While Ankit was awakening the throat core deep in the fortress, his family and clones kept progressing steadily.
Their daily routine stayed the same—early training, shared meals, watching Rudra chase Gyu around the garden—but the clones now had a new member in their quiet circle.
Ether clone joined them without fanfare, appearing one morning with the same calm face as Ankit. The others simply nodded and assigned him tasks right away, trusting his strength.
Work divided even clearer now. Root clone focused only on mastering higher elements like death, while creating powerful martial techniques that could shatter mountains or freeze moments.
Sacral clone spent his days on delicate professions—Brewing deadly visas enough to kill stage 3 cultivators or beyond, brewing rasa pills that healed or boosted strength, and crafting new types of vyuha puppets that moved like living guards.
Solar clone handled the grand creations: designing massive vyuhas, forging astras that burned with elemental fury, and preparing his cow companion for substage 3 breakthrough, equivalent to stage 1, substage 5.
Heart clone made simple mortal martial techniques for the family—moves strong enough to protect but easy to learn—and watched over everyone's health and mood.
The newest member, ether clone, took on a vital task alone: building a second base in East India, right at the origin point of essence flow. It would make gathering rare resources safe, fast, and efficient—no more long risky trips every time they needed pure materials.
_____
East India. Origin point.
Ether clone arrived in just half a minute, covering hundreds of kilometers as if stepping through a fold. He paused mid-air, invisible, and looked down into the lush valley where the essence felt thickest.
A group of scientists in white coats moved carefully below, followed by subordinates carrying heavy cases and armed bodyguards scanning the trees. Their devices beeped steadily, screens glowing as they pointed straight toward a spot.
Ether clone understood immediately. Those machines were detectors, tracking the highest essence concentration to lead them here. He had already decided—this origin point belonged to them. No outsiders would claim even a share.
He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a flat metal plate etched with intricate blue carvings.
Solar clone had prepared it weeks ago, knowing this day would come. Ether clone threw it down; the plate landed perfectly in the center and sank slightly into the earth.
An invisible field burst outward, expanding until it covered the entire valley like a silent dome. The scientists, only meters from the origin point, suddenly vanished and reappeared far outside at the valley entrance.
Confusion turned to panic as they realized what happened, and when their devices went dark—screens blank, signals dead—the fear grew.
Bodyguards tried charging back in from different paths, only to blink and find themselves at the entrance again. Soon the whole group fled, vehicles speeding away until the valley disappeared behind them.
Back at their base, they reported everything to superiors over crackling radios. The higher-ups listened in shock but did not doubt a word—supernatural events were happening everywhere now.
They planned to send drones next.
If they knew a single clone had caused it all, true disbelief would have hit them.
_____
Ether clone watched the vehicles vanish into the distance, then floated down to the now-empty valley. The portable vyuha plate worked perfectly: it repelled unwanted visitors by shifting their position through space and scrambled all modern technology inside the field.
Solar clone had built it exactly for this—knowing the origin point would draw attention sooner or later. Their mountain fortress in Tarkan state never needed such protection; it lay deep underground, far from curious eyes, buried beneath layers of rock.
Dark haven fortress is at the edge of mountain range where not many people came. Underground.
Here, though, ether clone wanted something different. No more hiding in darkness forever. He will now build boldly on the surface, right under the open sky, where sunlight and wind could touch the walls freely.
Still he doesn't want people to disturb him so he will create a Vyuha for hiding the fortress and the previous Vyuha can handle work for repelling people.
Any clone could carve vyuhas—same body, same knowledge, same memories—but solar clone handled most of the complex ones while others focused elsewhere, leaving ether clone free to dream bigger.
He began designing the new fortress in his mind first. Smaller outside—outer size no longer mattered with true space mastery.
Inside, he would expand rooms vastly using ether essence, turning a modest structure into endless halls, gardens, and training grounds that felt like whole worlds.
Then, watching birds soar freely overhead, wings cutting through clouds without effort, a better idea struck him.
A flying fortress.
Hidden in clouds. Safe from all ground threats and noises.
He thought through every problem carefully—weight that could crush mountains, balance in stormy winds, which resources and vyuhas used—and found clean solutions with ether anchors locking stable points in space and layered vyuhas for lift, concealment, and defense.
No major flaws remained.
Ether clone smiled faintly, a rare expression on his calm face. He started right away.
The new home would touch the heavens.
He start construction.