Arkin looked up. "My lord, I don't understand."
"The Solar Aura of this place has been sucked dry," Devaraj said, touching the wall. "It's like a vacuum. There is light here, but no energy. Whatever happened here not only took the lives of those two boys, but it also drank the very life-force of this place."
Disbelief was evident in Arkin's eyes. "But how is that possible, my lord? The Solar Aura is the fabric of the universe. It cannot be destroyed, only transformed."
"And what if there is a power that does not abide by that rule?" Devaraj asked, turning to Arkin. "If this power consumes solar energy, what energy creates it?"
It was a question to which Arkin had no answer. It went against every known principle of Solarian existence.
"The stories of our ancestors," Devaraj continued, his voice low, "they were not just stories, Arkin. They were warnings. About the Chhaya-Purush. A race born of darkness that fed on light. We thought they were a myth."
"Are you suggesting... that the boy, Aarav, is one of them?" Arkin asked, a hint of fear now touching his voice.
"I don't know what he is," Devaraj corrected. "But the power within him is ancient and dangerous. If even ten percent of what Kael told me is true, this is a threat to Arunachal that we cannot afford to ignore."
Devaraj turned to Arkin, his eyes as hard as steel. "I want that boy, Arkin. Alive. I want to know where this power came from and how it can be controlled... or destroyed."
Arkin stood up and bowed his head respectfully. "He will be hard to find, my lord. His family abandoned him years ago. He has no official records."
"Every creature leaves a scent, Arkin," Devaraj said. "And the scent of this thing... will be unique. It will be the scent of the absence of light. You are my best hunter. Use your senses. Find the scent of the shadow. I believe he is still hiding somewhere in the city."
"As you command, my lord," Arkin said and vanished into thin air, as if he was never there.
Devaraj was left alone. He looked up at the sky, where the infinite energy of the Sun blazed.
A shadow is growing on our Sun, he thought. And I must find it before it devours all the light.
Aarav took a deep breath. He had made his decision. He would go out. Cautiously, but he would go. He needed to get to the city's public center of knowledge. Perhaps there he could find something about the old stories, the myths.
He pushed the heavy door of the tower open just a crack and peeked outside. All was quiet. He threw on a cloak, covering his face with the hood, and stepped out.
The moment he was outside, he felt a strange sense of unease. As if someone was watching him. He looked around, but there was no one.
It's just my paranoia, he told himself.
But he was wrong.
Miles away, on the roof of a tall building, stood Arkin. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply, trying to catch an unfamiliar scent on the wind. And then, he found it.
Very faint, almost non-existent, but it was there. It wasn't the smell of decay or chemicals. It was the scent of a void. Of coldness. Of shadow.
Arkin's eyes snapped open, and they locked directly onto Aarav's small, cloaked silhouette.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Found you."
How will Aarav know that someone is following him? Will the power inside him warn him of the danger?
*****
1.4: Hunter and Prey
Walking through the streets of Arunachal was torture for Aarav. Every gleaming building, every smiling face, every Solarian brimming with energy reminded him of his own darkness. He pulled his hood lower, kept his eyes fixed on the ground, and walked with a brisk pace.
But that feeling... the feeling of being followed was growing stronger. It wasn't just paranoia. It was a tangible chill crawling up the back of his neck, a warning his mind couldn't comprehend, but his body could feel. The shadow within him, even while dormant, was sensing the presence of its hunter.
High above, on the rooftops, Arkin moved like a phantom. His steps were utterly silent. He leaped from one building to another as if he were floating on air. His gaze was locked on the small, cloaked silhouette moving below. Devaraj was right. A strange, cold energy—or rather, a lack of energy—was emanating from the boy. Where every Solarian left a warm aura in their wake, Aarav left a subtle void. A trail that only an expert tracker like Arkin could perceive.
'The boy is heading to the Knowledge Center,' Arkin thought to himself. 'A rat wanting to read about its own cage. Interesting.'
His orders were to capture Aarav alive. Arkin was not one to rush. He liked to study his prey. Their habits, their fears, their weaknesses. And the Knowledge Center was a perfect hunting ground. It was less crowded, and the escape routes were limited.
A short while later, Aarav stood before the massive, crystalline structure of the Knowledge Center. It was nothing like a library. There were no books. Instead, millions of 'Knowledge Crystals' of various sizes floated gently in the air. Information was stored within each crystal as patterns of energy. All one had to do was touch a crystal, and the information would be transferred directly into their mind.
Aarav stepped inside. The quiet and orderly atmosphere of the center gave him a sliver of relief. He took a deep breath and began to walk among the floating crystals. What was he looking for? 'Chhaya-Purush'? 'Beings of Darkness'? 'Energy-absorbing powers'?
