"Pratyusha, our energies have almost depleted after killing those Hell Crabs. We are not in a position to join the battle. And this... looks beyond us anyway." Rachit, the person I've known the longest and held closest to my heart, had never looked so vulnerable.
"If I've got a Blessing, shouldn't I help the others?" I had mumbled out the words half-heartedly, fully aware of what my true intentions at that time were.
'Say it, Rachit. Like you've always done. Let me hear what I need the most right now.' I had wished fervently, surrounded by destruction yet tucked away inside the little island of safety created by my blessing.
"You did great." Rachit had smiled gently, touching my shoulders and reading my mind. Like he had always done since we were little kids.
"You played your part. Keeping this many people safe is not a small feat." His assurance had calmed my heart.
Rachit's calming face suddenly warped into Dhruva's disappointed expression. "Anybody with your Blessings could have done so much more."
His words cut through my confidence and pride, opening up new mental wounds each time. No matter how often I tried to get them out of my mind, they returned, making me feel restless and frustrated.
"What right do you have to lecture me?" I groaned, talking to no one in particular inside our village guest house, "I have been trying my best all this time. You didn't even praise me once after we managed to save one of them. Even after I..."
I paced around the room, unable to stop my feet.
"What are you doing?" I messaged Rachit, following up with several messages that described today's events.
"Not everything is in our hands. Neither the actions of your allies nor your opponents'." He messaged back, "All we can do is give our hundred percent no matter what situation it is."
"Sometimes I wonder whether I'm actually giving it my all. Would my Blessing find more utilities in the hands of someone else?"
"Pratyusha, did someone in your team tell you that?" He asked. I wonder what his expression currently was.
"Yeah."
Don't mind them. They are just jealous of your abilities." His consolation, for some reason, didn't seem to achieve the usual effect it always does.
"They wanted me to summon a barrier inside a demon and burst it from inside by expanding it."
"What?" Was Rachit surprised or disgusted? Messages truly don't convey the emotions that are needed during a conversation.
"Pratyusha," Rachit's messages continued, "The barrier you received as a Blessing is meant for protecting others. It responded to your wish in that hellhole of a battlefield during the Divyastra Utsaav. Don't sully the God's gift by turning it away from its true purpose."
"I know..." I sent, "But what I did today..."
"It's okay. Don't do it from now on. You'll be fine."
A knock from the door interrupted my talk with Rachit. We said our goodbyes, and I opened the door to find Aditi standing outside.
"We have been thinking about what to do. Sitting here without knowing when those invisible demons can attack will only wear us down. Jevin, Vivikta, and I will go to the Lakeh's village with the elder and some other uncles. The others here will be cooking a feast to replenish your Prana while you keep them safe inside your barrier." Aditi explained the plan, tapping her right foot on the ground incessantly like she does when there are a lot of things on her mind.
"It will be hard for you... But we can't wait here for weeks, hoping that those Lakeh will leave the children alone. We'll take the fight to them, grab this 'Mother' they are talking about and negotiate. Vivikta is powerful enough to do that." Aditi continued after taking a deep breath, "That plant-like thing was an outlier. Don't judge her capabilities based on that. She's a sage, after all."
The way she spoke those words made me doubt whether she herself believed that.
"Aren't you guys taking a huge risk going to the enemy stronghold like that? What if they kill you on sight?" I asked, wondering where they were getting so much confidence from. "I hope you know that none of our team members have any Kundalini left."
"That's why we three physical-type fighters are going. Only you can keep all the villagers here safe, so it's best for you to stay here." For some reason, Aditi did not mention about Dhruva.
"What's up with Dhruva? He should also be here protecting the villagers with his barriers." I complained. "Why does he get free rein over his actions?"
"It's best to leave him be. He's too unpredictable to include in our plans." Aditi shrugged. "We'll be leaving in the evening following the plan. Getting rid of those demons entirely is the best option, considering we won't be here to protect them forever. Go to the plaza where the villagers are congregating and activate your blessing. The next batch of Lakeh can arrive any minute."
