Scene Shift: Vedas Heritage Academy - Staff Room
While the Core Four were dealing with the holy priests at the Indra-Sabha, things were tense back at the academy.
In the quiet, dimly lit staff room, three senior professors were sitting around a wooden table, drinking hot coffee. Their faces were serious.
"The Shadow Cult is getting way too bold," a professor with a green aura sighed, rubbing his forehead. "First, they successfully stole the Dark Gold shipment from the secure transport a few months ago. And now, we just got reports that an Elite Execution Squad attacked our students in the Howling Valley."
"It's madness," another professor whispered. "Those assassins are monsters. Thank god our Higher-Ups stepped in and managed the situation behind the scenes. Otherwise, we might have lost some bright students."
Scene Shift: The 7 Pranist Council Headquarters
Far above the normal world, in a grand, circular room floating in the sky, the true rulers of the Pranist world were holding a secret meeting.
Sitting at a massive stone table was a man built like a literal mountain. He had thick muscles, tanned skin, and a heavy, crushing brown aura. This was the Earth King, one of the top 7 Council members.
He took a huge gulp from a stone cup and looked across the table at an elegant old man with sharp eyes.
"So, Mirror King," the Earth King rumbled, his voice shaking the table. "I heard you talking about some fresh talent back at your academy. Are you bragging about your grandson, Kanha? The boy who drops pillars on people?"
Shiva Taizan, the Mirror King, calmly took a sip of his green tea. He shook his head slowly. "No. My grandson is strong, but he is still a loud, foolish child. I was not talking about a student."
The Earth King raised a thick eyebrow. "Then who?"
"I am talking about a pair of teachers," Shiva Taizan said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "The we call them the 'Destruction Duo'. Their synergy is terrifying. Rumor has it that if they combine their absolute powers, they could potentially defeat one of us Council members."
The room went completely silent. To defeat a Council member was considered impossible.
"Who are they?" the Earth King asked, suddenly leaning forward.
"Professor Agni... and Professor Him (Snow)," Shiva Taizan revealed quietly.
From the dark corner of the room, a beautiful woman dressed in a sparkling, starry gown let out a soft, amused laugh. She was shuffling a deck of glowing, magical tarot cards. This was the Fortune Queen.
"Oh, my," the Fortune Queen smiled, her eyes glowing with mystery. "You are relying on those two? Fire and Ice? How chaotic. Let's keep those two monsters hidden in the academy for now. The world is not ready to see them fight side-by-side."
Scene Shift: The Indra-Sabha Temple - Midnight
Back at the temple, the night was completely silent. Everyone was asleep in their luxurious VIP guest rooms.
Except for Karma.
He was tossing and turning in his soft bed. He felt terribly guilty. He had ruined the children's holy Prasad and embarrassed his sister in front of thousands of people, all because of his baseless paranoia. The priests had been nothing but kind to him.
I should go apologize to the Head Priest, Karma thought, sitting up and rubbing his tired eyes. I acted like a wild animal today.
He quietly slipped out of his room and walked down the cold, marble hallways. The moon cast long shadows on the beautiful statues of gods and saints.
As he walked past the inner courtyard, he heard a soft, rhythmic chanting.
Karma hid behind a pillar and peeked out. His breath caught in his throat.
Walking in a perfectly straight, silent line were the fifty children from the Youth Camp. They were fast asleep, their eyes closed, but they were walking as if they were following a sweet dream. They walked toward a large, ancient holy fire pit that burned with a strange, pale white fire.
Standing by the fire was the High Priest. He was smiling warmly. As each child walked past him, he gently placed his hand on their forehead, whispering a blessing.
It looked incredibly peaceful. There was no screaming, no dark magic.
But Karma noticed one tiny, bizarre detail. [The Seed] As the High Priest pulled his hand away, a microscopic, glowing silver mark—shaped like a tiny needle prick—briefly appeared behind the ear of each child before fading into their skin. The children looked slightly paler after the blessing, but they smiled happily in their sleep and walked back to their beds.
Karma frowned. It wasn't violent, but it felt... wrong.
He backed away slowly, trying not to make a sound, when he suddenly bumped into someone.
Karma almost drew his sword, but a hand quickly covered his mouth. It was Sambhab.
"Quiet," Sambhab whispered, adjusting his glasses in the dark. "I couldn't sleep either. I found the temple's underground archives. You need to see this."
