Realization dawned upon Agastya as soon as he saw the famed bounty hunter.
He drew out the dagger and powered it with solar energy as they were completely surrounded by the bounty hunters.
However, Agastya didn't understand why they were being targeted. Did they offend someone who put a bounty on their heads? He wondered.
Vaelin then looked at Vibhav and smirked. "You bunch of greedy fellas are really dumb, ain't ya?"
Vibhav's face twisted into anger as the Nova Guild mercenaries drew their weapons and pointed at him and his cousin. "What do you want?" He asked.
Vaelin shrugged indifferently. "What else? You. Remember Colt Draven?"
Vibhav went stiff for a second. His face hardened as he replied. "I didn't expect him to be this vengeful."
"Vibhav..." Agastya glanced at his cousin and said, "What the hell did you do?"
His cousin let out a slow exhale, dropping his shoulders, and let out a sigh. "It's… a long story."
One of the mercenaries, a scar-faced man with a jagged rifle strapped to his back, let out a smirk. "I'll make it short for you, then." He stepped forward, adjusting his gloves before looking at Agastya. "Your cousin here decided to screw over the wrong people. And I mean that literally."
Agastya's breath was caught for a second.
The mercenary's grin widened as he continued. "A while ago, the only daughter of Colt Draven, the founder of Draven Industries, was here on earth for a visit to a branch. And your cousin here successfully wooed her, made her fall in love with him, and then even bedded her in the promise of marrying her, but when she woke up, he went missing. And along with him, a priceless family heirloom of Draven House also went missing." He let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. "Hell of a wake-up call, don't you think?"
Agastya turned to Vibhav, waiting for some kind of denial, some protest... just anything. But his cousin simply stared at the ground in silence.
The mercenary continued, enjoying the moment. "Daddy dearest didn't take it too well. He put out a one-million-credit bounty on your cousin, although alive. And guess who took the job?" He spread his arms wide. "That's right. Us."
Agastya felt the anger rising in his chest, but it wasn't directed at the mercenaries. It was at Vibhav.
"You..." Agastya started, but Vibhav cut him off. "I didn't think they'd chase me this far," Vibhav admitted, running a hand through his hair. "We were broke then, and we needed some money. I thought an artifact wasn't much for a billionaire like him, as it is only worth hundreds of thousands of credits. I didn't know that it was an heirloom. So, I kinda sold it at a pawn shop and used that money in gambling, hoping to make a fortune and change our lives. But, I lost it all in the end."
Agastya couldn't help but curse under his breath. "For fuck's sake! You were supposed to be smarter than this. And you even hid about gambling from me."
Vibhav let out a humorless laugh. "Guess I overestimated myself."
The mercenary leader, growing impatient, pulled out a pair of anti-mana cuffs. "Enough talking." He tossed the cuffs to one of his men. "Cuff him. Let's wrap this up."
"Wai…" Agastya was about to step up, but Vibhav gently pushed him sideways and put forth his hands. "Don't worry, bro. I'll return in one piece, very soon."
The moment the anti-mana cuffs clicked around Vibhav's wrists, his energy core and elemental core shut down instantly. He let out a sharp breath as his knees buckled slightly.
Agastya watched as Vibhav lifted his head, looking calmer. He turned to Agastya once again, and before Agastya could react, Vibhav grabbed him and pulled him into a tight embrace.
It lasted barely a second, but in that second, Agastya felt something cold and metallic had been slipped into his coat pocket.
Then Vibhav stepped back, smiling like it was just another day. "Take care of yourself, cousin."
Agastya barely had time to process the moment before the mercenaries shoved Vibhav forward. He didn't resist or fight. He simply walked with them, accepting his fate.
But Agastya wasn't stupid. He knew that something was wrong.
His hand instinctively reached into his coat pocket and felt the unmistakable shape of what seemed like a locket. "What the hell did you just give me, Vibhav?" He wondered.
