"Ugh…" Samarth began vomiting as he returned to his real body from Ocean Heaven. His body buckled, unable to stand properly. "Ugh…" He retched again, this time kneeling on the ground as blood spilled from his lips.
"Master?" Emily shouted, noticing that Samarth was vomiting blood. The crimson liquid dripped from his mouth, eyes, nose, and even ears. Shocked, she thought, What is happening to him? A wave of fear washed over her; how could someone have done this to her master?
"Master, what happened to you?" she cried out, unable to bear the sight of him in such a weakened state. She had never believed anyone could harm him, let alone expose his vulnerability. But now, as she witnessed this horrific scene, her fear grew stronger and more visceral.
Samarth was in no condition to respond. Blood continued to drip from his face, and he couldn't heal himself despite his desperate attempts. Nothing was working, not even the anti-magic he had created to achieve superiority in his life. His endless desires had taken him far beyond that, and now he found himself struggling desperately against the assault from the Ocean-Heaven observer.
Emily kept shouting as Samarth began to lose consciousness rapidly. His hearing dimmed, and his eyelids grew increasingly heavier. Desperately, he fought to keep his eyes open, but within moments, he finally succumbed and collapsed completely to the ground.
"Master!" Emily exclaimed as he fell. Rushing to his side urgently, she checked on him frantically. Just as she was about to assess his condition carefully, he opened his eyes suddenly, startling her completely. She instinctively dropped him and screamed, "Ahh! Ghost!" But she quickly stifled her shout, realising what she had done.
"Cough… I almost died," Samarth gasped, struggling desperately to catch his breath as he spoke. He turned his head toward Emily, who watched him wide-eyed, her hand covering her mouth in shock. The sun was shining brightly overhead, and the surrounding snow had mysteriously disappeared. He could see the lake reflecting the sunlight brilliantly, intensifying the magic of the moment.
"What happened, Master? Why are you like this?" Emily asked, her eyes filled with intense curiosity. The light of day illuminated her face clearly, and it snapped Samarth into focus.
He noticed immediately that there was no sadness in her gaze—only an eagerness to understand what had transpired. This irritated him as he recognised her troubling lack of concern for his well-being.
"Nothing," he replied flatly, unwilling to share his secret with her. As soon as the words left his lips, he saw her expression change from bright anticipation to deep disappointment, but he paid her no mind.
"What? Why?" she asked, confusion etched deeply on her face. She had been hoping for a detailed story to explain the blood-stained condition of her master, and his silence frustrated her intensely.
Samarth gazed at their surroundings, noting carefully that the sun was high above, confirming that he had spent the entire night in Ocean Heaven. However, in that mystical realm, he had seen nothing before being violently cast back into his mortal body.
"How much time has passed?" Although he could tell that night had come and gone, he was unsure how many nights had actually elapsed since his return. That's why he turned to Emily, keen to hear her answer despite her earlier disappointment, knowing she could do little about the situation.
"Two nights have passed, and you were standing in one place the entire time," she replied casually as she stood up and looked down at Samarth, still sprawled helplessly on the ground. She turned her head, searching for people who could help her lift him.
"Two nights, huh," Samarth whispered to himself, staring up at the sun, lost deeply in thought as he reflected on the air between his eyes and the sun.
***
Samarth finally reached his carriage after two more days of rigorous self-healing, aided greatly by his expert student Jane, a master healer. It was due entirely to her help that he healed so quickly; otherwise, he might have faced far more dire consequences. During this recovery time, he also taught Seraphina an anti-magic spell, though he knew it only worked on mortals and wouldn't be effective against his own boundless desires.
Samarth understood this struggle intimately, as it wasn't the first time he had lost consciousness while attempting to capture a single heaven. It had taken him hundreds of years to seize the green heaven, and even then, he couldn't fully control it; he could only observe it from a distance, living almost as an immortal being, beyond mortal constraints entirely.
Now, he found himself uncertain about how long it would take to collect a new heaven for himself or whether he would have to live like a mortal and rely on earthly desires. Although he had anticipated failure in his recent attempt, he also believed that with continued effort, he could acquire one of the heavens in this world and see beyond his mortality once again. But he knew it would take considerable time to reach that ambitious goal.
"Master, we've reached the gate!" Emily shouted, her excitement palpable as she watched the gathering crowd waiting to welcome them.
As soon as Emily spoke, everyone turned their gaze toward the gate, where they could see people approaching purposefully. Seraphina noticed this impressive group, but to her surprise, it wasn't Vorthis' capital; it was the capital of Sacaler. Despite being genuinely confounded, she felt no fear whatsoever. She was completely healed, having regained her magic and even exceeded her previous limits, though she had yet to fully master the anti-magic spell.
"Yes, we are!" Samarth replied, observing the welcoming crowd carefully. Among them was Emily's father, the man who had discovered Samarth's location and sent Emily to find him. Upon seeing her potential, Samarth had accepted both Emily and Jane as his dedicated students. This time, Jane's father was also present, but their relationship had soured considerably; they were now feuding bitterly over territory and resources. However, they still heeded Samarth's advice, motivated primarily by their daughters' loyalty.
As Samarth looked at both fathers, he remembered their complicated shared history together.
"Do you know them?" Seraphina asked curiously, as if she recognised them somehow.
Samarth could sense the significant weight of her question. He understood her deep scepticism, especially since both kings—the rulers of Vorthis and the Sacalar Empire—were there to greet him personally. How could she trust him if she witnessed such significant figures welcoming him so openly?
Turning to Seraphina directly, Samarth said, "Yes! They were old friends who came to find me and learned the same things I'm teaching you." He smiled gently at her, noticing her visible look of surprise.
Seraphina stared back at him, her doubts creeping in gradually. It began to dawn on her that everything might have been part of Samarth's grand plan from the very start. The realisation sent a distinct chill down her spine; she felt like she had been drawn into an abyss without fully understanding the true depth of her situation.
Overwhelmed by these realisations, she fell silent, grappling desperately with the profound implications of his enigmatic smile, which only deepened her growing trepidation about her increasingly complicated predicament.