Previously:
Ved passed the Maya Sankalp Yatra, facing his greatest fear — a version of himself consumed by power. But across the city, his awakening has triggered something ancient… and dangerous.
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"Some shadows don't chase the light. They wait for it to rise… then strike."
– Unknown
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Varanasi – 2:43 AM
A train screeched to a stop.
The air was thick with mist. A single figure stepped off the last compartment — tall, dressed in black robes lined with ash and gold.
His eyes glowed violet.
A guard approached. "Sir, you can't be—"
The Warden blinked once.
The guard collapsed, unconscious — his mind overwhelmed by memories that weren't his.
The Warden looked at the sky.
"The Code stirs," he whispered. "And the boy burns too brightly."
He walked, barefoot, through the alleys. Every streetlamp flickered as he passed.
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Sanctuary Chamber, Kolkata – Training Dome
Ved stood in the center of a floating obstacle field — a 4D construct of shifting gravity and kinetic traps.
Today's trial wasn't a vision. It was real.
He leapt, dodged, and ducked through spinning blades and plasma orbs, pushing himself harder than ever.
Raksha watched from above, arms folded. "He's improving."
Agnira didn't reply.
Instead, her eyes were fixed on the radar.
Something was coming.
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Inside the Meditation Hall – Later
Ved sat cross-legged, trying to summon the flame again.
Nothing.
"Why won't you come?" he whispered. "You showed yourself."
"It's not a pet," said the girl from earlier, suddenly behind him. Her voice was calm, airy. "It's not yours. It's you. And you're still incomplete."
Ved frowned. "Helpful."
She smiled faintly. "You want power fast. That's why people fall."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Sia. My code is Vak. Voice of Memory. I see echoes."
Ved tilted his head. "You saw my trial?"
"I saw what you didn't: your hesitation when he mentioned burning India."
Ved looked down. "I… don't know what this power really means."
"You will. Or it will eat you alive."
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Varanasi – Abandoned Temple of Kalika
The Warden stood in front of an old shrine.
He drew a glyph mid-air. The stone split open, revealing a pit of black fire and silver bones.
A creature rose — faceless, covered in shifting glyphs.
"Go," whispered the Warden. "Test the flame-born."
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Kolkata – That Night
An explosion rocked the sanctuary wall.
Alarms blared.
Ved ran toward the breach. Others followed — Raksha, Sia, three more students with various powers: metal manipulation, speed, and sound compression.
The creature emerged from the smoke — moving like a shadow through liquid.
It didn't speak.
It attacked.
Raksha took the first hit, her shield shattering. "That thing… it's a Yama Construct!"
Ved clenched his fists. "What does that mean?"
"It shouldn't exist anymore!"
The creature moved too fast. One of the students screamed as glyphs wrapped around his legs, turning them to stone.
Ved dove in, flames igniting faintly in his palms. The creature's glyphs lashed at him.
He burned them mid-air.
Sia spoke from behind a pillar. "It's mimicking death-mantra glyphs! We need to overload it!"
Ved closed his eyes.
Focused.
The white flame flickered — barely — then surged.
He stepped forward.
The creature charged.
They met in the center of the hallway.
Fire vs. Glyph.
Light vs. Scripted Death.
Ved let out a roar — a mantra he didn't remember learning poured from his mouth:
"Agniya Vedasya Bhūtātmā Naśyatām!"
The white fire exploded from his chest.
The glyphs cracked.
The Yama Construct shrieked — then disintegrated into ash and digital static.
Silence.
Everyone stared.
Even Raksha.
Even Agnira, watching from a hidden upper level.
Ved stood, chest heaving.
"What was that…?"
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Elsewhere – Watching Through Shadows
The Warden smiled.
"He speaks the forgotten tongues. Just like the prophecy."
He turned to an unseen figure beside him.
"Inform the Ten. Pralaya may have truly begun."
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Next: Who is Ved… really? What is the Deva Code truly awakening?
Episode 6: Whisper of the Ancients — coming next.