Arjun Mehra had survived many things during the past twenty-four hours.
He had survived a panda demon emperor.
He had survived a tiger demon king.
He had survived Karan Malhotra.
And now, after meeting an ancient entity that knew him by a title he had never heard before, he had reached a profound realization.
He was no longer qualified to determine what was normal.
The return journey from the sealed chamber was silent.
Not because nobody wanted to talk.
Because nobody knew where to begin.
Aisha walked beside him, her flashlight illuminating the ruined corridor ahead.
Varkhaz followed several steps behind.
The seven-meter-tall demon general had somehow shrunk.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
He now stood at roughly two meters tall.
He still had horns.
He still had crimson eyes.
He still looked terrifying.
But he no longer looked like a walking natural disaster.
Arjun had stopped questioning things.
Mostly because he valued his remaining sanity.
The corridor itself had changed.
The scratched photographs had disappeared.
The walls looked older.
More ordinary.
As if whatever had awakened beneath the zoo had decided to stop pretending.
Nobody spoke until they reached the entrance hall.
Then Aisha stopped.
“So.”
Arjun froze.
There were few words in the English language more dangerous than “so.”
She turned.
The flashlight beam illuminated her face.
She looked calm.
Arjun had learned that calm people were often the most dangerous.
“Let’s start with something simple,” she said.
He didn’t like where this was going.
“Who are you?”
Excellent question.
He wished he knew.
“I’m Arjun.”
“That’s your name.”
“Correct.”
“Not my question.”
He looked at Varkhaz.
The demon immediately looked at the ceiling.
Traitor.
“I work at Green Paradise Zoo.”
“You were called the Keeper.”
“Apparently.”
“You knew what was written on the seal.”
“Apparently.”
“An ancient demon bowed to you.”
“Apparently.”
“And a cosmic horror recognized you.”
Arjun considered this.
“When you say it out loud, it does sound suspicious.”
She stared.
He smiled weakly.
It was not effective.
Before either of them could continue, Varkhaz suddenly spoke.
“My Queen.”
Aisha’s expression darkened.
“Stop calling me that.”
The demon lowered his head.
“My apologies.”
“What did you mean?”
Varkhaz hesitated.
For the first time since meeting him, Arjun noticed genuine uncertainty in the demon’s face.
“You truly do not remember.”
“I asked a question.”
The demon closed his eyes.
“When the Demon Realm existed, there was one ruler.”
The hallway became quiet.
“Not the strongest.”
“Not the wisest.”
“The ruler.”
He opened his eyes.
“The Fox Queen.”
Aisha’s expression didn’t change.
But Arjun noticed her hand tighten around the flashlight.
“The Demon Realm?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“What’s that?”
Varkhaz blinked.
Then he looked at Arjun.
Then back at Aisha.
His expression slowly transformed into horror.
“You truly remember nothing.”
The system activated.
⚠️ HISTORICAL DATA FRAGMENT DETECTED ⚠️
Accessing Authorized Records…
Synchronization:
For the first time since acquiring the system, Arjun felt something unusual.
Pain.
A sharp pain.
Not physical.
Something inside his mind.
Images flashed before his eyes.
A crimson sky.
Endless mountains.
Creatures larger than cities.
A woman standing atop a black throne.
Nine tails swaying behind her.
And beside her—
A man.
The vision disappeared.
Arjun staggered.
Aisha grabbed his arm.
“Arjun!”
He blinked.
The hallway returned.The old hospital.
The flashlight.
Varkhaz.
“What happened?” she asked.
“I…”
He didn’t know.
The system answered.
✦ MEMORY ECHO DETECTED ✦
Source:
Unknown
Authenticity:
Confirmed
Warning:
Further exposure may destabilize the Host.
“Great.”
“What?” Aisha asked.
“Nothing.”
“Again?”
“Again.”
She looked like she wanted to say something.
Instead, she sighed.
“I’m starting to hate that word.”
“Me too.”
Varkhaz cleared his throat.
“My lord.”
“No.”
“The Demon Realm was destroyed.”
Arjun blinked.
“What?”
The demon’s expression darkened.
“Thousands of years ago.”
“Destroyed by what?”
Silence.
Even the system was silent.
That was unusual.
Very unusual.
Finally, Varkhaz spoke.
“We do not know.”
Arjun stared.
“You don’t know?”
“We remember the war.”
He looked away.
“We remember the dying.”
His voice became quieter.
“We remember the Keeper ordering the seals.”
Arjun’s blood ran cold.
“The Keeper?”
Varkhaz nodded.
“You.”
The world stopped.
Not literally.
But close enough.
“No.”
The word escaped immediately.
“No.”
“My lord—”
“No.”
He took a step backward.
“I feed pandas.”
“My lord—”
“I clean monkey cages.”
“My lord—”
“I owe three months of rent!”
The demon looked genuinely confused.
“What is rent?”
“That’s not the point!”
The system activated.
Not with alarms.
Not with warnings.
With a question.
Does the Host reject the title:
THE KEEPER OF THE FAKE DEMON REALM
Options:
YES
NO
Arjun stared.
Then he laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because if he didn’t laugh, he was afraid he might scream.
“Yes.”
The system paused.
Then another notification appeared.
ERROR
Request Denied.
Reason:
You already accepted.
“What?!”
Acceptance Date:
Unknown
“When did I accept?”
Data corrupted.
“That’s convenient!”
Aisha looked increasingly concerned.
“Arjun.”
“What?”
“You look like you’re losing an argument.”
“I am.”
“With who?”
“Everyone.”
She opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Because the hospital shook.
Not violently.
Just enough.
Once.
Then again.
Varkhaz’s face changed instantly.
“They found us.”
Arjun’s stomach dropped.
“Who?”
The demon looked toward the darkness below.
“The other seals are awakening.”
The system exploded.
🚨 GLOBAL EVENT DETECTED 🚨
Seal Integrity Failure Cascade Initiated
Remaining Seals:
46
Active Seal Disturbances:
7
Estimated Time Until Catastrophic Failure:
UNKNOWN
The lights flickered.
The walls cracked.
A distant roar echoed from somewhere beneath the earth.
Then another.
And another.
Not one creature.
Many.
Aisha looked pale.
“What does that mean?”
Varkhaz slowly bowed his head.
“It means…”
For the first time, Arjun heard fear in the demon’s voice.
“That the Fake Demon Realm is beginning to return.”
The hospital trembled.
Outside, beyond the broken windows, a familiar sound echoed through the night.
A panda.
Bruno.
But it wasn’t Bruno’s usual sound.
It wasn’t hungry.
It wasn’t lazy.
It wasn’t confused.It was angry.
The system turned blood red.
☠️ EMERGENCY ALERT ☠️
The Heavenly Bear Emperor has entered combat mode.
Threat Level:
WORLD-ENDING
Location:
Directly Above the Host
Arjun closed his eyes.
Of course.
Of course the panda was involved.
Again.
To Be Continue….