As Ram tried to recover his Soulfire, Ram felt something strange inside of his head.
It's as if someone were obscuring something from him, inhibiting some emotions at the same time enhancing other emotions inside of him. He found it similar to when one was hypnotized. It was then that he realized that he had the ability to hypnotize. He forgot about it ever since he was chased by Diana and her gang.
He didn't know how he was able to recognize he was under hypnosis now, but something has helped him. Probably the portal that he build. When he passed through Chitra's portal or though Akila's barrier, it was not something of his own. But the portal was something that he built. It might have helped him this time.
He was sure about, but as he thought about what happened, it seemed logical. He was out of hypnosis and that was what mattered.
He turned around to see that Aunt Sheila and Em stood in front of him, looking at their surroundings through the protective bubble that Aunt Sheila has erected.
It was only logical to assume that others were under hypnosis. Heck, if he hadn't come out of hypnosis that he had been under ever since they met Diana, he would not have detected that someone were trying to hypnotize him.
He snapped out of it and decided that he he should restore his Soulfire first. He would not be of much use to them if the hypnotist realized that he was not under their spell.
He consumed mild replica of Soulva and waited as his Soulfire slowly recovered.
It took quite some time, but he finally recovered half of the Soulfire in his Well of Soulfire. He thought that was enough and thought about how he was going to help others come out of hypnosis.
First he thought to test whether his theory was right.
That they were under hypnosis or not.
He stood up.
Em and Aunt Sheila froze.
"Let's go," he said, looking past them, through the protective bubble.
Aunt Sheila looked as if she was in daze while Em recovered first.
"You haven't recovered enough Soulfire," Em said.
"I am the one who has Soulfire and I can feel that I recovered enough," he said.
Em growled. "I can feel it through our Merged Soul Connection that you haven't recovered. If you insist on going out to help them, you are going to become a burden for them. You will put everyone in danger, just like you did with me at The Obsidian Sphere back then," he said.
Ram clenched his fists. It seemed that their memories and personalities are intact, but it seemed to enhance their protective emotion or desire. Like Em was created to protect him and keep him company. It might be why Em was so interested in him romantically, even thinking that she might be his Soulmate. But he knew that they are not Soulmate and Bhumi was his Soulmate, whether he was under hypnosis or not. "But we can't be inside the protective bubble of Aunt Sheila's while they put themselves in danger. We have to help them," he said.
Aunt Sheila broke out of her stupor. "They are more experienced in this than us. I am an expert at making devices, but when it comes to actual combat or breaking in and out of a palace, I am as good as the devices I have with me. And the ones that I had would not help with our current mission. Em was better than both of us, but she has her limitations. She is dependent on your Soulfire. If she said you hadn't recovered enough Soulfire, then I will chose to believer her. If you still insist on continuing, then we will become burden to them if they were in ambush," she said.
"If they are in an ambush, it's strong enough reason for us to move towards them. I am the one who knows where this location is better than anyone. We could find it quickly, return to Bharghav's Spire and proceed with the rest of the plan," he said.
Aunt Sheila shook her head. "I don't know how your are able to get the location while all of our senses are blocked. May be you knowing the location of the portal is all your imagination. Maybe someone is messing up with your brain. Until you recover all of your Soulfire, we are not stepping outside of this protective bubble," Aunt Sheila said.
Ram groaned. "I recovered enough Soulfire. And it was not an imagination. Nobody is manipulating me. I don't know how I was able to see the location. I didn't see it exactly. It's like I saw an echo of the portal inside my Mind World," he said.
Aunt Sheila stiffened. "An echo?" she asked.
Ram nodded. He described to her what he had seen when they took him through their portal with their senses blocked.
Aunt Sheila trembled, clutching her head.
"What did you do to her?" Em asked, as she stood protectively over Aunt Sheila.
Some new emotion seemed to take hold of Em. They must be master hypnotist to adjust according to the situation.
Aunt Sheila placed a hand on Em's shoulders. "Em it's alright. He didn't do anything to us. I should be thankful to the Crazy Twins. I will explain what Ram saw later," Aunt Sheila said.
Em froze, then shook her head.
"Are you alright?" Ram asked.
Em nodded. "I am. Until you recover enough Soulfire, I am not allowing you to step outside of the protective bubble," she said.
She seemed to be fighting against the hypnotist, but she was defeated. Ram decided to try something else. "Come on, Em. Is this about Bhumi being my Soulmate?" Ram asked.
"Soulmate? What are you talking about? Since when did you get your Soulmate? You barely saw her for couple of minutes when you impersonated me," Em said said.
Ram stumbled back. "Siraj?" he said.
Em shook her head. "Stop distracting us. Since when did you get a Soulmate?" she said.
"Is she alright?" Aunt Sheila asked.
Ram shook his head. "But she will be in a moment," he said.
"You know about hypnosis?"
"Yes. Elder of Water passed it on to me. I thought I said about that to you when I recovered a memory of me, Aunt El and you," he said.
Aunt Sheila shook her head. "I … someone used Hypnotic Sphere's on us," she said.
