The room froze for a heartbeat.
Anish's words echoed like a thunderclap in the silence:
"It's already gone… to the one it chose."
Zor, Raftar, and Naman's expressions darkened instantly.
A month's worth of effort—
tracking, manipulating, and waiting for the perfect moment to ambush Anish—
had just gone up in smoke.
Their entire plan hinged on one assumption:
that the broken piece of the Brahmastra was with him.
And now, with one defiant sentence, Anish shattered that illusion.
Before they could process further, a distant echo of footsteps and the metallic thrum of approaching vehicles reached their ears from outside.
Raftar's eyes widened.
"____"
"That's… them."
Reinforcements had arrived.
Naman's voice turned cold and decisive.
"We're done here. Move."
Zor cursed under his breath, rage bubbling in his veins.
"Then he's not leaving either."
Without hesitation, Zor raised his pistol—
and fired four sharp, brutal shots into Anish's torso.
The bullets thudded into flesh and bone, one after another.
Anish jerked with each impact, blood spraying across the concrete, but his eyes never left Naman's.
Even as life slipped from him, Anish smiled faintly.
"You'll never reach him…"
Zor turned away, and the three darted toward a hidden exit behind a stack of broken crates.
Their escape route had been prepared days ago, an underground tunnel rigged with traps.
Smoke bombs ignited in their wake, clouding the room in thick, choking fog.
Doors burst open moments later.
Armed Brahmansh operatives poured in, led by the Varanasi sector in charge.
But they were seconds too late.
The trio was gone, vanished into the dark underbelly of the city.
The soldiers rushed to Anish's side.
One of them, immediately, called for a healer unit.
"He's still breathing—barely! Get a healer here now!"
Anish's eyes fluttered open one last time.
The pain was unbearable, but something stronger kept him conscious—
a thought, an image etched in his mind since he last spoke with Guru Arvind.
Two weeks ago…
In his office lined with ancient relics, Guru Arvind had said:
"He's not just a boy, Anish. He's the one the Brahmastra chose. That alone means something."
Anish had hesitated.
"You want me to entrust one of the most volatile Astra known to mankind… to a teenager?"
Guru Arvind had smiled with quiet conviction.
"Not just any teenager. One born of fire and forged in fate."
Eventually, reluctantly, Anish had agreed, and secretly transferred the broken Brahmastra piece to the Gurukul.
But he still carried doubt—
worry about whether the boy could carry the weight of the divine.
Now, bleeding out and betrayed, Anish finally understood. The enemies had made their move.
Fate had begun its turn.
The boy would be tested.
As the scene faded, Anish lay in a pool of blood, whispering a name through cracked lips:
"Rudra…"
The agents leaned in, trying to catch his words as his consciousness slipped away.
He'd never met the boy.
But in this moment, he believed.
As the black SUVs sped away from the burning warehouse, the Brahmansh agents worked swiftly and methodically.
Anish Shetty, barely clinging to life, was loaded into a secure medical van equipped with healing enchantments and modern technology.
The sirens blared as the van raced toward the nearest high-security facility hospital in Varanasi—
one designated for Brahmansh emergencies.
Inside the vehicle, healers hovered over Anish, trying to stabilize him.
One of them grimly muttered,
"Four shots. It's a miracle he's still breathing."
Gurukul...
Meanwhile, at the Gurukul, Guru Arvind stood near the meditation pond, sensing the turbulent energy in the air.
His crystal communicator lit up, and he answered without opening his eyes.
The voice on the other end was tight with urgency.
"Guru Arvind. We've secured Anish Shetty. He's alive… barely. Four gunshot wounds, but the medics are giving their all."
Guru Arvind's face remained calm, but his jaw clenched.
"____"
"And the attackers?"
The in-charge let out a frustrated sigh.
"Naman, Zor, and Raftar—gone. Our men are on their trail, and aerial scouts have been dispatched. They had an escape route prepared. We're trying to trace their movements now."
A heavy silence passed.
"____"
"Keep me informed,"
Guru Arvind said, ending the call.
He turned slowly, his expression now carved with resolve.
Time was running out.
The enemies had shown their hand.
Next Day...
A cool breeze rustled the leaves, carrying a sense of anticipation.
The dense woods near the Gurukul—
usually a place of nature and beautiful—
now felt ominous, as if they knew what was coming.
Rudra stood before the entrance, dressed in a reinforced training outfit, his hair tied back in a sharp ponytail, eyes steady and focused.
Beside him stood Amirtha, clipboard in hand, though her usual composed expression was clouded with concern.
"This trial..."
she began,
"isn't just a walk in the woods, Rudra. You have to clear five checkpoints. Each one more brutal than the last."
