Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter Eight: Memories
Memories flashed before Ghaib’s eyes
Children running in tattered, worn-out clothes, their emaciated faces bearing the clear signs of starvation.
His father’s screams echoed inside his head, followed by his mother’s wails as she took the blows without resistance.
Then—
The features of a disfigured girl appeared before him, slowly reaching out her hand toward him... As her eyes filled with tears, she gradually faded from view, and he saw his own hand clutching a blood-soaked knife.
At that very moment, he saw the blade of Shikar’s sword coming straight at him.
His breathing quickened as a sound caught in his throat.
But something unexpected happened.
Shikar’s chest shook violently.
As if chains had wrapped around his heart and tightened their grip on it.
The twisting flame around his sword died down, and then blood spurted from his mouth all at once. His breathing quickened, and foam slowly seeped from his mouth.
His grip loosened completely, and the sword fell from his hand, somersaulting through the air before plunging into the ground.
Meanwhile, his body began to fall downward without resistance.
He slammed into the ground with force.
He struggled to lift his head...
But his body froze, motionless.
It felt as if thousands of daggers were being driven into his back and limbs all at once.
His veins bulged violently beneath his cracked skin, while his eyes turned white.
His mouth opened in a savage scream that shook the place:
“Aaaaaaaaaah!!”
His skin gradually split open, and blood spattered from his body onto the ground.
As he screamed, his consciousness began to slip away.
His fingers stopped moving entirely, and his body remained motionless atop a pool of sticky fluid.
Ghaib’s gaze fell downward as he muttered in a low, agitated voice:
“What... just happened?”
He approached him slowly.
He felt a burning liquid trickling down his cheek.
He raised his hand and touched his face for a moment, then looked at his fingers.
His tears were filling his fingers.
Silence reigned for a few brief seconds, then he whispered with a strange calm:
“It seems that’s enough for today.”
He looked up at Shikar again. The wind ruffled his blood-stained hair, and he said in a cold voice:
“You’re strong... I won’t forget you.”
And on the other side...
Kamal stood in front of a curtain that obscured the entire area from view. He turned to Salim with a sarcastic smile and said:
“Ladies first!”
Salim’s face flushed with anger, and his veins bulged at the mockery, but he ignored it and advanced with steady steps, then cautiously placed his hand on the barrier.
The next moment...
A violent electric shock shot through his arm, forcing him to step back immediately.
Salim looked at Kamal seriously and said, rubbing his hand:
“It seems to be a high-level magical barrier.”
Kamal fixed his gaze on the barrier for a few seconds without responding, then said calmly:
“Step back a little.”
Kamal raised his hands in front of him and slowly approached until he placed them on the magical barrier.
In the blink of an eye, immense energy surged from his body, appearing as an electric current that shot directly toward the barrier, while sparks danced across its surface.
The barrier began to fade gradually... as if shards of glass were shattering, until the veil was completely gone.
Silence reigned.
Shina’s eyes widened with concern as she whispered in a trembling voice:
“Shikar... I hope you’re okay.”
The entire area had been reduced to horrific ruin.
Not a single house remained intact; human limbs were scattered across the ground, mangled corpses lay strewn among the rubble and blood, and a cold wind swept through the scene.
Cars lay smashed and overturned, and power lines were tangled above the devastated streets.
Amidst this scene...
A faint sound rang out. A girl was screaming from beneath the wreckage of a crushed car, while a sticky fluid flowed from her mouth.
Kamal ran toward her quickly, and with one hand he easily lifted the car’s wreckage off her, then flung it aside.
He bent down to check on her.
A sharp piece of metal had pierced her stomach, causing severe bleeding.
Shina placed her hand on Kamal’s shoulder and said:
“Step back a little... I’ll take care of this.”
She approached the injured girl, looked at her, and said reassuringly:
“Don’t be afraid... you’ll be okay.”
Shina placed her palms over the wound, and a green glow flowed from her hands, enveloping the girl’s entire body.
Sweat began to pour from Shina’s forehead as she expended her energy, and slowly the bleeding stopped, then the wound began to heal gradually until it closed completely.
Shina finally raised her hands, breathing heavily.
Kamal turned to Salim and said:
“Salim, you take care of her. As for me and Shina... we’ll go look for Shikar and Devi.”
Ghaib turned slowly, leaving behind Shikar’s motionless body lying in a pool of sticky fluid.
He began to walk forward with unsteady steps, his eyes fixed on the void, filling with tears.
And with every step—
his features grew paler and more rigid, as if he were drowning in a memory from which he could not escape.
And suddenly—
Kamal and Shina appeared before him. Kamal’s lips moved slowly, then he said in a calm tone:
“Where are you going?”
Then his smile widened slightly.
“We’re here now... you should welcome us.”
Shina’s gaze darted frantically from side to side, searching for Shikar amid the destruction.
She muttered to herself with mounting anxiety:
Where is he...? Where...?
Her eyes locked onto him. His body lay sprawled over a massive pool of blood.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she immediately rushed toward him.
Kamal grabbed her wrist tightly. She stopped in her tracks, then looked up at him. Her voice trembled as she whispered:
“He’s going to die...”
But Kamal didn’t take his eyes off Ghaib, and said in a sharp, calm tone:
“Wait.”
Ghaib looked at them in silence.
Then he slowly raised his hand and quickly wiped away his tears, as if trying to hide them.
He said in a weary voice:
“I’m not that stupid... to welcome you.”
His eyes settled on Kamal.
“Especially you.”
Kamal laughed with a hint of sarcasm, then said:
“How mean of you... but it seems we’ve interrupted your dramatic moment.”
Ghaib looked at him for a long moment, then said in a faint voice:
“No... you saved me from it.”
Then he added with a strange calm:
“It seems my time here is up.”
And his body began to fade away gradually, like smoke. Kamal took a step forward and whispered coldly:
“You won’t escape me again.”
Ghaib’s dry lips moved into a faint smile:
“That is... if you ever see me again.”
He vanished completely.
Silence reigned for a moment.
Kamal finally let go of Shina’s hand, and she sprinted toward Shikar as fast as she could.
Shina’s breathing quickened as she struggled to roll Shikar onto his back.
His body was covered in wounds and lacerations, and blood had congealed over his torn skin. She placed both hands on his chest, her whole body trembling.
She murmured in a choked voice:
“No... no... don’t leave us, Shikar...”
Her eyes trembled wildly as she stared at his motionless body, her breath mingling with stifled sobs.
And suddenly—
A scream rang out from the distance. Salim was shouting at the top of his lungs: “I found Devi! He’s in critical condition!”
Kamal turned toward him immediately. The veins in his fist bulged violently, and his eyes gradually reddened as he muttered in a low, cold voice:
“I’ll kill them all...”
On the other side of Maliswar—
Jin was staggering through an alleyway, leaning heavily against the wall.
His feet suddenly stumbled, and he nearly fell—
But before he hit the ground, a hand grabbed his shoulder. It was Ghaib.
He looked at him silently, then said coldly: “You’re in a pitiful state.”
The corners of Jin’s mouth turned up in a faint smile, and he said in a weary voice:
“I’m no worse off than you...”
Meanwhile, at the home of Mahmoud, Hidara’s father—
I was lying on my bed, staring silently at the ceiling. The ticking of the clock never left my ears.
Tick... tick... tick...
Thoughts were racing through my head nonstop. I couldn’t close my eyes for even a moment.
As darkness engulfed the room, I kept staring at the ceiling,
my mind repeating over and over:
Tomorrow... it all begins.
