As the sun rose over the horizon, Shiva stood over the lifeless body of Sapna.The group's faces finally relaxed in relief.Priya ran to her father, and they hugged tightly.
While father and daughter clung to each other, Shiva, Bhumi, and Forge stepped aside to talk.They had a problem—according to their rules, only the Centurions were supposed to know of their existence.Now Priya's father did too.
Before they could decide, Arjun broke the silence."Who was that woman? Who are you people? What's going on? Will someone please explain this to me?"
Priya tried to speak, but Forge raised a hand and answered calmly."Well… not exactly how you think. Whenever a Centurion is born—like your daughter—we predict the time and place of birth. When the child is born, we divide her soul into two parts: one carrying the immense spiritual energy, and the other a normal human soul. Then we replicate the body and place each soul into its respective vessel.
"The normal soul grows up as an ordinary person, while the other—your daughter—is taken in by us, trained to control her power.When she reaches the age of marriage, the two halves of the soul are reunited, their memories merged.That way, the Centurion can experience what it means to live a normal life before returning to her full self.
"When she eventually has a child, her spiritual energy naturally splits again—half to the child, half to her—and the danger of imbalance ends.It's the only way both the world and the Centurion can survive.We work in the shadows to protect them so they can live freely.It's… a win-win."
Priya and her father blinked, stunned."Oh," they both said at once.
Arjun gave a small, tired laugh."Well, let's start over. My name is Arjun, Priya's father. Thank you for saving my little girl. After her mother died, she became my whole world.""Dad, stop, you're embarrassing me," Priya muttered, blushing.
Forge smiled faintly but kept staring at Arjun, something uneasy flickering in his eyes.He was about to ask a question when his communicator buzzed.He stepped away to answer it.
While he was gone, Priya turned to the others."So… are you guys immortal or something? You've been around for a really long time."
Shiva laughed."No, we're not immortal. The Ten Protectors have existed for centuries, but the members change. There's a school where people with high spiritual energy are trained. Upon graduation, each Protector chooses a disciple and teaches them how to master their power. When a Protector dies, their disciple takes their place."
He leaned back, resting his trident on his shoulder."If a Protector dies before choosing or training a disciple, the leader of the Ten takes that responsibility. That's how the line continues."
Just then Forge returned, exhaustion visible on his face but a faint smile on his lips."We've got a mission," he said.And just like that, the next chapter of their story began.