The change did not arrive with noise.
It did not announce itself with thunder or fire or chaos tearing through the sky.
It began—
With a pause.
A single moment where everything that should have continued… didn't.
Karna felt it before anyone else.
Not as pressure this time.
Not as a distant pull.
But as a break.
A small one.
So small that no ordinary sense could have noticed it.
But to him—
It was unmistakable.
He was standing in the training ground, facing Duryodhana, their movements still aligned from the previous exchange, their breathing steady, their focus grounded.
Then—
The flow—
Hesitated.
Just for a fraction of a moment.
But that was enough.
Karna's body reacted instantly.
He stepped back.
Not because of an attack.
But because something was wrong.
Duryodhana noticed immediately, lowering his mace slightly.
"What happened?"
Karna did not answer right away.
Because his attention—
Was no longer on the training ground.
It had shifted.
Outward.