He placed his hand on a Search Console and closed his eyes, thinking of the keywords for his search: "Shadow," "Darkness," "Ancient War," "Eaters of Light."
Most of the crystals that responded contained children's stories and dismissed mythologies. The same tales his mother used to tell him. He was starting to feel disappointed.
Then, his eyes fell on one crystal that stood out from the rest. It wasn't glowing like the others. It was a deep purple and had cracks on its surface, as if it were ancient and damaged. It was almost hidden in a dark corner of the center.
Aarav moved towards it. A strange pull was drawing him to the crystal. As he reached out to touch it, he felt a faint warning from within him. A whisper that said, 'Don't.'
But his curiosity overpowered his fear. He touched the crystal.
For a second, nothing happened. Then, an explosion of information burst into his mind, but it wasn't clear. It was broken, fragmented. He saw images of burning cities, screaming Solarians, and a vast, formless darkness swallowing stars.
And then a single, clear sentence echoed in his mind. It was in an ancient, terrified voice:
"When the Sun's child embraces the cold, the Eater of Light shall return."
Aarav snatched his hand back, his heart pounding in his chest. The Sun's child... embraces the cold... It was about him! This wasn't a story. It was a prophecy. A warning.
He was so stunned that he didn't notice the change in his surroundings. The gentle hum of the center had faded into silence. The air felt heavy.
"Found something interesting, boy?"
A calm, cool voice came from right behind him.
Aarav jumped and spun around.
Arkin stood there, soundlessly, as if he had materialized from the air itself. He offered a friendly smile, but his eyes held the gleam of a predator.
"Who... who are you?" Aarav stammered, backing away.
"My name is Arkin," he said calmly. "And you don't need to worry. I'm not here to hurt you. Lord Devaraj wishes to see you."
Devaraj. Kael's father. The name sent a chill down Aarav's spine. They know! Somehow, they know!
"I... I'm not going anywhere," Aarav said, his eyes darting around for an escape route.
Arkin's smile widened slightly. "I don't think you have a choice." He took a step forward. "I have a question for you, Aarav. Why is your shadow so cold, boy?"
The question was a direct hit. He knows. He can feel it.
Fear, panic, and the dread of being caught... that same sense of helplessness began to wash over him again. He felt as if the walls were closing in.
Arkin saw the fear on Aarav's face and judged it the perfect moment to strike. He moved with lightning speed, aiming to hit a nerve point on Aarav's shoulder to render him unconscious.
But just as his hand neared Aarav, something unbelievable happened.
Aarav did nothing. He was frozen in fear. But his shadow... it moved on its own.
Aarav's shadow on the ground suddenly rose up, forming a solid, black shield between Arkin's hand and Aarav's body.
Thwack!
Arkin's fingers collided with the black shadow, and it felt like he had struck a stone wall. A sharp, icy pain shot through his fingers, as if his own solar energy was being drained away in that single moment of contact.
Arkin leaped back a step in surprise, staring at his numbing fingers.
Aarav was just as shocked. He looked down at his shadow, which had now returned to normal. He hadn't done it. It had happened on its own. It was an involuntary reflex, like blinking.
The power inside him... was trying to protect him.
In the alley, it had awakened from rage and helplessness. Here, it had awakened in pure self-defense.
The look of amusement was now gone from Arkin's eyes. It was replaced by a grim, calculating stare. This boy was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
"So it's true," Arkin said softly. "The Shadow... has awakened."
Will Aarav now be able to use this new, defensive ability of his shadow, or was it a one-time event?
*****
1.5: The Null's Gambit
Time seemed to freeze inside the Knowledge Center.
Aarav stared at his own shadow, which had now settled back onto the ground as a normal, lifeless shape. Arkin stared at his numb fingers, the smile completely gone from his face. Both were shocked, but for different reasons. Aarav was shocked because his body had done something he couldn't comprehend. Arkin was shocked because nothing in his experience or training had prepared him for this.
"Your power... it's not Solar Aura," Arkin finally said, his voice now laced with caution. "It's something else. Something... wrong."
Aarav didn't answer. His mind was racing. The shadow protected me. It's reactive. I can't control it, but it won't let me be harmed. It was a small comfort, but it came with a terrifying truth. If this power acted on its own, could it kill on its own again?
Arkin reassessed the situation. A direct physical attack was useless. That shadow shield had not only blocked his strike but had also leeched the solar energy from his fingers. He had to try a different approach.
"You can't run, boy," Arkin said, and this time, he unleashed his Solar Aura.
It was nothing like Kael's flashy, ostentatious aura. Arkin's aura was calm, controlled, and incredibly potent. It was dense, like liquid gold, a radiance that didn't sting the eyes but felt heavy. This was the mark of a high-purity Solarian, whose energy was not just abundant but also refined and focused. This was the true measure of wealth and power in Arunachal—the purity of one's Solar Aura. The rich used special devices to store and purify their energy, while a 'Null' like Aarav couldn't even properly absorb the ambient energy in the air.
