Night had fully settled over the gurukul.
The last traces of dusk had faded, leaving behind a deep, quiet darkness softened only by starlight.
The training grounds, once filled with motion and voices, now rested in stillness.
Most students had retired to their quarters.
Exhaustion had claimed them quickly.
Others lingered a little longer, whispering in hushed tones—replaying the day, sharing fragments of what they had seen, trying to make sense of something that refused to be easily understood.
But one by one—
Even those voices faded.
And silence remained.
Beneath a large tree at the edge of the gurukul grounds—
Karna sat.
Unmoving.
Eyes closed.
Breath steady.
His posture was relaxed, yet perfectly balanced.
There was no strain in him, no tension carried from the battle, no lingering unease.
But his mind—
Was not empty.
Because something was there.
Not outside.
Not in the forest.
But within.
A presence.
Faint.
Silent.
Observing.
The system.
