"Uh?..."

  Adarsh, who was lying on his bed, slowly opened his eyes.

  He had been unconscious for some time. He looked at his hand, then at his broken fingers, and in that moment he remembered that humiliating scene when he was defeated by that boy who had no internal energy.

  Not only did he lose, but he was also beaten up and crushed in front of his mother.

  Clench!

  He clenched his teeths, in anger. The rage burning inside him was beyond words.

  All of this was because of that boy, five years ago it was the same boy, and even now, once again, that boy had thrown his life into turmoil.

  ‘I won’t spare him…’

  He resolved that he would fight him to the death.

  But suddenly, every hair on his body stood on end.

  It was because he remembered that boy’s smile. That terrifying, yet strangely moving smile.

  Then a thought crossed his mind,

  ‘Is he… even human?’

  But it didn’t matter, human or not. One way or another, in this lifetime, Adarsh would make sure he dies, by his own hands.

  Right now though, Adarsh was not in any condition to act. He had already felt defeat and understood just how powerful his opponent truly was.

  If he wanted to beat him, he would have to become even stronger.

  He clenched his fist, and in his eyes burned a new fire, the fire of becoming stronger, and of sending that Asura-like boy to his death.

  Creak!

  The door of his room opened, and a manor maid walked in. Seeing Adarsh awake, she shrieked.

  “Manor Mistress! Young Master Adarsh has just woken up!”

  Moments later, his mother, Atikansha, rushed inside. She immediately embraced her son.

  “Adarsh…”

  “...Mother.”

  “I told you to leave that place… why didn’t you listen to me? I was so terrified that something would happen to you!”

  Hearing his mother’s trembling voice broke his heart. He was about to break his promise, by going away in order to find that kid to seek revenge.

  But thinking about it now, he realized his own immaturity, and his overconfidence on his martial powers. He should have listened to her.

  “I’m sorry, Mother.”

  Atikansha didn’t say anything, she just hugged him tightly, as if afraid she would lose him if she let go.

  “But… I promise you, Mother. I will kill that Monster, no matter what it takes!”

  “No, just leave it.”

  ‘?!’

  Adarsh was surprised but, Akansha kept talking,

  “No… don’t do that. Don’t even think about him. Just act as if that boy never existed.”

  Hearing the fear in his mother’s voice only made him angrier. He said,

  “I need to become stronger… so strong that no one can ever threaten or humiliate us again. Mother... That’s why, Mother, please allow me to join the Crimson Heaven Society.”

  ‘..!’

  The ‘Crimson Heaven Society’ is one of the greatest martial arts organizations.

  Along with the ‘Righteous Alliance’ and the ’Forces of Inverted Command’, it divided nearly all the martial artists of Indian subcontinent into three factions.

  The Crimson Heaven Society’s territory, spread across the Himalayan mountain ranges.

  Even the mountains where the Five Lotus Sword Manor stood were under the influence of the Crimson Heaven Society.

  Atikansha had already received many invitations from the Society, asking her to send her son to them. She had even discussed it with Adarsh before.

  But he had refused back then. Now, was he finally willing to go?

  Atikansha looked into his eyes.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  She could clearly see the fire in them, the burning desire for revenge.

  She knew that one day, sooner or later, her son would have to walk this path, because his father, the late Manor master was also an outer member of Crimson Heaven Society, and eventually he would also have to become one.

  Until now, he had stayed only because of her… or perhaps not because of her, but because of his own anger towards that boy.

  She herself had never wanted revenge. It was only Adarsh’s rage that drove him toward it.

  ‘Maybe if he learns martial arts properly, cultivation, and meet others experienced peope, I think... he will also learn how to control his anger…’

  This thought passed through Atikansha’s mind.

  And besides, that boy Sharv had nothing to do with the Crimson Heaven Society.

  He could never reach there. Her son would be safer there insted of here, in this manor…

  Finally, Atikansha spoke,

  “Alright… you may go to the Crimson Heaven Society. But to become a member, you must first pass their examination. That examination is happening, next week. You will have to participate in it, along with many others of your age. Would you be fine, with your... current injury?”

  “Yes! Mother, I’m absolutely ready. This injury is nothing. Don’t worry about me. As long as you are with me, I can face any test.”

  Hearing this, Atikansha’s heart melted. She embraced her son once again.

  “Yes… as long as you are with me, I am happy too, my son.”

  ***

  Sharv was walking back home, reading the book he had taken from that cave.

  “Alright, so according to this, spirits too have their own separate world, where they also have rules and laws.”

  That book first explained properly about the difference between spirits and humans.

  Just like on earth a human’s life force; energy is called life prana, which the normal people in simple terms call internal energy. Spirits too have their own kind of energy.

  And that energy is called death prana.

  ‘Life prana’ and ‘Death prana’

  Just like their names, both are opposite to each other, so is the way they function.

  Where life prana flows through the nadis in a straight course, circulating throughout the body while cultivating, in complete contrast, death prana circulates through the opposite course of the nadis while cultivating.

