"So... why did they go after me due to which mother had to die, Dad?
"Well... there was a prophecy, and it mentioned Earth and the word 'THE ONE'. We don't know what it means, it might be a saviour or a calamity. But seeing the way those 'Outsiders' are behaving, it might be more of a catastrophe for them."
'We don't know how they came to know of this prophecy which was to be kept as a 'Top Secret', there is a great chance of a traitor being amidst us. But, Boddh doesn't need to know any of that right now.'
"There have been quite a few attacks on the Earthlings after the prophecy came to be. The top brass of 'The Eight Govts.', {United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, France, UK} know of it, but it's not a great thing to let this knowledge flow into the general public, hence, so far it has been kept under the rug. So, people haven't been able to know about it. Although, some photos and videos keep popping up here and there but are soon taken down before they go viral."
"So what? Just because of a damn prophecy, which for god's sake no one knows whether it would come true or not, Mom was killed and I had to go through all that hell? Does that make any sense?"
"It wasn't just a random prophecy, Boddh. Do you know someone named "Nostradamus" by any chance?"
"That sounds like a foreigner's name and I haven't been to any foreign country before, so my answer would be NO!"
There were some thorns hidden in those words for his Dad. Anurak could feel the intent of the words of Boddh and again felt guilty for not being there for him. He sighed, recomposed himself, and said,
"Nostradamus, real name 'Michel de Nostredame' was a French astrologer, physician, and reputed seer. There are some rumours but it was true that he had the power of clairvoyance, it was a power that allowed him to read the records of the future from 'Akashic Records'. It was also not an omnipotent power, since 'Akashic Records' is such a huge and complex entity that he could only see bits and parts of it and at his deathbed, taking his last breaths, the last words he uttered were, 'Earth....calamity...THE ONE', many beings have tried to decode what he meant but there was no progress until we came to know of the 'Outsiders' involvement in earthlings' deaths and connecting the dots, we got the conjecture that whatever this 'The ONE' is it is not in any way good for them."
"Boddh, the world will go through its first 'Great Cataclysm' in the near future. With it will come monsters strong enough to cause the extinction of an entire world through the Gates like a portal. At first, it will be a catastrophe for the world. Although the guns will work on the smaller weaker monsters but then monsters even surpassing the height of the Statue of Unity will come, stronger and fiercer than the previous ones, on whom even nukes might not work out."
"Then?! That isn't the end, right? There will be some sort of phenomenon to protect the world, won't it? Like from 'Akashic Records' or something?"
"Smart kid.", Anurak ruffled Boddh's hair in admiration.
"Yes, you are right. Even though the monsters will come through the Gates, the hope won't be lost. As seen from the past examples of other worlds, superhumans will also appear, although supernatural phenomena like qi, mana, and world energy are present in a negligible amount right now, they will increase considerably after each 'Great Cataclysm' and humans will be capable of wielding those powers to defeat the monsters. Things like swords, spears, and maces will become the norm for fighting monsters. The strong humans will have powers rivalling that of nations."
"Ugh... it's difficult to believe that Dad.... but seeing you flying and that barrier magic artefact, I guess it's all true."
"It doesn't matter if you believe it or not for it will come true and I will make you strong enough to survive this ordeal."
"How?!" Anurak could feel the boy's curiosity, his will to become stronger, and also a tinge of darkness near his heart.
'Well, it isn't easy to overcome Yuna's death.'
He could feel that Boddh had extreme hate in his heart for the outsiders who were the cause of his mother's death.
'He will pull through otherwise it would be...", he had faith in Boddh's willpower and Yuna's values that she must have taught him.
"Before I teach you how to become stronger, you need to know about our ancestors."
"We are the descendants of....", Anurak stood straight as he announced in a deep voice "...Bodhidharma!"
Anurak had a proud look on his face as revealed the name of his great ancestor to Boddh. In reply, Boddh asked, "Ummm... Who's that?" Anurak's lips twitched and ultimately the smile faded from his face.
*sigh*
'I should have seen this coming.', Anuak thought to himself.
"Our ancestor, Bodhidharma, was a Buddhist monk who was born to a great king in South India in the 5th century and lived till the 6th century, during his life, he spread Buddhism to Chinese people and at the same time also taught them martial art which is now known as Shaolin Kung-Fu. He was a great being who had opened up his 5th Chakra and had powers that no one could be his rival at that time."
"Woah!! For real?!"
Seeing the respect Boddh had for his ancestor, Anurak could finally feel proud of it.
"Now that the talk about our history is done, let's.."
*growwwl*
A strong growling sound could be heard from Boddh's stomach. Boddh's face had already turned red at the sound of it and he shifted his eyes towards the ground while whistling.
"...my mistake, let's eat first. You must also be exhausted since it's already late in the evening, let's just eat and sleep and then we can talk more tomorrow."
