Chapter 24: The Anvil of the Abyss
General Vajramushti roared, the sound vibrating through the reinforced bronze walls of the Chamber of Delusion. His four arms, each thicker than a tree trunk, flexed as he raised his twin diamond-chitin maces.
"Dharma cannot save you now, boy!" the General bellowed. "My hide was forged in the fires of the Patala. No blade can cut it, and no mantra can pierce it!"
Vikram stood his ground. His collarbone screamed in protest, and a trickle of blood ran down his arm, but his focus was absolute. With his parents safe through the rift, the "Sattvic" restraint he usually maintained began to bleed into the "Tamasic" fury of the Destroyer.
[ SYSTEM STATUS ]
Punya Debt: -49,995.
Current Debuff: [Weight of the World] (Speed capped at L5).
Condition: [Calculated Rage] — Strength output increased by 10%.
The Pure Brute: The Grapple of the Gods
Vikram didn't draw his sword. He knew the Whisper of Kalindi was a weapon of precision, and right now, he needed a weapon of mass destruction. He needed to be the hammer.
"You speak of hide and fire," Vikram said, his voice dropping into a low, resonant register that caused the ground to tremble. "But you forget what happens to diamond when the pressure becomes infinite."
Vikram lunged. At L5 Speed, he was slow enough for the General to track, but his Reaction (L10-MAX) allowed him to see the precise arc of the descending maces.
He didn't dodge. He moved into the strike. He caught the two lower wrists of the General, his fingers sinking into the chitin like iron hooks.
"GRIHNA!" (The Command to Seize).
The Seismic Upheaval
Using L11 Strength, Vikram didn't just pull the General; he anchored himself to the very tectonic plate beneath Lanka. He twisted his torso, utilizing every muscle fiber rewritten by the Rudra-Shakti.
CRACK.
The General's lower arms snapped. Vajramushti let out a sound that was less like a scream and more like a mountain splitting. Vikram didn't stop. He pivoted, hoisted the four-ton Asura over his shoulder, and slammed him head-first into the floor.
[ ACTION: EARTH-SHATTERING SUPLEX ]
Damage: 150,000 (Physical).
Environmental Impact: The floor of the Chamber of Delusion has cracked.
The Projectile of Purging
Vikram wasn't finished. He grabbed the General by his tail-segment and began to spin.
"You are the weapon now, General!"
Vikram accelerated the spin. The air in the room began to form a localized cyclone. With one final, thunderous heave, he released the General's massive, chitinous body directly toward the Pillar of Delusion.
BOOM.
The General's invulnerable hide, acting as a high-density kinetic projectile, smashed into the obsidian obelisk. The "Absolute Defense" of the pillar was designed to repel magic and blades, but it wasn't prepared for the physical impact of its own General moving at subsonic speeds.
[ KARMIC EVENT: PILLAR SHATTERED ]
Object: The Pillar of Delusion (Moha-Stambha).
Result: Destroyed.
Karmic Reward: +150,000 Punya.
The Debt Paid
[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
Debt Cleared.
Punya Balance: 100,005.
Debuff Removed: Speed restored to L11 (Transcendent).
Kaala-Gati: Re-enabled.
Vikram stood in the center of the crumbling lab, his breath steady despite the dust and smoke. Across the city of Lanka, a second crown fell from Ravana's heads, shattering in the throne room.
"Two," Vikram whispered.
The Vision of the Third Eye
Suddenly, his Eye of Truth (L8) pulsed with a new frequency. Through the rubble of the Chamber, he saw a hidden passage leading even deeper—not into another lab, but into a Vedic Library that had been sealed for centuries.
Within that library, he sensed a presence. Not an Asura. Not a Deva. But a Rishi who had been imprisoned since the beginning of the Treta Yuga.
[ NEW QUEST: THE PRISONER OF TIME ]
Objective: Rescue the Sage of the Deep.
Potential Reward: The Secret of the 10th Head.
Vikram has 100,005 Punya and his full speed back. But the alarm is now city-wide. Meghanada is leading a battalion of elite 'Astra-Snipers' toward his location.
The Scholar's Dive: Head into the hidden library to find the Rishi, hoping the knowledge found there will reveal a shortcut to defeating Ravana.The Blitzkrieg: Use L11 Speed to race through the remaining eight labs, shattering one pillar every sixty seconds before the army can catch up.The Fortress Defense: Stay in the Chamber of Delusion and turn it into a deathtrap, using your L10 Intellect to fortify the position and thin out Ravana's army.
The tide of the war is shifting. What is the Iron Sage's move?