Ram frowned. "I would like to know more about it, but let me first help Em," he said.
Em was on her guard. "I don't need any help. You are trying to confuse me. Tell me since when did you got Bhumi as your Soulmate?" she asked.
Ram sighed. "Siraj. I don't know how you got your hands on Hypnotic Spheres. But let me remind you that you are not going to put my friends under spell in my presence," he said.
Em smirked. It didn't look like the way Em smirked. Hers was cheerful and playful, while the smirk Em, who was somehow controlled by Siraj giving was filled with contempt. "I would like you to try," she said.
Ram know that what he was about to do would be like cheating Bhumi, but he had to. He didn't know any other thing that could help Em.
He kissed Em.
Em stiffened for a moment, only to put her hands at the back of his head and pushed him towards her, kissing him back with so much force that Ram struggled to maintain balance.
Em broke the kiss for a moment, straightened him. "I like it," she murmured and was about to kiss him again.
Ram groaned and pushed her back. Em struggled and Ram turned into small ant and flew away from her. once he was far away from her, he turned back to himself.
Em frowned, but as she observed the protective bubble, she stiffened. "When did we got here? And how come you are kissing me? You rejected me every time I made move, even back at The Institute," she said.
Ram groaned. "Are you still in hypnosis?" he asked.
Em shook her head.
"You are really interested in me since then?" he asked.
Em nodded.
"You really think that we are Soulmates, just like Bhumi was mine?" he asked.
Em nodded. "Shiva, Parvathi and Ganga were prime examples of our situation. I have already explained it to you. And since when were we under hypnosis?" she asked.
Ram shook his head. there was no way that he can convince her about them not being soulmates so soon. not with Bhumi being in danger. But he has to answer her questions as quickly as possible so that they could get an idea what they are facing. "Since we met Diana, we forgot that I could hypnotize," he said.
Em thought about it for a moment. "Then Bhumi being your Soulmate was also because you were under hypnosis?" she asked.
Aunt Sheila stopped them. "Relax, Soulmate bond is a scared thing. It can't be influenced by a hypnotist, no matter how powerful you are. If anything, being under hypnosis, will make you get attached to your Soulmate even more, which is what happened to the three of you," she said.
"You also think that both of them could be my Soulmates?" he asked.
Aunt Sheila shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen or heard about situation similar to yours, though the truth about them was spread through mythologies. Since when did you realize we were under hypnosis?" she asked.
"After I crossed the portal," Ram said.
Aunt Sheila nodded. "That makes sense. Let's start searching for Hypnotic Spheres. It would be a sphere with pink-white smoke inside of it," she said.
Ram nodded and they were surprised to see that they found several of them littered around them. "Can anyone use them?" he asked.
Aunt Sheila nodded. "Anyone can use them. Though the pink-white fog that you see is something only a master hypnotist can conjure," she said.
"Then how come they are able to influence all of us?" he asked.
Em nodded. "I was an A.I., and I forgot that Ram can use hypnosis. It seemed that they hypnotized me even before I became a living being. How come they me affected even then?" she asked.
"You were able to feel emotions since long back, just like living beings, who are even susceptible to emotions. The hypnotist will put the emotions they want to inhibit or enhance inside of those spheres in the form of pink fog with scripts imprinted on them. they would put it around the victim. The Sphere's were made out of alloy of Altron and Obsidion. The Hypnotic Spheres would influence the emotions imprinted on it on their victims who surrounded them. and we are surrounded by many of them. Living beings action, decision and thought are strongly influenced by their emotions and that's how the hypnotist are able to use it against us," Aunt Sheila said.
"So other than Veera, whom did Chitra employed for this job. Siraj or Diana didn't seem to be the hypnotists, they are just her lapdogs," Ram said.
Aunt Sheila sighed. "I don't know. It is believed that one of Chitra's parents were a master hypnotist. Veera was trained by that master. We at least heard about Chitra's father. But we know nothing about Chitra's mother. I believe she was the one behind everything," she said.
Ram groaned. "Why are the powerful ones ended up being women?" he asked.
Em and Aunt Sheila glared at him.
"Sorry, I am just frustrated. Just think that I haven't spoke it," he said.
Their gaze didn't soften.
Ram sighed. "I am surrounded by powerful women. Aunt El, her sister, Sandhya, Aunt Sheila, Bhumi and to an extent even Em. Now our enemies also comprised mostly of Chitra and her mother," he said.
Em smacked his forehead. "Did you forgot about Bharghav, Manoj, Chitra's father, Dr. Shukla and Dr. Manish?" she asked.
"Most of them are not powerful. And don't try to argue against me. Right now, the way I see it, women surrounding me are more powerful than men and I don't have anything against it. I am just frustrated to learn that I have been hypnotized again and again since my childhood," he said.
Their gaze softened and both of them hugged him. "Sorry, I could've prevented it if I were there. But I was young back then as I delivered the ultimatum to Ella and we were separated. Ella think the world of you. Everything she did was to protect you, she was blinded by her love for you and didn't gave a chance for you to face the real world," Aunt Sheila said.
Ram sighed. "I don't blame her. I just wish that she can change that thing about herself," he said.
