Chapter 1: Birth of Fantasy and Siddharth's Journey - Part 1
The sky was calm, and people had no idea their world was about to change forever. Then, without warning, balls of fire fell from the sky—meteoroids, but they weren't ordinary. When they landed, a strange energy poured out, affecting everything it touched.
The energy spread like a virus. Normal animals turned into terrifying monsters, hungry for flesh. Cities became filled with screams and blood. Humans fought like demons, but every day, they grew weaker. Nearly 40% of the human population was wiped out, and those who survived found their world changed forever.
After the meteoroids fell, something even stranger happened: they disappeared into the earth as if the planet had swallowed them. But not all hope was lost. The Indian government, with its ever-present ingenuity, managed to preserve one of the meteoroids in a glass jar. They placed it in a high-security science lab, and the greatest minds from around the world were called in to study it.
The research took years, but eventually, the scientists made a groundbreaking discovery. The meteoroid was emitting two types of energy: Creation and Destruction. Creation energy, they found, could allow humans to perform magical feats—to move the wind, create fire, or conjure anything their minds could imagine. Destruction energy, on the other hand, was a powerful aura, capable of enhancing a warrior's strength and speed to incredible levels.
This discovery ushered in a new era. People began calling this world the "Age of Fantasy," because it was now similar to the fantasy stories they had read as children. The world was dangerous, but it was also full of possibilities. Creation and Destruction energy gave humans powers that were once thought impossible.
But the changes weren't limited to just powers. About 50% of the human population survived, but only 5% of those evolved because of the Creation and Destruction energy. Destruction energy transformed some humans into half-demons, making them powerful and fierce, while Creation energy turned others into demi-humans, granting them a connection to nature and magical abilities. The world was now a strange, new place, where humans, demons, and demi-humans had to learn to coexist.
And it is here, in the midst of this changed world, that we find a 13-year-old boy named Siddharth, in the city of Noida, India.
In the quiet of the morning, Siddharth was sleeping peacefully in his bed. The first rays of sunlight entered his room, but they didn't disturb his slumber. Suddenly, the door burst open, and an energetic demi-human fox girl stormed in.
"Wake up, sleepyhead!" she shouted, nudging him roughly with her small feet. "Aren't you going to be late for school?"
Siddharth groaned, turning over in his bed, his eyes still closed. "Avni, don't you know how to respect your older brother?" he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.
"Respect shmect," Avni retorted, placing her hands on her hips. "If you don't get up now, I'm going to dump a bucket of water on you."
And so, the morning began with a playful argument between brother and sister. It was a common occurrence, a sort of ritual that showed the loving bond between them. Avni, with her boundless energy and stubborn nature, always found a way to rouse Siddharth from his lazy slumber, and Siddharth, with his calm and cheerful disposition, always responded to her teasing with a smile.
Finally, when their bickering subsided, Siddharth sat up in bed, his hair a mess and his eyes still half-closed. "Okay, okay," he grumbled, stifling a yawn. "You go on. I'll get ready."
Avni gave him a triumphant grin, her fox ears twitching with amusement. "That's more like it," she said, heading towards the door. "But hurry up, or I'll leave without you."
As Siddharth got up to prepare for the day, his gaze fell upon his closet. Tucked away behind his clothes was a book that seemed out of place. It was no ordinary book. Its cover was ancient, adorned with strange symbols, and it radiated an energy that Siddharth couldn't quite comprehend.
It was "The VoidBringer."
In a sudden flashback, the scene shifted. Siddharth, then just 7 years old, was sitting on a small mat beside his grandmother. His grandmother, a powerful and enigmatic woman, was teaching him how to use Creation energy. Her eyes, which always held a strange mystery, now shone with love and wisdom.
"Remember, Siddharth," she said, holding his tiny hands in hers, "Creation is only the beginning. You must also learn to control Destruction energy. Only then can you hope to become Void."
Siddharth nodded, his small brow furrowed with concentration. "But Grandma," he said, "isn't Destruction bad?"
His grandmother smiled, gently stroking his cheek. "Nothing is purely good or evil, my child. It depends on how you use it. And the Void... it is neither Creation nor Destruction. It is both, and it is beyond both."
Suddenly, their peaceful training was interrupted by a terrifying event. In the sky, a tear opened, dark and ominous, like a gateway to hell itself. From the rift, monstrous beings emerged—true demons and demi-gods, with powers the world had never seen before. Behind them, in divine chariots, were some true gods, their auras blazing and terrifying.
His grandmother's eyes widened in alarm, her serene expression vanishing in an instant. "This shouldn't be happening," she whispered, her voice a mixture of fear and anger. "They've broken through the defenses of the earth..."
Without wasting a moment, she shoved Siddharth forcefully. "Run, Siddharth! Run to the cave near the house! Now!"
Siddharth, stunned by the horrific sight of the demons and gods, couldn't move. Their power and malevolence were so overwhelming that his limbs froze, his mind blanked.
"I said run!" his grandmother roared, her voice filled with power. Finally, she used her own abilities, teleporting Siddharth to the safety of the dark cave.
The scene shifted to inside the cave. Siddharth was disoriented, his stomach churning and his head throbbing. He was about to lose consciousness, but then, the images of the demons flashed through his mind, snapping him awake.
Grandma! He felt a surge of panic for his grandmother. Was she alright? Could she fight those monsters? A wave of fear and helplessness washed over him, making his dizziness worse.
And then, suddenly, his grandmother appeared in the cave, teleporting in and collapsing beside him. Siddharth sighed in relief, but his relief was short-lived. He saw that his grandmother's arm was gone, blood gushing from the wound and staining her clothes crimson.
"Grandma! Your arm!" Siddharth cried, his eyes filling with tears.
His grandmother grimaced in pain, but she gave him a weak smile. "Don't worry about me, my child," she said, her voice strained but firm. She used her remaining power to remove the ancient protective seals inside the cave. Then, she took "The VoidBringer" book and gave it to Siddharth.
"When you feel you are weak," she said, her voice now barely a whisper, "and you need power, open this. It will help you."
Siddharth took the book with trembling hands, his eyes fixed on his grandmother's grave condition. "But Grandma, your arm..."
His grandmother silenced him, placing her finger on his lips. "Every world has its own rules, Siddharth. Rules made by the Void, and which even gods cannot break. In this world, they are just a little more powerful than I am. But I will manage. It's just that there are too many of them, that's why this happened to me. Don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself."
She stroked Siddharth's face with her remaining hand, her eyes filled with a deep mixture of love and sorrow. "I'm going to send you far away, my child. And as long as you have this book, they won't be able to find you, okay?"
Siddharth nodded, tears still streaming down his cheeks. He wanted to say so much, to ask so many questions, but his grandmother's gaze silenced him. This was goodbye. A final goodbye.
His grandmother gave one last weak smile, her eyes beginning to close. "I love you, Siddharth," she whispered.
Then, with the last bit of her power, she teleported Siddharth away once more.
Siddharth found himself in the middle of a road, alone and lost, with "The VoidBringer" book in his hands. Behind him, the cave, and with it his grandmother, were forever beyond his reach. The world had changed, and his journey was just beginning.