Chapter 91– Mindset Over Destiny
Zambandari fell silent for a long moment. The room seemed to hold its breath with him. The air was heavy, the faint sound of wind outside echoing like whispers of forgotten gods. His eyes, ancient yet unyielding, studied Moon and Kai, who sat before him like shattered warriors — their shoulders slumped, their breaths shallow, their spirits dimmed by the weight of defeat.
Finally, he spoke. His tone was calm, almost soft, but carried a sharp edge that cut through the silence.
"Remember my line. I can only guide you. The knowledge, the lessons, the truths I give — they are nothing but seeds. Whether you water them, whether you let them rot, whether you allow them to grow into towering trees… that is entirely up to you."
He inhaled deeply, the rise of his chest deliberate, as though even his breath carried discipline. Then his gaze sharpened — he gave Moon and Kai a look so piercing it felt as if he could see through their skin, their bones, into the very core of their being.
"You sit here drowning in defeat, as if it marks the end of your story. You let your failures cling to you like chains, whispering that you are finished. You repeat the word loss again and again, as though it has the power to define you."
His voice hardened.
"Fools."
The word cracked like thunder in the enclosed space.
"Victory and defeat are nothing more than shadows passing over your path. Today you may win, tomorrow you may fall, and the cycle will continue until your bones turn to dust. But you two…" He leaned forward, his voice deepening, "…you are immortals. Do you even understand the weight of that? Death and life, the greatest terrors of mortals, are nothing more than games to you. What others call an ending, for you, is merely another beginning."
He began to pace slowly, each step echoing on the stone floor. His cloak trailed behind him like a fragment of the night itself.
"Every strike that brings you down, every scar carved into your flesh, every moment of collapse you suffer — none of it is your end. It is only training. It is the chisel that sharpens the blade. And yet…" He stopped, turning sharply to face them. "You weep over these defeats because you still believe the enemy stands before you."
His hand lifted, two fingers tapping his own chest with force.
"No. The greatest enemy you will ever face sits right here. Not the warrior across from you. Not the blade that cuts your skin. Not the fire that scorches your body. It is your weaker self — the voice inside your chest that whispers you are broken, that tempts you to surrender."
His eyes flared with intensity, his words like fire in the cold air.
"That enemy must be crushed first. Until you defeat the coward within, every victory outside will be nothing but dust in the wind. Do you hear me?"
Moon and Kai sat frozen, their eyes wide, their despair slowly being replaced by something else — something alive.
"Stop craving to beat others," Zambandari continued, his voice rising like a storm. "Stop wasting your soul trying to prove that you are stronger than this man, that clan, that so-called enemy. Power is not born from comparison. Power is born when you take the broken pieces of yourself, grind them against the stone of discipline, and forge them into something unbreakable."
His hand cut through the air like a sword as he spoke.
"The day you stop running from defeat, the day you turn it into your hammer and your anvil, that is the day you will stop fearing failure altogether. And when that day comes… when you rise as your truest self, unchained and unstoppable, then no blade will pierce you. No enemy will shake you. No victory will blind you. You will not be remembered as mere winners or losers… but as legends."
The cave trembled faintly as his voice echoed into the stone, as though the very earth bowed to his words.
He turned sharply, his cloak whipping in the air, and pointed at them both.
"So rise, Moon. Rise, Kai. Leave behind this pitiful despair. Do not chase another man's throne — build your own. Do not dream of being stronger than others — dream of being stronger than the man you were yesterday. That is the only path to true power. That is the only war worth fighting. Become the best version of yourself — and the world itself will kneel."
Moon's eyes glistened with suppressed tears, his fists trembling, not from weakness but from the storm awakening inside him. Kai's breathing grew heavy, his shoulders tightening, as if a flame had been lit deep within his chest.
But Zambandari was not finished.
"You think the world is unfair because you've lost again and again," he said, lowering his voice into a deep growl. "You think hard work betrayed you. You think talent abandoned you. But you don't understand. Hard work and talent are tools. Yes, they matter. But they are not the deciding factor. What decides your destiny… is the thing no one can measure, the thing that exists in silence inside you: your mindset."
