Chapter 8 The Daughter’s Sin––II

Rudranath tilted his head even before he could realize it. The nails whistled past his ears. His fighter instinct had saved him once again. The white energy seeped out from his skin, drifting upward like strands of white flame.

He could feel that energy coursing through his whole body. He twisted his hip as his arm shot forward. A body shot slammed into her stomach. Her jaw snapped at the impact. A sharp screech tore from her throat as she was sent flying backward like a bullet from a barrel.

Rudranath’s gaze widened. The Trishna stretched her arms and legs wide, using the air to halt her momentum. She hovered in mid-air for a second, then shot forward, kicking the air. Annihitep whispered in his head.

“Child, you can’t beat a soul with physical attacks only.”

Rudranath dropped to his knees as her nail tore through the air above him. But she didn’t stop. She kicked the air again, twisting back. Within a heartbeat, she closed in. Her arms grabbed Rudranath’s shoulder while her legs landed on his chest. Then she bit into Rudranath’s shoulder wound once more.

He flinched for a moment, expecting another jolt of pain. But the moment her teeth touched his wound, she screamed out loud. It felt like his eardrums were going to be ruptured. He clenched his teeth, looking at her.

Her grip loosened on his shoulders as she fell on her knees. Her teeth and jaw were burning under white flames. She clenched her throat as her body writhed on the asphalt. Rudranath raised his palms before his eyes. The white energy was flickering around his fingers. His brows drew closer.

“Why is this energy burning her and not me?”

Annihitep giggled.

“Because that’s your soul essence, child.”

The system interface flickered to life with a new message.

[Soul Essence of the living is a direct counter to Soul Essence of the dead.]

Soul essence? He tilted his head. This energy appeared after Aarohi had opened her eyes that night. He never knew this kind of thing ever existed for most of his life. But why had it only appeared since then? Why not before? Why at all?

Annihitep’s voice came calm inside his head.

“Because you needed it to awaken.”

He clenched his fist, muttering to himself.

“What the hell does that even mean?”

The Trishna had stood up. The burning white flames on her face had snuffed out. Rudranath closed in on her. His legs pressed the road downward as he channeled the force through his calves into his hips, twisting his torso. Instantly, his shoulder snapped forward like a released spring. A right cross burning with soul essence slammed into her chin.

Crack!

Her jaw snapped, hanging loose, as she went rolling across the street. But when she stood up, there was no sign of the white flames burning her. Rudranath looked at his fist. His soul essence was still coating his body, yet it didn’t burn her this time. His lips parted.

“Why…?”

The system responded through the interface.

[Your Soul Essence has been forcefully awakened due to an urgent situation. The awakening is not initiated by your will. Therefore, it currently possesses only defensive properties.]

His eyes widened.

“So it will only affect her if she attacks me…?”

[Correct. Unless you can find the source of your Soul Essence.]

Rudranath froze. The Trishna relocated her jaw back into place. Then she became a blur, lunging at him. Her left arm came slashing the air from his right. Rudranath raised his arms to guard against her attack. But she stopped the attack mid-swing and leaned closer to his face.

She opened her jaw. Her foul breath brushed against his face. He felt a powerful suction against his skin. Suddenly, his body felt heavier. His vision blurred as the whole world spun around him. His mouth opened wide. It felt as if his organs were about to be pulled out through it.

The notification on the system screen changed.

[Trishna has activated the skill Life Drain.]

Annihitep whispered.

“Close your eyes, child. Follow the essence inside your body before she sucks you dry.”

His eyelids were already closing down. He stopped resisting. The moment his eyes snapped shut, darkness engulfed him. He felt the heat circulating through his body. Amid that darkness, his veins, arteries, organs, and cells flickered in white outlines. It looked like a complete energy loop suspended in the darkness, carrying the white flames through it. With every beat of his heart, the flames pulsed hotter.

A few particles of the white flames broke away from their natural course, escaping through his open mouth. It looked as if something was forcing them out. His thoughts spiraled.

“Is that what he meant by before she sucks me dry?”

He looked deeper. His heart throbbed louder as he looked for the source. The longer he took to locate the source, the more of his life would be drained. But all he could see was the intertwined loops of his own veins and arteries, glowing in white outlines. Despite his attempts, he could not locate the source.

All he saw was his heart circulating that energy.

The heat started fading inside him. A chill crawled through his body. The white shimmer of his organs flickered weakly. His vision grew dimmer. Annihitep’s shout rang through his fading consciousness.

“Look closer to your heart!”

