The Praying Mantis
"Avesh, I think you can finish things here. Let's escape," says Kosr.
"No, Kosr. I have decided. After the boy, I'm going to attack the Princess," replies Avesh.
"There is no way you can enter the barriers. I don't think I have enough power to break the barrier."
"We can sacrifice all the shadow creatures, it doesn't matter. I want to end it here."
"I am with you as long as we can end it together."
"Do you want to end it here?"
"The only reason I am still clinging to my life is to end the Princess and the Boy. I think of nothing else in the mortal world," says Kosr.
"What's your link to the Sumal?"
"Not now. We will discuss this when we succeed."
"Oun, wake up the boy,"Avesh says.
Rav is unconscious and has no shoulder.
Oun drops water on the face of Rav.
Rav awoke to Avesh's voice.
"You still have more than twelve joints left. You need to stay awake so we can end it quickly. You can't delay this for every cut."
"Please, don't hurt me,"Rav says.
"Ha, ha, ha,"Avesh laughs. "Come on, boy, you're asking the wrong thing," he grins.
"You should ask me to end you quickly."Avesh laughs more.
"We may have 2 or 3 hours, Avesh. Let's end it here," informs Kosr
"Boy, do you know your grandfather was called 'Praying Mantis' in our clan?"
Rav looks at Avesh with pain.
"Sumal killed his own to gain his powers, and left them to die with hunger in the demon realm."Avesh angrily severed Rav's right foot.
A few shadow creatures jumped from Avesh's foot, stopped the blood loss, and started healing.
Rav moaned with pain, about to lose consciousness, and Oun threw water again on his face.
Rav opened his eyes.
"We all thought Sumal was going to finally open the human world for demons, but he killed his own just to save a few human trash. He doesn't need to be recognised as an emperor, and you are no way an emperor."
Avesh severed the other leg of the boy, and this time the blood shot out from the knee.
The boy lost consciousness, and again a few creatures stopped the blood loss.
Avesh picked up both legs and threw them into the fire.
Opposite the fire, there is a chalisa. It is filled with black goo and red blood, both are travelling toward each other but not merging.
Avesh walks up to it. "Why isn't there enough divine blood?"
He finds the blood forming two colors.
"Why does he have both light and dark blood?" questions Avesh.
Kosr replied, "That's human blood and demon blood!"
"You mean he is not divine blood?"
"I am sure he is divine blood, I can sense it. His right side is filled with demon blood due to the blood pact. I expected the left leg to give divine blood, but I'm seeing human blood."
"Ahhh,"Avesh shouted.
"I think the Sage did something to save the boy from mortals, so he has mortal blood."
"You think the boy has more than one pact in his body?"Avesh asks.
"I believe he is mixed with all three realms."
"It doesn't matter how many sources or pacts want him to be saved. He will die here today."
Avesh jumps high into the air, crosses the fire, and severs the whole shoulder, elbow, and wrist of Rav into three pieces.
He lands on the ground and kicks all three pieces into the fire before they fall to the ground.
Shadow creatures jump and hold the boy's hand to stop the blood loss.
Rav is still unconscious. Avesh walks up to the chalisa; now he can see golden-red blood forming in it.
"This will help us break into the village for sure. We can kill the Princess."
"Ha, ha, ha," laughs Avesh.
"Wake up the boy. It's time to end him."
Oun throws water on the boy's face and hits his cheeks until Rav opens his eyes.
This time the boy didn't cry. He didn't say anything, only looked at Avesh with anger.
"Looks like the boy lost it. His head gave up already."
Avesh cuts both arms. Still no words from Rav. His eyes remain open.
Rav is now only torso and head without any limbs. The metal belt around the boy's neck starts chocking the boy.
"Don't die. We need to discuss a few more topics."
Avesh cuts the chains linked to the neck. Rav falls to the ground without any movement.
"How can we make him wake up, Kosr?" asks Avesh.
"Something is wrong, the boy's energy signature has changed," says Kosr.
"What?"
"It's not the same boy as before. Now he gives a signal like a different creature, one with the power of a Demi God."
"Demi God?"Avesh is shocked.
"Kill him quickly. I am getting a bad feeling."
Avesh swings his sword, and Rav catches it with his mouth and bites a chunk of metal from the sword.
"Looks like you are having fun. Why are you trying to end it?"
