The Blood-Red River

The Blood-Red River

The full moon was completely swallowed by heavy storm clouds. Lightning ripped through the sky, and violent winds battered a small village sitting right beside a roaring, fast-flowing river.

But the water was turning red. Even in the pouring rain, fire spread violently through the trees and wooden homes, the flames consuming dead bodies as the screams of dying people filled the night. The sky turned pitch black with smoke, and the air was thick with ash and the stench of burning flesh.

Rudra stood completely frozen in the middle of the mud road. He was just a young boy, his small frame trembling violently as his eyes locked onto the horrific, desperate battle unfolding right in front of him. The village’s Knights and Mages were fighting for their lives against a relentless, overwhelming wave of monsters.

The power difference was colossal. The humans fought with everything they had, swords flashing and basic elemental spells lighting up the dark, but the invaders were just too fast and too ruthless. They tore through the village, cutting down every human in sight and painting the dirt roads bright red. Rudra watched a beast swing a heavy, jagged claw with brutal speed, cleanly severing a woman's head from her shoulders. The head bounced across the earth with a sickening, wet thud, rolling through the mud until it stopped right at Rudra's feet.

He looked down. His breath hitched, and his entire world shattered. Staring back up at him through the grime and blood was his mother's lifeless face.

Paralyzed by the terrifying sight, Rudra’s mind went completely blank with a crushing, suffocating fear. His knees gave out, hitting the wet mud as his trembling hands slowly reached out to pull his mother’s head against his chest.

"Rudra! Help me!"

A high-pitched voice pierced through the roaring thunder. Through the smoke and flying embers, Rudra saw his younger brother running toward him with tears streaming down his face. But before the boy could even take another step, a massive, muscular shadow lunged from the darkness. With a single, violent motion, the monster tore through the child, killing him instantly before his brother's eyes.

Rudra released his mother’s head, a primal scream tearing from his throat as he scrambled through the dirt toward his brother's body. He didn't make it.

A towering, terrifying shape materialized silently right behind him. Before the young boy could even turn his head, a cold, razor-sharp claw plunged straight through his chest from behind.

The sound of flesh tearing and bone snapping was loud, but it was eclipsed by the agony that followed. Agony exploded through his chest, white-hot and blinding, stealing the breath straight from his lungs. The creature sneered in his ear, a low, guttural vibration, before violently ripping its blood-soaked claw free. With a casual flick of its wrist, it threw his limp, broken body over the steep riverbank.

Rudra splashed into the freezing water, sinking rapidly into the depths of a river that had turned completely blood-red. As his vision faded into blackness and his consciousness slipped away, the deep water began to churn unnaturally around him. A strange water vortex formed around his falling form. A thick, oily black liquid swirled through the current, violently pulled toward the hole in his chest. The dark energy seeped into the fatal wound, bonding directly to his human heart and forcefully sealing the tissue before the current washed his unconscious body ashore.

Rudra jolted awake, bolting straight up in his sweat-stained sheets. His chest heaved violently as he sucked in heavy gasps of morning air, his face etched with lingering panic and a deep, simmering anger that burned like hot coals in his gut.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A sharp, demanding knock rattled the front door downstairs, tearing his mind out of the memories of that blood-soaked night.

“Rudra! Rudra!” a familiar, rough voice barked from the thick morning fog outside the house.

“Grandpa Wan, I just woke up,” Rudra called back, his voice hoarse as he rubbed the heavy sleep and sweat from his eyes, quickly scrambling out of bed.

“Get ready fast!” Grandpa Wan insisted, his voice muffled by the heavy wood of the door. “Today is the Awakening Day for children like you. We don’t have a single second to waste—hurry up!”

“Okay, Grandpa. Give me a minute.”

Rudra stripped off his sweat-soaked shirt and reached for his clean clothes. Before putting them on, he stopped in front of a small, cracked mirror hanging on the wall, his eyes locking onto his own reflection. Right across the center of his chest sat a massive, ragged scar. The skin was rough, uneven, and twisted—a permanent reminder of the day his life was stolen from him.

That night was the beginning of my nightmare, he thought, tracing the jagged, thick edges of the mark with his fingertips. His hand slowly clenched into a hard fist, his knuckles turning white. I will get stronger. I'll make sure they pay for what they did.

The morning air was crisp and freezing as Rudra and Grandpa Wan rode toward the local academy in a creaking, old horse-drawn cart.

Grandpa Wan, exhausted from the early morning start, tipped his hat forward over his eyes and fell fast asleep in the back, snoring softly against the rhythmic, bumpy movement of the wooden wheels. Rudra, however, couldn't find a single second of rest. He stared out at the passing landscape, his mind entirely consumed by thoughts of the upcoming Awakening Test.

This was the biggest day of his life, a high-stakes moment that only mattered to those who had successfully pushed their mortal bodies to the absolute limit. For years, he had endured brutal training to unlock his internal energy channels. Today was the day he would find out if his hard work would pay off. Today, the survivors would receive a core, allowing them to finally cultivate raw energy and gain true strength in a world ruled by power.

With a loud, metallic groan from the axle, the wooden cart ground to a halt.

Rudra stepped down onto the smooth cobblestones, standing in front of the Grand Academy Hall. It was an ancient, massive stone building that had been shut down and abandoned many years ago, its history lost to time. Now, its towering, silent stone walls were only ever unlocked for a single day each year—the day of the annual Awakening Test.

Taking a long, steadying breath to calm his racing heart, Rudra pushed through the heavy entry doors and walked into the grand hall, joining a tense crowd of youths waiting anxiously for their futures to be decided.

To Be Continued

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