[ DISCLAIMER : This is actually the third chapter of the novel. If you want to understand the main character, philosophy of this world, his family dynamics and the first paragraph of this chapter read the last two chapters of Auxiliary Volume. They are more philosophical, informative thus have been put there by me. 1- The beginning. 2- Last lesson. ]
Shambhu was sitting on his seat in the bus going to the Eastern Zone of Prayag. He had come here with his parents and little brother during this AQUAS fair. After his sacred thread ceremony they are going to the Eastern Zone to stay here for the month or AQUAS.
The entire bus was filled with boys and girls his age. All of them were wearing dark black pants and blood-red shirts. They had different hairstyles, but it was clear they were from an organization. Some of them had swords, some spears, some had long swords, and some had staffs too. All the students were wearing wristbands, gloves, and shoes, all of which followed the same black and red theme.
Shambhu's father had already booked the first row of the bus, so their seats were confirmed. In just a few minutes, the bus was on the bridge. One could see the vast water body flowing under the bridge, creating a rhythmic tune by hitting the pillars. The bus soon reached its destination.
The Eastern zone was divided into different sectors (areas), and they were to stay in the central area, where only buildings were available for accommodation. The central area was circular, with high-rise buildings more prevalent. Moving west would take you to the river, where large tent quarters were constructed in open fields, where more religious people and monks were staying. Going east from there would take you to the main City. This whole central area was built around a big circular central building.
Their stay was near this building, in a 5-story building on the ground floor. They dropped off, and the bus went ahead towards the city.
One week passed without any problem. In these seven days, Shambhu met other monks and protectors. He learned many things about the city, as well as how to officially move forward on the path of being a protector.
On the 8th day, in the morning, when his parents were gone to bathe in the river, Shambhu and his brother were alone in the quarters, studying some books. Suddenly, they heard screams from several people and one distinct scream of unknown origin. They dropped their books and immediately went outside. What they saw was anything but a good omen. People were running away from the central building as if their lives depended on it. Nobody was caring or stopping for anyone else.
The boys couldn't see the main building because of the building in front of them. As they were watching and trying to understand what was happening, the building in front of them suddenly collapsed, revealing a blackish-red sphere covering the central building. Shockwaves were coming out of the sphere as if explosions were happening inside it. This was causing the nearby buildings to collapse. This upheaval became the death of the people staying in the central area. Collapsing buildings ground people like tomatoes smashed by stones. People on higher floors were smashed against walls, then other objects or broken pieces of buildings smashed into them, causing blood and organs to splatter around. And when buildings collided with each other, these exterior walls broke, and blood, organs, and even dead bodies started pouring down from inclined, half-fallen, half-standing buildings.
Some bodies had mashed heads, some were pierced by shattered glass, and some were slashed completely in two. Some bodies on the ground were completely pierced by pillars and rods in such a way that it seemed these non-living objects were growing out of them, while some other bodies were hanging in the air with iron rods and pillars first piercing them and then the ground. The earth seemed to have bathed in blood. And the reason behind all this chaos was still growing in size.
Shambhu came out of his reverie after hearing a piercing scream both from the central building and from his side. A glass shard had pierced his brother slightly above the waist on the right side. Seeing this, Shambhu's adrenaline kicked in; his eyes changed from shocked to focused in a second. The shocked boy was nowhere to be seen. Even the gory scene of numerous dead bodies couldn't distract him now. He picked up his brother and tried to run away to the hospital, but the wound was deep, and blood was gushing out. It needed some first aid. He put his brother down, took the dhoti his brother had draped on his upper body, folded it several times, and put it on the wound. Then he took his own upper dhoti and wrapped it tightly around his brother's waist. The folded dhoti worked as a good stopper, and the blood flow stopped. He started running again with the goal of reaching the hospital as fast as possible.
The bloodcurdling screams coming from the central building were becoming clearer, and it now seemed to be a female's screams. With a sudden outburst and explosion, the central building collapsed. Due to the shockwaves, more buildings collapsed, and Shambhu himself fell to the ground. He used his body to shield his brother both from the impact on the ground and possible rubble coming towards him. The screams from the central building had stopped; instead, deep grunts and rumbling sounds could be heard from it. The sphere covering the building was increasing in size more rapidly. There were some translucent black tentacles, which looked illusionary, coming out of the sphere. They were moving in every direction but only for a short length. It seemed that the sphere itself was alive and searching for something. Shambhu tried to stand up and run to the hospital as it seemed his brother was losing consciousness. At this exact moment, an outline of a human-like creature appeared in front of him. It had a light red aura, and a saree was draped around it. It did not seem real, as one could see through it. Then this entity spoke in a voice heard only by Shambhu, "Please, save me. Only you can do it," said the ethereal entity. It was a feminine voice. This request caught Shambhu by surprise. Still, he calmed himself down and asked, "What do you mean by it? And how can I save you?"
