Pound! Pound!

  Chief Abhimanyu’s entire body trembled. His heart pounded wildly.

  It was the first time in his life he had seen such a terrifying, bone-chilling smile.

  “I'll ask again—Where is the Black Spear King? Speak... Ah, And! don’t you dare say you don’t know where he is. If you try lying to me, I’ll rip out your tongue and cut it off.”

  “...”

  Sharv’s voice softened, almost soothing.

  “Sigh… Look, my grudge is only with the Black Spear King. Whatever you’ve done in the past—let it go. I don’t care. Just tell me where he is.”

  His tone was sweet as honey, carrying no hint of killing intent. However...

  Poke! Pchk!

  “ARGHHH!!!”

  The next moment, Sharv suddenly thrust his finger straight into Abhimanyu’s right eye.

  Blood gushed out from the ruined socket.

  The Chief grabbed Sharv’s hand with both of his, desperately trying to pull the finger out but,

  Pchk! Pchk!

  Sharv twisted his finger inside the ruined eye.

  “AHHHH!!! STOP! STOP! PLEASE!!!”

  Sharv spoke again in that same sweet voice,

  “Umm~ didn’t I already tell you? Just tell me where he is. The sooner you speak, the better for you. Otherwise… who knows? Maybe... your other eye will end up the same.”

  ‘!!!’

  Chief Abhimanyu was utterly terrified now. He finally understood this boy was no human at all.

  ‘This motherfucker is a complete monster!’

  Tears streamed from his remaining eye, and he cried out:

  “I-I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! Just pull your finger out first!”

  Pchk!

  “AHHH!!!”

  “Don’t try giving me orders. Just answer me where is the Black Spear King?”

  The pain seared through him like he was being burned alive. Unable to waste another second, he blurted out:

  “B-Black Spear King… sob! sob… I don’t know exactly where he lives, or which martial faction he belongs to. But right now, he’s heading toward the Northern Plains… into the Kingdom of Magadh! That’s all I know, nothing else!”

  Northern Plains? Magadh?

  When Sharv heard that, his brows arched upward.

  ‘…Does this mean I’ll have to return to that place?’

  Sharv sighed lightly after thinking about it.

  “I’ve told you everything! Now let me go, pull your finger out of my eye!”

  Sharv yanked his finger out. The bandit cheif clutched his ruined eye, writhing in agony.

  ‘Martial factions…’

  Sharv knew well enough that the martial world of India was divided into three great forces:

  Righteous Alliance

  Forces of Inverted Command

  Crimson Heaven Society

  But which one of these could the Black Spear King belong to?

  According to the Chief, he was heading to the Northern Plains. And Sharv knew the Righteous Alliance held its base there.

  So… could the Black Spear King be part of the Righteous Alliance?

  ‘No…’

  Because from the marks of the spear left on his uncle’s corpse, Sharv knew—no martial artist of the Righteous Alliance would kill with such cruelty.

  Perhaps one or two exceptions existed within the Alliance, but hardly anyone would commit such a merciless slaughter.

  Which left the other two factions—Forces of Inverted Command and Crimson Heaven Society.

  Both followed unorthodox paths, notorious for their brutal and ruthless techniques.

  And Crimson Heaven Society also has its base here, in himalayan mountains only.

  Sharv squatted down in front of the Chief,

  “Tell me one thing. This Black Spear King… is he some kind of assassin? Who works for somebody?”

  “Gulp!...N-No, he’s not an assassin. But yes… he has killed countless people in his life. I don't know if he works for someone or not, because every time he appears to kill someone... He comes alone only.”

  “Killing, and alone on top of that, huh? Then tell me this—members of which martial faction he killed the most?”

  “...”

  The Chief thought for a moment, then replied, trembling,

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “I-I can’t say for sure, but… from what I’ve heard, most of the ones he’s killed belonged to the Forces of Inverted Command.”

  ‘?!’

  He had slaughtered the most from Forces of Inverted Command and the chances of him being in the Righteous Alliance were already low.

  That left only one possibility…

  ‘Crimson Heaven Society!’

