In Mumbai, India, on a late summer night.
Tick tock.
The clock’s sound repeated as silence roamed in little Rohan’s bedroom. Rohan was an eight-year-old boy with straight, silky hair that covered his nape and wide brown eyes.
He sat on his bed reading a fantasy book called "Death and Adventure." It was his sole source of entertainment as the rest of his toys were either shattered in the drunk rampages of his father or stolen by his mother to satisfy her drug addiction.
Rohan rested on his bed, placed the book beside him, and said, “It would be nice to become a strong king. I would make crime and drugs disappear.” He rested on his side and added, “I guess having a strong queen is also good. She can protect my kingdom while I’m fighting wars. She can give me stronger children, so my bloodline never loses.”
He closed his eyes and murmured, “I would do anything to make that happen.”
As he neared sleep, the door of his house opened, and soon, the foul smell of alcohol followed. His heart began to beat rapidly, his limbs grew hotter, and he became restless.
If there were anything he wished for now, it would be for his father to be too drunk to become violent and hopefully focus his attention on his mother. She can’t feel the pain anyway.
“Please don’t climb the stairs,” Rohan muttered. Yet, not all of our wishes come true. “Rohan!! Come down here, right now!!” His drunk father shouted angrily.
Rohan cried. He stood slowly as his body felt like it weighed a ton. With each step he took to his room’s door, his heart’s beat increased to the point where it felt like it would explode.
He opened his room’s door and instinctively held the frame. He whined and sobbed as fear crippled him. “Rohan!! I can hear you crying like a girl!!” His father shouted angrily.
Rohan took a deep breath and headed downstairs to his father, accepting the cruel fate he would face. He stood before his father with his head down and prayed that this encounter would pass peacefully.
The father gripped his collar, shook him violently, and shouted, “What took you so long!!?” Rohan sobbed and said fearfully, “I’m sorry, papa.”
The father let go of him and slapped him harshly with his backhand. He stood over Rohan and shouted, “Apologies won’t make it better!! How many times have I told you that!!?”
Rohan cried while he lay on the floor. He looked at his father with teary eyes and said fearfully, “I’m sorry!” The father grunted like a mad bull, then kicked Rohan’s stomach forcefully and repeatedly. Rohan couldn’t do anything but squeal and weep like a pig. He tried his best to catch his breath between the intervals of kicks.
Luckily for him, his mother returned home. She grabbed a bat and smacked his father’s head. She kneeled and started searching his pockets, hoping he had enough rupees for her to buy a fix.
Rohan looked at her with pain in his eyes. She looked at him, acting like she was about to hit him next, and growled, “What are you looking at!? I’m not sharing any money!”
Rohan quickly stood and fled to his room. Once he entered, he closed the door gently, not wanting to fuel potential wrathful attacks. Even when he walked to his bed, he was careful not to make noise. He gently lay down, buried his face in his pillow, and began to cry silently.
Amid his weeping, a young girl sat atop the drawer facing his bed. She had a grey skin tone. Her eyeballs were black, and her irises were shaped like a white crescent moon. She wore a dark blue dress and a blue head veil loosely wrapped around her head. The little girl wiggled her legs, smiled at Rohan, and said, “You shouldn’t cry, Rohan.”
Rohan sat up, looked at her in shock, and asked, “How did you get in?” The little girl giggled and said, “I didn’t break in. You called for me. I came here to fulfill your wish.”
Rohan crossed his legs, looked away, and said, “I’m not sure if I ever want that wish anymore. How can I be a great king when I can’t live and act like one?” The little girl jumped off the drawer, approached him, and said, “You’re only a boy, lonely and weak, but I can change you. Nurture you into becoming a great man loved by his people and feared by his enemies.”
Rohan looked at her as he sobbed and asked, “How?” The little girl smirked, held his hand lovingly, and said, “Accept me as your one true goddess and worship me devoutly.” “What should I call you?” Rohan asked. Her face brightened, and she said, “You can call me Manat, the moon goddess.”
Rohan wiped his tears and said, “I accept you as my goddess, Manat.”
Manat hid her hands behind her back and said, “Not so fast, Rohan. First, you must make a great sacrifice in my name.” Rohan stared at her attentively, eager to hear what Manat wanted from him.
Manat pulled out a wicked-looking knife, dark and unholy. She extended the blade to him and said, “Kill Raju and Geeta. And you shall attain what you wished for.” Those were the names of his parents.
Rohan hopped off his bed, took the knife, hugged Manat, and said, “Thank you, my goddess.” Then he ran out of his room. As Rohan reached the stairs, he heard his parents fighting again.
It seemed that Raju recovered quickly after being hit on the head. He descended the stairs and saw his parents grabbing each other’s collars and hitting one another. “You fucking, junkie! I’ll kill you!” His father shouted. “You poverty-ridden asshole!! Why are you always poor!!?” His mother shouted. Geeta threw Raju onto the floor and began hammering his face as she mounted him.
Rohan used the opportunity to sneak behind his mother, pull her hair, and slice her throat. Her blood gushed and poured onto Raju’s face; it was like a never-ending stream.
Raju screamed in horror at the sight and gargled as the blood poured into his mouth. He immediately shoved her away and gasped fearfully. He sat up, noticed the knife in Rohan’s hand, then glared at him and shouted, “You stupid child! I should’ve sold you when I had the chance!!” Rohan whimpered and stepped back.
Raju stood and pounced on him. He gripped his throat and began choking him while he screamed like a madman. Rohan screamed dryly and struck his father’s arms as hard as he could, but he was too strong for him to break free. Rohan’s right hand swiped in a panic in an attempt to find the knife before his father killed him. His vision darkened, and Rohan felt that his end was near.
