Sia is just as tall as Mirana and way slim and trim than her. I would seriously call her the perfect zero figure. She has blonde hairs or as they say she dyed it, before they were brown. Sharp green eyes and sharp nose with a very visible jawline and an oval shape of head. She is very particular about her clothing as to what Mirana described. Well it does seem like it. Tight jeans, crop top and her hairs only shoulder length long with a frowning attitude clearly visible on her face. She works for the fashion industry is what Mirana said. No wonder she has a bling to her.
“Hey there, Sia” Rose says rather unwillingly.
“Hey, Rose” Sia replies and the atmosphere around them seems pretty dense. Rose looks kind of agitated to see Sia while Mirana seems happy to see them both but I can sense her need to unite them both. She has a troubled smile after all. Besides I won’t blame Rose for feeling agitated by the way Sia holds herself.
Everyone in the room seems pretty rough with one or the other person around them. Well, what I have in my hand here is a list of all of them with their traits, qualities, and information about them. Aniket gave it to me, but I really don’t understand why. Well this is what it is...
After some time, I realise the tension which brews between them is not because they haven’t been in contact but rather the hatred for each other because of the past they have been through. There was a time when my brother used to talk about them and all the things they did in college. I do remember all of it but the one thing that gets me all the time is how did they all end up like this, broken, careless, alone…
“Hey, Minal you seem pretty busy in those pages” Mirana snapped me out of my thought process.
“Yeah… I was just… going through some things my brother wrote” I answer and can’t help but notice some trouble on Mirana’s face.
“Are you Okay? You seem pretty… beat up…” I ask hesitantly
Mirana lets a deep breath out. “Let’s talk outside, shall we?” She proposes.
I follow her out of the garage just outside the door.
“You are as perceptive as your brother. I’ll give you that” Mirana says
“Thanks” Well that is definitely a compliment to me. I am kind of trying to walk in his shoes here.
“Well, everything seems to be going rather bad. I don’t understand what should I do? When did it go so wrong?” Mirana questions herself and looks really miserable to me.
“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened” I comment
“He didn’t tell you this part, did he?” Mirana asks
“No, at one point he stopped telling me anything”
“When was it?”
“I guess, approx. 5 years ago”
“That is exactly when all of it happened”
“What happened?”
“Exodus…”
“But you said nobody knew about exodus” that is something I didn’t expect her to say
“Yes, because even I didn’t realise it until now that he was planning it since those days”
“You mean everything happening now has to do with Exodus?”
“Maybe… I am not so sure”
“How are we going to make this work?” trying to keep myself together
“I don’t know, that’s why I had you come outside and help me”
“If you ask me, I won’t be much of a help if I don’t know why they all are in such a bad mood”
“Promise me, this stays within the two of us”
“Okay, promise”
Unknown Location – Hell,
[Zunzar]
Zunzar is sitting among a pile of books as if he is some kind of a researcher, Zunzar scratches his head as he goes through a book.
“Do you need anything master?” Maiden asks
“No… I am fine, thanks”
This language is hard but I have to read these books in order to get a better understanding of this world. I have nowhere to go, nothing to do besides training which I am not interested in doing the entire time so I have surrounded myself with books. At least gaining some knowledge will help me in the long run. Suddenly a thought comes to my mind, why would maiden be here anyway, so I turn to her with doubt and ask,
“Why are you here anyway?”
“Actually, since you can’t teleport within the territories of Hell, Raiken master ordered me to stay by your side.”
“Since you are here, can you help keep these books back?”
“Anything for my master” She confirms confidently and magically levitates the books back to their respective shelves.
Her charm makes me blush and feel excited but then I pull myself back before it turns out any weird than it has to. The only thought that comes to my mind is of Mirana. I can’t cheat on her ever.
“Thanks” I reply awkwardly and exhale deeply while loosening my collar. The Maiden’s charm is indeed something one can’t seem to evade as she is the most perfect female one could find and to add cherry on the top, she wears quite the sexy outfit.
7 Hours Later on Earth…
[Minal]
It’s almost early morning and the discussion about the Exodus project seems to be going smoothly around this time. Everyone is following Minal’s suggestion, and things seem to be working out.
“Now that we have got the things sorted, does anyone else has to say something about it?” Mirana asks
Everyone looks around and then turn towards Mirana with a no. Mirana glances at the papers and then looks at everyone.
“With all the things sorted, let’s end this meeting and let’s get to work. After all we have a lot of things to do.”
Everyone stands up and greets each other farewell for now. Mirana walks out of the garage as I follow her
“Thanks for having my back” She says
“You are embarrassing me. You are family to me after all” I reply with full confidence.
“I will need a month to set the facility for our work” Aniket interrupts us.
“Take as much time as you need, there’s no point in rushing”
“Don’t worry Mirana, I think he is fine”
“Who?”
“You are thinking about Zunzar, aren’t you?” Aniket says realising her worries.
“How did you… Am I that obvious?”
