What is he saying?
Master Krishna... does he mean him?
Well, he sure is cunning and treacherous. However, why should we be wary of him?
Why would he pose a threat to us?
The doors opened.
Hell no.
What stood before us were soldiers...
The Warden.
The Vice Warden too?
How can we have such terrible luck?
[Yash]: Hey uncle, help us out here a bit.
"Understood. I will have your back."
He replied in his rough voice.
Before I could even take my stance, something pulled me away.
Of course...
That Vice Warden.
Her powers are creepy.
[Kiara]: This boy belongs to me now.
She declared confidently.
Mala tried to jump after me, but the Warden intercepted her before she could.
The battle had begun.
With a single surge, every ordinary soldier collapsed.
The sheer Aura leaking from Yash's uncle was enough to knock out every weakling in the prison.
However...
Two people remained standing.
The Warden.
And the Vice Warden.
[Pratik]: Stop it!
[Kiara]: My, my... tired already?
She asked with a teasing smile as she wrapped her arms tightly around me.
My back...
It hurts.
Just how powerful is she?
If it were my older self, I would've died several times over from that squeeze.
I groaned in pain.
She loosened her grip slightly, but my body still wouldn't move.
It felt as though I had been completely paralysed.
[Kiara]: Diagio Amrita.
Glittering magical particles began flowing out of her body.
What is this?
These particles...
They feel dangerous.
They're coming towards me.
[Pratik]: Can't we just talk this out?
I asked, sweat forming on my forehead.
She didn't answer.
Ah, hell no.
The particles completely surrounded me.
A few moments later...
I'm...
Safe?
In fact...
I feel better.
[Kiara]: What?! Why didn't it work? My real power...
She looked completely conflicted.
To be honest...
So was I.
She stared at me with an innocent expression.
[Kiara]: Am I beautiful?
She asked innocently.
[Pratik]: Have you never looked into a mirror before? Asking your enemy something like that in the middle of a fight is a bad idea.
I replied, genuinely trying to teach her.
She froze.
Her eyes widened.
[Kiara]: This kid... It can't be... He is... Naive and stupid.
She muttered before collapsing onto her knees.
???
I couldn't understand what had just happened.
However...
Her grip on me loosened.
Seizing the opportunity, I quietly slipped away.
I'll help the others defeat the boss.
She can stay like this for a while.
*
Pratik returned to the battlefield, only to be met with a shocking sight.
Surya had already been defeated.
Yash and his uncle were attempting to leave, but strange creatures had appeared out of nowhere, blocking their path.
Mala...
Pratik's eyes widened.
He saw the Warden crushing Mala beneath his overwhelming strength.
At that very moment...
The bloodlust buried deep within him knocked for the second time.
He stood frozen.
Conflicted.
The lives of his teammates were in danger.
Mala...
She was gravely injured.
Blood streamed down her forehead.
It hadn't even been long since she had recovered from her illness, yet she still accepted this mission without hesitation.
She had always given everything she had.
The one who silently protected the team more than anyone else.
Pratik knew it all.
Ever since the day he joined the Sorcery Society...
Ever since he became part of this team...
He had watched her train harder than anyone else.
Day after day.
Without complaint.
Her determination to surpass her sister, Sunita...
It surpassed everything else.
Pratik had witnessed legends like Arun and Krishna.
Yet...
The only person he had ever admired without question...
...was Mala.
Should he really continue standing there?
Should he move forward?
The conflicted mind within him made its choice.
Vengeance.
[Pratik]: Range Shiftling...
His voice echoed.
The Warden hurled Mala aside and shifted his attention towards Pratik.
[Pratik]: Shadow Lord's Grave.
The void attempted to swallow the Warden.
However...
The Warden did something unexpected.
He charged straight towards Pratik.
Pratik's eyes remained hollow.
Within that emptiness...
The only thing reflected was the image of the approaching Warden.
[Pratik]: Trigger 3, Pre Pulse.
Just as the Warden reached him and unleashed a devastating strike...
Pratik disappeared.
With the new Trigger he had developed, he could glimpse the future up to three seconds ahead.
A technique he had derived from Yash's teachings.
As the void completely engulfed them...
Darkness stretched endlessly.
Then...
A crack.
It split the endless darkness into two.
From within that crack...
Angels emerged.
It wasn't a pleasant sight.
It was far worse.
They were...
Angels of Death.
Alongside them, colossal entities forged entirely from darkness slowly manifested within the void.
[Kalmish]: Seems like I'll have to put in some real work now.
The Warden said as he stretched his body.
Far away...
Pratik sat silently.
His expression was bitter.
His hollow eyes carried no emotion.
Mala rested in his arms as he continuously used his Range Shiftling, Shadow Lord's Garden, to heal her wounds.
Meanwhile...
Surya had already escaped the expansion Void World and was helping Yash fight the mysterious creatures roaming throughout the prison.
A dark 20 metre circle streched in the prison.
The entry to Pratik's Range Shiftling Shadow Lord's Grave it was.
Within the Void World remained only four beings.
Mala.
Pratik.
Warden Kalmish.
And...
A battle that none of them would ever forget.
To be continued...
---
EXTRAS:-
THE WORKING OF RANGE SHIFTLING, SHADOW LORD'S GRAVE
This technique is derived from Pratik's classic Range Shiftling, Shadow Lord.
Its mechanism is simple.
It activates once Pratik's bloodlust reaches a certain threshold.
Upon activation, it summons the Angels of Death from the Imaginary Dimensions.
Imaginary Dimensions exist outside the universe itself.
Shadow Lord's Grave possesses an effective range of 20 metres.
Anyone who enters within that radius can be dragged into the Void World by Pratik.
Once inside, the space stretches infinitely, just like the standard Shadow Lord Range Shiftling.
Similar to the original technique, Shadow Lord's Grave continuously analyses the opponent's abilities.
Simple abilities can be replicated.
Complex abilities can be shut down.
However, the analysis process takes longer than that of the standard Shadow Lord.
No one can leave the Void World unless Pratik allows it.
There are only two exceptions.
The first is if Pratik's Dark Energy Reserves are completely exhausted, which is nearly impossible.
The second is if an enemy manages to forcibly destroy the Range Shiftling itself.
The Angels of Death are immortal entities.
Even if destroyed, they continue to respawn.
Trigger 3: Pre Pulse is a newly developed Trigger created by Pratik shortly before this mission.
However, Trigger 3 can only be activated while either Range Shiftling: Shadow Lord or Range Shiftling: Shadow Lord's Grave is active.