The night settled over Nandigram like a velvet cloak, yet the palace did not sleep. Torches flickered along the ramparts, their orange glow fighting back the pale silver of the moon. Courtyards that once thrummed with laughter and music now carried an uneasy quiet, broken only by the rustle of silk curtains and the creak of wooden gates.
Shaurya walked alone through the palace gardens, his steps deliberate upon the stone paths. The conversation with the Queen-Mother still lingered in his mind. Her words had not been a test like the others; they had been a warning.
"There is a shadow moving in this land. Older than Nandigram itself."
For the first time since he entered this kingdom's political labyrinth, Shaurya sensed something beyond human ambition.
The System of Adhipatya stirred faintly in his mind. Its voice was calm, yet edged with caution:
> [Notification: Unknown fluctuation detected within the central palace structures. Source undetermined. Probability of supernatural interference: 47%.]
Shaurya paused beneath the shade of a banyan tree. The massive branches stretched across the courtyard, their roots coiled like sleeping serpents.
"Show me," he whispered inwardly.
At once, faint golden lines shimmered across his vision—an overlay provided by the system. They traced themselves upon the palace walls, outlining currents of energy invisible to ordinary eyes. Most of the palace glowed faintly with the mundane rhythm of human life. But in one wing—an ancient tower half-forgotten and sealed—an ominous pulse flickered, like the beat of a dying heart.
Shaurya's gaze sharpened. "So that is where the whisper lies."
---
The Forgotten Tower
The tower was older than the palace itself, built when Nandigram had first risen from forest and riverbank centuries ago. Its stones were darker, rougher, as though they had been quarried from a land that no longer existed. Few dared to enter it, and fewer still remembered why it had been locked.
As Shaurya approached, the guards at the base stiffened. Their spears crossed before him.
"My lord," one said, voice taut. "This section is forbidden, sealed by decree of the Queen-Mother herself."
Shaurya's calm gaze rested upon them. "And yet the Queen-Mother has summoned me to face what stirs within these walls."
The guards exchanged a nervous glance. Neither wished to deny him outright. His reputation within the court had grown sharp as steel. Finally, one stepped aside, though his knuckles whitened upon the shaft of his spear.
Shaurya pressed his palm against the ancient door. It was cold to the touch, colder than stone should be in the warm night. With a steady push, the doors creaked open.
Inside, dust filled the air like smoke. The chamber was long-abandoned, but not silent.
There were whispers.
At first, they seemed like the sighing of wind through broken windows. But as Shaurya stepped further in, the voices grew sharper, layered, countless—overlapping murmurs that rose and fell like the tide. None spoke in words he recognized, yet he understood the weight of them: promises, threats, regrets.
The Adhipatya System flared.
> [Warning: Residual consciousness detected. Origin—unknown. Fragmented spiritual remains embedded within structure. Risk factor—high.]
---
The Whispering
Shaurya stopped in the center of the hall. Faded murals stretched across the walls—depictions of warriors kneeling before a crowned figure wreathed in flames. The paint had chipped, but the figure's eyes still gleamed with a strange, unnatural hue.
Suddenly, the whispers converged. They no longer overlapped but formed into a single, terrible voice that echoed in the chamber:
"Who dares awaken the Oath of Ashes?"
The air thickened, heavy as molten lead. Shaurya's cloak shifted as though tugged by unseen hands.
"I am Shaurya," he said evenly, "chosen of the Demon King of Destruction, bearer of Adhipatya. I seek truth, not illusion."
For a moment, silence. Then the voice laughed—a low, hollow sound that shook the tower's walls.
"Adhipatya… ah, so the cycle begins anew. You seek truth? Then know this—loyalty is ash, thrones are chains, and kings are but shadows walking toward ruin."
The murals began to ripple, as though alive. Figures peeled away from the stone—translucent shapes of warriors, their eyes hollow, their weapons broken. Ghosts of those who had once served Nandigram.
The Adhipatya System's voice cut through the rising storm:
> [Trial detected: The Whispering Walls of Nandigram. Objective—resist the influence of the fallen Oath. Secondary Objective—recover lost knowledge of the First Kings.]
Shaurya's eyes narrowed. Another trial—but one hidden, one the Queen-Mother had hinted at but not explained.
The spectral warriors circled him, their whispers merging into an oppressive chorus:
"Swear to serve the ashes. Swear, and your power will never falter. Swear, and the throne will be yours forever."
---
Shaurya's Answer
For the first time since entering Nandigram, Shaurya felt the weight of a power not born of men or politics but of the dead. The temptation was sharp—eternal loyalty, unbreakable thrones.
But he did not waver.
He stood tall, his voice cutting through the oppressive gloom like a blade.
"I do not rule for ashes. I do not seek a throne of dust. My empire will be built upon the living—their toil, their laughter, their blood. If you are echoes of the past, then remain as echoes. You do not command me."
The spectral warriors froze. For a heartbeat, the chamber trembled between collapse and silence. Then the voices shrieked in unison, a scream of rage and defiance.
The floor cracked beneath Shaurya's feet, stone splintering outward. Yet his calm remained unbroken.
The Adhipatya System chimed softly:
> [Response registered: Refusal of the Oath of Ashes. Strength of will—unassailable. Trial outcome—Success. Hidden knowledge unlocked.]
At the far end of the hall, the flames of a brazier—long extinguished—sputtered to life. Within it rested a scroll, its seal marked by an emblem Shaurya had never seen: a trident interwoven with a crown.
He reached forward, lifting it with deliberate care.
> [Acquired: Chronicle of the First Kings – Fragment One.]
---
Return
When Shaurya emerged from the tower, the guards at the base shrank back. His cloak carried faint traces of ash, his eyes glowed faintly with the power of the system.
The whispers had faded, but he knew this was only the beginning.
The Queen-Mother had not lied. There were shadows older than Nandigram, and they had already noticed him.
As he walked back through the moonlit gardens, he thought not of politics or feasts, but of the chilling voice that had promised him eternal thrones.
"Ashes cannot bind me," Shaurya thought. "But they will try."
And with that, another trial was written into his destiny.
To be continued....