A warm breeze stirs as Amrit sets off, walking briskly across the quiet late-night IITM campus. The sky is fading to dawn; the lingering moonlight frames the path ahead. Ever since the trial in the temple yesterday, he hasn't been able to think of much else. Now, with this second chance, Amrit is determined to uncover more of the mystery. He passed Mira's dorm hall — she'd ensured they had enough incense and Sanskrit notes from class — and now heads toward the old temple campus, drawn like a moth to flame.
Inside the campus grounds, the large Shiva statue looms in shadow. Amrit sits cross-legged on the cold stone floor, the tiny lamp from the shrine casting flickering light on the ancient carvings. He feels stronger this morning, oddly centered. The memory of last night's ordeal still lingers as a strange but distant dream. He focuses on steadying his breathing and the glowing seal on his chest. Then he stands to work.
From his sleeveless shirt he withdraws a small iron plate, a piece of scrap he has carved into an inverted triangle – the sacred symbol of Agni. Despite having never trained formally in ritual, he draws a Sanskrit mantra on the blank side with charcoal: "ॐ नमः शिवाय Om Namah Shivaya." He feels confidence already, as if someone had taught him this years ago.
The iron dish warms instantly at his touch, and Amrit carefully lights it with a finger-tip flame. The incense bursts into a vivid blue glow. He breathes in the smoke. In this calm moment, a faint memory surfaces: Mira's words, her beautiful chanting voice the night he first saw her inner power. "Lead me from the unreal to the real," and "Ignorance to light… Abide in radiance." He realizes he's doing something similar: bringing light into darkness, both in the shrine and inside himself.
Just then, a quiet voice interrupts his thoughts. "Amrit." He looks up. Mira stands on the temple steps, wrapped in her shawl against the cold morning air. Behind her, sunshine begins to spill over the hostel buildings. "I got up early," she explains with a smile. "Thought maybe we should share what we know." She sits beside him as if no time has passed since his rescue of her.
They exchange shy grins. Amrit's palm is still warm from the flame within; Mira's eyes flicker with the residue of her astral light. She notices the mantras. "My dad taught me Om Namah Shivaya once," she says softly. "He said Shiva's mantra ignites one's inner fire. Seems to have worked."
He nods. "Thanks to you, I could use that in the shrine." He feels a blush of pride. They are not two ordinary freshmen anymore; they share a secret now.
Mira gently clears the ash in her own dish, which bears the half-recited verse from last night. A faint smile spreads on her lips. "I looked up that Sanskrit phrase we saw: उन्नमय (unnamaya)—" she taps Amrit's shoulder and hears the syllables leaving her lips, "–'Ascend. Elevate.' It's part of an Upanishad about spiritual rebirth."
Amrit's eyes widen. The very word unnamaya had appeared in the lamp when they completed the trial. "So it was a real message."
She nods. "Yes. Whatever that chamber was, it was guiding us. Maybe it meant we're supposed to grow beyond normal students."
Amrit looks around the temple's carved pillars. "And now?" he asks. "What do we do with this knowledge?"
Mira stares at the rising sun, then back at the Sanskrit etched on the wall. "We keep learning. It's like we've become characters in a story, Amrit. The system gave us powers and clues. Maybe there's more to understand about this Cosmic Dharma system."
At that moment, the iron dish behind them crackles. The incense burst flares blue, then fades on its own. Amrit's skin tingles where he holds it. The SYSTEM interrupts his thoughts with a familiar chime in his mind: SYSTEM MESSAGE: Shared Knowledge. Karma +50. In confusion he meets Mira's eyes. She looks at her dish—she too sees no flames or smoke from her own incense.
"We got karma points," Amrit whispers. Both frown. "How?"
Mira has an idea. "We shared knowledge... Maybe helping each other earns karma," she says. Amrit nods slowly. "I healed you, used my flame to protect you — that must be a good deed."
A new SYSTEM MESSAGE flickers in his head: "Quest Updated: Enlightenment Path – 50 Karma awarded for Empowering an Ally." Amrit jumps. It was so quick he almost missed it. He grips the dish with a shaking hand. He's got 150 karma now.
They realize this "Cosmic Dharma System" is learning about them too. Amrit feels something lift in his chest as he stands, holding both dishes upright. "Let's keep moving," he says, fists gently aflame to warm himself. "Now we know helping each other pays off. Tomorrow... there'll be more tests, I bet."
Mira nods with a gentle laugh. "Maybe another ancient verse will appear for us, or some hidden altar."
They descend the steps, hands clasping their ritual dishes. Each step sounds heavy in the morning silence — but both are lighter at heart. The ordinary campus lights up around them: students tip-toe to the dining hall, watering flowerbeds in the first light. But Amrit and Mira see it differently now. The shrine behind them may have closed, but their journey has only begun. The Cosmic Dharma is awake.