“No, I know how close you are. Besides, I can see that look”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean you get to be someone big” Ishaan taunts
“Where did that come from?” Aniket weirds out
“Somewhere your money can’t get” Ishaan comments
“Do you consider your life useless or worthless cause I can end it if you want” Aniket says
They get aggressive with each other and glare at each other while closing on each other,
“Guys please, both of your best friend is missing and all you guys do is fight over silly things” Mirana says angrily as I take a step back. Mirana pushes them away swiftly
“Not missing, kidnapped by aliens you mean” Rupal says from behind.
“Whatever it may be. Point is, we can’t keep doing like this.” Mirana says looking angrily at both of them.
“Sis is right. Both of you need to learn to act together or Exodus falls even before is begins”
“I am not saying sorry to him” Ishaan replies unwaveringly
“Neither am I” Aniket responds to him
“I don’t mind. Just keep the act together”
“Fine” they both reply
It Dawns on the horizon as the sky starts lighting up, A cold wind blows, bringing a change with it. Everyone looks towards the east as the rays of the sun reach out from the Dark night. The hope, the hope that will make exodus, a hope that Zunzar is not that far out, a hope of a better tomorrow……
Mirana adjusts her hairs blocking her after the wind as she looks up to the sky
‘I hope you are ok, wherever you are. I miss you’
I keep my hand on her shoulder and smile at her. Mirana turns towards me and sm
iles, a troubled smile, returns her gaze towards the rising sun. Indeed, a spectacle to watch……
To Be Continued……
CHAPTER 5
New winds
[Zunzar]
“We are going according to this plan, so any questions?”
“Why can’t we just bash in the front door?” Drax asks
Up until now, I never saw anyone’s face except for Raiken’s. Dark Order’s members cover their head with cloth which only makes their eyes visible. For the first time I am actually looking at them unmasked. As for Drax, he is this huge 10 feet tall and broad monster in Dark Order, he is bulky but muscular. Probably the strongest of us, he is not even close to humans as far as the looks go. Unlike us he doesn’t have his nose outwards, it flows with his face. Kind of squarish eyes with black eyeball and red pupil. He carries a battle axe just like me but a pretty huge one.
“This is a covert mission Drax, we have to get out of there unnoticed.” Raiken replies. We are currently sitting in the main room of the Dark Order’s Chamber. Dark Order’s Chamber is closely attached to the Pit and Forge. The Chamber itself is divided into 3 sections, personal living area, library, and planning room. We are currently in the planning room. Raiken just explained a plan to infiltrate enemy and retrieve a Relic Gear from him which has been kept in his possession. All of us are in a serious mood right now. It’s my first mission with the Dark order and it makes me nervous.
“But, why?”
“If the King of that planet notices us, he will fight to protect it from us, and we can’t fight his army and reduce his chances of survival.”
“How are we reducing it?”
“If we knock the front door, we have to fight the army and once we are done there will be no one left to protect the king and the planet can enter a chaotic stage which is not what Dark lord wants, understood”
“We are supposed to retrieve the Relic Gear, not to collapse an entire planet’s ecosystem.” Raiken Continues.
“Why are we retrieving it?” I ask
“See, remember I told you about the balance of Universe”
“Yeah” I reply but wonder what has this to do with the Relic Gears.
“Those Relic Gears are devices capable of harnessing immense power which can be provided to anyone or anything. We are supposed to maintain the balance by keeping them in check. For example, the King will slaughter thousands of people with that power and it can tip the balance of Universe, to not let that happen we are supposed to take the Relic Gear and dispose it off somewhere else.”
“Why can’t we just keep it to our self, we can keep it from everyone.” I reply and Raiken lowers his head with disapproval.
“No, we can’t keep it with us because the Relic Gears play a very big role in maintaining the balance of Universe in ways you cannot understand. They need to be placed in the universe.” Raiken replies and I nod as if I understand what he means to say.
“We have to keep an eye out for Oracle, they can come for it.” Razor suggests
Razor is like that person in every group who acts like an over smart dude unnecessarily. He is as tall as Raiken but slender compared to him. As far as looks go, Razor is a brother of reptiles on earth. Somehow his face looks like a lizard to me, although it is not. Maybe, it’s the eyes because the definitely look like a reptile.
“If oracle does come, we have to bail out immediately without any other second thought. Understood everyone.”
“Why bail out, Boss?” Strix asks
Strix is the cool one on the team. Always up for some mischief and fun. She wears tight cloths all over her body which definitely make her curves pretty visible. In my opinion if I am really associating them with animals, Strix looks like a cat. Big round eyes, ears on the top of head, bead like nose and an oval face curved inward towards the chin. Eyelashes bigger than usual and only towards the end of eye.
“Bail out means bail out, I don’t want any arguments on that and it’s an ORDER!” Raiken says loudly as he seems pissed by Strix’s question. I am startled by Raiken’s reaction. Everyone in the room becomes awkwardly silent as the rattling of wood in fire near our table is audible. Raiken clenches his fist on the table and exhales heavily. He is clearly thinking of something which happened with him related to oracle somehow.
A swoosh sound seeps into my ears and I look towards the source. A portal opens and the maiden appears in front of us.
“The Dark Order has been summoned” The Maiden says and we all look at each other’s faces. Raiken comes around the table and stands beside me.
