"Heir…?" Lioran's voice broke the silence, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Shourya. "Me?"
Shourya's lips curled into a faint, unreadable smile. "Yes." He leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking under his weight. "Though…"—he rubbed his chin—"I'm still not sure if it's even right to call you that."
Sharin frowned, glancing between them. "What do you mean? How can Lioran be someone's heir?"
Shourya folded his hands. "To understand that, you need to hear the full story—everything that happened during the final war between humans and the Narvans." His tone grew heavier, his eyes clouding with the weight of memory. "Only then will you see why I say this."
The room seemed to grow quieter as Shourya began.
"When the Narvan King entered the battlefield, the entire war shifted. The tension between Narvans and humans reached its peak—blood, fire, and despair were everywhere. The strongest warriors on both sides had already fallen, and yet the Narvan King stood unshaken. Then…" Shourya's voice lowered to a near-whisper, "Vaelion stepped forward to face him."
Even without knowing the full legend, Lioran could feel the gravity of the name.
"Vaelion was unmatched among humans," Shourya continued. "His Prāṇa was so refined, his will so strong, that even the Narvans feared him. But…" He shook his head. "The Narvan King possessed strange and terrible powers. Power that warped the very air around him. Even Vaelion—mighty as he was—began to falter. The King had the upper hand. It looked as if Vaelion would fall."
Sharin leaned forward. "Then… what happened?"
A faint glimmer appeared in Shourya's eyes. "Something no one expected. Vaelion turned the tide—not through brute force, but by sacrificing himself. In that moment, he poured every last drop of his Prāṇa into sealing the portal between the human world and the Narvan realm. The King was defeated, banished beyond that portal, and humanity was saved."
Lioran's breath caught. "So… Vaelion died."
"Yes," Shourya said softly. "But because of his sacrifice, we are all still here."
Sharin exhaled, relief in his voice. "At least the story ends well."
But Lioran's expression shifted. Something didn't fit. "Wait." He sat up straighter. "If he sealed the portal… then how did that Narvan—the one that attacked our college—get here?"
Shourya's eyes darkened. "Because the seal was never meant to last forever." His voice took on the rhythm of a man reciting an old warning. "After the war, a message was found—a final letter from Vaelion himself. He wrote that the seal would weaken over time, and when it did, the Narvans would return. It might take hundreds… even thousands of years, but the day would come when the portal would open again."
Lioran felt a chill creep down his spine.
Shourya went on, "The seal held for thousands of years. But in 2008, the first fracture appeared—a small tear in the fabric between our worlds. Through it, the Narvans began to slip back in. One by one. Testing our defenses. Hunting. Preparing."
Lioran's mind flashed to the scene at the college—the screams, the blood, the creature's roar. "If we hadn't seen that Narvan ourselves…" he muttered, "we'd never have believed this."
Sharin's voice was tight. "Then who's going to stop them this time?"
Shourya didn't answer at first. He simply raised his hand and pointed directly at Lioran.
Lioran blinked. "…Wait. Me?"
"Yes."
"No way." Lioran shook his head sharply. "You think this because I have strange powers? You have strange powers too! Why not you?"
Shourya's lips curved slightly. "The answer to that is also in Vaelion's final letter. He wrote that when the Narvans return, the nine planets will align in a single line in the sky. And at that moment, a child will be born—one who carries his powers. One who will rise to stop them."
Sharin's mouth fell open.
Shourya continued, "The planets aligned again on August 15, 2010. But for years, we found no record of a child born at the exact moment of alignment… until now."
Silence.
Sharin turned to Lioran, eyes wide. "Wait… what's your birthday again?"
Lioran felt his throat tighten. "August 15, 2010." His voice trembled.
Shourya nodded slowly, his gaze locking with Lioran's. "Now you understand. You are the one Vaelion spoke of. You carry his refined Prāṇa, his strength. And you… will save humanity."
Sharin grinned faintly, still stunned. "My friend—the one who's been beside me all these years—is going to save us all."
But Lioran's face was pale, his breath unsteady. "No… I can't."
"You can," Shourya said firmly.
"I can't!" Lioran's voice cracked, and he stepped back, shaking his head violently. "You're asking me to protect humanity, but I…" His knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor, his hands digging into the wooden boards. "Please… forgive me. I can't save anyone."
Shourya's brow furrowed. "Why? What is it that makes you say this?"
Lioran lifted his head—and Shourya saw the anguish in his eyes. In his mind's vision, his hands weren't empty. They were dripping with blood. Fresh, warm, and heavy with guilt.
"How can I save humanity," Lioran whispered, "with hands that have already killed humans?"
TO BE CONTINUED…