That night, after hours of reading through ancient records and listening to Nyra and Lyss argue about whether he was officially old or merely ancient, Kaien finally went to sleep.
For once, his mind felt relatively peaceful.
The city was calm.
The world was stable.
The future remained uncertain, but it no longer felt threatening.
Everything seemed quiet.
Yet the moment sleep claimed him, darkness swallowed the world.
Not ordinary darkness.
A different kind.
Ancient.
Timeless.
The kind found within memories older than civilizations.
At first, Kaien believed he was dreaming.
That wasn't unusual.
Over the years he had experienced countless dreams.
Some ordinary.
Some strange.
Some containing fragments of past lives.
This felt similar.
At least initially.
He found himself standing upon a mountain.
The sky above was gray.
Massive forests stretched endlessly below.
The air felt ancient.
Untouched.
Wild.
A world long before modern civilization.
Long before Dominion.
Long before Novaris.
Long before almost everything he knew.
Kaien looked around.
Confused.
The place felt familiar.
Not because he had visited it as Kaien.
Not because of Aditya.
Not because of Arin.
Something older stirred within him.
A memory hidden beneath countless others.
Then he saw him.
A lone figure standing near the edge of a cliff.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Clad in simple garments.
An axe rested beside him.
Yet despite the simplicity of his appearance, the surrounding world seemed to bend around his existence.
The very air felt heavier.
The mountain itself seemed to acknowledge his presence.
Kaien froze.
Even before the man turned around—
he already knew.
Parashurama.
The legendary sage.
The destroyer of kings.
The teacher of Karna.
A man whose existence had become myth even during Karna's era.
The moment the realization struck him, the scene shifted.
Suddenly Kaien wasn't standing there.
He was watching.
Like an invisible observer.
Unable to interfere.
Unable to speak.
Unable to move.
The mountain remained.
Parashurama remained.
But another person had appeared.
A young warrior.
Golden armor covered his body.
Golden earrings shone beneath sunlight.
A bow rested at his side.
Karna.
Not a memory of Karna.
Not an interpretation.
Not a vision.
The actual moment.
Something about it felt different from every memory Kaien had ever experienced.
Usually memories arrived fragmented.
Broken.
Incomplete.
This didn't.
This felt real.
Perfectly real.
Yet Kaien still believed it was a dream.
Because the alternative never crossed his mind.
Parashurama stood facing Karna.
Neither spoke initially.
The mountain remained silent around them.
Only the distant wind disturbed the stillness.
Eventually the sage spoke.
"Karna."
His voice carried tremendous weight.
Not authority.
Not power.
Knowledge.
The kind accumulated across countless years.
Young Karna immediately bowed respectfully.
"Guru."
Parashurama studied him quietly.
Several moments passed.
Then something unexpected happened.
The sage smiled.
A rare thing.
Very rare.
Kaien knew enough about Parashurama to understand that.
The sight alone felt unusual.
"You have exceeded my expectations."
Young Karna remained silent.
Parashurama continued.
"I have taught many students."
His gaze drifted toward the horizon.
"Few possessed talent."
The wind moved gently around them.
"Fewer possessed determination."
Then his eyes returned to Karna.
"You possess both."
The young warrior lowered his head slightly.
Not from arrogance.
Not from pride.
Respect.
Parashurama nodded.
"Which is why I have decided something."
The atmosphere changed.
The mountain itself seemed quieter.
The world seemed to listen.
Even Kaien felt it.
A strange tension.
A significance beyond ordinary moments.
Parashurama slowly raised one hand.
The sky darkened.
Instantly.
Clouds gathered from nowhere.
The wind intensified.
The earth trembled.
Kaien stared.
Even after everything he had experienced across four lives, the sight remained overwhelming.
Power.
Pure power.
Not the destructive force of battle.
Something older.
More fundamental.
Divine.
A symbol appeared above Parashurama's hand.
Complex.
Ancient.
Impossible to fully comprehend.
The moment Kaien looked directly at it, pain erupted within his mind.
Instinctively he looked away.
The symbol vanished.
Yet the feeling remained.
Something immense.
Something terrifying.
Something sacred.
Parashurama spoke.
"Karna."
The sage's voice echoed across the mountain.
"I am entrusting something to you."
Young Karna's expression became serious.
Completely serious.
As though he understood exactly how important this moment was.
The symbol condensed.
Shrinking.
Compressing.
Becoming something smaller.
Manageable.
Then it entered Karna.
Directly.
No flash of light.
No explosion.
No dramatic display.
One moment it existed outside him.
The next—
it existed within him.
Kaien felt a chill.
Because the instant that happened—
he knew.
Not what it was.
But what kind of thing it was.
A weapon.
Not an ordinary weapon.
An Astra.
A divine weapon.
One far beyond most others.
Parashurama's expression remained solemn.
"The Maheshwarastra."
The name echoed throughout the mountain.
For a brief moment everything became silent.
Even the wind stopped.
Kaien frowned.
The name felt familiar.
Very familiar.
Yet strangely distant.
As though he knew it but couldn't quite remember.
Like a word resting at the edge of memory.
Young Karna immediately bowed deeply.
"I understand, Guru."
Parashurama stared at him.
"No."
The answer surprised both Karna and Kaien.
The sage's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You do not."
The mountain trembled again.
Not from anger.
From truth.
"The day you fully understand what I have given you..."
His voice grew quieter.
"...will be the day the world itself trembles."
Those words lingered.
Heavy.
Important.
Dangerous.
Then Parashurama stepped closer.
Something changed in his expression.
Concern.
A teacher's concern.
"Karna."
The young warrior looked up.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Parashurama said something that immediately unsettled Kaien.
"You must never reveal this carelessly."
Silence.
"You must never invoke it recklessly."
More silence.
"And there may come a day when even you forget."
The words hit Kaien like lightning.
Forget?
What did that mean?
Why would Karna forget?
The dream began shaking.
The scene destabilized.
The mountain blurred.
The sky distorted.
Parashurama's voice became distant.
As though something was pulling Kaien away.
"Karna."
The sage's final words echoed through the fading memory.
"There are secrets even fate cannot bury forever."
Everything shattered.
Darkness consumed the world.
Then Kaien woke up.
His eyes snapped open.
Morning sunlight filtered through the window.
The room was quiet.
Normal.
Peaceful.
For several moments he remained motionless.
Breathing.
Thinking.
Remembering.
The dream.
Parashurama.
The mountain.
The Maheshwarastra.
Slowly, Kaien sat upright.
Something felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Wrong.
Because the dream had felt too real.
Far too real.
Every detail remained vivid.
Every word remained clear.
Every emotion remained intact.
Almost like...
A memory.
The thought crossed his mind briefly.
Then disappeared.
He shook his head.
"No."
It was just a dream.
Had to be.
Yet deep inside—
some ancient part of his soul disagreed.
Because somewhere beyond conscious thought...
beyond four lives...
beyond thousands of years...
something had begun awakening.
And for the first time since Surya's warning, Kaien unknowingly stood one step closer to the truth.
A truth hidden not in the future.
But in the forgotten past.