“But can’t you both just work together. I mean you both are doing the same thing.”
“Yes, but there are some complications. Don’t worry, take it easy. You are new, it will take time but you will eventually understand everything.”
“Ok” I say but it is not ok for me because I am sensing something deadly around me. I don’t know but I am lucky for being alive, it’s just that I don’t know what I am up for.
I have not noticed that we are actually in the throne room. I am still looking at Raiken as he is telling me how he spent his last 7 years in the Dark Order.
“And then I went on to become the leader of the Dark Order.” Raiken says.
“So, you have trained this human enough to keep his head” Dark lord says as Raiken bows down and I am still in my own imagination unaware of the situation befalling me.
“You must learn some manners though, human” Rhenheim interrupts my imagination to bring me back to my senses.
“Sorry, my lease” and I bend down to bow before Dark lord. Heck, if he gets agitated, I am so dead.
“Rise” Dark lord says and raises right hand to gesture us to stand up.
“I have done my best to teach him what I could in the given time.” Raiken says.
“Well, now that everyone has gathered bring forth the traitor” Dark Lord Orders his troops.
I look back to see the guy who attacked earth tied in chains being dragged towards us and with him the other members of Dark Order coming. He is put down in front of me and the others gather around us with Raiken.
“Rozok, you have sullied the name of Dark Order by breaking not one but two rules at the same time.” Dark Lord says angrily looking down at him. I am glaring straight at him. Raiken puts a hand on my shoulder and says
“It is your duty as the new member to finish him” I feel creeps rising inside me as he says this. I can’t kill someone, it’s too much. Now I feel like I have ended up in a pretty bad situation.
Talking about bad situation, Ishaan and Mirana have arrived at the airport and are waiting for someone outside. They are back in their home city of Nagpur, a tiny city in the middle of India.
Nagpur – India – Earth,
“You have to handle this, alright” Mirana says as she pulls a bag towards her.
“Ah! well leaving that aside, it feels so good to be back home, I wish he was here” Ishaan says as he looks at a distance and notices a familiar car coming towards them. Mirana also notices it and holds her bags.
“Our ride has arrived. Wait, is that...”
“Well, that’s another problem to solve” Ishaan says as he tries to calm himself down.
The car stops in front of them and a girl comes out of the car and looks at both of them with a smile. Her hairs are straight with a ponytail. She is wearing a casual outfit and has beautiful eyes. She is pretty slim and looks like she is a few years younger to them. Her Complexion matching to her top. A pink top and a black jean suiting her skin in every way. She has a sharper nose and a cute face and to top all of that she is as white as Mirana.
“Hey, how are you guys?” She greets with a cute smile on her face.
“Hi, Minu, you have grown up a lot” Mirana responds as she moves forward to hug her. Ishaan picks up the bags and puts it in the back cabin of the car.
“So, you have come to pick us up” Ishaan says as he puts the bag in and shuts the door.
“Yeah, actually others are busy in their job and I was the only one there doing nothing, so I came” Minal says.
“I am glad that you came, let’s go” Mirana says as she opens the door of the car.
All of them sit in the car and Minal starts the car.
“Hold on, you are dropping me at my home or your home?” Ishaan asks.
“Don’t worry, I will drop you at your place.” Minal replies. She puts the feet on the pedal and drives the car from the airport…
Grand Hall – Hell,
“For misuse of the power granted to you and for attacking a planet which was off limits, I, the Ruler and keeper of Hell, sentence you to death at the hands of the person whose world you tried to destroy. Thus, eliminating the 9th member of the Dark Order” Dark Lord commands.
“Do it” Raiken says to me and I clench my fist tight on the handle of a sword and swing it. Chop! Falls his head on the floor and blood everywhere. I am shivering but I feel satisfied somehow. Killing him feels like I have done something good. The blood on the sword is dripping and I don’t know what to do next or how to react.
“There shall always be 9 Members of the Dark Order and now Zunzar you are the 9th” Dark Lord says with a proud feeling and clenches his fist of right hand while looking at me. I simply get down on my knees and put the sword straight in front of me.
Something emerges from Dark Lord’s hand and it looks like a black aura with some reddish glow to it. He opens his fist to reveal a sphere kind of entity floating in his hand. He propels it towards me and it goes straight inside me. I feel tremendous amount of pain as my body straightens out and the sphere fuses with me. I rise above the ground and I sense a jolt of power inside me. Unable to speak I clench my fist hard. I see red light erupting from my eyes as my vision turns red. I descend back to ground and sit on my knees.
“Rise, with the new power and show me your worth, Zunzar!” Dark lord commands.
I look up towards him, his eyes glow red and a black aura covers his body. He has a smirk on his face
“On your command, my lease” I say with smirk on my face.
The power surging through me is incredible. I can sense it flow through every vein of my body.
“What is this power?” I ask
“It is the power of Darkness, now take the oath with us” Raiken replies.
Everyone around me pull out their weapons and form a circle. They keep the weapons in front while holing it in their hands. I also follow them and pull out the battle axe hanging on my back.
