The canopy of the Dandaka Forest was a cathedral of rot and rebirth. Moss, thick as a carpet, muffled Arjun's footsteps as he stumbled through the undergrowth. His breath came in ragged, burning hitches. The burst of movement using Asura-Gati had saved him from Elder Savitra's golden clutches, but it had left his meridians feeling like they were filled with jagged glass.
"Father... I made it out," he whispered, collapsing against the trunk of a massive, glowing mushroom.
He was alone. For the first time in his life, there was no forge-fire to warm him, no Kaelas to guide his hand. There was only the hum of the forest—a predator's symphony.
The Hunger of the Soul
As night fell, Arjun's body began to scream for more than just water. His Dual Souls were in a state of violent depletion. The Sanjeevani Lotus in his right hand had wilted, its petals pale and translucent, while the Vajra Trident mark on his left palm throbbed with a dull, bruised ache.
In Bharatavarsha, once a cultivator reaches Rank 10, they cannot progress further by meditation alone. To break through the bottleneck and enter the Prana Master tier (Rank 11–20), one must absorb a Karma Sphere—the crystallized essence of an Asura Beast.
A low hiss vibrated through the air, vibrating the very marrow of Arjun's bones.
Slithering from the shadows of a banyan tree was a Jade-Eyed Pit Viper. It wasn't an ordinary snake; it was a 400-year-old Asura Beast. Its scales were plates of reinforced emerald, and its eyes glowed with a toxic intelligence.
Arjun reached for his hammer, Vajra-Bhara, but his fingers were too weak to grip the handle. The snake coiled, its hood expanding to reveal a pattern that looked like a screaming face. It lunged.
THWIP.
A streak of silver light whistled past Arjun's ear. It wasn't an arrow of wood, but a projectile of pure, solidified moonlight. It struck the serpent's neck with pinpoint accuracy, pinning the 20-foot beast to the tree. The snake thrashed, its toxic blood sizzling against the bark, before it went limp.
Enter the Moon-Shadow
"You have a lot of nerve, little smith, smelling like the Sanctuary in my forest."
Arjun looked up. Perched on a high branch was a girl who looked no older than fourteen. She wore dark indigo leathers that seemed to blend into the shadows. Her most striking feature, however, was her eyes. They weren't the gold of the Sanctuary or the brown of the villagers. They were Silver—exactly like his.
She dropped down, landing without a sound. In her hand was a bow carved from the ribcage of a dragon.
"Who are you?" Arjun managed to ask, his hand instinctively covering his left palm.
"I am Indira, of the Moon-Shadow Sect," she said, her voice like cold silk. She walked over to the dead viper and pulled her silver arrow from its neck. "And you are a mess. You're Rank 10 with the Prana stability of a crumbling mud hut. If I hadn't been tracking this snake, you'd be half-digested by now."
She looked at his eyes and paused. Her stoic expression faltered for a heartbeat. "Wait. Your eyes... you're a 'Carrier' too?"
"I don't know what that means," Arjun spat, trying to stand up. "I just want to get to the Narmada Caves."
Indira laughed, a sharp, cynical sound. "With that wilted flower in your hand? You won't make it five miles. You're at the bottleneck, Smith. If you don't absorb a Karma Sphere soon, your soul will implode from the pressure of your own Innate Power."
The Ritual of the Sphere
Indira kicked the dead viper. "This is a Jade-Eyed Pit Viper. Its essence is perfect for a Control-type or Poison-type soul. Your Lotus... it has 'Life' attributes. Life can be healing, or it can be a cancer. If you absorb this, you can turn your Lotus into a weapon."
She stepped back, crossing her arms. "Go on. Or die. It makes no difference to me."
Arjun crawled toward the snake. He placed his right hand over the serpent's head. He focused, calling upon the last reserves of his Prana.
Slowly, a glowing, emerald-green orb began to rise from the snake's body. This was the Karma Sphere. It pulsed with the 400 years of predatory instinct and toxic power the snake had accumulated.
Arjun pulled the orb into his palm.
"ARGH!"
The moment the sphere entered his body, Arjun felt like he had swallowed a swarm of stinging hornets. The toxic energy of the snake fought against the pure, cooling light of the Sanjeevani Lotus. His skin turned a sickly green, and veins began to bulge on his neck.
"Focus!" Indira shouted, her voice cutting through the haze of pain. "Don't fight the poison—integrate it! A lotus grows in the mud, Arjun! Let the toxin be your soil!"
Arjun gritted his teeth. He visualized the Lotus not as a fragile flower, but as a forge. He pulled the emerald energy into the center of the flower. The blue petals began to change. They didn't turn green; they became edged with a razor-sharp, translucent emerald shimmer.
BOOM.
A wave of green and blue energy erupted from Arjun, flattening the grass for ten yards. The pressure in his chest vanished, replaced by a cool, terrifyingly potent strength.
Breakthrough: Rank 11
Arjun stood up. He felt taller, his senses sharper. He looked at his right hand. The Sanjeevani Lotus was now vibrant, and around it floated a single, rotating green ring—the mark of his first Karma Sphere.
"Rank 11," Indira noted, a hint of respect in her voice. "And a 400-year sphere at that. Most beginners start with a 100-year white sphere. You've jumped straight to Yellow-Tier."
"I feel... different," Arjun said, looking at a nearby tree. He flicked his wrist, and a single petal detached from the Lotus. It didn't float gently; it flew like a kunai, slicing a deep gash into the wood and leaving a sizzling green trail of venom.
"That's your first Soul Skill," Indira explained. "You've turned a healing tool into a Venomous Sting. Fitting for someone with your eyes."
She looked toward the North, where the mountain peaks were lit by a strange, golden lightning. "The Sanctuary is moving, Arjun. They've felt your breakthrough. Savitra will be calling the Sky-Hounds."
Arjun looked at his left hand. The Trident hadn't moved during the absorption, but he could feel it "smiling" in his mind. It liked the poison.
"Why are you helping me, Indira?"
The girl turned her back to him, nocking another arrow. "Because the Moon-Shadow Sect believes in balance. The Sanctuary has had the Sun for too long. It's time for the Shadow to have its day." She looked over her shoulder. "Keep up, Smith. We're going to the Marble Caves. And try not to die—I hate burying people."
Cultivation Status: ArjunLevelRankCategoryCurrent Rank11Prana Master (Tier 2)First Soul Ring400-YearJade-Eyed Viper (Yellow)New SkillEmerald StingHigh-velocity petal projectile with paralyzing venom.CompanionIndiraRank 18 Moon-Shadow Archer