(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
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The system's voice rang out inside Rudra's head, clear and absolute.
[DING...]
[Assimilation complete...]
[DING...]
[Three Brahmāstra fragments unified...]
[DING...]
[Integration with host commencing...]
Rudra staggered as the golden energy coursed deeper into him, his veins glowing like molten rivers.
Above, the heavens rumbled.
RUMBLE~ FLASH~
"____"
"____"
"____"
The storm that had been gathering overhead roared to life, clouds swirling in a violent spiral.
Thunder boomed like war drums.
Winds lashed the battlefield, whipping debris into the air.
Every one, every ally, every foe froze, their eyes locked upward as the storm split open.
At the heart of the vortex,
FWOOSH~
A hole tore through the heavens—
Black, endless, divine.
From within, a radiant glow poured outward, turning the storm clouds into molten gold.
And there—
Emerging in the celestial light—
Was a colossal visage.
Mahadev's face, vast and ineffable, carved into the golden clouds themselves.
His serene yet fearsome expression filled the sky, watching over the battlefield as if the cosmos itself had turned its gaze upon Rudra.
The onlookers fell to their knees instinctively.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Guru Arvind, Amirtha, Junoo, even the hardened Rajendra felt their hearts quake at the sight.
Rudra, chest heaving, tilted his head back—
His eyes wide, disbelieving, but unable to look away.
Then—
Mahadev's third eye opened.
From it, a concentrated beam of divine energy erupted,
A golden torrent brighter than the sun itself.
The sky split with its fury, the storm shrieking as if the heavens were being torn apart.
The beam struck Rudra square in the chest.
BOOOOM!
The battlefield vanished in light.
The dome that had formed around him shattered instantly, fragments of golden mist dispersing into the winds.
Rudra's body was engulfed in a divine blaze, his silhouette barely visible through the brilliance.
Every nerve, every cell in him screamed and yet was reborn, reforged in celestial fire.
AHHHH!
His roar echoed with both agony and transcendence as the Brahmāstra's full might merged into him and his body evolving by divine.
The earth trembled beneath their feet.
The very air vibrated, heavy with sacred power.
Inside the golden blaze, Rudra's screams tore through the air.
His body convulsed as if every bone was being broken and remade a thousand times over.
[DING...]
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Dormant gene chains awakening…]
[Divine Body Trait: Activation in progress.]
[Progress: 1.2% → 2.5% → 3.1% → 4.8%…]
The system's panels flashed in his mind like molten glyphs,
Each digit racing upward as though time itself bent to accommodate the surge of divine power.
Rudra could see it—
His dormant genes unraveling, igniting, and rethreading into something higher.
His body was not just healing anymore;
It was evolving.
Outside the dome, his allies could only watch in awe and terror.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Amirtha's hand flew to her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks as the golden radiance painted her face.
Her knees gave way, but Junoo caught her, her own eyes wide and shimmering, unable to look away.
Guru Arvind, normally steady as a mountain, clenched his fists tightly, whispering under his breath.
"Mahadev… this boy… you've truly chosen him."
Rajendra stood frozen, his Shima Astra glowing faintly at his side,
But even its fierce aura was dwarfed by what was unfolding.
Tejas and Meena instinctively moved closer to their father,
Their hearts pounding as though they were staring at something beyond human comprehension.
Mohan Bhargav shielded his eyes from the brilliance,
Yet a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
"He's… burning himself alive, and still climbing higher…"
Anish Shetty, standing inside his divine cow's astral projection, narrowed his glowing blue eyes and smirked knowingly.
Smirk~
"Not burning, Mohan. Reforging."
The ground itself trembled violently.
Trees bent away from the dome, stones cracked,
And the battlefield groaned as though the earth feared what was being born in its midst.
And still—
[DING...]
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
[Divine Body Trait Progress: 6.3% → 7.6% → 8.2%…]
Rudra's body, outlined in divine fire, had begun to change visibly.
His skin shimmered as if forged from molten gold and sunlight, veins glowing like rivers of lightning.
His hair floated upward in the blazing current, strands tipped with silver-white brilliance.
Every scream that tore from his throat now mixed with the echo of thunder, his very voice resonating through the battlefield.
The divine light raged through Rudra's body, his screams tearing through the storm.