She paused, her voice dropping slightly as if weighing every word.
"First checkpoint: A deadly obstacle course. With traps and hidden weapons—blades, spikes, swinging axes—some can seriously injure... or worse."
Rudra nodded without a word.
"____"
Nod~
"Second checkpoint: Wild predators. You might face venomous snakes, lions, tigers—any dangerous beast the forest hides. No help. No mercy."
"Third: You'll have to fight five armed and trained men. Close combat. They'll treat you like a threat, not a friend."
Rudra stretched his arms slightly.
Chuckle~
"Sounds like a warm-up."
Amirtha narrowed her eyes but continued.
"Fourth: This one's more cunning. A hide-and-seek challenge. Ten armed men will track you. You're not allowed to attack them. You have to lose them, cover your tracks, and escape undetected."
"Fifth and final checkpoint: The most peaceful… and the most frustrating. Among thousands of decoys, you must find the real broken piece of the Brahmastra. It won't call to you unless you're ready."
She closed her clipboard and looked up at him, her voice softer now.
"All of this… must be completed in three days."
A silence settled between them.
"____"
"____"
Amirtha looked at him, brows slightly furrowed.
Frown~
"Rudra… are you really ready for this? You can back out now. No shame in it."
Rudra blinked, then smirked.
Smirk~
"I have to pass. Someone's gotta save my childhood crush from getting harassed by her ex someday."
Amirtha blinked, caught off guard—
then broke into a laugh, smacking his shoulder.
"Idiot."
He grinned.
As she turned to leave, she looked over her shoulder, her voice suddenly serious again.
"Don't be reckless. The Brahmastra won't mean a thing if you don't survive to claim it. Keep your eyes open. Trust your instincts. And... come back alive."
Rudra gave a confident nod, then slowly stepped into the woods.
The air itself seemed to shift.
The breeze that rustled through the leaves felt warm and familiar as if the forest had just exhaled in recognition.
Birds chirped a little more rhythmically, and the trees swayed slightly—
as though whispering a quiet welcome.
"So… you remember me, huh?"
Rudra whispered with a small smile, brushing his fingers across a nearby tree trunk.
The bark pulsed faintly beneath his touch.
His rare ability, the Nature's Son trait, once again proved its worth.
Whenever he entered forests, grasslands, or areas teeming with life, he was never alone.
Over the years, he'd discovered he could sense, understand, and even communicate with various creatures—
elephants, cats, dogs, squirrels, rats, mosquitoes, bees, flies, lizards, ants—
a list that seemed to grow slowly over time.
Today, it gave him an edge.
A very real one.
As he walked deeper, his eyes darted left—
and he paused.
"____"
There, almost completely invisible in the underbrush, was a pressure-triggered spike trap.
Lethal to anyone unaware, but his instincts screamed a silent warning just in time.
He squatted down, carefully noting the markings on the ground.
"Looks like they're not pulling any punches,"
He muttered, pulling out a small stone and tossing it just beyond the wire.
Snap! Clank!—
the spikes shot out with a deadly hiss before retracting.
He exhaled calmly.
"Alright. Let's dance."
As he continued forward, a small squirrel chattered excitedly to itself holding a acorn in his hand from a branch above, tail twitching.
Rudra looked up, smiling.
"Hey, Be careful..."
Seeing Rudra's antics of testing the trap the squirrel noticed it screamed putting the acorn down which was clearly heard by Rudra.
"____"
Noticing it had put down his favourite acorn had slipped its hand it vanished into the woods in search of it.
As Rudra carefully avoided another near-invisible tripwire, a sudden rustle of leaves and thump! caught his attention.
A bright red squirrel zipped down from a tree and landed on a low branch just above his head.
Its eyes were wide, tail twitching like a metronome on caffeine.
It was the same squirrel he had seen just a minute ago.
"Ooooh! You can hear me, can't you? Like hear-hear, not just squeak-squeak,"
the squirrel blurted out, bouncing excitedly from one paw to the other.
"That's sooooo weird and cool and weird and cool—WAIT, who are you again?!"
Rudra chuckled, raising an eyebrow.
Chuckle~
"Name's Rudra. You?"
"Name? OH! I don't know, never needed one! Everyone just calls me 'Hey! Stop chewing that!' or 'Get out of my bag!' or 'Where's my food?!'"
the squirrel said, spinning in place.
"You're… kind of hyper,"
Rudra said with a grin.
"Hyper?! I am ENERGY! I had three berries and a weird glowing mushroom this morning, and now my brain is like—BRRRZZZCHZZTT!"
It buzzed and wiggled, then leaned in suddenly, squinting at Rudra.