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"How many are there?" I asked, looking for footprints on the quagmire we had created with the villagers around the edge of my twin barriers. Currently, things can go outside but can't come inside for both of them.
It was already night-time. The attacking force had already left three hours ago and was on its way to a crack located on the second mountain we scaled. To think we have been so close to our target.
Apparently, the children had followed us and entered a cave system after falling through a crack. Vivikta and the others must know more about it in detail.
"Atleast twelve." One of the aunties who volunteered to stay in the outer circle for patrolling announced.
The only source of light was a bonfire in front of the chief's house, where the women and children currently were. Me and a few others were outside, just in case.
In Satya, almost everybody has a vessel from Kalpa and gets to awaken two to three chakras throughout their lifetimes.
But the villagers, besides the hunters here, rarely go out into the mountains to meditate over a Shakti Rekha.
Once in a while, they visit a nearby cave to replenish their vessels, depleting their reserves slowly over the course of a month. But considering the situation this time, they used up every bit of their Kundalini left to create an advantageous position for us without holding back.
The area surrounding my Lakshman Rekha is now riddled with traps and a quagmire.
"Pratyusha. Will this hold?" One of the uncles asked this time. He was squatting on the ground with a pitchfork, looking for impressions on mud.
I didn't have the confidence to promise anything to anyone, considering the unknown variables in this mission.
The Lakeh were incessantly banging and scratching on the walls of my barrier, unable to get in. The sounds they made riddled my head with a series of worries.
What will happen if the barrier breaks? What if my 17 points Prana currently at max capacity runs out? How long will my barrier even hold? What if a creature like the plant breaks easily through my Rekha....
A thunderous boom chucked away all those thoughts from my mind. The barrier protecting us oscillated from impact waves originating at my five o'clock.
Turning around, I found, to my dismay, small cracks already appearing on the yellow walls of my Rekha.
Two villagers stabbed their pitchforks into the air, aiming an area over the two deep footsteps that had appeared in the quagmire, but they got stuck in place, held by an unseen force.
The air rippled, revealing a dirty brown-white furry humanoid. It was humongous.
The two uncles left their pitchforks stuck inside the furry white coat of the humanoid and scrambled back, their faces filled with terror.
"Yeti." The aunty responsible for feeding me at regular intervals whispered. "This must be an adult... It's over eighteen feet in height."
The massive yeti had matted white fur running over its body filled with patches of brown, covering almost everything except its upper face and palms. The fire from the bonfire reflected against its round, popping eyes, sending a shiver down my spine.
Another crashing sound appeared from a different direction, revealing another pair of 14-foot Yeti kicking or shoulder-pushing our barrier.
My Prana started tanking in an instant.
"The yeti were in cahoots with the Lakeh? And all of them can go invisible? How much worse are things going to get?" I grabbed a fistful of my hair in frustration.
"Keep feeding me whatever you have. I'll make sure the barrier stays intact. Gosh, I'm going to gain weight if I keep continuing this." I declared, preparing myself for a long night.
"Leave it to me. I won't stop even if your stomach bursts open." The aunty patted my shoulder.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"How am I supposed to win against you?" I took deep breaths between the words to reduce my fatigue. My low stamina was not helping at all, considering my recent events.
"I'm not cut out for physical fights." I confessed to the sannyasin clad in a single piece of orange cloth.
His whole body seemed to be covered in white ash and rudraksha garlands. His beard was touching his belly button, long and matted, and his lean body reminded me of those yogis in the Himalayas who have given up all material possessions in pursuit of God.
"But Dhruva, did that ever keep you from trying?" He smiled gently.
"I've always had things to work out with. But after that Spawn attacked, I used up all of them. Sorry to disappoint you."
I remembered what had happened a few hours ago.
Like the beginning of every story from the myths, a God disguised as someone who needed help had appeared on my way to the fourth peak.