Raiken says the oath “In the name of the Dark Lord, we serve. By letting the darkness flow through us, we bring light to the world. Forged by the fires of Hell, we rise. Striking anyone who threatens the balance of this Universe. We are the loyal Warriors, the pride of the Hell. We are the Dark Order.” Everyone raises their weapons in the air.
Raiken’s word pierce through my heart as if I am part of something really big. I have actually not done anything in my life which is useful, I have just been a waste but now I feel like I can make a difference by serving and fighting, maybe this is my destiny……
While Zunzar is busy in the new world he has entered, Mirana and Ishaan are still figuring out the world waiting for them as they get back home with many questions rattling in their minds. They don’t know what it has in store for them...
To be continued.......
CHAPTER 3
Reunion
Raiken and Zunzar are walking down the passage and Zunzar seems to be in his own thoughts while Raiken is just indulged in walking while keeping a straight face. Zunzar murmurs something which disrupts Raiken’s straight face and he looks down at Zunzar. Well, Raiken is 2 feet taller than Zunzar after all.
[Zunzar]
“Anything bothering you?” Raiken asks, still looking at me.
My thoughts get disturbed,
“Ah, nothing to worry about.”
“what happened?”
“I haven’t been feeling a need to eat or sleep from past 2 days, what is happening?”
“Well, the Dark Power handles it. You will not feel any need to eat, sleep, drink, or poop either. The power fuels our body instead of the material thing and thus we don’t feel anything.”
“Okay, so like, it will not affect me or something, right?”
“No, our body just functions normally besides a few parts. Don’t worry it’s not that big deal.”
“Okay, a few parts…” I laugh sarcastically
“We are almost there. Don’t worry, you will only die” Raiken says jokingly…
I lo
ok at him in a shocking fear…
“Welcome to The Forge, where all the weapons and equipment of the Hell are made and its keeper is Maywire, a mighty beast but at the same time he is the only nice guy in the entire Hell.”
“Sounds fun” I reply with blank expression.
“Yeah, a guy like you should be able to get company with him, after all you are also like him.”
“Is that a compliment, Boss”
“Boss…”
“Others call you the boss, so I thought...”
“Nah, boss is fine” Raiken interrupts.
We arrive at the Forge. It is a beautiful place with its own elegance. The lights shine bright but look like tiny points of light flying around. The background of the Forge is scenic with all the magma flowing and falling. At the very centre lies a big circular stage were a guy is sitting in his chair and doing something on a holographic projection which looks like a screen. He looks as huge and muscular as Dark lord with all those muscles flinching as he moves his body. Buffed and a dynamic build with long braided hairs and braided beard. Stone cold look and an adamant face. Blue eyes, broad nose, tanned skin, medieval clothing straight out of Viking. I wonder what’s it with weapon smiths and Vikings.
“Wow! so this is the Forge” I couldn’t resist but compliment the looks of the Forge. I am mesmerised by it and besides the rest of hell is not so fascinating.
“This is where you are going to get your weapons the way you want”
“Raiken, welcome. Oh, you are the new recruit, Zunzar” The Guy at the forge speaks.
“Nice to see you, Maywire.” Raiken replies.
“How do you know my Name?” I ask Maywire.
“Everyone knows your name, after all you are the first human to join the Dark Order.” Maywire replies to me quite nicely.
“Really?” A sign of disbelief from me.
“Yes, nobody told you?” Maywire says and I look at Raiken for not telling me. That is pretty amazing on its own that I am the only human in the history to actually become a member of Dark Order.
“We are here to get weapons for him” Raiken says as he points his fingers towards me.
“He is approximately 6 feet tall and has a athletic build, he will require weapons of shorter length than the average” Maywire says as he analyses my body. A light and versatile armour design will unlock his full potential.
Maywire opens a HUD and types in some data and suddenly lots of icons pop on the HUD. He goes through them and selects some of them and then swipes them to his right.
“Well, I have sent the data of your body so your suit will be ready in an hour or so. Now, what weapon would you like to have?” Maywire turns towards me and asks.
“Um, a battle axe would be nice but I would like to have another weapon with me just in case...” I say to Maywire while thinking about all sorts of weapons I know off.
“Yeah, he has a problem with losing weapons while fighting” Raiken comments sarcastically while giving me a tilted look.
“Yes, I can provide you that but it is better to carry only two of them at a time or you will not be able to perform well as your weight will increase reducing your efficiency in combat” Maywire explains to me.
“Yeah, I just want two so that if I lose my battle axe I can still engage with the enemy.” I reply while looking at Raiken who looks really happy that I admit of losing my weapons.
“So, you want something which stays on in a battle, like an attached weapon”
“Yes. Is there any?” curiosity is one of my perks.
“Let’s talk about axes first” Raiken interrupts
“Sure”
“Okay, so here are some battle axes available with me now” Maywire displays holographic projections of 7 battle axes in front of me.
“I will take this one” I choose a double-sided battle axe with a skull in the centre.
“GO ahead, take it” Maywire says.
