Morning came with a dull ache still lingering inside my body—mostly in my chest where Kalink's energy once surged…but today, something else pulled stronger than training.
Om Sai showed up at my door, stretching casually like usual. "Oi, demon boy, training starts now. Get your ass movi—"
"I want to see her first," I interrupted.
Om Sai paused for a second—his usual grin fading slightly. He didn't say anything for a moment…but instead of arguing, he simply sighed, shoved his hands in his pockets, and jerked his head toward the hospital wing. "Fine. But remember…after this, everything gets harder. No backing out."
We made our way through the quiet infirmary corridors. The sterile scent of healing herbs and mana gel filled the air. When we reached the isolated spiritual ward, I stopped.
She was there—Vayushri. Lying quietly, pale, still…it hurt to even look.
For a second, I almost didn't want to step closer.
Her once-glowing aura was flickering weakly like a dying candle. Guilt twisted in my chest—again. She got hurt protecting me. If Mother of Nature noticed she was still alive…
"We'll be in deeper shit," I muttered under my breath.
I turned, ready to leave with Om Sai.
Then—
"Ar…in…"
Her voice.
Soft. Fragile.
Barely audible…yet it echoed in my ears like a gentle ripple hitting a still lake.
I froze. So did Om Sai.
I moved before I realized it, stepping back to her bedside.
Her eyes were half-open. Cloudy. But real. Alive.
She struggled to speak again, lips trembling as if every word cost energy she no longer had.
"Y-you came…"
Om Sai immediately called for medical staff. A doctor in a white mana-lined coat rushed in with a diagnostic crystal, running quick scans over her spiritual core.
After a tense minute, the doctor finally exhaled in relief.
"She's stable. Her core wasn't destroyed—just severely drained. With enough time and exposure to natural mana, she'll recover. But…" he glanced at me, cautious, "she must avoid emotional or spiritual distress. Her bond is newly awakened and fragile."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
She's okay…
But then another thought struck me—the one I didn't want to acknowledge.
If Mother of Nature senses she's alive…will she try again?
I clenched my fists subconsciously.
Leaving the room felt heavier than expected. As we stepped out of the spiritual ward, Om Sai cracked his neck and muttered:
"All right, Arin…" He didn't joke. His voice was serious. Almost grim. "…hope you're done being sentimental."
I looked at him.
"Because from this point…" He flashed a lopsided grin that carried no laughter. "…things are going to get much worse."
And for the first time since training began, I could tell—even Om Sai wasn't sure whether I'd survive what came next.
The wind outside the UAÉ military walls felt colder than usual.
Om Sai didn't speak for the entire walk. He led me through a restricted zone behind the main training facility — a silent area surrounded by wired fences and dense fog-charred trees. The earth here was cracked, marked by old battle scars.
There were no other soldiers. No observers. Just us.
And yet…I felt like something unseen was already watching.
Om Sai finally stopped in a barren field, arms resting behind his head. "This place," he said casually, "is where people either get stronger…or beg to return as corpses."
He turned to me — smiling…but not with amusement. "You want control? Then first—" his tone dropped, voice turning razor-sharp, "—show me if your mind can still stand after everything."
My pulse tightened.
Om Sai stepped toward me slowly. "Arin. When you went berserk…what did you feel first?"
I clenched my fists. "I don't—"
"Did you ENJOY it?"
Silence.
The ground beneath me suddenly felt unstable.
Om Sai tilted his head. "Tell me. When that demon fell beneath your fist…did you feel sick…or did it feel good to hit something until it broke?"
A flash— Blood splashing across my arms. Bone cracking beneath my knuckles. My own laughter…?
I shut my eyes. "Shut up."
Om Sai didn't stop. "When her blood spilled, did you hesitate? No. You lost yourself. You were smiling."
Another flash— Vayushri's limp body shielding me…her glow breaking…her whisper: "Don't…die…"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
"Why? Because you're scared you'll like it again?" Om Sai's voice cut through like a blade. "Or scared of what you'll do if someone you care about gets hurt again?"
A third flash— Shivani, broken and bloody during the A-tier fight. Her last look before I lost control…
My heart pounded in my skull.
I took a shaky breath. "I'm not scared of myself."
"Liar," Om Sai replied instantly. Not cruel. Just certain. "You're terrified…that next time, it won't be a demon. It'll be Shivani. Or me. Or her." He jerked his chin toward where Vayushri rested. "You're afraid they'll die by your hand."
My body flinched like he'd struck me.
He had no idea how close that fear cut.
I opened my mouth to argue— —but darkness cracked at the edge of my mind like a volcanic tremor.
A distorted voice whispered inside me: "More…let me out again…"
Not Kalink. Something rawer. Hungrier.
Om Sai's eyes narrowed. He noticed.
"Arin. I told you—before we seal that thing inside you, I need to know." His expression hardened. "If your mind collapses when pressured, the seal will kill you. If you run away from fear, Kalink will swallow you. And if you lose yourself again, even I may not stop you without killing you."
The world went silent.
My throat tightened. "So what do you want me to do?"
