The Gurukul did not return to normal.
It only pretended to.
From the outside, everything remained unchanged. The students resumed their routines, the sound of practice echoed across the courtyard, and discipline flowed through every movement as it always had. But beneath that surface—
Something had shifted.
Not broken.
Not chaotic.
But unstable.
Karna could feel it the moment he stepped back into the training ground the next day. It was subtle, almost indistinguishable from the natural rhythm of the place, yet it carried a difference that could not be ignored.
The flow was still there.
But it was no longer continuous.
There were interruptions.
Not gaps like before.
But distortions.
Brief.
Sharp.
Controlled.
As if something was testing the limits of its own presence.