Aunt Sheila chuckled. "She is not going to change. But this time, you have me. I will let you face the world by yourself, at the same time intervene if you are in danger and you are unable to escape out of it," she said.
Em cleared her throat. "Is there anyway you can convince him about me?" she asked.
Ram groaned. He then remembered Em speaking with Bhumi. "What did you speak with Bhumi?" he asked.
Em stiffened. "It's between the both of us," she said, disengaged from the hug.
Aunt Sheila also broke the hug.
"Do you think others are also under hypnosis?" Ram asked.
Aunt Sheila nodded.
"How come he was able to speak through Em?" Ram asked.
"They must be nearby and its one of the rare skill that exist. It would be usually used on non living objects. And Em had been an A.I., an object in a way. We can't change that no matter how many upgrades she would have," Aunt Sheila said.
El grit her teeth. "I will teach them what happens if they mess with us," she said.
Ram nodded and downed a vial containing mild replica of Soulva. "We will. But let's find others first," he said.
They nodded and searched for others.
They didn't find them for a long time.
Ram grew worried that they might have found the portal and Bhumi might have ordered others to attack.
Ram thought he heard Bhumi's voice. He nodded to others and walked towards the direction of the voice.
They located them.
Bhumi, Anu and Manoj were glaring at Zola and others. They seemed to be on edge, but didn't attack each other.
"Zola, I don't think you belong with the rebel group. I deny your request to join our cause," Bhumi said.
"When I graduated from the academy and joined The Spire as an elite guard, I promised that I would protect you no matter the cost. You formed your own rebel group with Anu and Manoj as your second and third. I am more powerful than them, yet you still deny me. Imagine how powerful you could be and also how safe, if I aid you during your rides," Zola said.
Bhumi grit her teeth. "If you are able to beat us in a battle, I will allow you to join our cause," she said, then summoned her staff.
Rest did the same as well.
Ram shook his head. Siraj is really playing with their emotions, and through them, their desires.
He had to help them before it would lead them vulnerable to Siraj.
Ram watched as Bhumi exchanged blows with Zola. They were more aggressive with their attacks. Every blow they made would point towards their vitals, each one perfectly blocked.
But they are losing Soulfire quickly.
Anu and Manoj fought the other two, sometimes switching their opponents, but they didn't fare well either.
Manoj was the one to slip first.
Anu came to his rescue, she stood protectively over Manoj as she attacked the other two with the renewed energy given by their Soulmate bond after seeing Manoj in danger.
She did well on her own at first, but it was apparent that she can't maintain the same after some time.
Bhumi seemed to struggle against Zola, which was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to be the strongest in The Living Soul World other than her father. It seemed that she was consumed by rage.
Em squeezed his shoulder. "I hate to say this, but you will have to kiss Bhumi. I don't know about how to help the rest of them," Em said.
"What if you turn into Bharghav?" Aunt Sheila suggested.
Ram shook his head. "We can't. I can turn into common animals or things that I know. For people, I really, really have to be familiar with them. For now, Aunt El was the one I was closed to.You know how hard it was for me to hold it for a moment," he said.
Aunt Sheila frowned. "But you were able to turn yourself into Em?" she asked.
"Em is my Merged Soul. I can't even turn into you as I have known you since childhood. Heck, I can't even turn into Bhumi, who is my Soulmate. Forget about her father," he said.
Aunt Sheila frowned. "If only I had the time devices with me. My father was suspicious when Siraj coordinated with Chitra without our knowledge. He destroyed every one of the devices, except one which he warned me to use only if we are in danger. I had already used it back when Chitra's agents attacked Bhumi," she said.
Em sighed. "What about me? I was the one who has the powers of Time. And they are obviously not working here. What should we do?" she asked.
Ram frowned. "I couldn't turn into people. But I can turn into ant. I will just have to be really careful as I get to Bhumi, get her away from Zola and others. Then I can kiss her. I hope that she will have ideas about how to get others out of Hypnotic Sphere's influence," he said.
"No!" both of them said at the same time.
Em took a backseat as Aunt Sheila stepped in. "If you were to be attacked by them, you would not be able to defend yourself. There are chances of you dying," she said.
Ram frowned. "There has to be another way. We can't be this hopeless right?" he asked.
Anu cried out loud and they turned to see that they were down.
Bhumi is taking on the Zola and her squad alone. But her movements were slow. She was not going to last much longer.
Bhumi's attacks became sluggish and was hit most of the time.
"Aunt Sheila, can you cast a protective bubble on Bhumi alone?" he asked.
Aunt Sheila shook her head. "If we are inside Water World, I could have done it. But here, I need to be nearby them if I want to do the same with my devices and they wouldn't last much longer," she said.
Bhumi cried as Zola slapped away her staff, the three of them looking grimly at Bhumi.
Ram's heart froze as he saw Bhumi's Soulfire drained at an alarming rate.
Ram heard the ground trembling and turned to see a Merged Soul of Siraj and Diana, half of them, Orange Soulfire, and the other half was made of rocks, leading an army of Chitra's agents towards them.