The Resurrection and the Debt of Life
The air in the training hall was heavy with the scent of ozone and divine energy. Simran lay on the cold floor, her face pale and her breathing shallow. She had just performed a miracle—using her newly acquired healing magic to pull Aaryan back from the brink of death. But the price was steep: 30,000 SC Coins and an entire year of her life span.
After ten minutes of agonizing silence, Aaryan's eyes snapped open. The burst of power that had nearly destroyed his body was now contained. He sat up, his movements fluid and sharp. He immediately saw Riya hovering nearby, her digital form flickering with extreme tension. Then, his gaze fell on Simran.
"Riya, what happened to her?" Aaryan asked, his voice cutting through the silence.
Riya explained everything—the sacrifice, the coins, and the year of life Simran had traded for him. Aaryan looked down at his hands. He felt a new sensation within the System. A notification appeared: [NEW PASSIVE MAGIC UNLOCKED: THE UNDAMAGED SOUL]. This magic was a permanent fix; it ensured that no matter how many millions of times he used his power per day, his body would never again be damaged or injured by the feedback.
Aaryan didn't hesitate. He stood up and activated his divine energy. He didn't just heal Simran's fatigue; he reached into her life-force stats. To repay the debt, he granted her 5 extra years in her life span, far more than the one year she had sacrificed.
Simran's eyes fluttered open. Seeing Aaryan standing over her, healthy and whole, she let out a sob and lunged forward to hug him. "Please," she whispered, "don't ever do that again. I thought I lost you."
Riya spoke up, trying to calm the atmosphere. "Now Aaryan was able to control his power by Power Controlling Magic, and by his new powers, he healed you, Simran. He is stable now."
The Prophecy of the Rajasthan Village
The moment of relief was cut short. A crimson notification flashed across the System HUD, vibrating with urgency.
[NEW NOTIFICATION: AN INTELLIGENT GIRL HAS BEEN SACRIFICED BY HER VILLAGE PEOPLE FOR RAIN.] [SYSTEM MANDATE: YOU HAVE TO SAVE HER AND MAKE A TEAM FOR THE FUTURE.]
The System sent a photo of the girl—her eyes were sharp and full of untapped potential, but her face was streaked with dirt and tears. A timer began to count down: [YOU HAVE ONLY 24 HOURS TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION.]
Simran and Riya looked at the map. The girl was in a remote village in Rajasthan, nearly a thousand kilometers away from Bhilai. "How are we supposed to reach there?" Simran asked in a state of high tension. "Even with a flight or the fastest car, we might be too late."
But Aaryan was not in tension. He wasn't even listening to their worries. He was deep in the System interface, searching for a specific upgrade.
"What are you looking for?" Riya asked. "A teleporting magic," Aaryan replied. Simran frowned. "But Aaryan, you already have one." "That one only teleports me," Aaryan explained, his fingers moving across the digital air. "I want to teleport you all. I need a mass teleporting magic."
Luckily, he found it. For a massive fee of SC coins, he purchased the Group Teleportation Magic. Without wasting another second, Aaryan gripped their hands. In a swirl of blue and white light, the room in Bhilai vanished.
The Lake of Sacrifice
They reappeared on a dusty ridge overlooking a poor, desolate village in the heart of Rajasthan. The ground was cracked from drought, and the air was hot and stagnant. They watched from a distance, hidden by Aaryan's invisibility shroud.
"She belongs to a poor family," Riya whispered, scanning the village records. "The elders decided that because she is the most intelligent, the gods would value her sacrifice more to bring the rain."
They waited. The sun began to set, casting long, bloody shadows over the desert. At exactly 7:00 P.M., a procession of villagers emerged from a small hut. They were carrying the girl. She was struggling, but her hands and legs were tied tightly with thick rope. They marched her to the edge of a deep, murky lake at the center of the valley.
With a final chant, the villagers threw her into the water. She vanished beneath the surface.
Aaryan didn't wait for her to drown. He teleported instantly to the center of the lake. He plunged into the water, grabbed her small, bound form, and teleported back to the ridge. The villagers continued their chants, unaware that their "sacrifice" had been stolen.
Shreya was unconscious and looking very weak. Aaryan looked at her, then at Simran and Riya. "We're leaving." He activated the teleport again, and in a blink, they were back in their home in Bhilai.
The Villain and the Slave
After thirty minutes of resting in a guest room, the girl began to stir. Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up quickly, her breathing panicked. She looked at the modern furniture, the clean walls, and the three strangers standing before her.
"Who are you all? And where I am now?" she asked, her voice trembling with terror.
Aaryan stood at the foot of the bed, his face like stone. "I am Aaryan," he said coldly. "And you are now in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh."
Shreya's eyes widened. "But... I was in my Rajasthan Gaon (village) before 40 minutes! So how that is possible?" She suddenly noticed something that made her face go pale. Her wet, dirty rags were gone. She was wearing a clean, high-quality dress. She looked at Aaryan, her eyes filling with tears of shame. "Did you change my dress? You are a monster!"
Aaryan decided that he needed to break her spirit to ensure she wouldn't run away or cause trouble. He decided to act like a true villain. He leaned in, his shadow towering over her, and gave a dark, menacing smile.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"My name was Shreya," she stammered, shrinking back against the headboard.
"So, Shreya," Aaryan said, his voice dropping into a low, threatening baritone. "Silently eat that food on the table. Otherwise, I will kiss you and remove your dress."
Shreya gasped, looking completely terrified. She looked at the food, then back at Aaryan's cold eyes. She realized he wasn't joking. She sat silently and began to eat as fast as she could, her hands shaking. "Please," she whispered after finishing, "just leave me alone."
"Okay," Aaryan replied. "But from tomorrow, you have to go to school."
The Chains of the Mastermind
Aaryan didn't waste time. He picked up his phone and called Simran's father. "I have a new student," Aaryan told him. "I need you to convey to the School President and the CBSE Head that she needs an immediate transfer to AKPS School."
Simran's father, knowing Aaryan's value and his daughter's safety depended on him, didn't ask questions. "Okay, I do it for you, Aaryan. It will be done by morning."
They followed their usual daily routine, and at dinner, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Shreya sat at the end of the table, her head down. Aaryan looked at her. "Now onwards," he said, "you are my slave. But don't say that to anyone outside this house."
Shreya's intelligence flared for a moment. She looked up, her eyes wet. "But why? Why I become your slave?"
Aaryan leaned back, his poker face perfect. "If you reject my offer, then I will sell you in the black market. So choice is yours."
Shreya looked at the modern luxury of the house, then thought about the dark water of the lake and the "black market" Aaryan mentioned. She had no one to go back to; her own parents had tried to kill her. "Okay," she whispered, her voice broken. "Now onwards, I am your slave."
Aaryan nodded. "Good. Sleep now. Woke up at 4:30 A.M. for the morning routine."
Everyone went to their rooms, but as the house grew quiet, Aaryan heard the sound of soft crying coming from Shreya's room. He knew exactly what she was thinking. She thought Aaryan would do very bad things to her now that she was a slave, and she was still haunted by her parents' betrayal.
Aaryan walked into her room. He saw her curled into a ball on the bed. He sat beside her and, in a rare move of comfort, he hugged her. "Please don't cry," he said softly. "I not do any bad thing with you without your permission. Now okay or not?"
Shreya looked at him, surprised by the sudden warmth in the monster's voice. "Okay," she whispered. "Then sleep now."
She finally fell asleep, and Aaryan walked out, his mind already calculating the next move. He had a new team member, a new god power, and in one week, the half-yearly exams would test them all.