Aarav felt that familiar gnawing hunger, a void that other Solarians sated by simply breathing the energy-rich air. For them, it was sustenance. They could metabolize solar energy directly or convert it into solid 'Energy Crystals' for later consumption. Their clothes, their weapons, their very buildings—everything was a transformed state of solar energy. But for Aarav, this energy-filled environment was a feast he could not eat.
The pressure emanating from Arkin's aura made Aarav's knees weak. It wasn't a physical pressure, but an energetic one. It felt as if the very air had become heavy.
"I'm giving you one last chance," Arkin said, all trace of mercy gone from his eyes. "Come with me."
Aarav knew he was trapped. He couldn't fight Arkin. But he couldn't get caught either. To fall into Devaraj's hands meant becoming a lab rat... or worse.
His mind scrambled for an escape route. His eyes fell upon the floating crystals in the Knowledge Center.
A desperate, insane idea sparked in his mind.
Arkin noticed a shift in Aarav's eyes. The fear was being replaced by a strange resolve. Arkin grew warier, assuming the boy was about to use his shadow power again. He began to form thin, golden chains of light from his Solar Aura, ready to ensnare Aarav.
But Aarav didn't focus on his shadow.
Instead, he darted backward, straight towards the Search Console. Arkin, thinking he was making a break for it, shot his light chains forward.
But Aarav's goal wasn't to run.
He grabbed the heavy, metallic console with all his might. He was weak, but adrenaline and desperation gave him an unnatural strength. With a scream, he ripped the console from its moorings and, with all his force, hurled it toward the densest cluster of floating Knowledge Crystals.
"Fool!" Arkin yelled, not understanding what the boy was doing.
The console slammed into the cluster of crystals.
And then, chaos exploded in the Knowledge Center.
The crystals were delicate. With dozens of them shattering at once, all the information stored within was released simultaneously. This wasn't just data; it was raw, unfiltered information. Thousands of voices, millions of images, the emotions of history, the equations of science, the sensations of art—all erupted into the air at once.
It was a psychic bomb.
The calm air of the Knowledge Center turned into a whirlwind of light, sound, and conflicting emotions. Arkin, whose senses were far more acute than a normal Solarian's, was completely unprepared for the assault. His mind was bombarded with thousands of years of information all at once. A searing pain shot through his head, and for a moment, he was rendered completely blind and deaf. He clapped his hands over his ears and groaned in agony.
This was Aarav's chance.
Amidst the chaos, he ran. But not for the exit. Arkin would have blocked every way out. Instead, he ran towards the dark corner where he had found the purple, cracked crystal.
His instinct, or perhaps the shadow within him, was pulling him toward it.
He snatched the strange, cold crystal as he passed. An icy chill shot through his body as he touched it, but this time it didn't feel terrifying. It felt... familiar.
He tucked the crystal into his cloak and slipped through a small maintenance hatch in a nearby wall, leading into the dark service corridors.
A few seconds later, Arkin regained control of his senses. His head was still spinning, but he could stand. He looked around. The Knowledge Center was a wreck. Shattered crystals littered the floor.
And the boy was gone.
Arkin looked at the broken console and the scattered crystals. An expression of grudging respect replaced the anger on his face.
'He turned his weakness into a weapon,' Arkin thought. 'He didn't attack me with his power. He attacked me with knowledge. This is no ordinary 'Null'. He is not just a monster... he is a clever one.' What does this boy know about his power, and is he learning to control it?
Meanwhile, in a dark, dusty corridor, Aarav was panting against a wall. He had escaped. For now.
He pulled the purple crystal from his cloak. It felt cold in his palm, and a very faint, almost invisible purple mist was seeping from the cracks.
What was this thing? And why had it called to him?
What is the secret of the purple crystal Aarav stole? Is it connected to his shadow power?
*****
1.6: The Truth Through the Cracks
The darkness and silence of the service corridors brought a strange sense of comfort to Aarav. There was no glare of solar energy here, just the faint hum of power lines running through the walls. It was like his own tower—a place where he could hide from the glaring eyes of the world.
His heart was still pounding, and his hands trembled. He had escaped Arkin, but he knew it was only a temporary reprieve. A man as powerful as Devaraj would have no trouble finding him. The entire city of Arunachal had now become a cage.
He slid down against a wall, trying to control his breathing. Then, he pulled the purple crystal from his cloak.
It felt unnaturally cold in his palm. It didn't feel like an object from the world of the Sun. Everything here had a warmth, an energy, but this crystal... it was cold and empty. The faint purple mist seeping from the cracks was a little more visible now. It didn't smell like perfume; rather, it chilled the air around it, like the breath of a frozen planet.
