The Sky Reaper lunged again—
Lightning tearing through the grey realm.
Wind blades forming in spirals.
Fire reflecting in its burning eye.
Avdhoot moved instinctively now — lightning pulsing beneath his feet, wind shaping around his shoulders, fire blade blazing steady in his hand.
He was no longer surviving.
He was hunting.
He launched upward, cutting through a lightning arc, spinning mid-air as wind compressed along his blade's edge.
The Sky Reaper roared—
And suddenly—
It froze.
Mid-movement.
Lightning suspended like cracked glass in the air.
Wind blades halted inches from Avdhoot's throat.
The roar itself cut off unnaturally — like sound had been sliced apart.
Avdhoot's eyes widened.
The entire world had stopped.
Even the drifting mana particles were motionless.
Only one figure moved.
The hooded man.
He walked calmly through frozen lightning, stepping past suspended wind crescents as though strolling through mist.
Avdhoot turned—
Or tried to.
He couldn't.
His body refused to obey.
Not even his fingers responded.
The hooded figure stopped in front of him.
"Attack me."
There was no hesitation.
Avdhoot ignited a fireball instantly and hurled it toward him.
The fireball stopped mid-air.
Frozen.
Flickering but unmoving.
Avdhoot's eyes widened further.
"Why can't I—"
The hooded figure tapped his shoulder.
Everything shattered.
The lightning vanished.
The wind dissolved.
The Sky Reaper evaporated into ash.
The fireball disappeared like smoke.
And gravity returned.
Avdhoot collapsed to his knees, legs trembling violently.
"What… was that?"
The hooded figure reached up.
Slowly.
And removed the hood.
White hair flowed to his shoulders.
A neatly kept white beard.
And eyes—
Purple.
Glowing softly, not violently.
Ancient.
Calm.
Powerful.
"This," the man said gently, "is one branch of origin magic."
Avdhoot stared.
"Who… are you?"
The man smiled faintly.
"My name is Krishna Yadav."
Avdhoot's mind raced.
"You stopped time."
"No."
"You froze space."
"No."
"You erased the beast."
"No."
Krishna chuckled softly.
"You saw an effect. Not the principle."
Avdhoot's voice sharpened.
"Why bring me here?"
"Why test me?"
"Did you send the Sky Reaper?"
"Is this pendant yours?"
"Am I dead?"
Krishna raised a hand slightly.
"Slow down."
The grey world softened around them.
"You are not dead. You are between thresholds."
"Between what?"
"Between ignorance and awareness."
"That explains nothing."
Krishna's purple eyes glowed slightly brighter.
"I am not here to explain everything."
"Then why are you here?"
"To guide."
"To prepare."
"For what?"
A pause.
"For someone far stronger than you."
The air grew heavier.
Avdhoot's expression hardened.
"Who?"
Krishna's smile faded slightly.
"I am not the one meant to answer that."
Krishna stepped closer.
"You endured well."
Avdhoot almost laughed.
"I died hundreds of times."
"Yes."
"And learned each time."
Krishna extended his hand.
"I will give you a small reward."
Avdhoot narrowed his eyes.
"That sounds painful."
"It might be."
Krishna placed his palm on Avdhoot's chest — directly over the pendant.
He closed his eyes for a single second.
A pulse.
Not of fire.
Not of lightning.
Something deeper.
Avdhoot felt an immense pressure push through him.
He was thrown backward violently, skidding across the grey plane before crashing onto one knee.
His lungs emptied.
"What was that?!" he gasped.
Krishna gestured calmly.
"Move your mana."
Avdhoot closed his eyes.
He reached inward.
Circulated.
Paused.
His breath hitched.
The fractures—
Gone.
Completely gone.
Mana flowed through him smoothly, without resistance, without pain.
He opened his eyes slowly.
"How?"
"How is that possible?"
"You said fractures were permanent."
"Did you just… rewrite my mana core?"
Krishna chuckled.
"Nothing is permanent when you understand its structure."
Avdhoot stood slowly, testing his circulation again.
Perfect.
Effortless.
He looked up.
"Is this your magic?"
Krishna shook his head.
"This is a fraction of understanding."
Avdhoot crossed his arms.
"Let me ask you something." Krishna said.
"What's the highest mana level someone can achieve?"
"There are five standard stages," Avdhoot continued. "Spark. Flame. Blaze. Inferno. Cataclysm."