  Once death-prana properly settles into the body and forms a chakra, after that the being can cultivate that energy according to their will.

  ‘This is really cool...but...’

  Sharv thought for a moment and then asked,

  “Can humans not circulate death prana?”

  He searched for the answer in that book, and found out,

  “No, because it can turn out to be dangerous for humans. A human might fall into prana deviation, or even die in a horrible way. That’s why humans should NOT attempt to use death-prana. …Ugh! Man, I thought humans could do it too.”

  Sharv said, and then his eyes fell upon something.

  Unlike other humans, Sharv can't circulate life prana, so what if this worked for him instead?

  After all, anything could happen in this world. So maybe this too was possible?

  What if... this actually works for him?

  “Anyway, for now let’s move on...”

  He said, and flipped the pages.

  Now the book explains about the types of spirits and their ranks.

  Spirits could be of many kinds—good, bad, and Evil. Some wandered restlessly, while some were bound to certain fixed places, sealed somewhere.

  The goal of spirits is that after death, when their body is cremated, they separate from this materialistic world.

  And then merge into Brahman.

  That Brahman, the inner essence, which people call by many different names. Some accept it as formless, while others imagine it in form, for example Shiva, Shakti, or Narayan.

  Every spirit goes by this phase, some early some late. And there are even those who move to this stage straight after death.

  But... Such spirits are very rarely seen.

  Why?

  Because they have lived their human life well, and they carry no unfulfilled desires. That’s why, upon death, they directly take this path.

  And...

  The path of other spirits are different and long. These are the spirits that still carry some final wish.

  Or those whose end came before their destined time, or in a very cruel way. Such spirits are filled with anger, death prana, along with immense amounts of Shakti energy (Lunar energy)(1).

  These type of spirits which carry them, and wander through the spirit world, are called Wrathful or Resentful Spirits.

  And these spirits are the ones most commonly found.

  “Oh! So that means Avantika was also the same kind of spirit... a Wrathful Spirit...”

  After this, the book went on to explain the ranks of spirits.

  It was written that, the strength of Wrathful Spirits is determined by the intensity of their anger, the amount of Death prana they possess and the time that has passed since their death.

  If a spirit is unable to fulfill its final wish for a very long time, then with each passing year, it only grows stronger.

  The ranks of such spirits are as follows:

  - Black Spirit

  - Strange Spirit

  - Disastrous Spirit

  - Monstrous Spirit

  - Mythical Spirit

  - Demonic Spirit

  Black Spirit is the lowest rank, one that has only recently died. Whereas Demonic Spirit is the highest rank.

  “That means Avantika’s spirit was at the Black Spirit level. That’s why she wasn’t able to possess or do something with that shopkeeper, because she didn’t have enough powers...”

  Black Spirits don’t have powers.

  They can be found almost anywhere nearby, and at that stage they don’t even possess Death-prana, only Shakti energy.

  Whereas on the other hand, Strange Spirits and all those higher in rank do have powers. They possess both Shakti energy and Death-prana.

  That’s why they can possess and dominate people and harm them.

  But when he read further. Sharv saw that:

  Monstrous, Mythical, and Demonic Spirits are usually sealed within something.

  Only very powerful spiritual it mystical masters like; monks, tantriks(2), or aghoris(3) can seal them, or even exorcise them.

  The first three lower-level spirits can also be sealed, but they aren’t as dangerous as these higher three.

  And since their numbers are far greater, sealing every single one of them is nearly impossible.

  And lastly...

  Only way for the spirits to move above the rank, is to wait for time, because as time passes they gets powerful.

  Or...

  To consume the death-prana in a very high amount. And with this, the first chapter of the book came to an end.

  It was really fascinating to read, but Sharv only focused on the things he didn’t know, the things that were important.

  What’s the use of reading something he already knew about?

  ‘And the second chapter will probably be more useful than the first one.’

  Because there it will be explained how to subdue and control spirits.

  He flipped the pages to read the second chapter.

  But right then, among those pages, he noticed a peacock feather. That feather seemed a little strange to Sharv.

  On the page where that feather was placed, it was written:

  Read the verses ahead only with full awareness.

  And beneath that, something was written, which was:

  “The powers of Sun, Earth, Moon, Heaven, and Hell, having united, let it release!”

  The moment Sharv read that verse, something happened.

  That peacock feather began to tremble, and from it Sharv felt a strange kind of energy.

  ‘This... what is this?’

  Suddenly, that peacock feather which was trembling in his hand, rose up and stuck itself right in the middle of his forehead. And then Sharv’s eyes rolled back.

  And he stopped moving.

  1. SHAKTI ENERGY (????? ?????) -

  Positive, Masculine, Hot, Sun, Solar, etc.

  2. TANTRIK (????????) -

  3. AGHORI (?????) -

  SIGHS!...

  SOO deep into them, if you're not interested. Because understand their world is fucking difficult...

  ‘Most Random ahh! Murim settings be like... ??’