Chapter 0 : The forest Moonlight

Moonlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting ghostly silver shadows across the forest floor. Aarya’s lungs burned, his heart pounded, and every step was a gamble. Behind him, hunting dogs barked viciously, their snarls mingling with the shouts of mafias and police teams. He was cornered, hunted like prey.

Aarya: [panting] They’re still behind me… dogs, mafias… no escape… not tonight.

Dog (growling): Grrrr…

Mafia Leader (yelling): There he is! Don’t let him slip! Shoot to kill!

The chase had gone on for hours. The dog was closing in, its hot breath brushing his heels. Aarya’s mind raced. At the riverbank, he stopped abruptly, then ran in tight circles—round and round—until the dog lost its focus. With a desperate leap, he plunged into the raging river. The cold water pulled him under, dragged him downstream, until finally the river emptied into a vast lake. Using sheer luck and raw instinct, he survived.

Mafia Leader (yelling): There he is! Don’t let him slip! Shoot to kill!

Aarya: Five bullets… right hand… back… palms… No… I can’t die here… Think… survive… think!

He reaches the riverbank, heart hammering. The dog snaps at his heels. Aarya runs in tight circles, round and round… the dog loses focus.

Aarya: Now… jump!

He plunges into the raging river, water smashing against him, dragging him toward the dead-end lake. Pain shoots through every limb, but somehow, he survives.

Mafia Sniper (shouting into radio): Target… gone. He’s dead! No way he survived five bullets!

By now, they all thought he was dead. He had been shot multiple times—one in the right hand, two in his right side, and bullets tearing through both palms. Yet, despite blood and pain, Aarya lay on the grass, motionless. Night passed like a long, silent eternity.

When dawn broke, he was still there, resting, unable to move. The mafias scoured the forest, unaware that their prey was still alive. A hidden boundary ran through the forest—a safety net-line enforced by the government. Crossing it meant certain death.

As moonlight returned that night, Aarya’s consciousness flickered. His body screamed in protest—broken bones, bleeding wounds, rips in muscle—but something inside refused to yield. Then, a memory surged: his mother’s words.

Aarya: [lying in the grass, barely conscious]… can’t… move… they’ll never find me…

Night drags on. Moonlight slides across his face. Broken bones, bleeding, torn… he drifts in the thin line between life and death.

Memory of Mother:

"No matter who stands against you, no matter how powerful they are, even if the whole world fights you, if you are right, if you walk the path of truth… you must fight. Fight until the last drop of your blood. Show them your strength, your will, your mind… become a man of sharp focus, commitment, and sheer will."

Something inside him snapped. Aarya’s eyes opened with a burning resolve. Broken and bleeding, he made a silent vow: vengeance.

Aarya: [groaning, eyes opening slowly]… I… I will… fight… I will… survive… and… take my revenge…

And then… it happened.

A dark, ethereal presence entered his body—a mysterious sprite, a shadow of wrath. Its name whispered in the void: Ghost of the Vengeance. Instantly, a dark aura enveloped him, searing through his wounds, knitting flesh and bone. Strength surged into his veins: stamina, agility, reflexes, durability, mental acuity—superhuman in every sense. His senses sharpened, his mind cleared. The forest itself seemed to bend to his awareness.

Dark energy stirs within him. A shadowy presence emerges from his core.

Fury Sprite (whispering): I am… the Ghost of Vengeance.

Aarya: [senses sharpening, aura glowing dark]… What… what is this?

Fury Sprite: Power… strength… clarity… vengeance. All yours, if you dare to embrace it.

Wounds heal instantly. Broken bones knit together. His body surges with superhuman strength, agility, reflexes, durability, and heightened mental clarity. The dark aura pulses around him like liquid shadow.

Aarya: [rising slowly, aura flaring]… I… am not just Aarya Rudravansh anymore… I am the storm they will fear… the vengeance they cannot escape…

Fury Sprite: Tonight… the forest will witness your rebirth. Tonight… vengeance awakens.

Aarya rose, no longer just a man. He was something else—something deadly. A force born from pain, betrayal, and an unbroken will.

Tonight, the forest would remember the name of the one who had cheated death. Tonight, vengeance had a new face.

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