He stared directly at Krishna.
"Avadhoot asked, 'What level are you?'"
Krishna's purple eyes gleamed.
"What level do you think I am?"
Avdhoot exhaled slowly.
"You're the first person I've met since entering the Academy who can freeze an entire reality."
"Fire, wind, water, earth — those are common elements."
"Some can use lightning."
"But you… what are you?"
Krishna folded his hands behind his back.
"There are those who manipulate gravity."
"Those who manipulate healing and restoration."
"Those who manipulate buffs and reinforcement."
"Those who manipulate traps and spatial constructs."
"And those…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"…who manipulate origin."
Avdhoot's pulse quickened.
"What is origin magic?"
Krishna lifted his hand.
A flame appeared above his palm.
No chant.
No gesture.
Just existence.
"Focus your mana in your eyes only."
Avdhoot obeyed.
He narrowed his perception.
The flame changed.
It was no longer just orange light.
He saw—
Tiny sparks igniting from compressed oxygen.
Mana particles colliding with air molecules.
Heat forming from friction of elemental agitation.
Fire was not a thing.
It was a reaction.
A transformation.
Oxygen fed it.
Mana shaped it.
Heat sustained it.
The flame danced not randomly — but according to airflow, density, fuel.
"It is not the fire you control," Krishna said softly.
"It is the reaction."
Avdhoot watched as Krishna extinguished it without motion.
"Now lightning."
Lightning sparked across Krishna's fingertips.
But now—
Avdhoot saw electrical tension build between charged mana particles.
Saw electrons shift.
Saw potential difference accumulate.
Lightning was imbalance seeking equilibrium.
Speed seeking closure.
Wind formed next.
Not visible at first.
Then—
Avdhoot noticed air density shifting.
Pressure gradients forming.
Flow seeking open paths.
Wind was movement of imbalance.
Breath was wind.
Circulation was wind.
Thought was wind.
He inhaled slowly.
Understanding deepened.
"You're casting without chanting," Avdhoot said.
Krishna laughed.
"Chanting creates mental imagery."
"When you fully understand structure… chanting is unnecessary."
"Magic is not words."
"It is awareness."
The grey world began brightening.
"You must leave," Krishna said.
Avdhoot stepped forward urgently.
"What was this place?"
"A constructed realm."
"Why help me?"
"Because you will need it."
"Will we meet again?"
Krishna's expression softened.
"When time aligns."
White light flooded the realm.
Krishna's voice echoed one last time:
"Remember — magic is not power. It is understanding."
Avdhoot gasped.
White ceiling.
Soft sheets.
The Academy medical ward.
He blinked.
His body felt—
Light.
Healthy.
No fractures.
No ache.
He turned his head.
Tara was asleep near his legs.
Veer slumped in a chair.
Meira leaned against the bed.
He shifted slightly.
Meira's eyes snapped open.
She stared at him.
Then—
She hugged him tightly.
"You idiot!"
Veer jolted awake.
"HE'S ALIVE!"
Tara stood up instantly.
"Don't ever do that again," she snapped. "Next time I'll knock you unconscious myself."
Avdhoot laughed weakly.
"Yes ma'am."
Meira pulled back.
"I'll get the nurse!"
She hurried out.
Tara shook her head.
"Drama king," Tara muttered, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I'll get you some fruit to eat."
Veer leaned forward.
"How long was I asleep?" Avdhoot asked.
"Twelve hour."
"What happened after?"
Veer sighed dramatically.
"Oh you know. Minor apocalypse."
Avdhoot raised an eyebrow.
"After you collapsed, Tier One and Tier Two beasts came crawling out."
"Shadow cats."
"Slime creatures."
"Fire monkeys."
"We were exhausted."
"But Priya and Siddhant coordinated everything."
"We fought through and made it back around six in the evening."
Avdhoot nodded slowly.
"The professors?"
"They went to Wildwood."
"They found noise-jamming inscriptions all over the valley."
"And the Sky Reaper's corpse."
"Siddhant personally led them to it."
Avdhoot's eyes sharpened.
"Inscriptions?"
"Yeah."
Before he could ask more—
The door opened.
Headmistress Velarna Dhar stepped inside.
Her presence alone quieted the room.
She looked at him calmly.
"Are you better now?"
[End of Chapter 22]