The wicked knife moved and flew right back into his hand. Rohan gripped it firmly and stabbed his father’s armpit at first. He pulled out the knife and stabbed his father’s side, chest, stomach, and neck. Raju shrieked and fell on Rohan. Rohan shoved his father, and he fell on his back. He mounted him and continued to stab him more than thirty times while he cried.
Suddenly, someone banged at the door and shouted, “Police!! Open the door!” Not soon after, the door was broken, and armed officers in brown uniforms barged in with their pistols drawn.
An officer pointed his gun at Rohan. He was shocked at the sight before his eyes, and his jaw dropped. He aimed his gun again and said authoritatively, “Drop your knife, son!”
Rohan glared at him, fury and bloodlust still coursing in his veins. He stood up and growled, “No.” Then he approached. “Drop it!” The officer commanded. Rohan tried to lunge at the officer, and he, in return, fired a bullet. But the bullet never strayed away from its barrel.
Time had come to a halt; the moment and environment were suspended and frozen.
Manat appeared behind Rohan, strolled beside the parents' corpses, and chirped, “Well done!” She hurried to Rohan joyfully, wrapped her left arm around him, held out her right hand, then snapped her fingers, and they disappeared.
The flow of time resumed, and the bullet flew past where Rohan’s body would’ve been and ricocheted off the floor.
The officer looked around in shock and wondered where Rohan disappeared.
In an otherworldly plane.
Rohan and Manat sat on the carpet as they flew in a bizarre tunnel. The inside was glowing purple and pink.
Rohan looked around and asked, “Where are we?” Manat looked at him and said, “We’re in a tunnel. I’m taking you to your new home.” Rohan looked at her and said, “But we left Earth. Where can I go?” Manat crossed her legs and said, “Plenty of other Earths to be found.” Rohan looked down as he was saddened.
Manat held his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you until you’re ready for your new life.”
In the new world, at a cave entrance overlooking a great forest.
The two emerged from a purple portal and landed gently on the floor. Rohan approached the edge and stared at the great forest before him. Manat approached him and asked, “Do you like it?” Rohan smiled at the view and chirped, “This land is beautiful.” Manat smiled and said, “You’re not ready for it yet.”
Rohan turned to her with a saddened look. Manat gestured to the cave and said, “Come with me. I’ll bless you with all the earthly knowledge and sculpt you into a leader worth following.”
Rohan spent his childhood and teenage years in that cave. During that time, he learned about the history of this world and its struggles. He understood and studied all the races and species, from the most insignificant to the most prominent. He carved into his memory their culture and way of life.
But information alone isn’t enough to make him into what he desired. It was merely the first phase of his development.
The second phase was to help Rohan become a better fighter. Manat created for him a companion. One with rich blue skin, messy black hair, and four arms. It was a human-like creation whose sole purpose was to serve and protect Rohan. It was named V.
Rohan and V sparred intensely, but Rohan was never an equal to a creature that was manifested for the sake of battle; well, for now, that is.
The third phase included practicing mystic and arcane arts. Rohan learned the letters and words and studied how spells and charms work. It was only a matter of time before mages and sorcerers got wind of Rohan’s existence in this foreign world. He needed to shield himself with magic and the moon's power.
After grueling years of relentless training and practice, Rohan was ready to make himself known to the world.
He was now a man, twenty-four years old. His face became fierce. He was no longer the weak-looking child that he was. His skin roughened, and his facial hair grew. He had a slim mustache and a medium-length goatee. His hair grew longer; it was medium length, thick and puffy with a combed-back style.
Rohan stepped out of the cave and stared at the forest he adored when he first came.
He was wearing dark blue robes and wrapped a beige scarf around his waist. His body grew larger and taller; his waist was small, his shoulders were broad, and his chest was puffed.
V approached Rohan, pointed at a spot in the forest, and said, “There’s a small village in that area. We should visit it first.” They headed to the desolate area among the thick trees and soon arrived at it.
Calling that place a village was an overstatement. It was merely three shacks that housed a group of monsters. Those slime monsters were colored sky blue. They were a meter tall and shaped like a ball. Rohan approached them and stood before them with a gentle smile. The slimes were terrified that a human had found them. They joined together and formed one giant slime, hoping to scare them off.
The giant slime approached Rohan and said, “Leave us alone, human! We’ve never attacked or harmed one of your own.” Rohan looked at it and said, “I’ve been guided to you by the goddess. I came here to spread her message to her faithful.”
The slimes became disjointed. They took the form of bipedal creatures and surrounded Rohan. The leader of the slimes stood before him and said, “I’ve seen many frauds who claimed to be guided by the goddess. Prove your claim, or we’ll kill you for blasphemy.”
Rohan extended his right arm and showed his palm to the slime leader. It had the mark of the crescent moon colored black, then suddenly it shined in a bright red hue, but the emergence of an awaited one wasn’t going to be mundane.
Rohan smacked his heart forcefully, and his aura shot up to the sky. The bright sun was removed by force, and the red crescent moon loomed in the dark sky. Every insect, animal, beast, monster, person, noble, King, and emperor rushed out of their shelters and watched the sky in horror as it was a heavenly sign that declared the emergence of the awaited one.
The slime leader fell on his knees and shouted fearfully, “The long night and the red crescent have appeared. Thank the goddess and her servant.”
Rohan looked at him and said, “Spread the word. The servant of the goddess has emerged, and I aim to unite the creation to restore balance to this world.”
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The End
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