  Sharv asked again.

  “And who has he killed the least of?”

  “...Perhaps…the people of Crimson Heaven Society? He's famous for killing members of the Righteousness Alliance and Forces of Inverted Command...”

  “...”

  “But there's hardly anyone seen him killing someone from Crimson Heaven Society.”

  Hearing that, Sharv’s lips curved upward. Just as he had suspected.

  The likelihood of the Black Spear King being from the Crimson Heaven Society was now the greatest.

  ‘Looks like I’ll be catching up to him sooner than I thought…’

  ‘But… isn’t it possible that he doesn’t belong to any of those three organisations? What if he’s just a wandering martial artist?’

  Vijay said to Sharv.

  And it wasn’t wrong either—because there were few who did not belong to any martial faction, yet were extremely powerful.

  For example, Sharv’s own uncle Harshvardhan. He was a skilled archer, and also proficient in using the spear and dagger.

  But he had never joined any martial arts organisation.

  Still,

  ‘No matter where he belongs… I will find him.’

  Sharv resolved, then looked at the Chief, who had lowered his head in fear.

  “I-I’ve told you everything I know… now let me go!”

  “Fine. You can leave.”

  Sharv said calmly. The Chief hesitated, but as he turned to go,

  Poke!

  ‘!!!’

  “AHHH!!!”

  Sharv drove his finger into his other eye.

  “…Did you really think, after speaking of my uncle that way, you would just walk away? Your body may be big, but your brain is nothing but a fool’s.”

  Then he grabbed his throat with the other hand.

  “Uwaa… ughaa!”

  “Go peacefully to your next life. ? ??????? (Om Shanti) (1).”

  Sharv’s hand tightened around his throat.

  With both eyes shattered, the Chief writhed in unbearable pain.

  But with his throat being crushed, he couldn’t even scream properly.

  “Ughaa…”

  Moments later, his breath stopped, and he died.

  Thud!

  Sharv dropped the heavy body.

  He was too, exhausted.

  Trying internal energy for the first time... It was great, but difficult also.

  Thud!

  He layer on the ground, with a satisfying smile over his face, and blood all over his palm.

  “Haa! Haa!”

  Killing the Chief gave him satisfaction, but what truly made him rejoice… was the prana he absorbed.

  “Fifteen years? Huh?”

  He remembered the words of the people: when a physician had declared that, without prana, he would not live past fifteen.

  As a child, when others taunted him with those words, he pretended not to care… but deep inside, the fear had been there.

  As he grew older, the thought of his impending end only grew stronger.

  At the age of 14, one day he was facing a severe fever, which lasted for months because of that, he accepted those people's word as truth.

  Believing he would spend his final years quietly at his cousin sister and uncle’s side.

  But now...

  He is eighteen. And... Alive.

  “Pfft—hahaha!”

  He couldn’t help but laugh thinking of it all. Now, he also have prana, Death Prana.

  People had always said he would live as a weakling, because he has no prana.

  Even that book he had read claimed, human beings must not use death-prana, for it is harmful to the body.

  “Gasp! Harmful my ass…”

  Right now, he felt better than ever. His body felt as if it had transformed into a new form altogether.

  He already knew this truth before, but once again it struck him... First... Never place too much weight on what others say.

  Because if someone focuses too much on others’ words and engraves them into their mind and soul.

  Then that person will always live like a slave, trapped in fear, in this so-called human society.

  “Sigh!...People will always talk. That's what people do...”

  And second... Whatever people proclaim is not always the truth. Sometimes, it is nothing more than a carefully crafted lie.

  There are those who weave such lies to protect what they consider rare or sacred, fearing it might fall into the hands of ordinary people.

  At first, few accept these falsehoods. But slowly, as time passes, the lie hardens into belief, belief becomes tradition, and tradition becomes the truth of the next generation.

  And those who trust these illusions live as fool.

  While the architects of deception rise to power and prosperity, savoring the lives they have shaped through falsehood.

  ‘…Tell me, you’ve got death prana in your body properly, haven’t you? You don’t feel anything strange or any side effects inside you?’

  Vijay asked.

