Ash drifted from the heavens like grey snow, soft and silent, blanketing the skeletal remains of Vedangiri. The air was thick with the scent of scorched stone and burned iron. Heat still radiated off the shattered earth, waves shimring like ghostly mirages. The city was a graveyard now—once proud, now ruined.
In the center of it all, Aamir stood motionless.
Beneath his boots, blood-soaked rubble crunched.
Before him, the Abyssal Thornfiend lay still, its enormous carapace split open like a crushed insect, violet ichor steaming from the gashes they had carved into it. Its many eyes were glazed over, its thorny limbs twitching no more.
It was done.
They had won.
A soft chi echoed in Aamir’s mind, light and tallic like wind chis in a storm.
[Level Up: Level 23]
[You have defeated a Monarch-class Beast]
[New Stat Unlocked: SANITY - 98%]
[Bloodline Purity Increased: 4%]
Kunal dropped backward into the dust, arms spread wide, breath heaving.
"Well... I’m halla tired," he said between gasps, sweat clinging to his brow.
Raj limped toward a broken pillar, flopped against it, and exhaled deeply.
"I need a nap that lasts a week," he mumbled, voice barely audible over the wind.
Footsteps—light, quick, and crunching against the gravel—approached from behind. Riya and era erged from the smoke, their faces glowing with pride and disbelief.
"You guys... you did it," Riya breathed, her voice trembling at the edge of awe.
Aamir smiled faintly—but then sothing shifted.
His smile faltered.
The colors around him bled into each other like lting paint. His head throbbed. He blinked, hard.
And that’s when he saw it.
Kunal... Raj... even Seenu... their faces twisted, lips curling into sinister, unnatural grins. Their eyes—glowing, blood-red. The warmth of victory turned cold. Aamir stumbled back.
What the hell—?
His heart thundered in his chest. He couldn’t breathe.
"Aamir?" Seenu’s voice cut through the fog, sharp and grounded.
A firm grip locked onto Aamir’s shoulder. It was real. It was steady.
"Hey! You okay, man?"
Aamir blinked again.
The red-eyed monsters were gone.
Just his friends now. Dust-covered. Bruised. Breathing.
"...What was that?" Aamir muttered, shaken.
[Bloodline Purity Increase Detected]
[All Stats 2]
And then—
Luman’s voice, smooth and steady, echoed in his mind like distant thunder.
"The hallucination—that’s the bloodline. It’s evolving. Changing you. You’re not just stronger, Aamir... you’re becoming sothing else. If you don’t train your mind... you’ll lose your humanity."
Aamir’s hands clenched.
His breath caught. Sweat beaded down his temple. He felt his pulse in his throat, pounding like a war drum.
He closed his eyes.
Tightened his jaw.
"I won’t let that happen," he said.
"Not now. Not ever."
A gust of wind swept through the ruins, tossing ash into the air like swirling spirits.
And in that wind, a figure appeared—swift as shadow, silent as death.
Aafreen.
Her long coat billowed behind her, eyes locked on the battlefield. Sharp. Focused.
"Well," Kunal grinned, sitting up. "Look who finally showed up. Hey, Teach."
She didn’t respond right away.
Instead, she walked toward them, scanning each of their faces. Then her gaze dropped.
To the beast.
Its massive corpse lay sprawled across half the ruins.
"You okay?" Aafreen asked, voice laced with concern. "I felt a spike in beast presence. Rushed here as fast as I could."
Seenu pointed lazily.
"You an that thing?"
Aafreen followed his finger.
The Thornfiend’s corpse glistened in the fading light. She stared. For a mont, she said nothing.
Then... she laughed. Short. Disbelieving.
"Damn... should’ve known. You kids aren’t weak anymore."
She looked around again, more carefully this ti. "Any injuries?"
Aamir shook his head. "We’re fine."
But in her eyes, doubt flickered.
They defeated a Monarch-class beast... without losing a single one of them? These kids... they’re changing.
Suddenly, a soft hum rang out.
All of their badges—stitched onto their uniforms—began to glow.
A golden star shimred into existence beside the two they already carried.
Three stars.
They’d been promoted.
Aafreen raised an eyebrow, lips curving.
"Well... looks like the guild agrees. You earned it."
She turned to the horizon, where the sun now dipped low, casting everything in hues of burnt orange.
"This area’s secure. We’ll rest here tonight. Tomorrow, we continue the mission."