__________
The Second Meeting
Rav opened his eyes. He is surrounded by a white realm.
Any angle he sees is just white and nothing else.
He shouts, "Mom! Dad! Testa!"
No one answers.
He walks some distance and sees something shining in gold. He sees a golden wall, never ending. He walks back. Even after walking long, the gold wall is still visible.
After walking a few hours opposite the golden wall, he meets a dark black-red wall, also endless. For some reason he feels the dark black-red wall is safer than the golden wall. This wall contains shades of black and red.
He walked right along the dark red-black wall for another few hours and then he met the grey wall.
All three sides of his room are filled with endless walls. Now he is in a room with a distance of 10 meters between the gold and grey walls.
He stands at the center of all three walls. If he walks left, the left wall moves with him.
The only way he can walk is forward, where there is no wall but only white color as far as he can see.
After a few minutes, the boy starts crying.
"Am I dead? If so, please let me know!" the boy shouted.
"Is this hell or heaven? Looks like hell, no one is here," he answers himself.
"This is not heaven or hell. This is your inner world," says some voice.
"Who is that?"Rav questions.
"Do you forget me?" the voice questions. "We met last time."
"Are you one of my father's followers? Did you save me?"
"I am not your father's follower. I am your own image and born from the blood pact," responds the voice.
"This room was built whenever you experienced unexpected pain, so you wouldn't die from pain or lose your mind or your spirit realm."
"You mean, you are saving me?"
"Umm, I can save you, but"
"But?"
"You don't have any special spirit powers, and you don't have any techniques or cultivations." It pauses. "I can use your demon core and its spirit circle reserves to regrow your limbs. You will lose the cultivation you received from the demon core blood tool."
"What's a demon core? And what's a spirit circle? And blood tool?"Rav looks puzzled. "I don't know all that but please save me."
"I am Sagin, your servant. You can order me."
"Save me."
From the white side of the room, a glowing sphere appears: a middle red circle (blood pact), another white layer, another dark black-red layer (from blood diamond), another white layer, then light red color with small white specks moving inside it, and finally a golden layer covered with another white layer.
"I will take over and save you, my lord. Please remember me. Don't forget me. We will discuss more after the fight."
"Okay, thank you."
"With pleasure."
__________
Sagin: The Inner System
"Inner System Sagin: activated."
"Got admin permissions from host to take over."
"Really? Are you going to be all robotic now?"Muru speaks.
"Why are you questioning my process?"Sagin responds. "Why do you have your own domain entity inside me? Why aren't you merged with me yet?"
"Isn't it true that we are merged? Just because I have my own thoughts doesn't mean we are not merged."
"I don't have time for this."
(In robotic voice)
"Muting Muru for now."
The white dot in the light-red circle moves rapidly. Trying to say "what I did?"
"Damage analysis: Lost both hands and legs."
"Searching for healing techniques and spirit power."
"Did not find any healing techniques."
"Converting demon core's first circle to initiate healing."
"Not enough."
"Pulling more spirit from the core, moving from healing to initiate healing."
"Not sufficient. Pulling more from the dormant heart core."
"Not sufficient to initiate full regeneration. Pulling from the third human core."
"Partial core, unstable to pull spirit power."
"Muru is always causing problems."
Muru rolls his eyes inside the light-red circle.
"Not enough spirit power."
"Rav, you don't have enough spirit power to regenerate quickly. Even if we take over your body, without full regeneration the winning chances are low."
"What else can we do?"Rav asks.
"How were you able to stop the bleeding?"Sagin questions Rav.
"I didn't do it. It was done by the enemy. He used some summoned shadow creatures."
"Shadow creatures, those have been under Sumal's control for the last few years."
"As you have a blood pact, you should be able to absorb them and use their powers."
"Please give me a minute."
(In robotic voice)
"Searching and creating mapping for shadow creatures."
Muru says, "Don't use that robotic voice."
"How are you able to unmute yourself?"Sagin shouts (in normal voice).
(In robotic voice)
"Muting Muru."
"Mapping completed. Pulling spirit power from shadows."
"Creating a shadow core and moving some spirit power to the human core created from useless Muru."
"I am not useless! I am the reason Rav has a human core!"
"
"Muted Muru."
"New shadow core created below the dormant heart core."
"Pulling all spirit power and preparing instant regeneration."
"Boy is still locked in the dormant core."
"Taking control over the boy."