He let that word hang in the air, heavy as stone.
"Let me ask you this. If two men stand equal in strength, equal in training, equal in speed, and they run side by side… who wins?" His eyes flickered between them. "The one whose muscles are stronger? No. The one whose lungs burn less? No. The victor is the one whose mind refuses to stop."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping into a near whisper.
"When the muscles scream… when the lungs are on fire… when pain digs its claws into your bones and begs you to surrender… mindset is the voice that says: One more step. One more strike. One more breath. That single thought — that refusal — is the difference between collapse and triumph."
Zambandari straightened, his presence towering like a mountain.
"Mindset is the lens through which you see the world. With the wrong mindset, every failure looks like the end. With the right mindset, every failure becomes fuel. Two men may fall in the same dirt, bleeding the same blood. One whispers, 'I am weak.' The other whispers, 'I will rise stronger.' Same pain. Same event. Different destiny — because of mindset."
His voice deepened, carrying the weight of eternity.
"Talent gives you speed. Hard work gives you endurance. But mindset… mindset gives you direction. Without direction, speed and endurance are wasted. That is why countless talented warriors have died nameless, while ordinary men with unshakable mindset have carved their names into history."
He raised his hand toward the cave mouth, where a faint beam of sunlight pierced through the shadows.
"Look at nature. Look at the sun. Do you think the sun burns less brightly because someone curses its heat? Do you think it shines less because clouds dare to hide it? No. The sun does not beg for approval. It burns because burning is its truth. That… is mindset."
He spread his other hand wide, his voice thundering again.
"The mountain stands against storms. Not because it is stronger than the storm, but because it refuses to bow. That… is mindset."
Moon and Kai sat like statues, their despair shattered, their minds blazing with new fire. Their breathing quickened, their eyes lit like embers.
"You are immortals," Zambandari roared. "And yet, you chain yourselves with doubt! You stumble and call yourselves failures. You lose and call yourselves weak. Do you not see? The greatest battle was never against your opponents. It was always against your own thoughts!"
The cave quaked faintly at the force of his words.
"Change your mindset, and the world itself will change before your eyes. Refuse to bow to loss. Refuse to kneel to fear. Refuse to let another man's opinion decide your worth. You are not here to prove them wrong. You are here to prove yourself right. Every scar you carry, every wound you endured, every fall you survived — they are not curses. They are proof. Proof that you have more chances left to rise."
His eyes blazed like stars.
"Talent fades. Hard work tires. But mindset endures. Master your mind — and no defeat can destroy you. Master your mind — and you will become unstoppable."
Silence followed. A silence so heavy it felt sacred.
Moon and Kai sat utterly transformed, their despair melted away. Their spirits, which moments before had been drowning, now surged like rivers in flood. They looked at Zambandari as if he had struck a match in the deepest cavern, a single light piercing an eternal darkness.
For the first time in years, they felt hope.
Zambandari stepped forward. Slowly, deliberately, he extended his hand. His palm was steady, his fingers stretched toward them like a bridge between master and disciple.
"This will hurt a little," he said calmly.
And without warning, he struck. His hand slammed against their chests, his strikes flowing into their ribs, their arms, their shoulders. It was not the strike of hatred — it was the strike of a master, merciless in his discipline.
Within moments, Moon and Kai were coughing blood, their bodies covered in bruises, bones cracking under the force.
Through blurred vision, they looked at Zambandari, their eyes filled with betrayal .
Zambandari's expression softened slightly.
"If you return now," he said, "if you walk back after all this time, completely whole and unscarred, some will begin to suspect. After all, from Amber Dunes, two professional hunters vanished — and then return two and a half years later, in perfect condition? That would invite too many questions. This way… it will make sense."
Before either could reply, a wave of exhaustion crashed over them. Their eyes rolled back.
And both Moon and Kai fell unconscious.
To be continued…