"Soooo, you're the nature guy, huh? Trees like you, bugs like you, even the boring old owl likes you!"Then, it gasped.
"Wait—are you one of those special tree people my grandma told about who can make it rain food?!"
it asked hopefully, eyes sparkling.
Smirk~
"Not unless traps count as food,"
Rudra smirked, pointing toward the blades buried under the leaves nearby.
"Ooooh, traps. Right. Yup. Deadly. Don't touch. Got it. Definitely not food. OH LOOK! A MOTH!"
The squirrel instantly darted off, tail flicking behind it, then zipped right back two seconds later.
"I'm back! What were we talking about? Wait—wait—did I say I'm back? I'm back! Oh yes! You're going that way, right? Don't step on the mossy rock. It's spring-loaded! Also, a bird pooped on it earlier. Ew."
Rudra stifled a laugh, crouching beside the mossy rock with a grateful nod.
"Thanks. You're actually really helpful, you know?"
"REALLY?! Nobody ever says that! I mean—unless I steal nuts from a snake. Then I'm technically helpful. Because I make the snake chase me and not the others. But then the snake catches me and it's a whole thing…"
"Alright, alright,"
Rudra said, rising and patting the squirrel on the head gently.
"Stick around if you want, just... try not to distract me too much."
"Got it! Total focus. Like a ninja. A red, fuzzy, easily distracted ninja. LET'S GO!"
The squirrel did a twirl, then scurried ahead on the branch above as Rudra smiled to himself and stepped fully into the first challenge.
Gurukul –
The Observation Hall...
Inside the central hall of the Gurukul, a massive screen shimmered with a live feed of Rudra moving through the dense woods.
The image, projected by one of the observation orbs floating above, displayed his every step with crystal clarity.
Guru Arvind stood calmly with his hands put in his pocket, eyes fixed on the screen.
Around him stood a group of distinguished members of the Bramansh Council, their expressions a blend of curiosity and analysis.
Amirtha, Shiva, Sandeep, Ravi, Tejas, Meena, Junoo, and several other students were also gathered, tense but excited, their eyes wide with anticipation.
They were witnessing a historical movement the trail for Brahmastra.
A bearded elder council member leaned slightly forward as Rudra paused at the forest's edge.
On-screen, Rudra's eyes scanned the surroundings, his posture sharp—
then without hesitation, he sidestepped a mossy patch and crouched beside what looked like a perfectly hidden tripwire.
"Hmm…"
the elder murmured, stroking his beard.
"He noticed it almost instantly. His instincts are refined."
Another council member, a woman with silver-lined glasses and an eagle-topped staff, nodded thoughtfully.
"It's one thing to be trained to spot traps… but quite another to feel them. His body moved before his eyes even fully registered. That is innate sensitivity."
Amirtha, standing a bit tense, let out a relieved breath.
"That's Rudra… always has a knack for reading his surroundings. Almost like nature talks to him."
The younger students gasped as they watched Rudra pause again—
and then the most unexpected thing happened.
"____"
"____"
"____"
A red squirrel zipped into view, its tail flicking excitedly.
Rudra tilted his head, and as he crouched, the two clearly began to interact.
Rudra chuckled, the squirrel squeaked rapidly, spun in circles, and even hopped back and forth.
Though the observers couldn't hear the exact conversation, the screen enchanted to capture emotions and reactions made it clear:
They were communicating.
A third council member, older and seemingly sceptical until now, adjusted his position.
"He can… speak to animals?"
The woman with the glasses nodded slowly.
Nod~
"No. Not speak. Connect. That squirrel's responses are too nuanced for it to be a coincidence. This goes beyond simple affinity."
Guru Arvind, with a slight, proud smile, finally spoke.
"He carries a spirit that aligns with life around him. Like it runs deep in his blood."
Meena leaned toward Tejas and whispered,
"Did he always do that? Like... talking to squirrels?"
Tejas whispered back,
"Last time he talked to a dog and the dog brought back our entire lunch bag. Including my hidden chocolate stash."
Sandeep grinned.
"The forest probably wants him to pass."
Even the stoic Junoo allowed a faint smile to creep onto her lips as she watched the red squirrel excitedly spin around Rudra's feet again before pointing him toward something in the brush.
One of the younger Bramansh members muttered,
"If he already has the favor of nature... the remaining trials will be fascinating."
Guru Arvind, without turning, simply said,
"This is just the beginning. He has three days to prove he's worthy of carrying the Brahmastra."
The screen shifted to show Rudra, now stepping forward with determined eyes, vanishing into the foliage—
toward the first trial.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review!!! And power stone!!!
Which will motivate me more.