  He was concerned because it was still death prana, the energy of death. He has never seen anyone use it.

  And if something happens to Sharv because of it and he dies... Then Vijay's chance to fulfill last wish will get over.

  “Strange? Not at all! If I had known it would feel this good, I would’ve taken death prana much earlier.”

  Sharv walked toward the Chief’s corpse, looking at it with a grin.

  “…So? What do you think, should I do it again?”

  ‘It’s your choice…’

  “Haaa!...”

  Sharv exhaled, then chanted in his mind,

  ‘Let there be a void beyond darkness. From nothingness,....’

  Whoosh!

  All the life-prana from the Chief’s corpse, now corrupted into death-prana, surged into Sharv.

  As the last of it flowed into him, Sharv felt his death-prana increase. It wasn’t even ten percent more, but growth was growth.

  ‘When you cultivated death prana, did you feel a chill… on your left side?’

  ‘!?’

  “Yes, but… how do you know that?”

  Vijay answered,

  ‘That was because of the lunar energy you absorbed from me. Tell me—did the chill reach all the way to your head?’

  “Yes…”

  ‘Ah! Then that means the lunar energy has achieved harmony with your body. That's great now you use that energy without any problems.’

  “Oh!”

  Hearing this, Sharv felt relieved. He had thought that this energy would be useless in his body.

  However, Sharv asked him.

  “By the way... There’s one more thing. While cultivating, I also felt a warmth… on my right side.”

  ‘Oh, warmth too? Ok, that's goo... W-Wai—what?! Warmth as well?!’

  “Why? Is that a problem?”

  ‘Do one thing, bring me out. Let me see your body.’

  Sharv looked at the sacred thread, and released him. Once outside, Vijay first looked at his body from up to down.

  ’Humm...’

  Then he placed his palm on Sharv’s abdomen and closed his eyes.

  ‘!!!’

  He saw it, Sharv’s Ida nadi, channeling lunar energy, had indeed reached all the way to his brain in harmony.

  But on the other side—the Pingala nadi, channeling solar energy, was also active… yet it had halted midway, near his heart.

  It was not yet in full harmony.

  And at the most bottom from where these two channels were comming, he could clearly see an circular Black shaped thing.

  That is Sharv's death prana's chakra.

  Vijay then opened his eyes.

  “So? What did you see?”

  ‘Sigh! Sharv, consider yourself luck. You’re one in billions…’

  Sharv frowned and asked him,

  “…What do you mean?”

  ‘I mean, you can wield both lunar and solar energy!’

  ‘?!’

  Sharv’s eyes widened in disbelief.

  Both lunar energy and solar energy?

  That was something only the rarest few in history had ever achieved.

  And now… he could?

  ‘Since you were a male, your body already had solar energy from the beginning. But you lacked prana. Now you’ve gained prana… and on top of that, you got that lunar energy from me. That’s why you now hold both energies.’

  “...”

  ‘Your lunar energy has been harmonized with your mind and body, I think it's because you got it directly from me, and death prana is more inclined towards negativity so it got harmonized quickly. But your solar energy is also in good shape, it has reached halfway to your body and it around your heart. You just need to practise to...’

  Vijay kept talking like a scholar but Sharv after a while couldn't listen to his talks.

  Because he still couldn't believe his ears, that he has both Solar and Lunar energies.

  Then...

  “…kuku!—Hahahaha!!!”

  He burst out laughing madly, enjoying this moment.

  ‘Fifteen years? A weak life? Early Death?’

  “Hahahahaha!!!”

  He laughed louder, remembering all those words.

  Vijay stared, puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Sharv was laughing like that, it unsettled him.

  ‘…Will you at least tell me why you’re laughing?’

  “Gasp! Gasp!… Nothing. Nothing at all, just an old memory came to mind.”

  ‘...And what memory is that?’

  “Forget it. Old memories, old people—what value do they have now? People will always come and go. They’ll always talk... I was a fool to hold on to their words for so long, because…”

  ‘…’

  “...People will always talk. That’s what people do.”

  1. ? ????? (Om Shanti) -