?°?°?°?°?

  Those gifted with construction-related powers were hard at work, laboring to restore the ceiling and the washroom. Ketaki was responsible for getting the job done. The girl's knowledge of structural engineering surpassed every other fighter present, which is why Pranali had entrusted her with this task. Anyway, the work had to be done as quickly as possible, the winds outside Kaalminar had grown so frigid they could make a fighter's very core shiver. And the washroom facility that was destroyed was a public one, so it was obvious that its restoration was crucial.

  On the other side of Kaalminar, in the second tower, Raghav lay once again in Pranali’s room, unconscious, wounded, but deeply protected. One of the boy's hands was in Pranali's, who held his palm delicately, as if applying any more force would break his fingers.

  As she traced the faint scratches on his palm with her fingertips, an ocean of maternal affection surged within Pranali. She couldn't contain it even if she wanted to. His abrasions and various injuries were knitting back together. And the one performing the healing was Shaurya...

  "I don't know why, but this boy’s wounds are taking an inordinate amount of time to close."

  The Major held his wrist, the one that was badly injured. His eyes were closed, and from his form emanated a white, ethereal glow.

  Sublime, Supernatural and Amazing.

  But no one was in a state to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of his power. They were all preoccupied with watching how slowly Raghav’s body was absorbing Shaurya’s energy.

  Apart from them, Tushar was busy trying to maintain a fragile peace between the butterfly and Sangharsh. But no one was willing to listen. Neither he nor it.

  "L-look! This is no time to be bickering–!"

  "Keep your tongue behind your teeth!" was all Sangharsh said.

  And a fierce battle ensued, followed by another loud collision. The clash between the butterfly and Sangharsh was absurd. He was pulling at its antennae, while it sat atop his head, yanking out his hair. As absurd as it sounded, it looked even more absurd to Tushar. He scratched his neck, watching their so-called revenge match. But more than that, he was intrigued by a hidden power being displayed. Which is usually kept a closely guarded secret.

  Major Shaurya’s second ability.

  『 So... he has healing powers too... 』

  He would have been utterly stunned to see a fighter exhibit a hidden second power so openly, had he not known that the military officer currently healing Raghav had already entered the Ultimate-tier. Such a rank meant Shaurya likely possessed two more untapped powers, the existence of which no one knew what they were. Tushar’s ruminations were cut short when a brilliant, shimmering orb began to gravitate around Raghav’s body.

  "I would like everyone to leave, save for the Leader of the Pralay Sangh."

  Tushar raised an eyebrow, looking at Raghav’s unconscious form with confusion.

  『 Why him? What’s so special about this Guild Leader that he gets to stay? 』

  But how could anyone answer a question he hadn't even asked? He nodded and gestured for Pranali to leave, but Pranali wasn't even looking at him.

  "Ma'am?"

  Ma'am slowly released Raghav’s hand but continued to stroke his hair. Her heart ached. Her feet felt rooted to the floor. The Major could see the hesitation and the deep-seated worry hidden behind her stern facade.

  "Ma'am? Ma'am, let's go."

  Reluctantly, she rose. She gave Raghav’s hand a final, gentle squeeze as if to reassure herself, then headed for the door. At the threshold, she couldn't help herself and turned back one more time towards Raghav. Taking a deep breath, she put on her mask of strict discipline and went out. Tushar following her. The door shut with a definitive click.

  The Major sighed and lay down on the corner of the bed, next to Raghav. He was tired. He was thinking. And Sangharsh knew well how to read the gears turning in his mind.

  "What is it? You look troubled. What could possibly worry you?"

  "A rare Core..."

  Shaurya sat back up, resting his hands on his knees. Sangharsh sat opposite him on the bed. The butterfly, still perched on Sangharsh's head with strands of his hair still in its mouth, though she had stopped pulling them thankfully, looked on.

  "I... don't quite follow."

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "Look at this. You'll understand soon enough."

  Shaurya channeled his power, and instantly, a shimmering screen of blended white and gold manifested before Sangharsh. It displayed Raghav's Fighter Core in vivid detail. He could clearly see Raghav's fighter core. But his mouth fell open when he saw the structure of Raghav's fighter core.

  "What the hell...!! Where is the other half of the Core? He has no Tiran!"

  "Precisely. His Tejas is healthy, but his Tiran... it’s as if someone ate it... swallowed it whole. Look at these jagged, uneven lacerations."

  Both Sangharsh and Shaurya looked at each other. Because there were some old wounds that this structure was rubbing salt into. The words came out of Sangharsh's mouth on their own, and even the butterfly was surprised to hear them.

  "So... Pranad is here?! Impossible!"

  ?°?°?°?°?

  Raghav was walking down an unknown path. The road was desolate, surrounded by pitch-black darkness. There was no sound, no noise. He couldn't see the path in front of him or behind him. It felt as if he was walking in space, but even there, at least the stars were visible. Here, even that wasn't there.

  A space without a single thing.

