The sky split like torn fabric.
The Hunter stepped through the rift, his presence warping the air—
temperature dropping,colors dimming, sound flattening into a low hum.
Mandakini's grip on her weapon tightened.
Kashyap instinctively moved in front of her.
Vasundhara spread her arms, creating a shimmering dome of light over them.
"You two must escape,"she commanded.
Mandakini shook her head sharply.
"No.We stay together."
But before she finished, the Hunter blurred—
One moment fifteen meters away.
The next,standing directly behind her.
Mandakini spun with lightning reflexes—
but the Hunter casually caught her wrist mid-strike.
"Predictable," he murmured.
Kashyap's eyes widened.
"MANDU—!"
He lunged, but the Hunter backhanded him with a single, effortless motion.
Kashyap flew backward—
hit the ground—
skidded across the grass,breath ripped from his lungs.
Mandakini screamed, "KASHYAP!"
She twisted her wrist, breaking free, and fired a pulse-blast at point-blank range—
The Hunter simply stepped through the blast
like walking through fog.
Vasundhara shouted, "Mandakini, get back! He's a First-Light Hunter!"
Mandakini didn't move.
Her eyes were burning with cold fury.
The Hunter tilted his head—not curious, not angry—
simply analyzing.
"You are unnecessary," he said.
"The Lock is only required for the opening.Not the resistance."
He raised his hand toward Mandakini—
energy gathering in his palm.
Vasundhara teleported in front of her, absorbing the strike with a barrier that cracked like glass.
"GO!" she shouted.
Mandakini tried again to reach Kashyap, but the ground around her warped—
space bending to trap her in a tightening cube of shimmering lines.
The Hunter turned toward Kashyap, who was pushing himself up despite the pain.
"The Key must be collected," the Hunter said.
"You are property of the Council."
Kashyap spat blood.
"Come take me then."
The Hunter extended his hand—
and Kashyap felt invisible chains clamp around his chest,pinning his arms, dragging him forward.
"Kashyap!" Mandakini slammed against her cubic prison as it shrank around her.
"STOP!Let him GO!"
The Hunter ignored her.
Kashyap's vision blurred as the chains tightened—
And then—
Something inside him snapped.
A deep, ancient hum vibrated through his bones.
Not pain.
Not fear.
Recognition.
The chains shattered.
The Hunter paused—
for the first time showing something close to surprise.
Kashyap's eyes glowed faintly—
a color Mandakini had never seen before.
Vasundhara whispered, horrified:
"…It's awakening."
Mandakini slammed her fist against her prison again.
"What's awakening?!"
Vasundhara answered without looking away from Kashyap.
"The Key's true form."
Kashyap stood, breath steady, eyes burning brighter with each second.
The Hunter re-evaluated him.
"You were not expected to awaken this early."
Kashyap didn't hear.
Didn't think.
His body moved on instinct—
a surge of power rising from a place older than memory.
He stepped forward.
Reality rippled under his foot.
The Hunter launched forward, striking with enough force to pierce a star—
Kashyap raised his hand.
He caught the blow.
Mandakini's eyes widened.
The Hunter's expression flickered—
shock,then recalibration.
Kashyap clenched his fist around the Hunter's wrist—
and the Hunter's armor cracked.
"You can't take me," Kashyap said quietly.
"I'm not yours."
He swung the Hunter and smashed him into the ground—
the earth collapsing from the impact.
Mandakini stared, breathing hard.
"That's…impossible."
Kashyap wasn't done.
He pressed his foot to the Hunter's chest.
Energy pulsed from his heel.
The Hunter's body synced with the vibrations—
forced into paralysis.
Vasundhara's voice trembled.
"He's using resonance manipulation.No Key has ever awakened that ability naturally."
Kashyap raised his hand over the immobilized Hunter—
energy swirling around his palm.
The Hunter looked up at him, red eyes dimming slightly.
"Key…your awakening will be your curse."
Kashyap drew back his arm—ready to end it—
"KASHYAP, STOP!"
Mandakini's voice sliced through the moment.
Kashyap froze.
His glowing eyes flicked to her.
She wasn't afraid.
But she was desperate.
"Don't kill him," she said.
"You're not them.You're not the Void-Seekers."
The glow in Kashyap's eyes flickered—
softened—
dimmed.
He exhaled, lowering his hand.
The Hunter slowly dissolved into particles, pulling himself back into a distant tear in reality.
But before vanishing, he pointed at Mandakini.
"The Key is unstable."
His voice echoed in the collapsing rift.
"When he fully awakens…he will destroy you."
Mandakini stepped in front of Kashyap, eyes blazing.
"Let him try."
The Hunter vanished.
Silence returned.
Kashyap fell to his knees, breathing hard, the glow fading from his eyes.
Mandakini rushed to him, grabbing his face with trembling hands.
"Kashyap!Kashyap! Look at me!"
"I'm here," he managed.
Vasundhara approached slowly—
expression tight with worry.
"Kashyap… you awakened too quickly. Too violently. You need training, control—"
Mandakini held him closer.
"How long do we have?"
Vasundhara answered with a grim finality:
"Until he loses control completely?
Hours.
Maybe a day."
Mandakini swallowed hard.
Kashyap looked up at both of them—
"Then teach me," he said.
"Now."
Vasundhara nodded.
"Then we begin with the truth about what a Key really is."