Rudra:
The classroom was unnaturally silent.
Night had settled outside, swallowing the campus in shadows. Moonlight filtered through the tall windows, casting pale, jagged patterns across the polished floor. Dust floated lazily in the dim light. Outside, distant laughter echoed — ordinary students moving through ordinary lives. Inside… nothing felt ordinary.
Footsteps approached. Slow. Measured. Heavy. They stopped in front of me.
"What did you do?" Amit's voice cut through the stillness. Calm. Precise. Terrifyingly controlled.
I didn't answer.
He stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "What did you do to Eklavya?"
"Why does he think you came out of the wall?" he continued. "We have abilities, yes… but we're still human. Solid. Passing through matter is impossible."
Impossible. The word hung between us like a blade.
"I didn't mean for it to happen," I said quietly, my fingers twitching.
I swallowed hard. "In the street, when I saw the Zerakh, I reached for its unconscious mind, trying to plant an illusion there. I thought… ending it at the deepest level would be faster."
A pause. "But something… shifted."
"The focus slipped. Instead of anchoring fully to the Zerakh, it overlapped with Eklavya's perception."
I ran a hand through my hair. "I jumped from the terrace… the illusion activated the moment I landed. Layered over reality…" My gaze fell. "To him, it must have looked like I stepped straight out of a wall."
Silence. Amit studied me.
"I've trained less than you. And still, I know exactly what not to touch."
"Rudra," he said slowly, "you could have aimed for the subconscious — tested your limits safely there. Or faced the Zerakh physically. Anything would've been safer. But you went straight for the unconscious."
"Don't you realize how risky that was? Touching someone's unconscious… you could have broken yourself."
I swallowed. The weight of his gaze pressed into my chest, my fists curling at my sides.
"You're trying to step into a depth you don't have the ability for yet," he said. Not accusation. Not emotion. Just fact.
"Ability comes before control. Control comes before anchoring. Anchoring before depth."
A final pause. "You skipped all three."
Outside, distant laughter echoed again — careless, oblivious.
Amit's eyes narrowed. "And on that… you ended up inside Eklavya's unconscious state instead of the Zerakh."
"Eklavya doesn't even know how to guard himself mentally," Amit continued. "He has no training. No barrier. No awareness. And you reached for the deepest layer — it could have harmed him."
Silence followed. For the first time, I wasn't sure if what I had done was bravery… or arrogance.
Inside myself, I could feel it — the instability. The crack in my restraint. The hunger to go deeper without earning the right. Power without discipline wasn't strength. It was risk.
And next time —
The illusion wouldn't just distort reality.
It wouldn't just confuse perception.
It would break something.
And it might not leave anything left to repair.
A thought broke through my spiraling guilt. "By the way… where did you send Eklavya?"
I remembered just after we came out of the principal's office. Amit had guided Eklavya toward a guard and quietly sent him off somewhere, leaving me standing there, completely confused. I didn't understand what had just happened, why Amit had acted so decisively — and before I could even ask, Eklavya was already gone.
Amit turned toward me, his expression calm but firm. "We need to talk."
I blinked, forcing myself out of the spiral of thoughts that had consumed me. The room came back into focus, Amit's eyes fixed on mine.
Amit's eyes flicked up. "He's at the college restoration center. I sent him to check that your illusion didn't hurt him."
I frowned. "Won't he wonder why?"
Amit shook his head. "He won't wonder. They'll just say it's a routine college formality, something every student has to do."
Then, his gaze turned to me, sharp and measured. "I brought you along… to show you something else as well."
He pulled out his phone, showing a news article. My eyes widened: people spiraling, harming themselves… uncontrolled abilities.
The door swung open.
Eklavya burst in. "What are you two doing here? I searched everywhere!"
"Nothing important," I said, masking tension. "Just picking up my notes… and telling Amit what happened in class."
Eklavya grinned mischievously. "You're lying! You're both secretly eating it behind my back, aren't you? Admit it, or I'll unleash my full detective mode — complete with suspicious glances, wild gesturing, and unnecessary heroic poses!"
He paused, eyes narrowing in mock suspicion. "By the way, Amit, why were you at my college? Aren't you already studying here?"
I shrugged. "He accidentally saw your Pure Emotion powers while you were helping that kid and decided to bring you into Rah."
Eklavya blinked. "Wait… you can see powers?"
"Yes."
"And students of Rah can attend any lecture at any college for a day if they want."
"How is that even possible?" he asked.
I smirked. "This is Rah, baby. Anything's possible."
His grin faded, curiosity replacing humor. He hesitated. "Amit… do you remember you told me in the alley why I… I acted for others' happiness?"
I watched him carefully, remembering the moment: Amit's calm, measured voice carried weight.
"Because you can't stand seeing people suffer. You don't want anyone to feel the pain of losing someone they love."
Even I felt it — Eklavya's heart beating, raw, unspoken. Every step toward the Zerakh had been fueled by that quiet determination.
Back in the classroom, Eklavya's eyes widened. "How… how did you know that? I never said it out loud."
"Lunch," Amit said lightly. "You weren't exactly hiding how much you care."
Eklavya suddenly remembered, sitting amidst the crowded food court, the clatter of trays and chatter of students all around him. "If I have no one… I'll make sure no one near me loses theirs."
Shaking his head, he snapped out of the memory. His ear turned bright red, and he scrambled slightly. "Wait… was I not thinking that? Did I actually say it out loud?! Ugh… so embarrassing…"
I chuckled and threw my arm around his shoulder. "Relax. It's cute."
"Enough chit-chat," I said. "Time to show you where you'll stay."
"But I need my stuff," Eklavya said.
"Don't bother," I interrupted, smiling. "We already have it."
His eyes went wide. "What? How… do you know where I live? Are you some kind of wizard or hacker?!"
"Your college registration," I said casually.
As we walked, he suddenly turned. "By the way… thanks, Rudra. If you weren't there…"
"Then thank Amit," I said.
He laughed, a mix of relief and awkwardness. "Yeah… Amit. But Rudra, thanks too. That magic you did… it slowed the Zerakh. Thank you."
I stopped mid-step, guilt washing over me. I had almost endangered him… and yet, he was thanking me.
He noticed my pause. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I said, forcing a smile. Amit looked at me, understanding. "From now on, let's protect him and take better care of him," he added.
Eklavya scrunched his brow, utterly confused. "Wait… why do I need protection from both of you?!"
Amit grinned. "Because you look weak… and remember how terrified you were in the alley? Like a cat screaming at a cucumber."
Eklavya waved his arms wildly, moving around in a dramatic panic. "I WASN'T SCARED! Confused maybe… but not scared! I demand a retraction! And someone get me ice for my extreme humiliation!"
I ran to catch up, dodging his wild arms and legs, silently vowing never to act so recklessly again… and mentally preparing myself for the chaos that always came with Eklavya.
Amit peeked at me, smirking. "Think we should start carrying a first-aid kit… for his pride?"
I groaned. "We definitely should."