The hospital corridor felt colder the deeper Vikram walked.
Nurses whispered nervously near corners while security guards refused going anywhere close to Sadhna's isolated ward. Hair still covered sections of the floor like black threads scattered after some impossible storm. Several patients sat nearby holding cloth against bleeding scalps while doctors argued helplessly.
Nobody understood what was happening.
Only Vikram and Power did.
Vikram stopped several feet away from the ward entrance instead of approaching directly. Through the small glass window on the door, he could barely see Sadhna sitting motionless on the hospital bed surrounded by loose strands of hair drifting slowly around the room.
Power stood beside him invisibly to everyone else.
Today her expression looked more thoughtful than judgmental.
Which somehow felt more concerning.
"She stabilized slightly," Power said quietly.
Vikram kept staring toward the room. "This still looks horrifying."
"It is."
Several strands of hair slithered slowly beneath the ward door before going still again.
Vikram folded his arms uneasily. "Why isn't her ability affecting me?"
Power glanced sideways at him.
"Because your divine energy protects you."
Vikram frowned. "Divine energy?"
"You possess the Supreme King Mudra. Even dormant, it radiates sacred authority."
Power leaned lightly against the corridor wall while speaking calmly.
"Mana abilities interact differently with beings carrying divine alignment."
"That sentence sounded very fake-science spiritual."
"You are in no position to criticize mystical systems."
Fair point.
Power continued.
"Ordinary humans possess almost no resistance against awakened abilities. Their bodies react directly to mana influence."
She gestured subtly toward the bald patients nearby.
"Which is why her emotional instability affects everyone around her unconsciously."
Vikram looked back toward Sadhna's room quietly.
"But not me."
Power nodded once.
"Your divine energy is still weak," she explained, "but it naturally nullifies lower mana manipulation attempting direct control over your body."
Vikram blinked. "So she can't control my hair?"
"No."
"That is an incredibly strange sentence to hear seriously."
Power ignored him as usual.
"Divine energy exists above ordinary mana structures. Those carrying it become resistant to most supernatural interference."
Vikram scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "So if someone throws magical fire at me—"
"You still burn."
"…Fantastic."
"Your resistance is not absolute."
Vikram sighed. "Every power comes with terms and conditions."
Before Power could answer—
Something changed.
The atmosphere inside the corridor shifted violently.
Vikram froze instantly.
A terrible chill crawled down his spine.
Beside him, Power's expression sharpened for the first time since arriving at the hospital.
The fluorescent hospital lights flickered faintly overhead.
And someone walked into the corridor.
King.
Black shirt.
Black jeans.
Red sandals stained faintly darker than before.
His hands rested casually inside his pockets while he moved toward Sadhna's ward without hesitation.
But it wasn't King's appearance that froze Vikram.
It was the presence inside him.
Something ancient.
Angry.
Watching.
For one horrifying second, Vikram felt like the corridor itself became smaller around that invisible pressure.
Even Power looked disturbed now.
"…Kali," she whispered quietly.
Vikram swallowed hard.
That thing inside him?
That's Kali?
Power's eyes remained fixed on King.
Only partially emerged.
Yet the pressure radiating from him still felt monstrous.
King continued walking calmly without even glancing toward them.
Strangely—
He showed no reaction toward Vikram at all.
Power noticed immediately.
"He cannot sense your divine energy," she muttered.
"Why?"
"Because Kali is still incomplete."
Her voice became colder now.
"In cosmic scale… he is barely an infant."
Vikram stared at King again.
Infant?
That thing felt terrifying already.
Power continued softly.
"Kali lacks a physical manifestation currently. His awareness remains fragmented."
King walked directly past them.
The moment he crossed nearby—
Both Vikram and Power felt another wave of unnatural cold ripple through the corridor.
Like standing beside a predator pretending to wear human skin.
Vikram's instincts screamed immediately.
Danger.
Power's voice entered his mind sharply.
Stop him.
Vikram looked toward the approaching ward nervously.
"…You could have said that earlier."
King continued walking calmly toward Sadhna's room.
Vikram stepped forward awkwardly trying to appear casual despite internally panicking.