CRACK~
The ground beneath him split open with jagged cracks,
Glowing like molten veins as raw power bled outward.
Dust and pebbles rose, floating in the air before disintegrating under the sheer intensity.
Guru Arvind's eyes widened—
"____"
He could feel it, the destructive force spiraling out of control.
His voice thundered with urgency.
"Everyone, move! NOW!"
Without hesitation,
Amritha grabbed Junoo's hand, dragging him back.
Rajander's face twisted with alarm as he pulled Meena along.
Tejas and Mohan Bhargav exchanged a single glance before sprinting,
While Anish Shetty stumbled, then ran harder, sweat pouring down his face.
Behind them, the earth groaned and collapsed, fissures racing outward like hungry beasts.
A shockwave of golden energy burst from Rudra's body, vaporizing trees, rocks, and even the air itself in a sizzling haze.
The storm howled overhead, answering Rudra's awakening.
Thunder cracked as if the heavens themselves were splitting,
While the winds clawed at the fleeing figures, threatening to drag them into the expanding zone of annihilation.
Every instinct screamed at them—
If they lingered a heartbeat longer, they wouldn't just die, they'd be erased.
The raging destruction—
Cracks, dust, swirling stones—
Foze as though caught between heartbeats.
The storm's roar dulled, its lightning bolts hanging in the air like broken shards of light.
Within the shimmering aura, time itself seemed to crawl, every movement stretched, slowed, almost suspended.
Rudra's body trembled in the center of it all, golden radiance pouring from his skin like molten sunlight.
His breaths came ragged, but his mind wasn't silent.
[Ding!]
The familiar system chime echoed in his skull.
[System Notification: 10% of Divine Body unlocked.]
The words burned across his consciousness.
His vision flickered, showing him a progress bar filling rapidly—
His body straining, reshaping, enduring.
[Ding!]
Another message followed, calm yet thunderous in his head:
[Quest Completed: Defeat Dev in battle.]
[Reward Granted: Special Template – Will become available once Host reaches another world.]
Rudra's eyes widened.
"Another… world?" he muttered under his breath, voice lost in the frozen storm.
Ding!
The third chime resounded, this one heavier, almost divine.
[New Trait Unlocked: Limit Breaker.]
A wave of energy surged through him, as if invisible chains around his body shattered one by one.
He gasped, feeling strength beyond anything he had ever imagined surge through his veins. His cracked skin mended, his aura swelled, and for a heartbeat—he felt infinite.
Then the final chime rang, steady and absolute:
[World Travel Function Unlocked.]
The storm clouds above rumbled, and the suspended dust began to tremble again, slowly regaining motion.
Rudra stood in the eye of that golden maelstrom, his figure more divine than human,
The promise of worlds beyond etched into his very being.
The golden storm that had raged outward suddenly reversed its flow.
Divine energy that had been tearing across the battlefield began to coil back, streams of radiance rushing into Rudra's body at a visible, almost terrifying pace.
His skin shimmered like molten metal under a hammer's strike, each pulse drawing more of the divine essence inward.
At last, with a final flare, every fragment of the power was absorbed.
The battlefield fell eerily silent.
Rudra's eyes snapped open—
Glowing with a brilliance that was not entirely mortal.
"____"
For an instant, the world seemed to tremble beneath that gaze.
Then, as if his role in this moment had ended,
The colossal face of Lord Shiva formed by the clouds slowly dissolved, scattering into streaks of fading gold across the storm-dark sky.
"____"
"____"
"____"
The silence broke only with a heavy thud.
Thud.
Rudra collapsed to his knees, his chest heaving violently as if every breath was dragged from the depths of exhaustion.
His whole body trembled, muscles giving out after enduring the unbearable weight of divine awakening.
Sweat and blood mingled on his skin, his hair clung to his face,
And yet he still burned faintly with the afterglow of the godly energy now buried within him.
He lowered his head, hands digging into the cracked earth, his ragged breath the only sound left in the battlefield where bloody battle took place.
As Rudra knelt, trembling and gasping for air,
Amirtha couldn't hold herself back any longer.
"Rudra!"
She cried, her voice breaking as she dashed across the torn battlefield.
Junoo was right behind her, her tears already streaming freely.
They fell to their knees at his side, wrapping their arms around him as if afraid he might vanish if they let go.
