As Ved slept,his soul seemd seemed as if it was being transferred to another realm,away from his own. He suddenly appeared in a pitch-black void where he could see a streak of light at a distance from where he was standing. He started walking towards the source of light. As he got closer,the light continued to grow bigger and bigger until he could see a white corridor.
As he entered the white corridor from the pitch-black void, he felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. The corridor seemed endless, bathed in a serene, otherworldly glow. The walls on either side were adorned with paintings and carvings, each more intricate and awe-inspiring than the last.
The first painting he saw depicted a fearsome goddess with ten arms, each holding a different weapon. In one hand, she held a severed skull, and in another, a bowl filled with blood. Her wild hair flowed like a storm, and her tongue extended in a fierce roar. The power emanating from the image was enough to make Ved instinctively lower his gaze in reverence.
The second carving displayed a powerful figure surrounded by lightning, radiating authority and raw elemental power. The third showed a radiant being with grand wings and an expression of peace and wisdom, exuding light and serenity. The fourth was a mesmerizing serpent biting its own tail, a perfect circle representing eternity and the cycle of life and death. The fifth was a painting of a grinning warrior-monk with golden fur and a staff on his shoulder, standing atop a cloud with fiery determination in his eyes.
Ved recognized them all. The first carving depicted the Hindu goddess of destruction,Goddess Kali. The second one,the Greek god of lightening and king of Olympus,Zeus. The third image was that of Archangel Jophiel,the personification of art,beauty and wisdom. The fourth was Oroboros,the snake that represented the endless loop of destruction and rebirth. Finally,the fifth was that of the sage who was heaven's equal, the monkey king from the Chinese mythology,Sun Wukong.
From a young age, students were taught about mythologies from around the world. He had always been deeply fascinated by these stories, and unlike many others, he paid close attention to their symbolism, histories, and philosophies. As he walked slowly through the corridor, he saw even more depictions-gods of war, wisdom, chaos, love, and balance-each etched or painted with care, some even glowing faintly as if infused with divine essence.
As Ved walked further down the path,he felt his attention being drawn toward a peculiar,colourful carving. He stood before the particular carving, something within him stirred-a strange mix of awe, dread, and curiosity. The silhouette of the man, with his broad, bare back and unyielding stance, held a power that transcended time. His sword pointed towards the sky, the star-streaked heavens, not in worship... but in defiance. It was unlike any depiction of divinity Ved had ever seen. The man's face was not visible as he had his back turned,so Ved was only able to see his well defined muscular back and long hair that streaked down his back till his elbows.
Many people had traversed down this corridor and had described how the corridor looked and about all the carvings and paintings that existed along the path. But Ved had never seen or heard anyone mention this carving - one that aroused a sense of reverence in him from the bottom of his heart. Ved had seen quite a few people portray depictions of how the corridor looked like on the internet and books.
The man seemed to exude an aura of immense majesty. Ved felt like bowing down and prostrating on the ground like how a son falls at the feet of his parents or at a temple in the presence of God. But he quickly suppressed this feeling. He couldn't take his eyes off the carving and continued to stand there for a bit of time.
There were no divine symbols around the figure. No halos. No animals. No cosmic aura like the other gods and legends displayed along the corridor. And yet... this single carving felt louder, heavier than all the others combined.
The carving was being deeply etched into his memory as he stood there, staring at it. Gazing at the valiant figure's sword made him feel as though he himself was experiencing the countless wars that the sword had gone through.
Just as he was staring at the carving, his mind went completely blank for a second, but the second actually felt as if an eternity had passed for Ved. He immediately regained consciousness but couldn't figure out what had just happened. He felt a chill run down his spine and stopped staring at the carving. He knew that the most dangerous thing in the world was the unknown. He quickly regained his composure and thought of moving forward along the corridor.
He turned away from the carving, glancing back one last time as he continued walking down the white corridor. The figure remained silent, unmoving-his gaze locked on the heavens, sword still raised in rebellion.
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Light years away from Earth, on a planet that seemed to be drowned in flames and lava, a man whose back seemed exactly like the one in the carving that Ved had seen, was fighting against fire demons that seemed to have descended to hell.
With a sword in each of his hands, he was battling against the ferocious-looking demons. But it couldn't even be considered a battle-it looked more like a one-sided massacre where the man was slicing through the demons with every swing of his sword.
As he was fighting, his eyes suddenly glowed with golden light and he could see a vision of Ved staring at his carving.
"Interesting. To think a new candidate has appeared just when the storm is approaching. Let's see whether he lives up to his potential or will just be one of those failed geniuses who could never reach the apex."
As he said this to himself, he started killing the demons even more ferociously to the extent that the demons started fleeing due to terror.