"Why won't you just die?!" Nazim roared, his voice distorted with fury. He turned to the creature beside him. "Lizard! Go, feast on his skull!"
On his command, the reptilian monstrosity lunged at Kashi, its jaws unhinging to deliver a lethal bite. But Kashi was no longer the boy he once was. Within his mortal frame, the divine essence of Yamraj, the Lord of Justice, had been summoned. In a flicker of movement, Kashi blurred, vanishing from the monster's path only to reappear instantly behind it.
The lizard let out a guttural screech—Gwaaa!—and swung a massive fist. Kashi didn't dodge. He met the attack with a punch of his own. The resulting shockwave was so violent that the kinetic energy literally stripped the scales from the monster's arm. Nazim's confident smirk vanished, replaced by pale-faced shock.
As the beast wailed in agony, Kashi placed a steady hand upon its trembling muscles. A voice that resonated with the weight of eternity spoke through him: "Tava pāpānāṁ ghaṭaḥ pūrṇaḥ; adyāvadhi tvayā kevalaṁ duṣkarmāṇy eva kṛtāni." (The vessel of your sins is full; until this day, you have committed only evil.)
From Kashi's palm, a terrifying flame erupted. It was a paradoxical fire—grey with charcoal-black textures, so biting cold that frost instantly crystallized on the nearby ground, yet possessing a heat so intense it reduced the monster to nothingness. When the light faded, only a pile of silent ash remained.
Seizing a moment of distraction, Nazim launched a desperate surprise attack, punching Kashi through the wall of a burning house. The structure groaned as Kashi crashed inside.
"Hahaha! You killed that weakling," Nazim spat, trying to mask his fear. "You may have gained sudden power, but it will take you centuries to match me!"
The rubble shifted. Kashi emerged from the inferno, the flames licking at his skin without leaving a mark. He reached into the debris and pulled a massive, burning wooden pillar from the wreckage with one hand. With effortless strength, he snapped off two jagged lengths of wood, shaping them into makeshift swords of fire.
"You are evil," Kashi said, pointing a flaming blade at Nazim before vanishing into a blur again.
"Where is he?! Again?!" Nazim panicked, his eyes darting wildly.
Kashi reappeared inches from Nazim's face. A relentless barrage of slashes followed. The speed was blinding; Nazim, for all his monstrous strength, couldn't find an opening to counter. For the first time in his transformed state, Nazim felt the sting of his own blood. His hide, which could withstand anti-tank missiles, was being carved apart by wooden sticks held by a god.
However, the cost was high. Kashi's human vessel was not forged to contain the raw power of Yamraj. The small cracks that had appeared on his skin were now widening rapidly, glowing with a dangerous internal light. He was a ticking time bomb.
In a final surge, Kashi driven both swords through Nazim's shoulders, pinning him. He let out a primal yell as the grey flames surged from the blades, engulfing Nazim from the inside out. As Nazim shriveled under the divine heat, reverting to his human form, a shadow suddenly loomed over the battlefield.
A high-tech jet, marked with a singular geometric insignia, descended silently. A man leapt from the craft, landing with impossible grace amidst the ruins. He was a figure of disciplined power: greying hair tied back, a sharp, composed gaze, wearing a simple white shirt and an orange dhoti. In his hand, he gripped a golden staff, eight feet tall and etched with ancient runes.
"So," the man muttered, glancing at the carnage. "This is the 'trouble' Iyer mentioned?"
He moved with terrifying efficiency. With one swift motion of his staff, he knocked Kashi away from Nazim. Kashi recovered instantly, launching a flying kick at the newcomer's face, but the man didn't flinch. It was like striking a mountain.
"Hmm, is that all the strength you have?" the man asked calmly. He seized Kashi by the neck and slammed him into the earth, the impact shattering the concrete for meters around. Kashi's body, riddled with cracks, finally gave out.
"What a mess you've made," the man sighed. Seeing the divine energy leaking out, he placed a glowing locket around Kashi's neck. "Wear this. It will keep your power in check."
The grey smoke receded. Kashi's body began to knit itself back together as he reverted to his human state, falling unconscious. The man slung the boy over his shoulder and boarded the jet as the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon.
Moments after they vanished, a massive, invisible metallic plate—thirty meters wide—descended over the ruins. A beam of light shot down, tractor-beaming the broken Nazim into the sky before the ship vanished into the void.
Deep Space: The Edge of the Galaxy
Inside a fortress-ship so vast it defied human measurement, a shadow spoke to a throne.
"Sire... Code X, the human known as Nazim, has failed his mission."
The figure on the throne was human-sized, but surrounded by hundreds of writhing, dark tentacles. His eyes glowed a malevolent pink. "Where is Dr. Dk? Bring him to me."
A massive cyborg-monster, half-human and half-beast, materialized in a flash of light. "Your Majesty! You summoned me?"
Without a word, the King's psychic grip hoisted the doctor into the air. Tentacles began to tear at the doctor's flesh.
"Mercy, Sire! Mercy!" Dr. Dk screamed. "We have lost the battle, but Code X proved the biology is compatible! I can build you an army! I can give you the mortal life you crave! Just one more chance!"
The King dropped him. "One last chance, Doctor. If you fail again, you know the penalty. This time, the tide turns. This world will be mine."
The doctor and his assistant, Aani, retreated instantly, teleporting to their secondary ship—a vessel 143,000 kilometers long.
"That was too close," Dr. Dk wheezed.
"Sir," Aani asked as they walked through the gargantuan hangar. "Who are these people? Why have our ancestors always failed to conquer them?"
"I don't know much," Dr. Dk replied darkly. "Only stories from my parents. There was a warrior... a name I can't quite recall. But they used to say he was like a second sun. Regardless, we are ready now. Aani, take the team to Earth. My informants are already there. They've even recruited a new local... someone named Nazim."
The massive ship ignited its engines, streaking toward the Milky Way at the speed of light.
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UPCOMING: Who's that man ?..