Om couldn't believe his ears.
"You gave me a national-level treasure?!" His voice cracked with disbelief. "What were you thinking!?"
Raj added, "Om has something that—other than him—only the strongest inheritor in the world possesses!"
Narad raised a hand to calm them both. "Enough. Both of you. It's already been explained—it chooses its owner. In anyone else's hands, it's practically useless."
But the tension in the room didn't ease. Om's face was pale, his hands trembling.
"How many people know… about their existence?" he asked, voice laced with dread.
Narad smirked, a glint of mystery in his eyes.
"We weren't even aware of their existence at first."
Sara blinked, clearly confused. "Wait—Boss, I thought you always knew we had such an artifact."
Raj, seizing the moment to show off, deepened his voice and asked, "Then how did you find out?"
Narad shot him a glare sharp enough to slice steel.
"I was about to explain."
Raj instantly resumed eating, trying to hide his embarrassment.
'One day he'll kill me with his glare,' Raj thought, swallowing his pride and food at once.
Narad resumed, "Three years ago, Mr. Arnold came here asking about another one of them. I wasn't sure what he meant, so I consulted Mr. Shiv. But even he had no idea."
"But when Arnold and I checked the treasury… it was there."
He paused to let that sink in.
"He offered us a deal—a hundred Ati Maha Rathi warriors in exchange for the earring."
Raj dropped his spoon. "A hundred Ati Rathi Warriors?!"
Narad glared again.
This time, Raj felt something different. A pressure. A bloodlust.
He coughed violently—Cough! Cough!—then stood up abruptly. "I'm done. Bye everyone." And he ran.
Unbothered, Narad continued.
"I discussed it again with Mr. Shiv. The deal felt… too unnatural. So, Mr. Shiv came himself. Cautiously, he denied Arnold's request."
"But Arnold wasn't someone to take 'no' lightly. He gave us two choices—either find an owner for the earring within five years, or he would take it by force."
"We offered it to many… but it never responded."
"Until yesterday. It chose you."
Still not satisfied, Om pressed further. "But… I asked Miss Sara for an assistant. Why did you give this to me? Why me?"
Narad leaned back, folding his arms.
"Mr. Shiv started suspecting something after noticing a similar earring in Arnold's ear. He studied Arnold's battle records, his leadership in W.I.A., and found nothing about the artifact being used."
"No clear sign of its power—just insane results. A man who seemed born with strength, mastery, and leadership—out of nowhere."
"There was also… a rumor."
"A rumor?" Sara echoed.
Narad nodded. "That he often talks to himself."
"In the end, Mr. Shiv theorized the earring wasn't just an artifact—it was helping him, silently. Guiding him."
"If it hadn't chosen you, we would've offered it to Raj. If not him, then Ronnie. We would've kept trying."
Narad ended with a quiet shrug and resumed eating.
"Looks like… you were lucky."
[Master Om, it's not luck. I exist specifically for you.]
Om sat still. He didn't say anything, didn't ask anything. He simply finished his dinner ahead of Sara and Narad and left.
Outside the Dining Hall
From behind a pillar, Raj peeked out. "Hey, Om. Over here!"
As usual, Om ignored him.
Insulted but curious, Raj followed him.
"Om… what was that about? What artifact chose you?"
Om walked like a ghost—his steps lifeless, shoulders slumped, expression blank.
Raj frowned. "That's… unsettling. He looks dead inside."
"An artifact only the strongest holds… and it chose him? A boy with a devil buried inside him?"
He imagined Om's silhouette merging with that of a monstrous being.
"No. I'm thinking too much. Still… I should keep an eye on him."
Suddenly, Om stopped and looked over his shoulder.
"Mr. Raj… do you know that artifacts can talk?"
Raj blinked. "Yeah… I know."
"How?"
"Because… I also have one," Raj blurted out, then froze.
He'd slipped.
A cold draft brushed past him. Om's expression had turned into something else. A smirk… devilish, knowing.
"Mr. Raj, please come with me."
'I'm a lamb between wolves,' Raj thought, now imagining Narad and Om as hunting predators.
In Om's Room
Om sat on his bed. Raj stood nervously before him, sweating buckets.
"Mr. Raj," Om said, "can you show me your artifact?"
Raj hesitantly lifted his hand and summoned his whip.
{Hello. Master Om.}
(Whip's dialogues will now appear in curly brackets like this.)
"You… can talk to me?" Om asked.
"You can talk to him?" Raj replied.
{I can talk to him?!}
All three were stunned.
{How is this possible?}
[Because of me, Master Om.]
Raj heard Zero's voice in his mind and instantly short-circuited. Smoke puffed from his ears, and he collapsed.
Ignoring him, Om and the two artifacts continued.
{What are you? Where is your form?}
[I'm a consciousness. I don't have a physical form.]
{What can you do?}
[Learn. Adapt. Evolve.]
The whip suddenly recoiled.
{I hold the Death Attribute. Yet… I feel fear from you.}
Om raised a hand. "Both of you. What's your origin?"
[I have no data. Only that I exist solely for you.]
{Same here. I came into Raj's consciousness suddenly—during the inheritance ceremony.}
"What happened then?"
{I didn't have a form. But I sensed Raj and called out to him.}
{But… something changed. The Raj now is different from back then.}
"He acted strange during his fight with Ronnie too," Om noted.
{Exactly. His behavior reminded me of our first encounter.}
[Master, you also behave strangely at times. You become… unstable.]
{Raj even called you a devil in a boy's body. I think he meant it.}
"He's not wrong. I get… excited. But to call me a devil? Bit dramatic, isn't it?"
"Anyway, enough about me."
"I have a question for both of you—what do you think inheritances really are?"
[Master, based on data and your memories, they resemble computer programs—granting authority over natural laws.]
{I don't know all that. I just appeared in Raj's mind, that's it.}
Om rubbed his chin.
"Zero's response is technical. Whip knows nothing."
He thought for a moment.
"Zero, look at these symbols."
[I can't observe directly, but I can access them through your memories.]
[Whip?]
{Nope. Can't read symbols.}
"Zero, what do you make of them?"
[According to the incharge, they signify a broken inheritance. But compared to others, yours is unique.]
[Others have broken geometric patterns. Yours are symbols—words.]
[Also, based on online data, these symbols aren't random. They're structured like language.]
Whip interrupted.
{Wait! When Raj got his inheritance, he also saw… sentences. Flooding his mind.}
Om's eyes widened.
"So maybe godly inheritances are coded like programs, while others are just built—like buildings."
Raj groaned and slowly sat up. "W-what's going on…?"
Thwack!
{Let him rest. He's fragile.}
The whip turned to Om.
{What do you plan to do with all this info?}
[Master, I suspect your goal is… to create an inheritance.]
Om smiled darkly.
"That's right."
"Whip, you and Raj stay here tonight. We're running experiments. These symbols, your info, and Zero's processing…"
"…we're going to make something epic."
{Finally, something better than babysitting this idiot.}
{Meaning, I'm all yours.}