Amirtha pressed her forehead against his shoulder, sobbing with relief.
Junoo clutched his arm, her small frame shaking as she whispered,
"You're alive… you're really alive."
Rudra's body was weak, his head leaning forward,
But a faint smile tugged at his lips as he felt their warmth.
"____"
His chest rose and fell heavily, his breaths ragged,
But he lifted one trembling arm to place it gently over their backs—
An unspoken promise that he was still with them.
The others hurried over in a rush—
Guru Arvind, Rajander, Tejas, Meena, Mohan Bhargav, Anish Shetty, Ravi—
All skidding to a halt as they saw the sight before them.
Relief washed over their faces like a tide breaking against a dam.
Guru Arvind exhaled slowly, his proud but weary eyes glistening as he muttered,
"The boy did it…"
Rajander's fists tightened at his side, his stoic mask faltering as he whispered in disbelief,
"He really… survived Mahadev's gaze."
The ruined battlefield was silent except for their breathing and the crackle of fading energy in the ground.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Around them, the spiderweb fissures had gone cold, dust drifting gently in the still air.
But at the center of it all—
Rudra remained, broken yet unyielding, embraced by those who loved him, surrounded by those who finally understood the weight he carried.
Rudra's body trembled as Amirtha and Junoo steadied him,
But suddenly his eyes widened as if a dagger had pierced through his chest.
"Shiva… Sandeep…"
He rasped, his voice hoarse but urgent.
"Take me to them—now."
The weight in his tone cut through the fragile relief that had just begun to settle.
The atmosphere turned heavy in an instant.
No one spoke, but in their silence, worry was carved deep into their faces.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Rajander exchanged a grim glance with Guru Arvind.
Anish Shetty stepped forward immediately, lending his shoulder.
"Come, Rudra. We'll take you."
With Rajander and Anish supporting him on either side, they half-carried, half-guided Rudra across the battlefield and into the medical tent.
The moment they pushed aside the flap,
The air inside struck him like a blow.
The sharp, bitter scent of herbs mingled with blood.
Lantern light flickered faintly, illuminating Anvi's exhausted face as she knelt between two cots.
Her Astra's healing glow spread weakly across the bodies of Shiva and Sandeep—
Both pale, drenched in sweat, their breathing shallow.
Rudra's chest tightened painfully at the sight.
Shiva's strong frame looked withered, his vitality nearly drained away.
Beside him, Sandeep's skin was clammy, his pulse faint, the mark of Dev's earlier attack still seared deep into his flesh.
"Rudra…"
Anvi looked up, her voice heavy with strain.
"I'm trying… but their conditions are beyond my Astra's limits. I've slowed the damage, but… I can't promise how long they'll last."
Rudra's fists clenched even as his body threatened to collapse.
His eyes burned, not with divine energy this time,
But with fear and fury at the thought of losing his brothers.
Rudra's hands trembled as he stared at Shiva and Sandeep, fighting to steady his breathing.
His mind screamed for a solution, for anything—
And then the familiar chime of the system echoed within his head.
[DING...]
[Reminder: Host possesses Sanjeevani Leaves in inventory.]
[Capable of reviving vitality and repairing mortal wounds.]
Rudra froze.
"____"
'Sanjeevani…!'
He hadn't thought of it amidst the chaos.
"System… tell me how!"
He demanded in his mind, urgency bleeding into every word.
[Instruction: Place one Sanjeevani Leaf directly into each target's mouth.]
[The herb's essence will act instantly, stimulating regenerative functions and replenishing lost vitality.]
Without hesitation, Rudra summoned his inventory.
A brilliant emerald shimmer bloomed in his palm as two radiant leaves appeared, their veins glowing with life itself.
The air inside the tent shifted.
Even the wounded soldiers lying nearby stirred faintly as the raw vitality seeped outward.
Everyone around him—
Amirtha, Junoo, Guru Arvind, Rajander, Anvi, Ravi and Anish Shetty—
Stared wide-eyed.
"____"
"____"
"____"
"W–what in the world…?"
Anvi gasped, her healer's senses overwhelmed by the sheer vitality emanating from the leaves.
"This… this is beyond any Astra's power. What are those?"
But Rudra wasn't listening.
He hurried forward, dropping to his knees between Shiva and Sandeep.
