DARKER SIDE : The Lost

Chapter 10

As Rahul ventured further into the darkness of the village, his heart pounding with each step, he spotted Dakshina once more. This time, she didn't flee at his approach. Instead, she turned to face him with an unsettling grin, sending shivers down his spine. Despite his growing unease, Rahul cautiously moved closer to her, hoping to reach his daughter.

But as he drew near, Dakshina's demeanor shifted, her smile contorting into something sinister. With a raised hand, she conjured a horrifying sight—his family, bound and battered, appearing before her. Rahul's heart sank as he beheld the grim tableau before him.

With a voice dripping with malice, Dakshina spoke, her words echoing in the eerie silence of the village. "Kill this child," she commanded, her eyes glinting with malevolent intent, "or watch as your loved ones perish before you."

Rahul's mind reeled with horror and despair. He realized in that moment that the figure before him was not his beloved daughter, but the malevolent force of Skorious himself, toying with his deepest fears. Overwhelmed with dread, Rahul fell to his knees before Skorious, his voice trembling as he pleaded for mercy.

"Please," he begged, his voice barely above a whisper, "spare my family. Take me instead. Spare this innocent child."

But in the face of Skorious's chilling presence, Rahul could only wait in anguish, praying for a miracle that might save his loved ones from a fate too terrible to contemplate.

As Skorious spoke, his words dripped with malice, his laughter echoing through the desolate streets of the village. The chilling sound sent shivers down Rahul's spine, filling him with a deep sense of dread.

"Do you think I am burdened with human compassion?" Skorious taunted, his voice laced with cruelty. "You've heard the tales of this village, haven't you? The blood that stains its history, the lives I've claimed for daring to defy my will. I've feasted on the flesh of over a hundred souls, relishing in their agony. And now, here you stand, offering me another delectable morsel."

Rahul's heart sank at Skorious's words, his worst fears realized in the face of the demon's insatiable hunger. He knew that to defy Skorious meant risking the lives of everyone he held dear.

With a demonic smile, Skorious continued his twisted game, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure. "You have a choice, mortal," he sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "One life, or the lives of those you hold dear. Choose wisely, for your decision will seal their fate."

Rahul's mind raced with desperation as he called out to Alcinder, his silent plea echoing into the void. But there was no answer, no glimmer of hope in the darkness that surrounded him. With each passing moment, the weight of his daughter's fate bore down on him, driving him to the brink of despair.

In a last-ditch effort to save Dakshina from the clutches of the demon, Rahul turned to the only power he knew—the ancient deities of Hinduism. With fervent prayers on his lips, he invoked the names of the gods, beseeching them for salvation in his darkest hour.

But as the moments stretched on, Rahul's prayers fell on deaf ears, the heavens silent in response to his desperate cries. It was then that Skorious, sensing his prey's growing desperation, decided to demonstrate the extent of his power.

"I think you're in a deep confusion, Rahul," Skorious sneered, his voice dripping with malice. And with a swift, brutal motion, he ended Rahul's father's life, the sickening sound of flesh tearing filling the air as blood painted the ground in a macabre tableau.

The sight of his father's lifeless form sent shockwaves of horror through Rahul's body, his mind reeling from the brutality of the act. In that moment of unspeakable agony, Rahul's world crumbled around him, darkness descending as he fell into unconsciousness, his spirit shattered by the cruel reality of his plight.