  Raghav was just walking when he felt a rustling sound near his ear. He turned towards that direction, only to hear a rustling sound on the other side. On the third side, then on the fourth side. As Raghav looked, a strange rustling sound spread around him. It was as if something was being whispered, but he couldn't understand what.

  He was so panicked.

  He tried to scream.

  He tried to shout.

  But it was no use.

  No sound was coming out of his throat.

  And he sat down, troubled, in the same darkness. Then he looked ahead and saw a girl running towards him.

  A little girl.

  "Brother! Hahaha! What are you doing? Is the floor tasty?"

  Raghav froze. He had no idea what was happening. Where was the floor? He was lying in the darkness, which was slowly pulling him backward. He tried a thousand times to call out to his younger sister, but none of them succeeded.

  "You’re such a goofball! Get up and come here! Your laziness made you miss my school play."

  Ragini's voice was a little angry, but she was still happy about something, and Raghav didn't know what. He tried to get up and go in that direction, when he saw a shadow.

  Right behind Ragini.

  A hazy shadow, many times bigger than Ragini, whose long, claw like nails were moving towards Ragini. A black liquid was dripping from its body, making a sloshing sound and going down to who knows where. But this liquid dripping from her body was enough to scare Raghav.

  After all, his sister was there...

  Who now started to feel a little scared...

  "Brother? I'm scared all of a sudden! Brother!!"

  With a surge of adrenaline, Raghav broke free and got up. He lunged towards Ragini. He tried to scream a warning. Nothing worked. The shadow seized Ragini by the throat, and the black liquid spreading over her small frame.

  "Brother! Brother! Save me! I’m s-scared. Brother!!"

  Raghav was running towards Ragini with every ounce of his strength, but the distance between them was not decreasing. No matter how much he ran, there was still a distance between them. That shadow started swallowing Ragini, and Raghav, wiping sweat and tears near his eyes, ran in that direction. He just had to run a little faster. He was getting closer.

  Just a little more! Almost there!

  Raghav let out a blood-curdling shriek as the shadow snapped Ragini’s neck.

  "RAGINIIIIII !!!!!!"

  Raghav sat panting and his breathing was so fast that he felt as if his lungs would come out of his body.

  "Raghav?"

  The Major's voice woke him from his nightmare. He was in the same room he'd investigated, the one belonging to Pranali, and the one he'd nearly been killed in. The Guild leader wasn't far away.

  "Are you okay? A bad dream?"

  Shaurya moved towards Raghav, but Raghav's breathing wouldn't steady. He couldn't believe that everything he'd seen was a dream. He felt a searing heat throughout his body. He expected his wrists to be agonizingly painful as he tried to pull the blanket off him, but there was no pain. Not even a bruise. He glanced at the Major, who was staring back at him.

  "What happened?"

  But as soon as Raghav opened his mouth to say something, he felt a sharp upheaval within him. Anxiety, heat, and a slight metallic iron like taste in his mouth. Throwing the blanket off him completely, Raghav quickly got off the bed. He hadn't even reached the door when Sangharsh used his power to slam it shut. He even locked it.

  "Go that way. The washroom is over there."

  He pointed to the private washroom in Pranali's room, where Raghav had always been reluctant to go, and that's why he'd run to the public washroom for the first time where everything went wrong. But he had no time right now. The rumbling in his stomach was excruciating. It was painful. He ran inside, not even closing the door properly when the sounds of vomiting came from inside.

  However, Shaurya and Sangharsh traded looks of alarm when the retching turned into agonized groans. Both of them got up and immediately ran towards the washroom. The butterfly flew after them. As soon as the Major pushed the door open, his eyes widened. Raghav was slumped over the toilet bowl, his hands crimson... stained with blood.

  "Raghav?"

  The Major immediately knelt beside him, patting his back, while the butterfly perched on the boy's shoulder, channeling energy to soothe him. Raghav coughed, spitting out the copper-tasting fluid. Shaurya signaled Sangharsh, who telekinetically pulled a water bottle across the room and handed it to the Major.

  "Raghav? Drink this and rinse your mouth. Quickly."

  Raghav picked up the bottle with trembling hands and tried to drink. The butterfly perched on his shoulder, giving him more energy, helped him feel some relief. Raghav did as the Major instructed, then collapsed onto the floor, resting his head against the cold tiles.

  "I... I can't do this anymore."

  That's all Raghav said before closing his eyes. His trembling hands clutched the Major's uniform tightly, even though they were shaking, but the grip was very strong. Seeing all this, Sangharsh simply rolled his eyes and went to sit near the chair around the table. There were many interesting things kept there, including Raghav's diary, which Sameer had given him. Meanwhile, the Major was trying to calm Raghav down by patting his trembling hands.

  "You can do whatever you've set your mind to. Have faith. Now, get up."

  But Raghav's trembling hands refused to let go of the Major's uniform. It was as if he believed that the moment he released his grip, the darkness would pull him back under. The boy lay there for a while longer. After a few more moments, he gathered his courage and somehow rested his head against the Major’s knee.

  "...Ji Sir..."

  To be continued...