"Uh—bro?"
King ignored him completely.
Vikram moved slightly into his path. "Hospital visiting hours kinda strict—"
Without even looking—
King punched him.
BOOM.
The impact exploded across Vikram's face hard enough to send him crashing sideways into the corridor wall.
Concrete cracked loudly.
Several nurses screamed nearby.
Blood spilled instantly from Vikram's nose while his vision blurred violently.
Pain shot through his skull.
"What the hell—" he groaned.
Power stared silently.
Most normal humans would have died from that punch.
King didn't even slow down after hitting him.
He simply continued toward Sadhna's ward.
Then he stepped in front of the door.
Instantly—
Hair beneath the doorway rose violently.
Black strands launched toward him like living wires—
And fell.
Every strand dropped harmlessly onto the floor.
Silence.
King slowly looked downward at his own hand.
It was shaking slightly.
For the first time since entering the hospital—
He looked surprised.
The invisible pressure around him shifted strangely.
Inside his mind, Kali spoke quietly.
Interesting.
King stared at the fallen hair thoughtfully.
"So her ability rejected me."
Because of me.
Then—
King slowly turned his head toward Vikram.
Vikram still leaned against the cracked wall wiping blood from his nose while trying not to black out.
Their eyes met.
And suddenly King understood.
Not ordinary.
Not human anymore.
Another awakened.
King walked toward him slowly now.
The corridor became deathly silent around them.
Nurses backed away immediately sensing something deeply wrong.
"Who are you?" King asked calmly.
Vikram spat blood onto the floor.
Then forced himself upright despite his throbbing face.
"Your father."
Power closed her eyes briefly.
Even now—
This idiot taunted murderers.
King's expression darkened instantly.
The air around him trembled faintly with rage.
Inside his mind, Kali whispered—
Kill him.
King moved first.
Fast enough to blur.
His fist launched toward Vikram's face like a bullet.
This time—
Vikram punched back.
BOOM.
The collision cracked the corridor wall beside them.
Shockwaves exploded outward hard enough to shatter nearby glass panels.
Both men staggered backward slightly.
King's eyes widened.
He felt it immediately.
Weight.
Vikram's punch felt wrong.
Heavy.
Not merely muscular force.
Something denser.
Stronger.
King smiled slowly despite blood appearing near his lip.
"Oh…"
Now he looked excited.
Vikram shook his aching hand violently. "Ow ow OW—why do your punches feel like traffic accidents?"
King lunged again instantly.
This time the fight erupted completely.
His kick slammed into Vikram's ribs hard enough to dent the hospital railing behind him. Vikram grabbed King's shirt instinctively and punched him directly across the jaw.
CRACK.
King's head snapped sideways violently.
Yet he laughed.
Actually laughed.
"You're fun."
"You need therapy."
King drove his elbow toward Vikram's throat.
Vikram barely blocked in time before countering with another heavy punch straight into King's stomach.
BOOM.
Something changed immediately.
King's body folded slightly from the impact.
His smile vanished for half a second.
Pain.
Real pain.
Vikram noticed instantly.
Wait.
I hurt him?
King stumbled backward several steps now breathing harder than before.
The floor beneath his feet cracked slightly.
Inside his mind, Kali's voice deepened.
His body is different.
King wiped blood from his mouth slowly while staring at Vikram with growing intensity.
Then he charged again with visible rage now.
His fist slammed into Vikram's cheek—
But this time Vikram remained standing.
Power's training.
Vajra skeleton.
The Supreme King Mudra.
All of it moved instinctively together.
Vikram grabbed King's arm.
Then punched him directly in the chest.
BOOM.
The sound echoed through the corridor like an explosion.
King flew backward violently.
His body crashed through two hospital chairs before slamming against the far wall hard enough to crater concrete.
Silence followed instantly.
Dust drifted slowly through the corridor air.
Vikram stood frozen breathing heavily while blood dripped from his nose.
"…Did I just do that?"
Power looked equally serious now.
King remained motionless against the destroyed wall.
Unconscious.
Vikram stared at his own fist.
Then at King.
Then slowly muttered—
"…Okay that was actually kinda cool."