The forest was no longer the same.
Ansh stood in the ruins of the battlefield, his black smoke boiling violently. His hands, dripping with blood, had just torn apart the colossal Vaarna like it was nothing. Yet his fury had not ended. The ground trembled as his aura spread outward, cracking the earth and withering the trees.
Ashwini and Vijay stumbled forward, their bodies battered and exhausted.
"Ansh!" Ashwini shouted, her voice breaking. "Stop! It's over!"
But Ansh did not turn. His eyes were blank, cold, filled with endless void. The symbols of darkness began crawling across his skin like burning tattoos. He raised his hand, ready to shatter the very forest itself.
And then—
Everything stopped.
The air froze. Leaves hung suspended in mid-fall. The cries of the forest beasts were silenced as though cut by a blade.
A figure appeared.
Vice Principal Rajyugas walked forward silently, his robe rippling though the air itself had been bound. His long hair floated like it obeyed no law, and his calm eyes fixed upon the boy before him.
Ansh's head snapped up. For the first time, his darkness seemed to recognize a challenge. He growled low, breaking free from the frozen stillness of Rajyugas' domain. His black smoke thickened, symbols glowing darker, sharper.
The two locked eyes.
No words.
Just inevitability.
The ground shattered as they moved.
Rajyugas raised a hand. The domain expanded — thousands of meters of space bent to his will. Within this place, he was the law. Gravity, wind, flame, stone — all bent under his control.
Ansh roared, his black smoke clashing against the domain. His body vanished in an instant, reappearing behind Rajyugas with a strike that could shatter mountains.
BOOM!
Rajyugas' palm raised, blocking it. The force shook the ground into craters, trees splitting apart. He twisted his hand, redirecting the energy into the sky, where it exploded like thunder.
"You've lost yourself," Rajyugas said coldly. "I will bring you back."
Ansh snarled, his voice hollow. "No one… commands me."
Black smoke surged, forming spears and blades out of nothingness. They shot at Rajyugas like storms of shadow.
With a sweep of his arm, the Vice Principal's domain shifted. The spears dissolved into dust before they reached him.
But Ansh was already behind him, his fist wrapped in darkness.
Rajyugas caught it. Their eyes locked again.
Ansh's aura pressed harder, heavier, his strikes fueled by something far beyond mortal force. But Rajyugas' domain warped around him, suppressing every blow.
Veerendra's voice echoed from the shadows, watching in horror. "His power… it's rising too fast."
The battle escalated.
Rajyugas summoned the five elemental forces within his domain — flame pillars roared from the ground, winds howled like blades, the earth rose into shields, rivers burst from nothing, lightning cracked down from the skies.
But Ansh… walked through them.
His black aura swallowed the flames. His fists broke the shields. Lightning crawled over his skin but vanished in smoke.
He slammed his palm into the ground — a wave of darkness erupted, blotting out the domain itself.
For the first time, Rajyugas staggered.
Ashwini gasped. "He's… breaking the Vice Principal's domain?!"
Vijay's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's impossible…"
Ansh's symbols flared brighter. His voice roared, echoing with something not human.
"All… power… is mine!"
Rajyugas narrowed his eyes. His hand pressed together in a seal. His domain contracted suddenly — every force of nature compressing inward. Gravity multiplied, pressing even the smoke down. Ansh's knees bent under the crushing force.
But instead of breaking, he laughed. A hollow, chilling laugh that sent fear into even the strongest heart.
He surged upward, breaking the weight, his fist tearing through gravity itself.
Rajyugas caught it again. The shockwave ripped the land apart, a canyon splitting through the forest.
"You are not ready for this power, Ansh," Rajyugas growled.
"I don't care!" Ansh roared, his black smoke exploding outward. "I'll destroy everything in my way!"
Rajyugas clenched his jaw. He didn't want to use it — but he had no choice. His domain shimmered, glowing symbols covering the ground. The five elements aligned into a circle, converging.
Chains of pure law wrapped around Ansh. He screamed, fighting, his aura shaking the heavens. But the chains pulled tighter, binding his arms, his legs, his voice.
Rajyugas stepped forward, pressing his palm against Ansh's forehead.
"Sleep."
The black smoke thrashed violently—then shattered like glass.
Ansh collapsed, unconscious.
Rajyugas exhaled slowly, his face grim. He looked at Ashwini and Vijay, who stared in shock. Without another word, he lifted all three with his domain's power and disappeared.
Ansh woke to the scent of incense.
His eyes blinked open to see golden pillars, silk curtains, and polished floors. He gasped.
"This… this is Rudradeva's palace!"
He shot up — and almost fell back when he saw someone sitting by his bed.
"Aunt Meera?!"
Lady Meera smiled warmly, her gentle presence filling the room.
Ansh nearly jumped into her arms. "You scared me! Don't sneak up like that! Do you want me to die of shock?!"
She chuckled softly. "You're finally awake, little one."
Ansh puffed up his cheeks. "Little one? Hmph! I'm a warrior! I fought spirit beasts, you know! Big ones! And Vijay and Ashwini kept yelling at me like I'm some kind of idiot—"
He stopped, crossed his arms dramatically. "—which I'm not! And then Principal brother said I have to train with that demon Rajyugas! Aunt, save me! He'll kill me, I swear!"
Lady Meera hid her laugh, listening patiently.
"He'll make me pull weeds until my hands fall off! He'll make me run until my legs break! He'll… he'll feed me to another beast just to 'teach me a lesson'!" Ansh wailed, grabbing her sleeve.
"Please, Aunt Meera! Tell Rudradeva! You're the only one who listens to me!"
Her hand stroked his hair gently. "You're still the same noisy child."
"I'm not noisy!" he cried instantly, then froze when she raised an eyebrow. "…Okay, maybe a little noisy. But only because no one listens to me!"
"Come," she said warmly, standing. "Eat first. Then complain as much as you want."
Ansh's eyes sparkled. "Food?!"
The two entered the great dining hall of Rudradeva's palace. Tables of golden wood stretched endlessly, dishes steaming with exotic aromas. Ansh's jaw dropped, his worries forgotten.
He attacked the food with both hands, munching, gulping, smearing sauce across his face. "This… this is heaven!"
Lady Meera smiled, but her eyes softened with quiet sadness.
Because she knew — he remembered none of what had just happened.
Later, Lady Meera entered Rudradeva's grand council hall.
There sat Rudradeva himself, calm and imposing. Beside him, Principal Veerendra, silent but worried. And standing firm was Vice Principal Rajyugas.
Lady Meera's expression hardened. "What were you thinking, sending him into such a dangerous test? He could have died!"
Rajyugas bowed his head slightly. "I accept responsibility. But it was necessary."
"Necessary?!" Her voice cracked like a whip. "He is still a child!"
"Not for long," Rajyugas replied firmly. "If he does not learn to control what's inside him now, the next time… none of us will be able to stop him."
"Enough," Rudradeva's voice rumbled like thunder, silencing them all.
His gaze turned to Meera. "Rajyugas is not Ansh's enemy. His methods are harsh, but his purpose is not harm. For this month, Ansh will remain under his care."
Lady Meera's jaw tightened, but she bowed. "…As you command."
Veerendra's eyes lingered on the floor, worry clouding his heart.
And Rajyugas… his gaze drifted, just for a moment, to the boy's distant laughter echoing through the halls as he begged Meera for more food.