It was then that one of the guild mercenaries, codenamed Scarface, spoke aloud, as if remembering something, "Wait a damn second, what do we do about him?" He nodded toward Agastya.
Vaelin scoffed. "We leave him. There's no bounty on his head."
But Scarface wasn't convinced. He eyed Agastya, then looked at Vibhav. "You two are close, though. Can't risk him filing an abduction complaint against us. There is a reason why we brought them out of the city and captured them here."
He swiftly pulled out his knife without waiting for any orders and lunged at the 21-year-old.
"Wai…" Vaelin wanted him not to take such extreme measures, but Scarface was faster. Agastya barely had time to react before the knife tore through his stomach and then his chest.
For a split second, the world blurred.
Then the pain slammed into him full force.
He staggered while his body refused to move the way it should. His fingers pressed against the wound while his vision swam, and for the first time in a long time, a chilling thought entered his mind...
"I might die here."
Vibhav's reaction was immediate. "NO!"
He lunged forward, but the anti-mana cuffs rendered him utterly powerless. A mercenary shoved a high-voltage taser into his side, and Vibhav's body trembled violently before he collapsed onto the ground unconscious.
Agastya wanted to yell. Wanted to fight.
But his legs gave out beneath him, and the world tilted sideways.
Guilt.
Pain.
That was the last thing Agastya felt. He regretted taking this mission. His greed not only put his cousin's life at risk but also brought death to him. Why should he have attempted such a mission without his teammates...
In the end, a long sigh escaped his breath, and his vision went completely blank.
But right then, something snapped, and he regained consciousness.
He blinked his eyes open, expecting to see the snow-covered ground where he had collapsed. But instead, he was surrounded by a sea of endless space, speckled with stars in the distance.
"I'm… in space?"
And in the next moment, a colossal white entity, pulsing with energy like a dying sun, with no defined shape, shifting like a mirage, both there and not, appeared before him. It radiated a presence so overwhelming that Agastya felt like an ant staring up at a tower.
Then, it spoke. "I do not know who I once was." A distorted voice filled his ears. "But if you have made it here, then you are fated to wield the Sacred Treasure of the Devas."
Agastya could only stare. Was this a dream? Was he dead? His mind scrambled for answers, but nothing made sense.
The entity continued, "If you are the one who awakened me, then you must be the fated last surviving celestial, the Seven Great Sages created me for."
After a brief pause...
"My name is Yami," it said. "I will serve as your guide from henceforth."
Agastya's breath hitched. "Guide?"
The entity of light pulsed once, as if nodding.
"The knowledge of the sages, the weapons of the Supreme Deities, everything is stored within this locket. You are now bound to the Astra System."
"Astra System? What the hell is that?" Agastya's mind spun at all these strange words, directed at him.
As if reading his thoughts, the entity of light spoke one last time. "The fate of Devas' will now rest in your hands."
And with that, it vanished, dispersing into a thousand shimmering particles, leaving him utterly alone in the void.
A heartbeat later, everything collapsed around him, and his vision darkened. His body then felt as though it were being ripped apart into two halves. He screamed in pain. Aaaahhhhh
Agastya's eyes snapped open.
He gasped heavily as if he had been woken from a nightmare. But then, as the surroundings changed, Agastya looked around.
He was no longer floating in space. He was lying on the rocky floor of a cave, dimly lit by a flickering fire. Stalactites hung above him, dripping water onto the stone below. The scent of damp earth filled his nose, returning him back to reality.
"What the hell... just... happened?" he muttered, sitting up. His hands instinctively pressed against his abdomen, expecting to find the wound still fresh.
But it was gone.
His shirt was still torn and stained with blood, but his skin underneath was completely healed. No scar or lingering pain was left.
Before he could think further, a mechanical chime echoed inside his head.
*Ding!
A translucent blue holographic screen suddenly appeared before him, floating in midair.
Agastya froze. "What the…"
The screen flickered, and a series of words materialized.
[ASTRA SYSTEM ACTIVATED]