The Hidden Library
Sambhab led Karma deep into the basement of the temple, into a dusty, candle-lit library filled with ancient scrolls. Sambhab pointed to a heavy, open book on a wooden desk. It was titled: The Ledger of the Fallen.
Karma looked at the page. Right there, written in bold black ink under the list of "Traitors to the Gods," was his father's name.
Karma's heart dropped. "Traitor? My dad? Why is he in this book?"
"Because he broke the sacred rules, my child."
Karma and Sambhab spun around. Standing in the doorway holding a candle was the Elderly Priest—the same sweet old man who had given Swati the apple.
Karma tensed up, expecting a fight. But the old man didn't attack. He looked incredibly sad, almost as if he were about to cry.
"You found the ledger," the Elderly Priest sighed, walking into the room. He looked at Karma with eyes full of deep sorrow and pity. "Your father... he was my favorite student. He was brilliant. But his raw power made him arrogant. His ego blinded him to the truth. He tried to steal a sacred artifact from this very temple because he thought he was greater than the gods."
"That's a lie!" Karma said, his voice trembling. "My father was a hero!"
"I loved him like a son," the priest said softly, a single tear falling down his wrinkled cheek. "But the blue lightning is a heavy burden. It makes the user wild, violent, and prideful. I see that same wild anger in your eyes, Karma. You proved it today in the garden. Please, do not follow your father's dark path. Let us help you cleanse that anger."
The priest's words were so gentle, so full of fake love, that Karma didn't know how to react. For the first time, a seed of true self-doubt was planted in his heart. Was his father really a thief? Was his lightning actually a curse?
The Morning of the Festival: The Mirror of Truth
The next morning, the grand "Shuddhikaran Yagya" (Purification Festival) officially began. Over fifty thousand people were gathered in the main courtyard. The media cameras were rolling. Daizy was sitting on the stage, looking nervous but beautiful. Kanha was eating snacks in the front row.
The High Priest, looking like a glorious saint, stood at the microphone.
"Today, we bring light to the shadows!" the High Priest announced, his hypnotic voice echoing through the speakers. "But before we heal the sick, we must cleanse a troubled soul among us. A young boy who carries a heavy, impure burden. Karma, please come to the stage."
Karma, still emotionally exhausted from the night before, slowly walked up the stairs. The crowd watched him curiously.
"My son," the High Priest said kindly, placing a hand on Karma's shoulder. "Your energy is chaotic. It is filled with the same dark rebellion that ruined your father. But do not worry. The gods are merciful. Let us look into the The Mirror of Truth to see the true nature of your soul."
Two volunteers pulled off a giant silk cloth, revealing a massive, twenty-foot-tall golden mirror on the stage.
"Look into it," the High Priest commanded softly.
Karma looked at his reflection in the giant mirror. At first, he just saw himself.
But then, the High Priest secretly activated his terrifying 3rd Chakra ability: Absolute divine Illusion.
Inside the mirror, Karma's reflection began to change. His skin turned pale. His teal eyes turned pitch black. His blue lightning mutated into a dark, violent, blood-red storm that looked like it wanted to destroy the world. He looked exactly like a terrifying, demonic villain.
And right behind Karma's demonic reflection, a towering, majestic, blindingly bright projection of Lord Indra appeared in the mirror, holding a holy thunderbolt, looking down at Karma with disgust.
The illusion was so powerful, so realistic, that it didn't just stay in the mirror. The entire crowd of fifty thousand people saw the glowing projection of the god and the demonic reflection of Karma.
The crowd erupted in absolute terror and fury.
"Demon!" a woman screamed from the crowd, pointing at Karma.
"Look at his reflection! He is cursed!" a man yelled.
"He is a heretic! An enemy of the gods! Throw him out!" the crowd began to roar. The media cameras zoomed in on Karma's shocked face.
Even Daizy gasped, covering her mouth in shock at the terrifying image in the mirror, though she didn't believe it. Kanha stopped chewing his food, his eyes wide.
Standing in front of the massive mirror, hearing the hatred of fifty thousand people, Karma looked down at his own hands. They were trembling. The blue lightning sparked weakly from his fingers.
The psychological manipulation was perfect. The High Priest had completely isolated him.
Am I the monster? Karma thought, his heart shattering under the weight of the crowd's hatred. Is my power evil?
The High Priest looked at the broken boy and smiled a tiny, invisible, deeply evil smile. The trap had snapped shut.