Only a few days remained for the tournament.
I stood in front of the lake, alone. The morning air was cool against my face. The water was still, dark, reflecting the sky above. Birds sang somewhere in the trees behind me. The world was waking up.
I thought about my practice. The countless failures. The weeks of sitting still, learning to feel, learning to listen. The waterfall. The library. The bus. Everywhere I had gone, I had carried the same goal.
Walk on water.
I had fallen so many times. Sunk. Splashed. Boiled the water once—Trayaksh bhaiya had not been happy about that.
But today felt different.
I took a deep breath. Closed my eyes.
Concentrate.
I felt my Prana. It was there now—always there, waiting. Not loud. Not wild. Just... present. Like a second heartbeat beneath my skin.
I pushed it down. Into my legs. Into my feet.
Fire erupted from my skin. Not wild. Controlled. High intense flames wrapped around my shins, my ankles, the soles of my feet. The heat was strong, but it didn't burn me. It never burned me anymore.
I opened my eyes.
The lake stretched before me. Flat. Silent. Waiting.
One step.
I lifted my right foot. Placed it on the water.
The water surface curved beneath me. Not broke. Not boiled. Curved. I felt the force of the vapor rising, strong enough to hold me. The water pressed back against my fire, and my fire pressed back against the water.
Balance.
I lifted my left foot off the ground.
My body shook. My arms windmilled. For a second, I thought I would fall—again, like always—
I steadied myself.
And placed my second foot on the water.
I stood there.
Both feet on the lake. Not sinking. Not falling.
The water held me.
The fire on my legs hissed softly, sending up thin trails of steam. The vapor cushion beneath my feet was solid. Real.
I was standing on water.
I didn't move. Didn't dare breathe too hard. The morning sun was rising behind me, painting the lake gold.
A voice came from the shore.
"Finally"
I turned my head slowly.
Trayaksh bhaiya stood at the edge of the lake, arms crossed. He wasn't smiling. But his eyes—his eyes were warm.
"How long have you been watching?" I asked.
"Long enough."
He walked toward the water. He wrapped his feet with fire just like I did. He stepped into water effortlessly and come closer to me.
"You're still shaking," he said.
"I know."
"That's fine. Shaking means you're still learning. The day you stop shaking is the day you stop growing."
I looked down at my feet. The water curved around them like glass.
"One week ago, I couldn't feel my Prana at all."
"And now?"
I looked at Trayaksh.
"Now I'm standing on water."
He almost smiled.
"The tournament is in five days."
"I know."
"Purv is strong. His water control is better than yours."
"I know."
I looked at him. There was nothing else to say.
Trayaksh turned and walked back to the shore. Stopped. Looked back at me.
"Tomorrow. Same place. Same time." He paused. "There's something I want to teach you."
He walked away.
I stood on the lake. Alone. The sun was higher now, the water sparkling.
What will be the thing he wants to teach me?
I looked at my hands. The hands that had burned dummies. The hands that had failed against Purv.
The hands that had just walked on water.
I stepped forward. One foot. Then the other.
I didn't fall.
I walked to the other side of the lake slowly, keeping my balance.
The next morning, I reached the same location. The lake was calm, the sky still dark blue fading into orange. The world was quiet.
Trayaksh bhaiya was already there. Sitting cross-legged on the grass. Facing the lake. Eyes closed. Meditating.
I walked closer. My footsteps soft on the grass.
He tilted his head slightly. Then stood up in one smooth motion.
"So you finally showed up."
"So what was the thing you want to teach me?"
Trayaksh didn't answer immediately. He looked at me. Studied me.
"So," he said slowly, "you're learning Musti Yuddha from Guru Dhyan?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Guru Dhyan is the best. His basics are solid." He cracked his knuckles. "But basics will only take you so far."
He stepped closer.
"Musti Yuddha is for fighting humans. For defending yourself when your powers fail." He raised his hands. "But you're a fire user. Your power won't always fail. Sometimes, you need to fight WITH your power. Not just throw it at someone."
He took a stance. Loose. Balanced.
"Today, I'm going to teach you how to combine Musti Yuddha with your fire."
"So," Trayaksh said, rolling his shoulders, "show me your stance."
I dropped into the stance Guru Dhyan had taught me. Feet shoulder-width apart. Knees slightly bent. Hands up. Weight balanced.
Trayaksh walked around me, studying.
"Good. Your form is clean." He stopped in front of me. "Now punch me."
I blinked. "What?"
"Punch me. Right now. No fire. Just your fist."
I hesitated. Then threw a punch at his chest.
He caught it. Easy. Like catching a ball from a child.
"Slow," he said. "Again."
I punched again. He caught it again.
"Your body is moving, but your mind is thinking too much." He released my fist. "When you punch, don't think about punching. Just punch."
I tried again. Faster this time. He sidestepped. My fist hit air.
"Better. Now add fire."
I stared at him. "Add fire?"
"Your fire comes from your Prana. Your Prana is everywhere in your body. Not just your hands. Not just your feet. Everywhere." He tapped my chest. "Your punch should carry fire. Not after you throw it. With it."
I looked at my fist.
