The First Store System

“The element of Nihility!” Katrina exclaimed as she got her answer for not being able to vaporize the energy balls.

“How do you know that?” Katrina asked Aakesh as she couldn’t believe that someone weaker than her had enough control over the element to use it in a stable attack skill.

Aakesh ignored the question and stayed silent.

“Now, let’s not hurt each other,” Katrina responded with a pained voice.

“Katrina, let’s not play these games anymore. What do you want to achieve?” Autumn intervened and asked Katrina.

The expression on Katrina’s face turned solemn as the aura around her turned chilly. She then stared at Aakesh.

At that moment, Aakesh felt a chill spreading right through his spine. His eyes turned cold as he was ready to bombard Katrina with the Apocalyptic Blasts.

Katrina’s eyes suddenly turned playful, and she commented, “I want to go to the place from where he comes…”

Katrina shared with Autumn and Aakesh her intentions to go to the outside world.

“Do you think ‘He’ would let you go?” Autumn suddenly asked a question with a solemn face. Her tone was respectful when she mentioned ‘he’.

Aakesh’s ears pricked in surprise as it was the first time he heard the mention of someone who could terrorize both Autumn and Katrina.

The playful smile on Katrina’s face disappeared after hearing the question Autumn put.

“I don’t think ‘He’ cares whether we leave from here or not,” Katrina answered like a kitten who had just gotten her tail stepped on by someone.

“Oh, ‘He’ most certainly does. Why do you think I haven’t mentioned anything about leaving this damn continent with my ancestor even once?” Autumn responded. Her tone was filled with confidence.

“You don’t know that,” Katrina retorted back. Not for even a moment, she believed what Autumn said.

Time flew by as Autumn and Katrina conversed, while Aakesh silently stood there and listened with the dark energy balls still active.

Aakesh’s surprise only got greater with each passing moment. Despite the conversation about this mysterious ‘He’ being lengthy, the duo hadn’t mentioned ‘His’ name even once, while their tone stayed respectful all this time as if the person could hear them.

Aakesh got curious to know the identity of the being that could terrorize Autumn and Katrina to such an extent that they had started respecting him.

“Who is this he you are talking about?” Aakesh’s curiosity got the better of him. He interrupted the duo and asked the question.

Autumn and Katrina had sudden changes in their reactions to hearing Aakesh’s question. They felt chills down their spine, hearing the casual tone of Aakesh when he referred to ‘Him’.

Aakesh suddenly felt darkness surrounding his environment as everything slowed down. His breathing got so loud that even an explosion would sound ordinary in comparison.

Then suddenly, in the sky, a pair of large eyes opened and looked at Aakesh.

At that moment, Aakesh forgot everything. His blood got cold as he felt his body trembling with fear.

His eyes automatically closed, and when he opened them again, Aakesh found that he was back with the duo. He hurriedly looked at Lily and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw she was alright and there was nothing wrong with the light engulfing her.

“Did you see ‘Him’?” Autumn asked with concern in her voice while her tone was still respectful. There was a newfound respect for Aakesh in her voice, seeing that Aakesh was alright even after casually referring to ‘He’ as he.

“Yes,” Aakesh nodded as he would never forget those eyes.

“Thank your fortune that your mental willpower wasn’t lacking, or you would’ve never been able to return here,” Katrina mocked Aakesh.

Aakesh ignored Katrina’s ridicule and focused on the eyes he had just witnessed. It was the first time Aakesh had felt fear. When Lilith, an Angel, was in front of him, he felt nothing, but here, just by the person’s eye, he had experienced his blood getting cold, and even his body had started trembling in fear.

Aakesh’s face suddenly changed as he found those eyes familiar. If not for his emotional control, he would’ve crashed down to the ground just by the sheer shock of the information he found.

‘How could it be?’ Aakesh shouted in his heart as what he found was unbelievable to him. The shock and awe were entirely out of Aakesh’s character, but he didn’t care; such was the intensity of the news he learned.

At the same time, the mystery around this portal started loosening up. Then Aakesh suddenly remembered Lilith, that had also come here. He felt a chill seeping into his bones as he could guess her goal for descending into the Primal dimension and entering here.

“Hey, system, are my conjectures correct?” Aakesh couldn’t help but question the system in his head.

[Host, the system doesn’t hear your thoughts, so it doesn’t know what your conjectures are.]

The next moment, the system’s response in an emotionless and mechanical voice rang in Aakesh’s head.

“Does those eyes belong to…,” Aakesh then shared what he thought he had found just now with the system.

[Host, your conjectures are correct!]

Aakesh almost stumbled in shock, but he stabilized himself before he could crash. At the same time, the dark energy balls disappeared as Aakesh forgot to channel his energy.

Autumn and Katrina changed their reactions, seeing the sudden change Aakesh had. Autumn rushed at him as she felt ‘Him’ to be the reason behind Aakesh’s reactions.

“You shouldn’t have referred to ‘Him’ so casually, ‘He’ doesn’t like when people disrespect ‘Him’,” Katrina gloated, seeing the situation of Aakesh.

“Are you alright?” Autumn asked Aakesh in a concerned tone. She wouldn’t feel much even if Aakesh were to die. But she had seen Lily, her ancestor’s attachment with Aakesh, so if anyone were to happen to Aakesh, Autumn believed that even Lily wouldn’t be able to survive the pain.

“I am alright,” Aakesh expressionlessly answered Autumn as he stabilized himself.

He then took a deep breath to calm his fast-beating heart down.

‘The things have become terrible here. Should I attempt to leave?’ Aakesh asked himself in his heart.

‘No, I should look at the situation as if things have become more exciting, and how can I not join in this euphoria.’ Aakesh got his answer right away, as his heart yearned to join the situation despite knowing just how terrible it would become in the future.