His fingers trembled as he carefully pried open Shiva's slack jaw and placed the glowing leaf inside.
Then he did the same for Sandeep, gently closing their mouths.
For a tense heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
Fwoom.
A surge of radiant green light burst from both their bodies, washing over the tent like a wave.
Their wounds began knitting before everyone's eyes, burned flesh smoothing into unscarred skin, faint pulses strengthening with every second.
The two brothers glowed as though life itself had chosen to nest inside them again.
Anvi's hand shot to her mouth, stunned tears filling her eyes.
"That… that vitality… it's more than ten healers no even more could give in a lifetime…"
Guru Arvind exhaled a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"So… that's Rudra's trump card."
Junoo clutched Amirtha's arm, both their eyes wet,
As they watched hope flare back into the tent.
The tent filled with a low hum, as though the Sanjeevani itself was singing life back into broken bodies.
Sandeep's form was the first to react—
His abdomen, once a gaping, charred wound that had eaten through muscle and nearly into his spine, began to shimmer.
Green ripples spread outward from the leaf resting on his tongue, coursing through his body like waves across water.
Flesh regenerated before their eyes, new tissue weaving itself seamlessly where there had been only blackened ruin.
The skin reformed smooth,
As though the deadly blow had never existed.
Shiva's body followed soon after.
His condition had been far worse—
Skin seared, veins ruptured from the inside out, his very life force drained when he broke his limiter.
But now, under the divine influence of the leaf, every burst vein glowed emerald, sealing itself shut.
His burnt flesh cracked away like dry husk, giving way to fresh, healthy skin beneath.
The sickly pallor that had clung to him for hours was gone, replaced with the vibrant flush of vitality returning.
The glow intensified, their entire bodies radiating like beacons, until the whole tent was bathed in verdant light.
The soldiers watching shielded their eyes, whispering prayers under their breath as though witnessing a miracle.
Anvi, kneeling close, was trembling uncontrollably.
Her voice cracked with disbelief.
"This… this isn't healing. This is recreation. Their very life essence is being rewritten…"
Junoo gripped Rudra's arm tightly, her lips parting as tears streamed unchecked.
"Rudra… you saved them."
Rudra himself stared, chest tight, his own tears threatening to fall.
For once, the storm in his heart eased as he watched his brothers claw their way back from the brink of death.
The healing glow slowly dimmed, fading into the natural lamplight of the tent.
Sandeep's chest rose and fell in steady rhythm.
Shiva's body, once shattered and brittle, now looked whole, his breathing calm though he remained lost in unconsciousness.
The sanjeevani leaves had been consumed entirely—
No trace left but the restored vitality in their forms.
Amirtha, who had been holding her breath, finally released a trembling sigh.
Sigh~
She dropped to her knees beside Rudra, clutching him tightly.
Her sobs spilled against his shoulder, her body shaking as she whispered through tears,
"You saved my son… you saved them both…"
Rudra froze for a heartbeat, his jaw tightening.
Then he slowly raised his arm and rested it gently around her, his own eyes stinging.
He didn't say anything—
He didn't need to.
Behind them,
Anvi wiped her own damp cheeks before looking directly at Rudra, her healer's curiosity overtaking her awe.
"What… what was that leaf? Nothing in my knowledge, no Astra, no divine herb, could ever… do this."
The others turned too—
Junoo, Arvind, even Rajendra—
Each waiting for his answer.
"____"
"____"
"____"
Rudra straightened a little, forcing his voice to steady.
"It was… the Sanjeevani leaf,"
He said quietly.
"I found it during my training with Guru Arvind. At the time, I thought it was just some rare herb… but now, with the Brahmastra's full awakening, I understand. That leaf was the Sanjeevani itself."
Gasps rippled through the tent.
The name alone carried a weight of legend—
An herb said to cheat death itself, thought long lost to the world.
Anvi pressed a hand to her lips, shaking her head in disbelief.
"To think such a leaf still exists… and you held it in your hand. Amd didn't hesitate a single second to use them."
Guru Arvind's eyes flickered knowingly toward Rudra, but he said nothing—
Choosing to let Rudra's half-truth stand.
Amirtha, still clinging to him, whispered with a broken smile,
"No matter what it is… it gave my son back to me. That's all I'll ever need to know."
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(Author's POV)
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