The entity replied In a voice getting weaker by the second, "I have lost my vessel. Can you please make me a part of you? I can help you in becoming powerful." Shambhu was again surprised as it was a tempting offer, and he too wanted to become powerful, but he refrained from accepting it immediately and started thinking about the consequences his decision would bring. He didn't know whether the entity was malevolent or benevolent. Accepting her proposal might make him powerful, but it could also make him lose his mind, and denying her might result in immediate death. The entity again pleaded with him, "Please, I just need one part of your body. If you don't make your decision quickly, many lives will be lost."
Shambhu took a deep breath and asked, "Okay, will you kill my parents if I asked?"
"What! Why?"
"They left us here alone. They don't care for us, it seems, as they are not here yet. What does it matter if they die or live if they don't care for us?" Shambhu spoke without hesitation.
"Are you mad?" the entity replied in a perplexed voice. "What kind of son are you? And if it…"
"Stop, stop," Shambhu stopped her mid-sentence. "You passed. Be my left part.," he ordered and offered in a neutral yet slightly commanding tone. The entity was again surprised by the sudden decision, it was in shock.
"Hurry, if you want to be with me be my left part" Shambhu again spoke in an urgent tone.
" I'll take your offer" the entity replied. Shambhu then felt a slight sensation inside his body and in his heart area, but he didn't think about it as he was focused on saving his brother.
"Now, since you said you will help me in becoming powerful, can you help me reach the nearest hospital?" asked Shambhu with urgency written all over his face. He got the reply in a clear voice, which seemed to be of a girl of his own age, "I can't help you right now with my power; otherwise, we might get caught."
"So much for the power you promised," Shambhu said sarcastically and started moving like an arrow straight towards the main road and then towards the hospital. The hospital was on the city side of the Eastern zone. To reach there, he had to circle around the central area because of the chaos. He had to run for at least 2 miles because of this. He reached the hospital at the same time his brother lost consciousness. He had seen blood and corpses throughout the way. He was utterly exhausted after carrying his brother and running with all his might.
The hospital was already filled with injured people. Since it was a catastrophic event, and it happened for unknown reasons, all the responsibility of management, including taking care of the injured, was upon the administration. Thus, hospitals were open for everyone who was injured. Ananta, too, was hospitalized without problems, and after checking his wound, doctors said he was going to be alright after a small surgery. No major internal organ was damaged, but his blood loss was severe. Shambhu, too, was hit by rubble and some brick shards. He also needed some treatment. As per the doctor's recommendations, he signed the documents as a guardian, and procedures started.
At the site where this catastrophe had happened, the ominous rumbling sounds had stopped, and the sphere, which was covering the central building, had already shrunk to the size of a small room; now, it was fading away. At this moment, Shambhu's parents reached the scene of the event. They were panting and distressed because of exhaustion due to running. What they saw was both mesmerizing and horrifying. The smell of blood was there, but that was not the only smell present. Those who didn't immediately die had defecated and urinated themselves. These smells together were so horrid that anybody who didn't have a strong stomach or did have a strong sense of smell would vomit non-stop just by standing there. But the mesmerizing part of the scene was the area around the central building where the sphere originally appeared. There was not even a drop of blood, no body parts, not even a trace of someone's death could be found. It was all sucked in by the sphere. This circle of artificial cleanliness had a radius of over 100 meters. The building Shambhu stayed in was on the circumference of the circle.
Seeing this, Savita couldn't control her tears. She asked Satya in a meek voice, "Dear, where would our children be? Would they even be safe?" Satya consoled her after stealing his heart, "You don't need to worry. Shambhu didn't lose either his patience or mind even after knowing that his whole life his basic identity was not what he thought. He is a protector, a warrior, to his core. Don't you remember how he walked out of our own burning house, carrying his younger brother, while his clothes were on fire? Yet there was no panic on his face. Don't worry, I know he is safe."
While they were having this conversation, a deep and loud voice declared, "Nobody shall move."
A man who was at least six and a half feet tall, had big muscles, a cowboy mustache, a clear jawline, and an army buzz cut was carrying a big golden mace as a weapon, which had a red ruby embedded on both ends. He was accompanied by at least 100 men and women, and more were coming. He was wearing a black and red uniform. The other men and women were wearing green and yellow-themed uniforms.
"My name is Bheem, and I am the chief protector and manager of this sector. These people are from the Disaster Management Forces. They will take over the cleaning and searching process here. So please stay where you are." One of the men, who seemed to be the leader of the DMF people, asked with curiosity and surprise, "Gajpati Bheem, what is that? And is it fading away?"
"Don't go near that sphere until it fades completely away. Seekers are on their way here; only they can cleanse this place now of negative energy. Our suspicions were right, yet we failed in stopping this accident," Bheema announced in a clear, crisp voice, "It was a SUMMONING."