The Forbidden Godly Beast

The morning sun over the Surya Empire did not bring warmth to Shaktivel; it only brought the cold realization that his life was about to change forever. Today was the Grand Awakening Ceremony. Thousands had gathered in the capital’s central square, their eyes fixed on the massive, obsidian Totem of Souls.

For the people of this world, the ceremony was everything. Your status, your wealth, and your very right to breathe were determined by the beast you summoned from the ethereal realm.

Shaktivel stood in the back, pulling his tattered cloak tighter. His family, the once-noble Shakti clan, had been reduced to nothing but a memory and a stain of "traitorous blood." While other noble heirs arrived in gold-trimmed carriages, Shaktivel had walked ten miles on foot, his stomach growling from a day of fasting.

"Make way for the trash!" a sharp voice cut through the air.

Prince Kael, riding a majestic white stag with antlers made of pure crystal, pushed through the crowd. He looked down at Shaktivel with a sneer that spoke of years of inherited hatred. "Still here, Shaktivel? I thought you’d have fled to the border by now. Why bother summoning a beast when everyone knows your blood is too thin to call anything more than a common rat?"

Shaktivel didn’t look up. He had learned long ago that words were weapons he couldn't yet parry. "The law says every eighteen-year-old has the right to stand before the Totem, Prince Kael."

"Law?" Kael laughed, his stag letting out a regal cry. "In an hour, I will summon a Heaven-Rank creature, and you will be a beggar in the streets. That is the only law that matters."

The ceremony began. One by one, youths stepped forward. The air was filled with the roars of lions made of flame, the screeching of eagles with iron feathers, and the shimmering light of water serpents. Each success was met with cheers. Each failure—those who summoned nothing—was met with immediate exile.

"Next! Shaktivel of the Fallen Shakti Clan!" the High Priest shouted.

The square went silent. Hundreds of eyes—some curious, most hateful—followed him as he walked toward the Totem. The Priest, a man with a beard as white as snow and eyes as cold as ice, didn't even hide his disdain. "Touch the stone. If your soul is worthy, the ancestors will answer."

Shaktivel placed his trembling hand on the black stone. It was vibrating. He felt a sudden, violent pull at his very core. It wasn't the warm, inviting glow others had described. It was a cold, ravenous hunger.

“Give me everything,” a voice whispered in the depths of his mind.

Shaktivel groaned, his knees buckling. The Totem began to crack. Black smoke, thicker than ink and colder than death, started to pour from the fissures. The sky, which had been clear, was suddenly blotted out by an unnatural eclipse.

"What is happening?" the High Priest screamed, raising his staff. "Guards! Protect the Totem!"

Suddenly, the black smoke condensed into a single point in front of Shaktivel. From the darkness, a creature emerged.

It wasn't a dragon. It wasn't a wolf. It was a beast the world had never seen. It stood on four legs, its body covered in scales that looked like shards of midnight. From its back, two skeletal wings remained tucked tight, and its tail ended in a jagged blade of obsidian. But its eyes... its eyes were two glowing orbs of violet fire.

The creature was small, barely reaching Shaktivel’s waist, and it looked exhausted, its breath coming in ragged gasps.

The eclipse vanished as quickly as it had come. The silence that followed was heavy.

The High Priest stepped forward, his face pale. He examined the creature, his confusion turning into a mocking grin. "No Rank. No Element. No Power. This... this is a Manifestation Error. A defective shadow. It has no soul, Shaktivel. You have summoned a corpse."

"A corpse!" Kael’s voice led the roar of laughter that followed. "He broke the Totem just to call a shadow that can’t even growl! Truly, a traitor’s son summons a traitor’s beast!"

The Priest struck his staff on the ground. "Shaktivel! Your summoning is a failure. The beast is a Grade-0 Defect. You are stripped of your citizenship and banished from the Surya Empire. You have until the moon reaches its peak to leave our borders. If you stay, your life is forfeit."

Shaktivel looked at the small, dark beast. It wasn't moving. It looked as if it were made of smoke that might blow away in the wind. But as he reached out to touch its head, he felt a spark. A connection so powerful it nearly stopped his heart.

“They call me a defect...” the beast’s voice echoed in his soul, no longer a whisper but a roar. “But I am the end of all things. I am the Forbidden Godly Beast. Feed me their fear, Shaktivel. Feed me their pride. And I will give you the world.”

Shaktivel stood up. He didn't look like a defeated boy anymore. He looked like a man who had just found a reason to live—and a reason to destroy.

He picked up the small shadow beast. It was surprisingly heavy, like holding a piece of the night sky. "We’re leaving," he whispered.

"Run along, beggar!" Kael shouted, throwing a gold coin at Shaktivel’s feet. "Buy your shadow a decent grave!"

Shaktivel didn't pick up the coin. He walked past the guards, past the laughing nobles, and out through the Great Gates of the city. He didn't look back. He knew that the next time he saw these walls, they would be burning.

As he reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the small beast in his arms opened its violet eyes wide. The runes on its scales began to pulse with a dark, divine light.

"The first seal is breaking," the beast growled. "Now... let us hunt."