Dawn breaks and Amrit rises before his alarm this morning. He brushes his teeth mechanically as the events of last night cycle in his mind. Outside, the campus is bright under an eager sun, but Amrit still feels the world tinged with twilight. He spends a quiet moment meditating on the glow of his seal and the inner flame, as he's learned.
He heads to class, but his path passes the old library. A stray dog darts across the courtyard ahead of him. He stops, instincts nagging. Something about the animal feels off. He follows its eyes as it trots past, and catches a glint of deep maroon-tinged fur – like a dark energy lurking in its coat. The dog disappears behind a pillar. Amrit blinks, unsettled, but the mall angle diverges. He resumes walking, heart quick, yet perplexed.
Midday campus air is warm but oddly still; Amrit shields his eyes. Above, the sky is oddly dim, streaked with residual violet from the eclipse. He senses something; the system in his mind stirs again.
SYSTEM MESSAGE: Anomaly Detected. Investigate.
His pulse quickens with adrenaline. He scans the campus. The life sciences building ahead is shadowed under a sprawling banyan tree, out of place in the sunny day. Why would a stray dog be in the lab area? He wonders.
He heads toward the block, determination sharpening his step. Out of the corner, he sees the dog again. In the building's side entrance, a mangy stray scratches at a shrub. Next to it, a young girl in torn university uniform kneels on the ground, clutching herself and sobbing. Amrit's concern takes over.
He crouches beside the girl. "Hey, are you okay?" he asks softly, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She looks up at him through tear-dulled eyes. Amrit notices her pale face and the red welt at the base of her skull, exactly where the dog's teeth must have dug in. The dog's eyes flare crimson as it snarls. Its hackles rise. It lunges at the girl.
"No!" Amrit yells. With a swift move, he rushes between them. He forms a protective flame shield around the girl's head in an instant. The dog snaps its jaws on the flame. Amrit feels the heat rake his forearms; thick hot pain flares where the dog's claws tore him. He screams.
The system alerts him: SYSTEM MESSAGE: 50 Karma needed to use Wound Sealing? before he even realizes his pain lingers but isn't incapacitating. Red life starts to flow on his skin. The girl covers her mouth, eyes wide.
Amrit focuses. He has a hunch that hurting it won't solve anything; it hunts aura more than flesh. He closes his eyes. Om... he whispers the mantra he and Mira practiced.
In that heartbeat, the dog's snarls deepen. Its eyes lock on him. Its chest hair smolders where flame struck, blackened but clinging. Miraculously, the wound on Amrit's arm presses closed, vanishing. He looks down—no cut, no blood.
SYSTEM MESSAGE: 50 Karma used. Wound sealed. Health restored 100%.
He opens his eyes in astonishment. The crimson stains from minutes ago on his shirt have gone. The girl's jaw drops in disbelief. She stammers, "Your hand… it was bleeding!"
He nods slowly. "I'm fine," he says, surprising himself with the calm in his voice. The seal on his chest is warm under his shirt. "That dog was a Rakshasa hound. It won't hurt you anymore."
She stammers softly, awe and fear mingling. "A Rakshasa…my god. Thank you." Her shock shifts to wonder as she looks at Amrit's healed arm. "Are you…like me?"
He realizes she knows. Only someone awakened to this world would call the dog by name. "Yeah," he answers, offering her a napkin. "I guess so."
She sobs softly into the napkin, trembling, relief flooding her eyes. Amrit gently steadies her. She is still reeling from the adrenaline. "I'm Reena Sharma," she finally says. "Second year. Someone told me to help in a lab experiment at work… and the eclipse happened, and then I saw it—" She stops, eyes wide as if seeing something horrible.
Amrit's senses click. He watches the dog's aura. It snarls at him again but stays frozen in his flame. "Reena, what did you see?" he asks quietly.
She nods. "I know it sounds crazy… but I saw this cosmic haze when the eclipse passed. And that dog, it just… it attacked!" Tears stream down her cheeks. "You saved me. Thank you."
He gently bandages her arm. The seal on his chest still faintly glows. As he works, the system chiming in his mind is louder now: SYSTEM MESSAGE: Quest Complete – Protect the Innocent. Karma +150. His total has jumped. He himself gave 50 to heal, but gained 150 for the rescue. He had just under 500; now it's over 600. This is how it's meant to be used, he thinks. To help people.
He nods at Reena. "We should get you to the med wing," he says softly. She gives a shaky smile. "But thank you."
He helps her to her feet and guides her. As they walk toward the dorm infirmary, Amrit senses eyes watching from the shadows. Behind a column, he spots two tall figures in dark jackets talking quietly. They freeze when he meets their gaze. Amrit's internal HUD scans them: SYSTEM MESSAGE: Hostile awakened presence.
He ducks away. When he looks back, the pair have melted into the campus dusk. More awakened on campus… interesting, he thinks. For now, I'll let them be.
Back in his dorm late that night, Amrit finally checks his arm. No scratch remains—just as the seal had promised. The system confirms: SYSTEM MESSAGE: 150 Karma received. New total: 650.
He looks at Reena's grateful face. She's safe now. Using his power to heal her felt right and good. He closes his eyes, heart calm. Maybe this really is the dharma he's meant to follow.
Outside, the temple bells ring midnight. Amrit knows the real journey is only beginning, but at least he's not alone. With each sunrise and sunset, he feels more ready to face whatever comes.