I grab the handle and suddenly I can feel it in my hand. The projection starts to fade as the actual battle axe takes its place. With it all the other axes also vanish. The Battle axe looks really badass to start with. I swing it a bit and look towards Maywire.
“It’s good, I like it” I can feel the grip and the shine on the blade’s end with the skull design, makes me swing it.
“Okay, for the attached one?” Maywire asks
“Anything that cuts would be nice” Still admiring the blade.
“There are few which I can make in 2 hours or so. let me show you”
He opens up the display and shows all kinds of weapon he has in store. I look at every one of them when my eyes lock at one of the equipment which looks like a claw.
“What is that claw thing” I ask.
“Oh, it’s a monster claw, usually used as a sidearm, wearable equipment and not so efficient at cutting but versatile if you know how to.”
“Okay so it can be worn all the time”
“Yes, if you want to. Okay wait, Bring your hand forward.”
“Okay” I bring my forward with my palm faced down and he swiftly projects the holographic model around my arm. I can see it with my own eyes and it moves according to my hand.
“This tech is too cool” I mean it’s awesome but I have to show a much calmer reaction. Inside I am freaking out.
“Yeah, don’t worry you will get used to it. So, do you like it?” Raiken says noticing my inner excitement.
“Yeah, but I need the claw blades a little longer to deal more damage. If that wouldn’t be a problem”
“Okay I will add it to this data but making them longer will make your hand useless to keep a weapon in hand”
“See what you can do to increase the cut” I request
“Okay”
He inputs the information and turns to his screen and types some information. Raiken looks around the forge and waits for me to finish with Maywire.
“So, done then, I will send it you in 2 hours”
“Okay, thanks Maywire” I reply with a smile.
“Let’s go then we have other things to discuss with the team.” Raiken says as soon as I finish my sentence.
We both start walking away from the Forge and Raiken looks at me with a bold look in his eyes, wonder what he is thinking.
Earth,
[Ishaan]
Unaware of the vast world around, earth has its own share of problems and one of them being the recent events which led UN to change its policies and create new divisions under its commission. The scientists all around the world have been at work ever since the physics known to us was rendered useless. UN activity around the world escalated quickly and they started hiring more scientists and engineers to work on their top-secret division known as the SDC. The political situation took an entirely different route after the incident. Before it all happened, the world was at the brink of war and then suddenly everyone started to work together for the world itself because you can’t rule a world which doesn’t exist.
Whatever the cause maybe but people around the world have started moving really different than before. It has been opened to questions which were thought irrelevant just a few days ago. I am in India, but it feels like I never left my world. It feels good to be home but at the same time it has become crucial for me to find what I came looking for here. Mirana is still trying to convince Zunzar’s family about the situation but from the looks of it, it’s going bad. While she is busy explaining I am digging out as much information as possible on the events happening around the world.
“I know where it is, so are you coming or not?” Mirana asks as she looks agitatedly at me.
“Yeah, go on ahead I will join you” I reply to keep myself safe from her.
“Ishaan, you better be right about this.” She definitely looks angry and frustrated.
“Yeah”
Mirana walks away and I stand here, typing messages on my phone…
Mirana enters in a room…
[Mirana]
His family has been a
sking a lot of questions and I have not been able to answer any of them. Well, I have taken some time on my hand but one or the other day I think we all will mourn for him. I don’t know but I feel he is alive somewhere. Ishaan will join me soon so it’s my duty to go on and find what he left behind as quickly as possible.
“You need Help?” Minal comes and interrupts my thoughts.
“I will handle it” I reply still thinking about the scenario in my head.
“I don’t have anything else to do at the moment and besides, I know what you told mom was a lie.”
“You know?” I ask her in shock
“Yeah, actually Aniket told me. He was in touch with Zunzar.”
“Aniket? So, he also knows.”
“Yes, don’t worry Mirana, you are not alone” She says with a smile on her face, clearly to show me how strong a person has to be in such situations. Clearly something I need to be.
“Thanks, so shall we go ahead then”
“Yeah”
“By the way, he never mentioned that his sister was so mature and kind.” I say to lighten the mood
“Well, I am” She replies and we both share a laugh together…
UNHQ-Brussels,
The tension in the UNHQ is immense. The council is currently sitting in the conference hall, where many scientists and leaders from all around the globe have gathered to share their opinions and views…
“We have changed all the plans accordingly, now all we need is, to find out what they came here for and who they are?” UN head speaks in the meeting room were all the leader of the nations and UN council is present.
“Sir, I would like to interrupt and I apologize for it” A person standing in the corner says as he walks down the stairs.
“And who are you?” UN head asks as his expressions change into a hostile one. Everyone turns to look at him.
“I am just an enthusiast who wants to give his theory on this matter” He says.
“Proceed”
“But sir- “Let the man say.” A sub-ordinate tries to speak buts the Head cuts him short.
“So, according to the data I collected, I theorise that the aliens were here looking for some kind of energy source which we don’t know off.”
Universal War- the New World Page 4