The drifting ruin groaned and twisted as dimensional pressure tightened around it. The shadows writhed like living creatures, pulling at the broken beams and fractured stones. At the center of this collapsing world, two figures stood facing each other—one a nightmare of void-black flesh, and the other wearing a half-divine, half-demonic mask that glimmered with cold moonlight.
Skanda and Narvan.
The monster's crooked smile widened, stretching its mouth into a horrifying crescent. A pulse of invisible force shot outward from its body.
FWUM!
Skanda's limbs froze instantly.
A crushing weight pressed down on him, pinning his feet to the ground as if gravity itself had turned into shackles.
He didn't flinch.
Instead, he spoke calmly.
"So… it really is you," he said. "Kroor."
At the far corner of the room, Lioran lay broken and bleeding, his breath slipping in and out of consciousness. His eyes widened upon hearing the name.
"Kroor…?" he whispered weakly.
Skanda didn't turn. His gaze remained fixed on the monster.
"You possess a rare ability," he said. "A power that immobilizes anyone through presence alone—one that works through touch, sight, and aura."
Lioran's trembling eyes widened.
He remembered.
When Kroor appeared… he froze instantly.
When Kroor held Aishwarya and Sharin… they went numb.
When Lioran punched it… touching Kroor's skin froze him again.
"It really was… that ability…" Lioran murmured.
Kroor let out a soft, delighted hiss. Its body shivered with excitement as the corrupted aura around it thickened.
Skanda continued, almost casually:
"Yes… quite a powerful skill." He tilted his head slightly. "But—"
He lifted one foot.
And stepped forward.
Breaking free from Kroor's aura as though it were nothing.
Kroor's smile vanished.
Skanda rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. "It doesn't work on me."
Lioran's injured heart thumped.
"He… moved…? Even under Kroor's presence?"
Skanda vanished.
SWISH—
Before Kroor could react—
THAAM!!
Skanda appeared at its stomach and struck with a clean, devastating blow.
Kroor's body folded inward.
A spray of purple-black blood burst from its mouth as it was launched across the room, crashing into the far wall hard enough to punch a crater into the steel.
Lioran stared, stunned.
"He moved freely in its aura… and even when punching it… he didn't freeze…"
His breath trembled. "Skanda… is strong enough to completely overpower its ability…"
Kroor rose slowly, trembling with rage. Its ghastly smile distorted as darkness poured from its skin. It raised its left hand, black energy gathering thickly in its palm.
The attack shot toward Skanda like liquid shadow.
Skanda didn't blink.
Instead… he removed the demonic half of his mask.
As soon as that side of his face was revealed—
The black energy bent midair.
SHWEEEP—
Instead of hitting him…
It flowed directly into his exposed left eye.
Lioran's jaw dropped.
"W–WHAT?!"
The energy continued pouring in—streams of darkness being devoured by that eye like a bottomless abyss. Skanda stood still, unbothered, as the last strands of Kroor's attack were swallowed whole.
When the energy finished, Skanda calmly replaced the demonic half of his mask with a soft click.
Kroor stopped moving.
Even the void trembled in confusion.
Lioran's entire world shook.
"He… absorbed all of it… into his eye…"
Skanda tilted his head. "Is that really all the power you possess?"
Kroor screeched in fury.
It slammed its hand onto the ground.
BWOOOOOM!
Black eruptions burst everywhere—pillars of corrupted Prāṇa shooting upward like geysers.
The ground shook violently. Floors shattered. The entire building began to collapse.
But Skanda—
He moved through the blasts as if strolling through falling raindrops.
He dodged effortlessly, weaving between explosions with smooth, elegant steps. Each eruption passed harmlessly past his cloak.
"He's… untouchable…" Lioran whispered.
But the building could not withstand Kroor's tantrum. The remaining floors buckled.
The entire structure began collapsing downward.
Lioran, suspended in the air, reached out desperately.
Through blurring vision, he spotted Aishwarya and Sharin falling unconscious toward the abyss.
"No—!!"
He stretched his remaining arm, reaching for them.
But nothing responded.
His body was too broken.
His leg shattered.
His chest pierced.
His right arm gone.
"I… can't… reach them…" he whispered painfully.
He watched helplessly as the two people he wanted to protect fell into the darkness.
Tears welled in his eyes.
"Why… why am I so weak…?" His voice trembled. "If I were stronger… I could save them… If I were stronger… I could save everyone…"
His voice cracked.
"If I were stronger, I could keep my promise…"
His entire spirit shook with helpless rage.
Then—
Skanda appeared beneath them in an instant.
WHOOSH!!!
He grabbed Aishwarya and Sharin, one in each arm, before they plunged into the void, then shot across the collapsing rooms to catch Lioran as well. With a swift movement, he placed all three safely on a stable surface of concrete drifting within the void.
He knelt beside them briefly.
"Just a little longer," Skanda said softly. "I'll end this soon."
He stood and walked toward Kroor like a shadow sliding across the moon.
Lioran watched, barely breathing.
Lioran looked down at his trembling left hand.
Golden light flickered faintly.
"When I first awakened this power… I thought I became strong," Lioran whispered.
He closed his eyes.
Images flashed.
Defeating his first Narvan.
Mastering Golden Burst.
Fighting Bheem.
Growing stronger each day.
"But if I'm strong…" his voice cracked, "…then why can't I protect the people closest to me?"
His vision blurred again.
"When I saw Kroor eating my hand…" His entire body shook. "…I froze. Every part of me trembled. I… I was terrified."
His fist tightened.
"I'm weak. After everything… I'm still weak."
A single tear fell and landed on his glowing hand.
But then—
His fist glow intensified
"Can a weakling like me save anyone…?" he whispered. "Can a weakling like me keep even a single promise…?"
Suddenly a strange color bled into the golden light.
Black and white flames flickered from his fist. Soft at first, then stronger, then wilder—like two opposing energies battling for dominance.
TO BE CONTINUED…