The change had begun.
Silently.
Without force.
Without warning.
Yet—
Irreversible.
Karna stood motionless upon the sacred snow of Mount Kailash.
The world around him remained still.
The wind whispered, cold and sharp.
The snow glimmered under the faint light of the high-altitude sky.
Everything remained eternal, unyielding, unmoving.
But within him—
Everything had shifted.
His breath remained calm.
Steady.
Measured.
His mind remained clear.
Focused.
Unwavering.
Yet his body—
Had entered a new realm.
The warmth that had once been gentle—
Now deepened.
It began in his chest, a subtle ignition of energy.
Then it spread slowly.
Down his arms.
Through his limbs.
Into his muscles.
Into the very bones themselves.
It was not violent.
It did not rage.
But it was… intense.
Like something ancient—
Something far older than the world itself—
Was waking inside him.
Karna observed.
As he had been taught.
Without interference.
Without resistance.
