Child of Prophecy

Chapter 2

Aksh shouted, "Stop it!" 

His voice rang through the streets.

His father froze and took a shaky step backward.

"Reena, you fucking bitch... you were lucky this time," He whispered towards her and walked away.

Rajit had never cared about his family.

From as far back as Aksh could remember, his father had always abused and beaten him. There were no warm memories of a happy family in the broken house he lived from past 12 years. On several occasions Rajit had beaten him to a point that it was just a miracle that Aksh was still alive or it might be his will that kept him alive.

So then... why had Rajit stopped this time when Aksh told him to?

He hadn’t always listened. In fact, up until six months ago, he was even more of a monster. No matter how desperately Aksh screamed or how fiercely he resisted, the beating never stopped.

And back then, Aksh didn’t have red eyes or red hair. He had brown eyes and dark hair—just like his mother.

So... what happened six months ago?

It had started like any other day.

Aksh was returning home after another exhausting round of work—selling whatever scraps he could find from the dump yards of the city.

He expected the usual: a drunken father, a crying mother, maybe silence if he was lucky.

But that day... was different.

When he pushed open the door to their broken little home, what he saw was something no twelve-year-old should witness.

His father was standing in the center of the room with a hot iron rode whose tip glowing red.

Reena was on her knees in front of him, her arms spread wide, shielding little Tejasvi behind her.

“Please stop, she is just a child” Reena pleaded shakingly.

Rajit shouted, his eyebrows twitching. "Bring her to me, or I’ll shove this rod inside you."

Aksh rushed into the house and stood between Rajit and his trembling mother. “What happened? Why are you doing this?” he shouted.

Rajit turned toward him, raised his hand, and—with the full force of his drunken body—slapped Aksh across the face. Aksh fell to the floor from the impact, blood flowing from his lips.

“How dare you shout at me? Has everyone in this family forgotten how to respect the master of the house?” he growled.

 “First, that little bitch stole my hard-earned gambling money and bought some crappy medicine for this fucking Reena. And now you shout in my presence?”

 He stopped then with a wide grin across his face he said “Oh right… I’ve been far too lenient with you all. Its time to remind you how to respect your elders.”

He pointed the rod toward Reena. “Let’s start with this bitch Reena, who’s the reason behind all of this. I’ll give you two choices: either press the red part of this rod to your back, or hit Tejasvi with the colder part ten times. The choice is yours. Hahaha.” He laughed menacingly. “I’m not heartless, after all.”

“I’ll take the punishment in her stead,” Aksh said, wiping blood from his face as he slowly got up.

“You wanna take her punishment? Hahahaha! Yes, of course,” Rajit replied, spreading his arms mockingly. “That’s what a dutiful son should do for his dear mother, isn’t it?”

“Stop it, Aksh!” Reena screamed holding Tejasvi tightly in a trembling voice. “You don’t have to do this! Please—I’ll take it! I’ll put that rod on my back! Just stop it, please, Aksh!”

But Aksh didn’t respond.

He slowly stepped forward, his trembling hands reaching for the glowing rod—but there wasn’t a single mark of fear on his face. Forget fear—there wasn’t any expression at all.

Aksh grabbed the rod, raised his hands, and slowly pointed the glowing end toward his back.

Rajit barked, “Do it quickly. I don’t have all day.”

But just as it was about to touch his skin—

Reena sprinted forward and snatched the rod from his hands. In an instant, without a hint of hesitation, she pressed it to her own back and wrapped her other arm around Aksh, hugging him tightly. She clenched her teeth, refusing to let a single scream escape.

Tejasvi’s eyes widened in shock. Her young, fragile mind couldn’t bear the cruelty unfolding before her—and she collapsed, losing consciousness.

Rajit laughed, his voice echoing through the house. “Now would you look at that? Hahahaha! What a show!”

Reena, still holding Aksh tightly, her back smoking from the burn, looked up with tear-filled eyes. "Isn’t it enough?" she begged, her voice barely a whisper. "Please… let the kids go."

But Rajit’s grin only widened. “What are you talking about? You only took your portion of the punishment. The kids still need to be disciplined.”

He took a step forward, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, saliva dripping from his lips. “But if you really want to spare them…” He crouched in front of her, grabbing the rod from her hand, and turning his voice cold and vile. “Get down on all fours like the bitch you are… and put the rod in your ass. Then maybe—maybe—I’ll let the kids go.”

He leaned in, licking the tears from her cheek. “You’ll do it right? You’re a loving mother… aren’t you?”

Reena’s body trembled, but she didn’t move. Her arm tightened protectively around Aksh.

Still in her embrace, Aksh slowly removed her arm and stepped forward, standing right in front of Rajit.

“You’re going too far, you asshole.”

The room fell into chilling silence.

Rajit’s grin vanished. “What the hell did you just say, you little shit?”

Reena quickly moved in front of Aksh, her trembling hands covering his mouth. “He’s just a child!” she pleaded desperately. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying! I’ll discipline him, please… just forgive him!”

But Aksh gently lowered her hands. His voice came out low and cold. “This bastard doesn’t deserve to be called a father.”

Rajit’s face twisted with rage. “Little shit! you wanna die?”

He raised the red-hot rod and swung it toward Aksh, filled with bloodlust.

But Aksh... didn’t flinch.

As the rod was about to strike him, he vanished. The rod hit nothing but air.

“Pathetic Bastard” a deep voice echoed from behind Rajit.

A chill ran down his spine. He slowly turned—

Aksh was standing behind him.

His hair, along with his eyes, began shifting from brown to red. Not just red—crimson, like fresh blood. A strange liquid-like crimson substance began to coat his body.

Aksh started walking forward, slowly—each step heavy, like that of an emperor.

The air in the room grew thick and suffocating.

Rajit’s body began trembling uncontrollably. His legs gave out. His knees hit the floor with a dull thud, and the rod clattered away.

With every step Aksh took, Rajit’s breath grew heavier. His heart pounded in his chest, and his instincts screamed at him to run.

When Aksh finally came within arm’s reach—

He collapsed.

The crimson energy around him evaporated into the air like mist.

Rajit fell backward onto his ass, finally able to breathe. “Hah… hah…” he panted, glancing down—

His pants were soaked.

The bastard had pissed himself.

“Im… impossible,” he muttered, trying to stand. “Is… is he one of them? No—that can’t be.”

He tried to calm himself. “Shit. I’m just too sober to think. I need more to drink.”

He pushed himself to his feet, opened the door, and walked out.