January 13, 2026 | 05:00 AM N.D.A.I. Training Grounds, New Delhi
The Delhi winter was at its peak. A fog so thick and suffocating blanketed the area that visibility was reduced to less than ten paces. Yet, at the heart of the N.D.A.I. training grounds, the mist wasn't just hanging still—it was vibrating. Standing in the center of the field were 121 individuals, the first official batch of India's premier guild, 'Garud Vajra.'
The fifty recruits chosen two days prior stood with a flicker of experience in their eyes. However, the seventy-one newcomers—comprising thirty Rank-B warriors, forty Rank-C's, and a single, formidable Rank-A, Vikram—carried a mix of awe and lingering fear. A silent divide had begun to form; the Rank-B recruits stood apart, wearing their status like a badge of elitism, while the Rank-C's instinctively huddled toward the back.
"I did not tell you to segregate yourselves!"
Adiraj's voice sliced through the fog like a blade. He emerged from the grey gloom, dressed only in a thin black t-shirt. The air surrounding him was so intensely heated that the moisture in the fog evaporated into steam before it could even touch his skin.
"In Garud Vajra, there is no 'B' or 'C.' You are a single unit. If the person next to you falls, this entire guild fails," Adiraj declared, his crystalline blue eyes glowing with a faint, predatory light in the darkness.
He stepped onto the center of the field, and the very 'vibe' of the ground shifted. Adiraj began to release his Presence. It wasn't a physical strike; it was the crushing weight of a Sovereign's soul. Five percent... ten percent... and then, he locked it at twenty percent.
CRACK!
Fine fissures spider-webbed across the reinforced concrete floor. To the 121 recruits, it felt as though the sky had suddenly turned into lead. It felt as if five hundred kilograms of invisible weight had been dropped onto their shoulders. The Rank-C recruits were the first to buckle, their knees trembling violently. Groans of agony filled the air as the oxygen seemed to be displaced by the sheer density of Adiraj's mana.
"Grab each other's hands!" Vikram's roar thundered across the field. He stood at the front, his body hardened like a monolith to withstand the pressure. He reached out and grabbed the hand of a Rank-C recruit who was about to collapse, stabilizing him with his own strength. "No one hits the dirt! Stand tall!"
Adiraj watched as Vikram instinctively took command. Vikram didn't realize it yet, but his internal vessel was rapidly recalibrating to handle his reflexes under this immense load. Even as a Rank-A, standing under twenty percent of a Sovereign's aura felt like being buried under a mountain.
"Today is not a physical test," Adiraj said, his voice calm yet heavy enough to rattle their bones. "Today, you simply stand. Until your bodies learn to endure my presence, you are not fit to walk onto a battlefield with me. Anyone who falls can turn in their card and go home right now."
For the next hour, the field became a living hell. Despite the freezing cold, sweat poured down their faces. The egos of the Rank-B 'elites' were shattered as they found themselves clinging to the hands of Rank-C's just to remain upright. Adiraj stood there like an omen of death, his power continuously 'crushing' their vessels to force them into a higher state of maturation.
SARC Training Center, Mumbai
In Mumbai, Major Raghav had entered a more violent phase of his own evolution. Having discharged himself from the hospital, he had gone straight to the SARC specialized training chambers, marked with 'Bio-Hazard' warnings.
Raghav was strapped into a heavy mana-gravity machine, sensors covering his skin. Mira, the Rank-B healer, stood beside the control console. Her face was pale with exhaustion; she had been mending Raghav's vessel continuously for two hours.
"Mira... more... increase the pressure!" Raghav hissed through gritted teeth. Blood began to trickle from his ears as the gravity intensified.
"Major, your body will break! Your potential is Rank-A, but your vessel is still recovering from Rank-E damage!" Mira shouted, her hands glowing with a frantic emerald aura.
"I... don't... care!" Raghav roared. "Adiraj is forging an army of 121. If I am to protect this country, I must stand equal to that S-Rank. I wasn't born to stay behind!"
Raghav's obsession was now larger than his own life. He knew Adiraj was becoming the nation's hero, but Raghav intended to be the 'Beast' that hunted in the shadows. He was setting himself on fire just to reach the light of Rank-A.
Parel Chawl, Mumbai
Far from the grinding gears of the training centers, a silent catastrophe was brewing in the Parel chawl. Rudra's hibernation was nearing the end of Day 12.
Uncle (Kaka) cracked open the trapdoor to the loft, worried that Rudra might be freezing. But as he stepped inside, the breath caught in his throat. The temperature inside the loft was at least ten degrees higher than the freezing air outside.
Rudra lay there, but his form had changed. His skin now possessed a dark Graphite sheen, looking denser and harder than reinforced iron. His physical mass had increased so much that the old wooden support beams of the chawl were creaking and groaning under his weight.
THUMP... THUMP... THUMP...
His heartbeat had climbed to 40 beats per minute. With every heavy throb, a low-frequency vibration rippled through the floorboards and into the foundation of the building. Uncle reached out to touch Rudra's hand but pulled back instantly. Rudra's skin was so dense it felt like touching a solid, cold stone.
Rudra hadn't woken up yet, but a sea of power was boiling within him. His body had squeezed the mortality out of his cells and replaced it with Graphite-grade Mana Density. He was standing on the very threshold of awakening.
📝 Chapter 27 Summary:
The Unification: Adiraj breaks the rank-based ego of 121 recruits by forcing them to stand as a single unit under his aura.
Aura Endurance: Adiraj releases 20% of his Sovereign power, creating a high-gravity environment that forces the recruits' vessels to adapt or break.
The Vanguard's Heart: Vikram displays natural leadership by physically supporting lower-rank recruits, earning Adiraj's silent respect.
Raghav's Descent: Major Raghav pushes himself to the brink of physical collapse in a gravity chamber, with Mira desperately trying to heal the internal friction.
Graphite Maturation: Rudra's heart rate hits 40 BPM. His vessel has fully transitioned into a Graphite texture, becoming incredibly dense and heavy.