Chapter 27: The Shattered Chronos
The world began to ripple like a reflection in a disturbed pond. Vikram felt a sudden, terrifying hollowness in his chest. His memories of the forge, the smell of his mother's cooking, and the calloused hands of his father were becoming translucent, like old ink fading in the sun.
[ SYSTEM CRITICAL ALERT ]
Condition: [Temporal Erasure] — 9% of User History has been deleted.
Source: The Hourglass of Mahakaala (Ravana's Throne).
Warning: If history hits 0%, you will cease to have ever existed.
"You see, boy?" Ravana roared from the balcony, his remaining heads gnashing their teeth. The hourglass in his hand was no longer sand; it was glowing liquid Prana flowing upward, reversing the causality of the Treta Yuga. "I am not just the King of Lanka; I am the King of the Sequence! Your 'Dharma' is a script, and I have the quill!"
The Call to the Avatar
Vikram didn't panic. His L10 Intellect realized that he was a mortal standing in a localized time-storm. He couldn't fight Time with muscle alone. He needed an Anchor—someone whose existence was eternal.
He turned his gaze toward the crumbling South Gate. Lord Rama stood amidst the ruins, his blue skin glowing with an aura that remained steady even as the world glitched around him.
"Lord Rama!" Vikram's voice carried the resonance of his MAX Charm. "The King is not fighting us with steel! He is fighting us with the Void! Give me your Light, and I will be your Hand!"
Rama looked up. His eyes met Vikram's. In that instant, a Karmic Bridge was formed.
[ UNIQUE EVENT: AVATAR-SYNC ]
Cost: 75,000 Punya.
Current Punya: 5.
Effect: You have channeled the Satya (Absolute Truth) of the Avatar.
The Strike Beyond Time
Vikram didn't jump. He vibrated. Using L11 Speed and the divine energy from Rama, he became a pillar of blue-violet fire. He launched himself toward the balcony, not as a physical body, but as a "Point of Absolute Reality."
Ravana saw him coming and swung a ten-ton mace, but Vikram passed through it like a ghost. He wasn't in the present; he was moving through the "Sands" themselves.
"VAJRA-MUSHTI: SATYA-REKHA!" (Truth-Line Strike!)
Vikram's fist slammed into the Hourglass of Mahakaala.
CRACK.
The glass didn't just break; it shattered into fragments of pure light that flew back into the past. The upward-flowing liquid stalled, turned red, and then exploded.
[ KARMIC EVENT: CHRONOS-BREAK ]
Result: History Restored.
Penalty: Ravana's Tenth Head (The Time-Head) has been forcibly severed.
Status: Ravana is now mortal and vulnerable.
The Final Stand of the Ten-Headed King
The shockwave threw Ravana back into his throne. He was no longer a god-like giant. He was a bleeding, aging King with only one head remaining—the central head of Ego. The golden city of Lanka began to moan as its pillars of power were now all dead.
Vikram landed on the balcony, his breathing heavy, his L11 Strength glowing in his veins. Below, the Vanara army had breached the inner sanctum. Hanuman's roar filled the palace.
"It's over, Ravana," Vikram said, the Whisper of Kalindi humming at the King's throat. "The loop is broken. The blacksmith has finished the work."
But Ravana, even in defeat, smiled a bloody smile. He reached behind his throne and pulled a single, small lever. "If I cannot be the King of Time... then there shall be no world for you to inherit."
[ FINAL SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Warning: The Self-Destruct of the Patala-Core has been initiated.
Lanka is about to vanish into the Underworld, taking the Avatar, the Army, and your Parents with it.
Volume 2 is at its climax! The city is sinking into the abyss.
The Pillar of Sacrifice: Use your L11 Strength to hold the entire island of Lanka aloft for 5 minutes, allowing everyone to escape, but sacrificing your own life.The Master-Code: Use Mantra-Hacker (L2) and L10 Intellect to try and rewrite the city's gravitational core, turning Lanka into a Floating Sky-City permanently.The Avatar's Command: Hand the victory to Lord Rama, asking him to use the Brahmastra to stabilize the core, while you use your Speed to evacuate your parents.
The Iron Sage has one last choice. What is the legacy of Vikram?