“Let’s go everyone.” Raiken orders and all of the Dark Order moves behind the maiden. I put a step forward and Raiken stops me by putting his hand on my shoulder. I look towards him with a puzzled look and he looks at me with a bold look.
“If you so much as mess this up, your first mission that is, I will make sure that you return to your tiny planet and never come back. Do you concur.” He says while looking towards the portal.
“Yes, Boss” I reply in a low voice while keeping my gaze at the portal.
What happened to him suddenly, can’t help but wonder that it has something to do with Oracle. I mean who would get so pissed by all of this.
He walks in front of me and I follow him through the portal.
Through the portal, we reach the Grand hall where Dark Lord and Rhenheim are sitting. The Entire Dark Order and the Maiden Bow in front of him while on their knee.
“You know the mission and I suppose that you are ready to do it.” Dark Lord says
“Yes, my lease, we are fully prepared and are waiting for your permission” Raiken complies and I look at Dark Lord while bowing down.
“Then, rise and go” Dark Lord orders us.
Everyone stands up and Razor turns away from us. He walks a few steps and opens a huge portal which looks like a swirling pool of energy.
“I have locked the coordinates. We are ready to go” Razor says
Razor is like a go to person for a tourist guide. He knowns everything about every planet.
“Dark Order, keep your eyes sharp and your brains open. We are going.” Raiken commands
“What is that. It doesn’t look the same as Maiden’s portal.” I ask
“It’s an intergalactic bridge for space travel, the same we used to get to earth.” Razor answers and I nod in approval.
Everyone puts their hoods on and their mask on. I look at the bridge with awe and wonder how much time it would take for us humans to make something like this, a bridge which can make space travel a joke. Only thought in comics or science fiction. I am looking at a world beyond them right now and the only thought which comes to my mind is that I wish I could show this to everyone at home.
Everyone enters the portal and I am the only one standing there. The maiden approaches me and waves a hand in front of him. I do not react and she stands in front. She approaches me and lands a kiss without even flinching for a second. I get startled by it and just push her away.
“What the...” I grasp for breath.
“You will be left behind, hurry up” The maiden says with a smile.
I look at her with a completely tragic yet blank look.
“I hope you can prove your worth, Zunzar” Dark Lord says and I look back at him. I gaze at Dark lord and then tighten my eyebrows. Without responding to him, I put my mask on and walk through the portal.
“Will this human be able to become what you expect from him?” Rhenheim questions.
“You will find out soon enough, Rhenheim” Dark Lord replies with a smirk on his face.
On the other side of the Bridge...
“Where were you?” Mico asks as I enter from the Bridge.
Mico is a badass woman with a lot of knowledge in medical science of the universe. She is 6’5’’ and is much muscular. Strong build, a bit human like skin but reddish in colour. Round cute nose, scary yet soulful eyes. She has two ponytails like a little girl but trust me you should never go on her looks.
“I thought you were staying back.” Rex comments sarcastically.
Rex is the calmest guy I have ever seen in my life. He says a lot of things but his expressions never change, plain blank look. Rex has horns on his head, three to be precise. Other than that, he looks mostly human standing at 6’8’’ and as handsome as Raiken. To be fair if he lived on earth, I bet he would have lots of girls falling for him.
“Strix, I want you to scout the city, get all the info you can.” Raiken says and I look around the atmosphere of the planet we are on.
“On it, Boss” Strix replies.
The planet’s sky is reddish with slight green streaks like clouds. The plants around are totally purple in colour but the soil looks somewhat like it is on earth. At a distance lies a big city which has tall skyscrapers and a castle like structure in the centre which is on a higher ground level than the rest of the city. The city looks advanced, almost 100 years ahead of us. All those flashy lights make it look beautiful to be true. I suddenly notice a blackish aura coming out of me. I look at my hand from where the darkness seems to be emerging.
“What is happening to me?” I say out loud.
“Oh, your body is adjusting to the planet’s geological conditions with the help of Dark power, don’t worry” Strix says.
I walk up to her as she is standing the furthest from the team and looking at the city. I stand next to her and look at the city. She looks at me and starts reading my face.
“Beautiful, isn’t it.” Stix smiles gently
“Yeah, I was just wondering when would my planet reach this stage in technology.” I reply while keeping my gaze at the city.
“The city’s called Rizmos. The capital of this planet.” Strix says
“Hmm...” Admiring the city of Rizmos
“Don’t bother much, you will be fine. By the way, I got to go, see you in the city.” She says and smiles
“Yeah...” I reply as I am startled by her concern. She slides down the slope and vanishes in the woods.
The things I imagined as kid are here, right in front of me. But it’s not the only thing which bothers me, Raiken’s reaction back then suggests that he is hiding something about the Oracle which no one on the Dark Order seems to know about. So, I bet the only person who would have knowledge about is hard to ask for. Whatever it may be, I have to find out and get to know these guys better. I hope everyone at home are doing well, especially Mirana. What is happening on earth while I am out here makes me worry, how’s mom, Minal and everyone. If there was a way to go back home, I really would take it.
Universal War- the New World Page 6