He seemed way more desperate than Rudranath for some reason. But for Rudranath, an eerie lethargy had already clung to his body.

“Child…!”

Annihitep shouted.

“If you die here, what will happen to your family?”

Aarohi’s smile flashed in his memory. The memory of Saanvi’s touch made every hair on his arm stand on end. His heart pounded loudly for a second, clearing his vision in a last desperate attempt.

That’s when he saw it—A small key made of black flames. It was hovering just beneath his white heart. Annihitep screamed in his head.

“Try to feel that flame, now!”

Unlike the warm white flames, it was cold—too cold. The key slipped out from beneath his heart instantly. A condensed chill cut through the fading warmth in his body as it travelled upward from his chest and emerged between his brows.

Instantly, the suction vanished. The white particles of flame stopped drifting outward. His organs pulsed brighter once more. A sharp screech reached his ears from outside. He forced his eyes open.

The Trishna was writhing on the road once more. White flames burned across her entire body. His soul essence was glowing brighter around him, flooding the Strand Road in a white glow. Her screech faded, replaced by a pleading voice of a woman.

“Please save me from this monstrosity…”

She was crying. Rudranath swallowed. He could see the Trishna still writhing ahead of him. The system interface chimed.

[User has successfully found the source of his essence—The key of the Cursed Wisdom.]

[Innate Skill Awakened: Eternal Understanding—The heart that endures.]

[First Soul Skill unlocked: Soul Control Lv.1—Effect: Allows the user to wield his Soul Essence at will. Restriction: Due to the skill's current level, it can only be activated once every 24 hours.]

Annihitep clicked his tongue. Utter disappointment filled his voice.

“Things I have to sacrifice to survive…”

His voice faded inside Rudra’s head.

“…See you later, child…”

Sacrifice? Rudranath tilted his head. But he had no time to waste on Annihitep’s comment. The system’s voice lingered in his head, showing a new message.

[300 seconds left to purify the Trishna before the human perishes.]

His gaze snapped at the system screen. Doesn’t burning the dead mean purification? Is there a way to save the woman? Her voice rang in his head, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked at the writhing frame of the woman. The timer was counting down on the screen before his eyes.

“What should I do?”

He gasped.

[Control your soul essence that is burning the human.]

The skill list appeared before him. The first slot now displayed a name.

[Soul Skills]

[Soul Control Lv.1]

[Soul Skill 2: ???]

[Soul Skill 3: ???]

[Soul Skill 4: ???]

Rudranath tapped on the screen. But again, nothing happened. His jaw dropped.

“What now…?”

[Call the skill to activate it.]

His lips moved.

“Soul Control!”

His whole body shivered. He could clearly feel the pain she was in due to his essence. Every cell in her body was being burnt while she remained alive. Her thoughts flashed through his mind like fragments of a movie. Tears rolled down his cheek.

A small boy’s face appeared inside his head. She was thinking about her son. The kid looked almost the same age as Aarohi. The kid was smiling as he held her hand inside a bus stop. The digital clock at the bus stop read 6:00 p.m., and the date written beneath it was today. He could feel the kid's touch on his own palm. Rudranath's fingers trembled—it felt too real, as if he was the one holding the boy's hand at that bus stop. A whisper slipped free from Rudranath’s lips.

“What’s this?”

[Due to your innate skill Eternal Understanding, you can interact with your target’s soul during purification.]

“I can see their memories?”

His heart hammered against his ribs. She was a normal woman a few hours ago. She had a family just like him. He focused on her memory playing inside his head. She was looking at the sun as her restless feet kept tapping against the floor. Then he heard her voice.

“Please, please send a bus before the sun sets…”

Rudranath frowned. He could feel a fear creeping into her.

“Why? What is she afraid of…"

The question died in his throat. The sun hid behind the horizon. Suddenly, the glass walls of the bus stop shattered, throwing her and the kid in different directions. The glass shards plunged into both of their flesh. Blood covered the white tiled floor. She was dragging herself toward her son. The kid lay motionless just inches from her. Her fingers trembled. A long shard of glass had pierced the kid’s eye. There was no trace of life in him. That’s when Rudranath saw the creature.

It drifted in like a coiling black smoke from outside. Its fleshless face leaned closer to the woman. Then it twisted into the air and dove inside her body. Black smoke forced its way through her ears and nostrils. Her memory faded inside his head. Rudranath clenched his fists to his sides as Sekhar’s words echoed in his head.

"We are currently trying to subdue her Soul-Calling to stop them from coming to this world."

"While you are out there, don’t forget to witness your daughter’s sin."