Fire with the punch.
I concentrated. Felt my Prana rise. Flow down my arm. Into my knuckles.
Flames flickered across my hand.
I punched.
Fire exploded from my fist—too early, too wild. The burst hit the air in front of me, spent itself before it could reach Trayaksh.
He didn't even flinch.
"Too much power. Too little control." He raised his own fist. "Watch."
Fire wrapped around his hand. Not wild. Controlled. The flames moved with his fingers, followed his movements, became part of his fist.
He punched the air.
The fire didn't explode. It extended. A short burst of flame shot from his knuckles—precise, fast, controlled. It hit a tree twenty feet away. Left a black mark on the bark.
I stared.
"That's what you need to learn," Trayaksh said. "Not throwing fire. Punching fire. Your fist lands, and the fire lands with it. At the same time. Same place. Same force."
He turned back to me.
"Again."
I punched.
Too early. Fire burst before my fist was halfway.
Again.
Too late. Fire came after my fist had already stopped.
Again.
Fire flickered, died, didn't come at all.
Again.
My arm was getting tired. My Prana was getting low.
Again.
Don't think. Just punch.
Again.
Fire with the fist.
Again.
My fist shot forward. Flames wrapped around my knuckles—not exploding, not dying, just there. The fire hit the air in front of me at the same moment my fist reached its full extension.
A small burst. Not big. Not powerful.
But controlled.
I looked at my hand. The flames died down.
Trayaksh nodded. "Again."
We trained until the sun was fully up. My knuckles were raw. My arm ached. My Prana felt like a drained battery.
But I was getting it.
Not every punch. Not even most punches. But sometimes—sometimes—the fire came at the right time. My fist landed, and the fire landed with it.
Trayaksh finally stepped back.
"Enough for today."
I dropped my hands. Breathed hard.
"Tomorrow," he said, "we do it again. And the day after. And the day after that."
I nodded. Didn't have the breath to speak.
"Four days until the tournament," he said. "You won't master this in four days. But you don't need to master it. You just need to use it once. At the right moment."
"Purv won't expect fire in your fists."
"As expected, you are here, Trayaksh."
A familiar voice came from behind.
I turned to see who it was.
Samarth bhaiya. Alone. Still wearing his chest plate, the metal gleaming in the morning light.
"Oh, Samarth bhaiya." Trayaksh turned. "What are you doing here?"
"I just need your signature on this paper. For the leader of Udyama."
"Of course."
Trayaksh took the pen from him and signed quickly. Samarth tucked the paper back into his pocket.
His eyes shifted to me.
"Oh, so you're training Rag for the tournament?"
I looked at him with a cold face. Remembering how he had mocked me at the qualifying exam. "Son of Viraj. Brother of Ayansh. I expected more from you."
"Yup." Trayaksh nodded. "His first opponent is Purv."
"I know." Samarth looked at me again. That confident smile still on his face. "Well, at least your students are training. Purv and Kshitij never show up for practice."
He paused.
"Well done, Rag."
Then he turned and walked away.
Trayaksh watched him go. Then looked at my face.
"What's with that face?"
I didn't hide it. "I don't like Samarth bhaiya. He mocked me at the qualifying exam. For not performing well."
"Oh, that." Trayaksh crossed his arms. "Just forget about it. From the outside, he seems rough—and he is the leader, so he should be. But inside..." He tapped his chest. "He has a big goal."
"What goal?"
"You know about the tier system at Gurukul?"
I nodded.
"Samarth wants to end it. So that everyone can be treated equally."
I thought about the book Ruchi had been reading. The words about mastery being hidden. About lower tiers being forgotten.
"That's why he became the leader of Parakastha," Trayaksh continued. "To end the system. That's why he focuses on the overall development of his team. He doesn't discriminate based on tier."
He paused.
"But the group's entrance exam has been a rule since the group started. He couldn't change that. So I'm helping him achieve his goal." He gestured at himself. "That's why I created Udyama. A group where you don't have to give any test."
I looked at him.
So that's the case.
Trayaksh glanced at the sky. The sun was higher now.
"Well, it's about time. Let's meet tomorrow. Same place."
He walked away.
I stood there for a moment, thinking.
Samarth bhaiya wants to end the tier system.
Trayaksh bhaiya created Udyama to help.
And I'm stuck in the middle, trying to survive my first tournament.
I looked at my hands. The hands that had walked on water. The hands that were learning to punch with fire.
Maybe they're not so different from me.
I turned and walked back toward the hostel.
Tomorrow was the tournament day.
It was 7 PM. The sun had fully set, and the full moon was glowing in the purple sky. I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about the tournament.
How was Ruchi doing? How was Mukund doing?
Had they trained enough? Were they scared too?
My phone rang. I picked it up. Trayaksh bhaiya.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hey, Rag. Come to the park right now. I have to teach you one last thing. Come fast."
"But this late—"
He hung up.
I ran.
The park was empty. The moon hung low over the lake, casting silver light across the water. Trayaksh bhaiya sat on a bench, looking up at the sky.
He saw me approaching. Stood up.
"What do you know about mastery?"---
too be continued.....