Om Sai stepped back, rolling his shoulder like he was about to enter a ring.
"Simple." He pointed at my chest. "Fight me with everything you have — physically, mentally. No Echoform. No Kalink. Just you."
He smirked. "Let's see if Arin exists without power…or if you'll break the moment your trauma answers first."
Something inside me coiled like a tightening chain.
I didn't move.
For a moment…my legs refused to respond.
What if I lose control again? What if…what if it happens?
I looked down.
My hands were shaking.
Not from weakness.
From fear.
No…not of losing. Of hurting someone again.
A sharp burning formed in my chest.
I thought of Vayushri's broken body in my arms.
Of Shivani's tears when I staggered through the gate whispering "save her."
Of the monster's final scream beneath my fist, drowned by my own destruction.
…And something shifted.
Not confidence.
Resolve.
I exhaled slowly.
My hands steadied.
I raised my fists.
Om Sai's grin sharpened. "Finally."
And far behind us, by the cover of a ruined wall, a figure in Unit-3 coat stood silently — Shivani.
Her eyes couldn't leave me.
She didn't step forward.
She didn't speak.
But one thought haunted her expression:
Will the person I'm looking at now…still be Arin when this ends?
Om Sai didn't wait for a signal.
In the next heartbeat, his foot slammed into my side.
"Too slow."
I barely registered the blow before I was flipping through the air, slamming into scorched ground. The breath shot out of me.
"Stand," he said calmly.
I pushed myself up.
He was already in front of me — his fist burying itself into my gut.
"Fear is hesitation. Hesitation is death," he said flatly.
My body crumpled forward, coughing. I tried to swing back — but he caught my punch effortlessly.
"That's power without direction," he said, twisting my arm and flinging me aside like debris.
I crashed again. My knuckles scraped against dry rock as I tried to stand, teeth grinding.
"Stop thinking of what you're scared to lose," Om Sai said, stepping toward me slowly. "Start questioning what you're willing to stand for."
"Shut…up…" I growled, trying to charge him.
He didn't move.
Instead, he stepped aside and jabbed a thumb into a nerve in my neck — a precise strike that scrambled my rhythm entirely. I stumbled, dizzy.
And that's when it started.
Flash. Vayushri bleeding in my arms.
Flash. Shivani reaching toward me — before I lost control.
Flash— My fist shattering bone…my own laughter…
I gasped.
The world tilted.
The voice inside me stirred. "Let go. I'll handle it."
No.
No.
NO.
I staggered back, pressing my hands to my head.
Om Sai didn't stop. He stepped forward and punched me straight in the face.
"FIGHT IT WHILE YOU'RE CONSCIOUS!" he roared — for the first time losing composure.
Blood filled my mouth.
He kicked me again, hard, throwing me into the dirt.
"Or will you keep thinking power is something that USES YOU?!"
I struggled to push up — bones aching.
Every flash got worse.
The devil's horn. Blood on my hands. Vayushri not breathing. Shivani crying.
"You'll hurt them again." "You'll kill them." "You will destroy everything you touch."
I almost broke.
My hand went to my chest — where Kalink's seal pulsed.
Om Sai's voice echoed again, quieter now, but dead serious.
"Arin. Who are you?"
I panted, struggling.
"Are you just…someone else's shadow?" he continued. "A monster waiting to lose control? A child who only fights when rage takes over?"
I looked at him.
He wasn't smirking.
He wasn't mocking.
He was evaluating me. Measuring me.
"If I seal that darkness…will you stand? Or will you collapse as an empty shell?"
My breath came trembling.
The flashes kept coming.
But this time, instead of flinching away…
…I stepped through them.
Vayushri, smiling when she first played with Perin. Shivani's irritated blush when I made fun of her. Om Sai grinning like an idiot with meat in his mouth. My fists clenched.
I forced my head up — locking eyes with him.
Om Sai stood still now.
Waiting.
"I'm…" I panted, "…Arin."
No Kalink voice followed.
No darkness roared out.
Just me.
I staggered onto my feet.
Every breath hurt.
But I didn't fall back down.
Om Sai's lips curled into a slow, authentic grin.
"…Good," he murmured. Then threw another punch.
This time, I blocked.
Not with wild power.
But because I knew I could take it.
He kicked — I dodged.
He swung — I ducked and countered.
It wasn't a perfect exchange. I was still weaker. But I wasn't breaking.
A slow satisfaction formed in Om Sai's expression.
Finally, after a sharp blow to my ribs that nearly buckled me, he stepped back.
"That's enough."
I collapsed to my knees, chest burning, sweat running cold down my face.
But I was conscious.
Kalink's voice was silent.
And this time…I wasn't scared of my own heartbeat.
Om Sai stepped past me, hands in pockets.
"You passed this part," he said simply.
He didn't turn around when he added:
"Now we can proceed with sealing."
By the broken wall, Shivani's hand trembled against her chest — not because she feared Arin.
But because…for the first time since the rampage…
She saw him again.
Not the demon.
Not the anomaly.
Just Arin.
And that realization scared her more than anything.