"But Ma’am," Riya asked, stepping forward, "Shouldn’t we alert the guilds about the assassin attack?"
Aafreen shook her head.
"This assessnt’s nearly done. Once we wrap it up, we’ll return to Nalanda. For now—rest."
Raj strolled over and slapped both Aamir and Kunal on the back—hard.
"Damn, you two were savage out there!"
"Ow—!" Aamir winced. "You trying to kill us again?"
"Okay, okay!" Raj laughed. "My bad."
The world softened as night approached. A fire crackled in the middle of the camp. Shadows danced on stone walls as warmth spread through their little circle. The scent of bubbling stew filled the air.
Aamir sat close to Kunal, eyes half-lidded from fatigue—but sothing still itched in the back of his mind.
"Hey... you’re this strong. Why were you holding back?"
Kunal didn’t answer right away.
He was staring at the flas, twisting a silver ring on his finger.
"I had a reason," he said quietly.
Seenu’s voice cut in, sharp. "A reason? It’s your power. You shouldn’t suppress it."
Kunal exhaled slowly.
"I know..." he murmured, "But I made a pledge."
The fire flickered in his eyes.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"I was born into the Singhaniyas... the deadliest assassin clan in the world."
Silence.
Everyone stared.
"And I swore never to use their power again."
The fire crackled, its orange light flickering in Kunal’s distant eyes. He sat still, silent, fingers slowly twisting the silver ring on his hand like a nervous tic.
"I had a reason," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Seenu frowned. "A reason? It’s your power. You shouldn’t suppress it."
Kunal let out a shaky breath, the firelight flickering across his face, catching the fine sheen of sweat on his brow. His eyes didn’t et theirs—they stayed locked on the flas, as if the answers were hidden in the dancing embers. "I know..." he whispered, voice laced with exhaustion and sothing heavier—guilt.
He tilted his head back, gaze drifting to the canopy of stars overhead—cold, distant lights in an endless sky.
They looked the sa as the night he fled. When he looked back down at the fire, his jaw tightened, muscles twitching beneath his skin, as if he were holding back words that hurt to rember.
"But I made a pledge."
The others fell silent, waiting.
Then he spoke, the words heavy—like stones pulled from his chest.
"I was born into the Singhaniyas... the deadliest assassin clan in the world."
No one moved.
Even the fire seed to pause.
He swallowed hard. "I left them behind. Left that life behind. Swore I’d never use their power again."
Seenu leaned forward, brows furrowed. "Then why now? Why break that pledge tonight?"
Kunal’s voice cracked. "Because..."
He looked at each of them—Aamir, Raj, Seenu, Riya, era—eyes filled with sothing raw and unguarded.
"Because you guys... you’re my only friends. I had to save you."
A beat of silence.
Then Seenu smiled faintly, a rare softness in his eyes. "That’s exactly why it’s your power, Kunal. And it’s not wrong to use it... to protect what matters most."
Kunal nodded, slowly.
"I know. I do. But..."
His fists clenched, knuckles white.
"Every ti I use it... I feel like I’m becoming them again. Becoming him. That cold, ruthless killer I promised I’d never be."
Aamir leaned in, watching him closely. "You’re not. Not anymore."
Kunal gave a bitter smile. "It’s not that simple."
He looked into the fire again.
"I was born into the Singhaniya family’s main branch," Kunal began, voice low but steady. "The third child. In our clan, there were no traditions like ’the firstborn inherits the title’ or ’elders decide the successor.’ There was only one law: strength rules all. And only those of pure blood—those born of the main line—were allowed to challenge for leadership. From the mont you could walk, you were expected to kill."
His voice grew quieter.
"But when I was born... no one celebrated."
The others exchanged confused glances.
"Why?" Raj asked.
Kunal let the silence stretch before answering.
"Because I was born with sothing no assassin should have—an enormous aura."
His lips curled into sothing between a laugh and a grimace.
"An aura so strong, even beasts could feel it. I couldn’t hide. Couldn’t blend. I was a walking beacon of death. For them, I was... broken."
The fire popped, sending a few sparks into the sky.
Kunal looked away, jaw set.
"So they did what they do best," Kunal said, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"They turned into a weapon.
If I couldn’t hide... then I’d be the storm. The terror. The force of execution. At five, I wasn’t a boy anymore—I was their blunt instrunt, thrown into the world with one command: kill or be discarded."
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