The morning breeze whispered through the narrow street outside Lioran's house. The sun had barely risen, painting the sky with faint gold, but tension already filled the air like an invisible storm.
Lioran stood facing Skanda.
Behind the half-demonic mask, Skanda's presence felt heavier than before—no longer just a powerful warrior, but someone carrying truths too dangerous to ignore.
From the corner of the street, hidden behind a low wall, Sharin and Aishwarya watched silently.
Neither of them spoke.
They felt something important was about to be revealed.
"What do you mean?" Lioran asked, his voice steady but his heart racing. "Why should I quit the Ashram?"
Skanda didn't answer.
"Why are you quiet?" Lioran pressed. "Say it. Tell me why."
Finally, Skanda spoke.
"Because your life is in danger there."
Sharin and Aishwarya stiffened.
Lioran's eyes widened. "What?"
"To understand this," Skanda said calmly, "you need to know about something far bigger than the Ashram."
"…What?"
"Pranansh."
"Pranansh?" Lioran repeated.
Skanda nodded.
"After Vaelion disappeared at the end of the ancient war, his surviving companions realized the Narvans would return one day. So they created a secret organization—Pranansh."
He looked toward the sky.
"Pranansh operates beneath the world. Normal people don't know it exists. Governments don't control it. Armies don't even see it."
Lioran listened in stunned silence.
"Every Ashram you know… belongs to Pranansh," Skanda continued. "There are sixty-three Ashrams across the world. One of them is here, in India."
"Sixty-three…" Lioran whispered.
"Not just Ashrams," Skanda went on. "Pranansh has its own hospitals. Its own laboratories. Its own intelligence network. Everything is hidden. Everything is controlled."
"And who controls Pranansh?" Lioran asked.
"Seven people," Skanda said. "They are called the Pranins."
"Pranins?"
"They are masters of Prāṇa."
Lioran hesitated. "Are they stronger than you?"
Skanda smiled.
"No."
Lioran raised an eyebrow. "You really think highly of yourself."
"Yes," Skanda replied without shame.
Lioran let out a small huff.
But Skanda's tone shifted.
"The problem isn't their strength," he said. "The problem is how they see you."
Lioran stiffened.
"They don't see you as hope," Skanda said. "They see you as a tool."
Lioran's breath caught.
"They want to study you. Experiment on you. Dissect your Prāṇa Core. Understand why you were born with a fully developed one."
"They… want to use me?" Lioran whispered.
"Yes," Skanda said. "Only one man stood against them."
"…Master?"
Skanda nodded.
"In Pranansh, Shourya is legendary. In his prime, he was the strongest warrior alive. Some even compared him to Vaelion himself."
Lioran felt something warm rise in his chest.
"Because of him, you are protected. He refused to let them touch you."
Skanda's voice darkened.
"But that made him enemies. Many."
"Enemies?" Lioran asked.
"Those who envy his respect. Those who want his position. Those who hate that he defies the Pranins."
Lioran clenched his fists.
"When they discovered Vaelion's heir existed… their jealousy turned into hatred," Skanda said. "Some want to control you. Others want to kill you just to prove a point."
Silence fell.
"That's why I told you to leave the Ashram," Skanda said. "If you disappear, you will survive."
Lioran lowered his head.
For a moment, it looked like he was considering it.
Then he spoke.
"No."
Skanda looked up.
"I won't quit."
Lioran lifted his gaze.
"Now that I know Master stood against them for me… how can I run?" he said firmly. "If I want to protect this world, the Ashram is the only path for me"
His voice hardened.
"I won't abandon it."
Skanda stared at him.
Then… he smiled.
"You really are something," Skanda said.
He took a step closer.
"Then I will make you strong enough to walk this path."
"Thank you," Lioran said.
Hidden behind the wall, Sharin clenched his fists.
"I need to get stronger," he whispered. "Strong enough to protect him."
Aishwarya nodded.
"He's the hope of the world… but even hope needs someone to protect it."
That night, Lioran opened his window.
"Take care of everything," he whispered to his clone. "Especially Liara."
"I will," the clone replied.
Lioran turned away.
At the mountain behind the city, Skanda, Sharin, and Aishwarya waited.
Lioran arrived.
"Let's go," he said.
Skanda opened a portal.
They stepped through.
The journey toward destiny had begun.
TO BE CONTINUED…