NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Chapter 1 : Demonic Cult
POV: Third Person
Desolation.
The word was not hard to understand.
But in the minds of children under 5 years old, it spun around, a whirlwind of uncertainty. They thought so much about what had happened that it seemed like invisible gears were turning inside their little heads, creaking and clashing in complete confusion.
Shock—it was the right word to describe the emotion that overwhelmed them. They had been playing, carefree, then these men came, and now here they were, in this nameless, directionless place. The innocence of the children clashed with the brutality of the situation.
They looked at each other, one by one, their eyes lost, searching for answers in each other's gazes. They recognized each other—some were friends, others strangers—but one shared gaze united them: the gaze of despair. It was as if the light had left their eyes, drowned in uncertainty and fear.
The death of their families was too heavy a concept for their young minds, but who could contradict them? Their lives had turned upside down in an instant. The village, once peaceful, was now in ruins, devastated by the arrival of these black-clad men. Their families… gone. All that remained of this village were ruins and children abandoned to their fate.
A simple village at the edge of the Star Luo Empire, almost on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire, had been devastated to this extent.
The children were all gagged and carried in dark carts like cattle, guided by a dozen hooded figures. Their faces were hidden by the darkness of their cloaks.
Most of the children slept, exhausted from this endless day, but one among them could not fall asleep, staring blankly with a worried intensity.
Hours passed like this, marked only by the monotonous sound of the cart wheels on the dirt road…
…
POV: First Person
When I woke up, I immediately felt the cart stop, like a knife thrusting into the heavy silence of the night.
"Did we arrive?" I thought, but it was a pointless question. My inner voice echoed in my head, unanswered.
Then the familiar sound of the carts opening confirmed what I feared.
These bastards had brought us here, all the children from the village. There was no way out, no escape.
They tore off our blindfolds. The daylight burned my eyes. It reminded me that the world still existed, despite the brutality we had endured. But gradually, my sight adjusted, and I was finally able to make out where we were.
It was a vast valley, immense. On each side, towering mountains rose up, even more imposing than anything I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. Thick mist enveloped the place, giving it an otherworldly feel. A place out of time. We were no longer in the world we knew. This was something… different.
The men who had brought us here shoved us forward, wordlessly, mercilessly. It was clear that we had to follow them.
Hours of walking. The ground, harsh and inhospitable, felt painful beneath my feet. Blisters formed quickly, but I had neither the time nor the strength to care. The cold pierced my bones. It was as if winter had fallen on us suddenly, and yet it seemed like summer, or so I had always been told.
More hours passed, and several children, unable to continue, collapsed by the side of the path. I hadn't noticed how many of us there were. I had been told the village had about twenty children, but here, in the middle of the crowd, there were far more—thousands, strangers… How? Where did they come from?
"Did these guys ravage several villages for children? But why?" The question lingered in my mind, but the answer eluded me, as if none of this made sense. Every second seemed to pull me further into an abyss of ignorance.
Time stretched on, and then I finally saw what awaited us. A structure emerged through the mist, massive, imposing. As we got closer, the scale of this place became clearer, almost crushing.
It was… immense. No word could do justice to what my eyes were seeing. It wasn't a castle. No, it was a small city, with refined, almost sacred Chinese-style architecture. In the center, a gigantic temple stood, several stories high, like a monolith frozen in time. It was not human. This city, this construction, rivaled the Forbidden City, an echo from another world, another past.
"Where are we? I've studied this world since my childhood, but a place like this doesn't appear in any books." Incredulity distorted my face. My mind refused to accept what was happening, refused to understand.
We crossed the massive gates of the city in silence. The ground beneath our feet was paved with ancient stones, worn by time, yet meticulously arranged with undeniable finesse. It was an ancient place, yet unmarred by time, as if frozen in another era.
We walked through this strange city until we reached a central courtyard, where several people were waiting for us. Their presence exuded such authority that the air itself seemed to vibrate. I wasn't stupid, and everything about this scene told me that this world was far more complex and dangerous than anything I had imagined. Stories of martial souls had circulated, but now I was beginning to understand that we were in a place even those legends hadn't described.
These people, draped in black, emanated a palpable, oppressive aura. Even at rest, they seemed ready to devour you. A chill ran down my spine. I felt like a mere ant in the midst of a field of predators.
The black-clad figures knelt before a man in the center of the courtyard.
"Master, we have searched 113 villages bordering the Cult and captured a total of 2,139 children, most of whom have not yet awakened their martial souls," reported the leader of the black-clad men, his tone cold and detached.
And damn it, I was shaking. The man before us appeared to be young, but every movement of his body betrayed a wisdom, a knowledge of the world, that was terrifyingly deep. He held a book and a pen, writing everything that was said, not missing a single detail.
"Where? I only see about 500 children here." He swept his gaze over the courtyard, briefly passing over me. Reflexively, I lowered my eyes, my body reacting as if it knew it had no right to meet his gaze.
"Damn, what's happening? It's like my body is acting on its own." His gaze had the effect of a whip.
"Most didn't manage to follow us through the Phantom Valley," the black-clad man hastily responded.
The scribe, showing no emotion, fixed him with an intense look before replying in a detached tone.
"I see… Regrettable. Most will die from hunger or madness in this formation," he said, as if it mattered not at all.
"Well, it's no matter. 500 children are excellent for the Little Demon Cave project." He turned his eyes toward us, scrutinizing us for a moment. Then he continued. "Children who have already awakened their martial souls will wear red robes and follow Ji Tong." He pointed to a giant man, massive, with visible scars, his imposing figure outlined against the misty sky.
"While those who have never awakened their martial souls will wear white robes and follow Nu Li." He pointed to an old woman, her frail figure contrasting with the aura of calm and serenity she exuded. Her gaze seemed kind, but something in her posture suggested she was not someone to be trifled with.
FWOOOSH!
Before I could even understand what was happening, the man in black vanished, an indistinct shadow in the wind. He disappeared at an impossible speed, like lightning in the darkness. That kind of power… it made me shudder. Was this the power of martial souls?
Most of the children started to move, following the instructions, grouping according to their robes. Children with empty, lost eyes, others frightened, some already resigned to their fate. I joined the group of white robes without really thinking. The old woman, Nu Li, glanced at us for a moment, her face as soft as a caress. She seemed to want to reassure us, but her expression carried an infinite sadness, as if she knew exactly what was going to happen.
"Welcome, young sprouts," she said in a calm, almost melodic voice, but I could hear the underlying hardness, hidden beneath the words. "Do not blame our Cult too much. We are in a difficult time, though that does not excuse anything."
She paused, observing each child with a slow, unsettling gaze, as if weighing each soul standing before her.
"Finally, welcome to the DEMONIC CULT." The words fell like a sentence.
A shiver ran through me. Those words, spoken in such a gentle voice, had the effect of poison seeping under my skin, deeper and deeper. The Demonic Cult… I didn't know exactly what that meant, but one thing was certain: we weren't in just some trap, we were in a gigantic spider's web, and each of us, these innocent children, was prey.
I lowered my eyes, like all the others, my gaze filled with a new terror, as tangible as the ground beneath my feet. The mist, the oppressive aura of this place, the looks of the adults… everything in this place said one thing: there was no place here for innocence.
I wasn't just a child; I was a special forces soldier in my past life. But deep down, one thought lingered: would we ever see the light of day again?