He brought the crystal closer to his eyes. Inside the cracks, he could see something swirling. It wasn't a pattern or data. It was pure, liquid darkness, as if a tiny piece of the night sky was trapped within.
Without thinking, he touched one of the cracks with his finger.
The moment his skin made contact with the darkness inside, he felt the same psychic jolt he'd felt in the Knowledge Center, but this time it was different. It wasn't fragmented. It was the whisper of a single, powerful, and ancient consciousness.
He didn't hear words; he felt emotions.
Hunger... loneliness... imprisonment...
And then an image: a vast cosmos, not lit by stars but by purple nebulae. Planets made not of rock and fire, but of frozen shadow and condensed dreams. And beings moved through that cosmos, beings that looked like his own shadow demon—formless, powerful, and hateful of the light.
He felt a name. 'The Void Realm.'
A place that existed beyond the laws of the solar universe. A place where 'Shadow' was life, and 'Light' was a foreign invader.
The sensation was so overwhelming that Aarav cried out and dropped the crystal. He was panting, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"What... what was that?" he asked himself.
This crystal wasn't a Knowledge Crystal. It was a prison. A memory. It held a fragment of the Void Realm within it. Who brought this crystal to Arunachal, and why?
This was far more terrifying than his mother's stories. The Shadow Men weren't just eaters of light. They were inhabitants of an entirely different reality. And somehow, a piece of that reality... was now inside him.
He felt a phantom tingling on his chest where the black mark had been. Was that mark a doorway to the Void Realm on his own skin?
Just then, he heard the distant sound of footsteps in the corridor. Security guards. They were coming to investigate the disturbance in the Knowledge Center.
Aarav quickly scooped up the crystal, hid it back in his cloak, and fled deeper into the darkness.
In Devaraj's Palace...
An icy silence filled the hall. Arkin knelt on one knee, his head bowed. He had reported the entire incident in detail, without making any excuses.
Devaraj sat on his throne, his fingers tapping slowly on the armrest. His face was calm, but a storm was brewing in his eyes.
"So," Devaraj finally said, his voice quiet but lethal. "A 'Null' not only bested you, my finest hunter, but also made a fool of you and escaped."
"My lord, I accept my failure," Arkin said, his voice devoid of emotion. "His power is unpredictable. His shadow absorbed my attack."
"The shadow," Devaraj chewed on the word as if it were poison. "It is not just a shadow, Arkin. It is something else. And his intellect... to use the Knowledge Crystals as a weapon... that is not the act of a scared animal. That is the act of a calculating mind."
Devaraj stood and walked to the window, gazing out at the glittering vista of Arunachal.
"He also stole something from the Knowledge Center," Arkin added. "According to the central registry, an old and damaged crystal is missing from its designated spot. It was classified as 'Category-Void'—an object of unknown or dangerous origin."
Devaraj's body tensed. "Show me the record of the crystal."
Arkin touched a device on his wrist. An image materialized in the air—the same purple, cracked crystal.
Devaraj's eyes widened. He had seen that crystal before. Years ago, when he was just a boy, his father had shown it to him in the archives.
"That is the 'Void Heart'," Devaraj whispered. "A relic... from the Great War of Darkness. It is said to be a piece of a Shadow Man's frozen heart. Our ancestors believed they had drained it of all power, so they kept it in the Knowledge Center as a curiosity."
Everything clicked into place. The boy was connected to this relic somehow. Perhaps the relic itself had awakened the dormant power within him. Or perhaps, the boy himself was a descendant of that power.
"Lock down the city," Devaraj commanded suddenly. "Post guards at every exit. Search every dwelling. I want that boy. And I want that crystal."
"My lord, a city-wide lockdown will cause a panic," Arkin warned.
"Panic is better than what this boy could unleash!" Devaraj thundered, his Solar Aura flaring with anger, raising the temperature in the room. "This is no longer about capturing a fugitive, Arkin. This is about containing a plague. A sickness that could eat our Sun from the inside out."
He turned to Arkin, his eyes filled with a cruel resolve. "The order to capture him alive is now rescinded. If he resists, if he attempts to use that unholy power of his... eliminate him."
Arkin bowed his head in deference, but a seed of unease was planted in his mind. He was a soldier, not an assassin. And in that boy's eyes, he had seen not just a demon, but a scared child.
"Find him," Devaraj said, turning his back.
Arkin vanished from the hall without another word.
Devaraj was left alone, his eyes fixed on the image of the purple crystal. He knew this was no longer a simple manhunt. This was the beginning of an old war, a war his ancestors thought they had won.
And this time, they could not afford to lose.
What effect will the 'Void Heart' crystal have on Aarav? Will it amplify his power, or will it make him more unstable?