"Okay..."
----------------------
Boddh woke up late the next morning and although he had slept more than 12 hours he did not feel the usual tiredness or any headache instead he could feel his body more energetic and warm and even his wounds didn't hurt much now. Though Boddh did not know, Anurak had not had a wink of sleep the night before and sat by his side all night and provided him energy through his chakras to heal his wounds and make him more rejuvenated.
"Boddh, if you have woken up, get fresh and come have breakfast."
He heard his father's voice from outside his room and went outside to see his father making a South Indian dish, Masala Dosa in the kitchen. It was his favourite dish out of all the ones he had.
"Ohh! You are making Masala Dosa? That's my favourite."
"Hmmm? Yours too? Cool, it's also my favourite one. As they say, like father like son. Now go get fresh and wait for some time, it will be done soon."
"Okay."
Boddh got up, left for the bathroom, and brushed his teeth, this habit of brushing his teeth twice a day was something his mom, Yona, had engraved in his mind since he was a kid. After that, he took a bath and went to the kitchen to see his father prepare the dish. His father had a cool smile all the time while he was making it. He had already mashed the boiled potatoes and added masala, spices, onion, tomatoes, and peas to it. At the moment, he was spreading the rice batter over the flat cooking pan with a small bowl, he put a few drops of olive oil over it, and then put the mashed potatoes with all the spices mixed in it on the batter which has turned crunchy by now, then he folded it in a triangle shape using a turner and put it in a plate.
"Boddh, put the table and both the chairs outside. It's good weather out there."
He had already made the Sambar curry, coconut chutney, and also tomato one when Boddh was getting fresh. When Boddh had put the chairs and table outside, he went inside to help his father take the food outside. Although Anurak could take all of them out in one go using his powers by floating them in the air, he didn't do so and accepted Boddh's kind gesture. After that, they sat down and said their prayers before starting to eat.
"So, how's it made?", though he didn't show it, Anurak was very nervous since it was the first time he was cooking something for Boddh.
"Tastes like Mom's cooking.", muttered Boddh in a low voice as a tear formed in his voice but then he put on a bright smile and said to his father, "The BEST!!"
"Really? Then eat well and good.", it was a wholesome moment for both of them.
---------------------------
In the late afternoon.
"So, let's start with the basics first. Tell me, do you know anything about Chakras?"
"No, I don't."
"Well, it's fine. Chakras, when translated to English are called 'wheels' or 'circles'. They are lotus-shaped, internal wells of esoteric energy that flow through the human body. Human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one "physical body" and the other "psychological, emotional, mind, non-physical", it is called the "subtle body". This subtle body is energy, while the physical body is mass. The subtle body consists of energy channels connected by nodes of psychic energy called chakra. Ideas and practices involving these so-called 'subtle bodies' have existed for many centuries in many parts of the world. Like the meridians, mugdong, magic, and many more."
"There are many several chakras in the body though people believe that there are only 114 of them, they are far from the truth. There are many of them but the seven main ones are - {Muladhara (Base/Root Chakra), Svadhishthana (Sacral/Belly Chakra), Manipura (Navel Chakra), Anahata (Heart Chakra), Visuddha (Throat Chakra), Ajna (Forehead/Third Eye Chakra), Sahasrara (Crown Chakra) }."
"Beginning at the base of the spine and ending just above the head, these vortices, each associated with their distinct color and rotational speed, are said to not only connect with various types of supernatural essence but also have specific effects on different health conditions and emotions when developed and opened."
"Now answer one thing, what happens to the surrounding area if a river flow is stopped?"
"Ummmm... there will be a shortage of water and if there is no other supply of water, there might be a drought?"
"Correct. The surrounding area becomes barren and further down the stream, there will be a drought which leads to many problems like shortage of food, shortage of food leads to malnutrition, and many other diseases. Same way, when we live our life, this energy flow of our body is interrupted and some impurities enter our body preventing us from living our life to the fullest."
"Through meditation and following the techniques passed down from our ancestors, we can remove this blockage and start treading the path to a higher form of ourselves."
"Are you with me, Boddh? I know it's new knowledge and understanding it can be quite overbearing for anyone."
"No, I'm good, it's quite interesting actually."
"That's good then, now if we follow the orthodox way, the first thing to do is open up your Root Chakra also called 'Muladhara'. It is located at the base of the spine and is red in color. What it deals with is the physical aspects of the body like better finesse of the body, also sharpening your seven senses such as better sight, and increased sense of smell..."
"By the way, Dad.", Boddh interrupted Anurak mid-sentence.
"Yes? Is there something you don't understand?"
"No, nothing like that. I was just wondering what stage are you at? Seeing you all flying and stuff, you must be quite strong."
"Well, yeah, I'm strong enough to handle my fair share of troubles that come my way. And to answer your question, I've opened till..."