Yaksha—transliterated from the ancient Sanskrit "Yakṣa," meaning "swift demon, agile, speed-runner."
According to the Ramayana: "The Yaksha are born with wings, masters of swift movement, faster than hawks and falcons. The Naraka hell is eighteen thousand yojanas deep, yet a Yaksha can traverse it in a single day and night."
I felt my blood about to boil. Every nerve was jumping and twitching, like water droplets bouncing on a drumhead, nearly escaping my control.
"Come, kid," Shiva beckoned with a provocative gesture. "Show me how fast you can go."
"As you wish!" I grit my teeth and launched myself like a projectile. A dozen paces closed in an instant—so fast my own optic nerves could barely keep up. But even at this speed, Shiva's superhuman vision still saw through everything. He blocked my furious fists and kicks while commenting: "Not enough! Not enough! You're still not fast enough!"
"Faster!" A voice exploded in my mind.
I surged forward again, but the speed was so extreme I overshot past Shiva. Almost without pausing, I pivoted and attacked again. Even Shiva's expression shifted—he sidestepped, and my lightning-fast punch, unrecoverable in time, smashed into the cabin wall.
On impact, the sealed safety door cracked open. With a bang, a massive gash tore through the cabin wall.
A rush of air immediately began sucking outward. Several wooden crates tumbled out through the breach, plunging toward the earth far below.
The roaring wind in my ears grew much louder.
"That's it—quite impressive," Shiva clapped and laughed. "Kid, no—Yaksha, you've finally become a 'gift.'"
"Ryan!" Selene suddenly screamed.
I turned to look at her. In the howling wind, her face was full of anguish and shock. I looked down—my shoes had burst apart at some point. My arches had risen high, shaped like hooves. My Achilles tendons had thickened and lengthened, and to enhance speed, the muscles at the ends of my legs had gathered backward, sprouting feathered wings!
Was this... still a human body?
I stared at my own mutation, speechless.
"I'm afraid you don't have time to space out." Shiva pointed at the countdown on Selene's chest. There wasn't much time left to waste. "If you can't kill me, then everyone on this plane dies with you."
It seemed I had no choice but to accept this body.
I stomped hard against the floor, using the rebound to launch myself forward, the wind whistling past my ears! My speed was so intense that the scenery expanded rapidly, as if pressed right against my face—but now, I could exercise some control over this Divine Power.
I leaped at full sprint, raising my right leg for a heel strike that came down on his face like divine thunder. As Shiva raised both arms to block, I dropped low and drove a straight punch at his chest!
It wasn't just my running speed that had increased—every nerve in my entire body had been unleashed in this moment! If Shiva had omniscient vision, then I would use speed beyond his comprehension to shatter him!
If he was the ultimate shield, I would be the ultimate spear!
Sure enough, against my lightning speed, Shiva couldn't bring his hands back in time. He could only scramble backward, but he couldn't escape the full arc of my punch—a bloody gash opened across his chest where the wind of my fist grazed him.
He retreated several steps, looking at his own wound with something like surprise. Perhaps, through all his Death Trips, this was the first time he'd been put on the back foot.
I was practically "flying" toward him, hurricane-force fists battering his body from every angle. Even with his omniscient vision, Shiva couldn't keep up—he could only turtle up and endure the punishment.
Amidst the barrage, I suddenly gathered all my power into my fingertips and thrust forward—a Spearhand strike like a thunderbolt. This blow would pierce through all his defenses, no matter what!
But almost simultaneously, Shiva's eyes suddenly focused. As if seeing through my attack trajectory, he also launched a Spearhand—from below, thrusting upward toward my throat!
My blood ran cold! He'd seized that fractional-second window and launched a crossing attack—before my strike could reach his chest, his would pierce my throat first.
But there was no pulling back—I couldn't stop my own momentum!
In that fleeting instant, I could almost feel the helplessness and warmth of a pierced throat, the suffocating sensation of blood flooding my airway.
Yet Shiva's Spearhand shifted at the last moment. As it reached my throat, his hand lifted, brushing past my face like a breeze skimming over a bitter sea.
When I came back to my senses, my Spearhand had already plunged into his chest, sunk to the palm.
He spat a mouthful of blood, smiling bitterly. "Good... you've won."
"Why?" I stared at him blankly.
His pupils had lost their luster. His body could no longer support itself, and he collapsed into my arms. I hurriedly caught him, feeling his searing body heat rapidly cooling, his wild heartbeat gradually slowing.
"Why?!" I roared at him.
"In this world, there's never been a why—only a what..." Shiva looked at me with fading strength, a smile still on his face. "One last request, will you grant it?"
"Tell me." In just those few seconds, his body had already gone cold.
"I don't want my remains to be desecrated... set me free."
The wind howled through the breach in the cabin wall, the air currents like a giant's hand pulling at everything. I released my grip.
"Ryan Knox, be human."
With those final words, he was swept out by the wind, plummeting toward the boundless earth below.
I stared blankly after him, my mind empty.
The plane ultimately landed safely on North Senai Island. The moment we touched down, a squad of armed mercenaries surrounded us. Seeing this reception, I immediately understood why Headquarters had chosen this destination.
Everything had been planned to target Shiva.
Plan A was for me to kill Shiva. If I failed, Plan B would kick in—Morphine would detonate the bomb, taking everyone down with Shiva. If both plans failed and Shiva survived the flight, Plan C would activate: the mercenaries pre-positioned on North Senai Island would eliminate him.
To destroy Shiva, Headquarters had truly exhausted every resource, staging this entire elaborate operation.
I didn't want to dwell on the deeper reasons. Right now, I felt completely drained. The aftereffects of releasing the Divine Power left me in a state of prostration. Though my body had returned to normal, the sense of self-loathing wouldn't fade.
Morphine, true to her word, defused the bomb on Selene. Old Jasper had hid in the lavatory the entire time and managed to survive. We were the lucky ones—by the time the plane landed, the elimination rate had reached a staggering 79%. Out of 182 passengers, fewer than 40 qualified as survivors.
A million-yuan prize fight was that brutal. I looked at the mangled limbs being carried off the plane and asked myself the question for the first time: what were they doing this for?
Not just for money, but for the thirst for power, the yearning for truth... but was it worth it?
I didn't know.
Perhaps everyone has something they pursue with everything they've got.
"Ryan Knox, thank you." Morphine pulled on a coat handed to her by a mercenary. "Thanks to you, I completed my mission and survived."
I gave a cold laugh. "Should've let you blow up with the plane."
She lit a cigarette and exhaled a perfectly straight plume of smoke. "I know you hate me, but it doesn't matter. You don't understand what I carry. I need to report back to Headquarters. By the way, there's a base we built on this island—as repayment, I'll arrange for you and your allies to stay in the best medical ward."
"Why does Headquarters want Shiva dead?"
"That's not something you need to worry about. You just need to survive." She resumed her queenly demeanor, shooting me a coy glance. "That's that, then. Until next time."
True to Morphine's word, Selene, Jasper, and I were each installed in top-tier medical wards, receiving the most attentive treatment and rest. My legs, perhaps due to side effects, retained a constant numbness—I couldn't even walk steadily.
One day, I found the room too stuffy and wanted to go out for some air. The nurse on dressing duty said, "Your leg muscles still need rest. How about I push you out in a wheelchair for a stroll?"