I was not an idiot who would ignore that. Most stories of downfall in our history came from the curses of Sages who were either wronged or insulted. In many cases, even the Gods came down to test people of their integrity.
I'm not sure which one he was, but watching him with a missing arm and leg lying in the middle of my path, I knew I had to appease this person to avoid another Divine Being constantly coming at my throat.
My hands are already packed with Kalpa, Mahabali, and Shani.
I had to use both my organ regeneration potions on him. Some rations and two liters of water.
He kept watching me with a slight smile while I cared for him.
"There's no tricking your eye. Did you use it?" He had asked, pointing at my left eye.
"It requires Kundalini and a bit of luck to activate. None of which is currently in my favor."
"Hmm... It's not luck, though. Perhaps, you can only see through it in an Event Intersection. And I assure you, this is not one of them."
"Event Intersection?"
"Something bound to happen in every Brahmand, in every cycle. Whether you're there or not." He had explained. "You know what comes next, right?"
"I have some ideas."
"How about you try to catch me? Children your age like that game, don't you?"
And that's what I've been doing till now.
It didn't matter what I tried; he always maintained a constant distance from me.
'This is not it. I don't think I can defeat him like this.' I thought. There must be something else.
This is where I am right now.
"Five minutes." He aimed his right palm at me, sending forth a golden divine light. It surrounded my body with a red pillar of Kundalini. "Your body will continuously generate energy for that duration. Try to hurt me within the next ten minutes physically."
I ran, my hands working like crazy, opened my dimensional box crack, and connected a Tether to the gem inside.
Let's do what I do best.
I heard laughter from behind as if someone was breathing on my shoulders.
I halted in my tracks, finding the sannyasin right before me. Remember the distance. There must be clues to defeating him right in front of me.
I turned around and changed directions, moving deeper into the forest. I can't go too far away from the fourth peak. It will be counterintuitive. Since he had stopped me on my way there, there might be something interesting in that direction.
My brain was working in overdrive. I could feel the gears turning and accelerating inside like it does during the last five minutes of an exam. The energy surrounding me was like a huge buff, increasing both my mental and physical capabilities. Maybe, just maybe, I might be able to recreate Charulata's skill this time. But instead of weapons, they'll have my signature utilities. The following eight minutes will be fun.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"The yetis have also attacked the village." I notified Aditi and Vivikta of Pratyusha's message. "We need to wrap things up here fast."
"Jevin, you're being too ambitious!" Aditi, pragmatic as always, commented without looking back; her eyes were focused on two out of four translucent yetis before her.
I was also in a similar situation, confronting three on my side with a battle-axe Vivikta had shared with me. She had a lot of weapons in her inventory, but none were as favorite as her Warhammer that broke during the altercation with the Vine monster.
Following the instructions of the children who had slipped into a crack while following us on the second mountain we climbed, we had entered an ant hill-like cave system full of stalactites and stalagmites, many of which had met to create thin pillars along the tunnels.
It didn't take even three hours after leaving the village to get surrounded by seven Yetis. Four to our front for Aditi and Vivikta, three to our back for me and the other villagers. We were sandwiched between two groups of Yeti guards already waiting for us.
Vivikta slammed her new Warhammer onto the ground, closed her eyes, and listened to the vibrations she released.
"Guys." She said with a trembling voice, "Excluding these seven, there's only one Yeti left in these tunnels. The rest of them have probably left to wipe out the village."
The villagers went pale hearing that.
"Couldn't you check this beforehand?" The sickle-wielding uncle asked.
"It doesn't change the mission we have here." Vivikta defended herself.
"I am sending Dhruva a message to go to the village instead. Hopefully, he'll reach there before Pratyusha's Prana runs out." Aditi mumbled, opening up her messaging window on KalpaYaal.
"Let's follow the initial plan. We only need to clear things out faster, considering this new information." Vivikta ordered and rushed toward the two Yetis she was facing.