A child stood frozen in the street, his small fingers clutching the edge of his mother's saree. His eyes were wide—too wide for wonder, trembling with fear.
"Mom… Mom!" he cried, tugging harder, his voice breaking.
She turned sharply, startled by the urgency in his tone.
"What happened, son?"
The boy lifted a shaking hand and pointed upward.
"Mom, what is that?"
Her breath caught.
She followed his gaze—and all the colour drained from her face.
At the same time, inside Kaal's house—
"Neel..." Lava said softly, a tremor running through her voice. "What is that feeling?"
She pressed a hand to her chest. "Something… strange. It's burning inside me."
Neel stiffened. His expression darkened as he slowly nodded.
"I feel it too, Lava," he said quietly. "It's not pain… but it's not normal either."
Nearby, kaal had been listening in silence. A knot formed in his stomach.
"Mom… Dad…" he asked, unease creeping into his voice.
"What's happening? What's wrong with you both?"
Neel looked at Lava—then smiled.
It wasn't a carefree smile.
It was steady. Certain.
"Lava," he said, taking her hand gently, "I think… we are changing."
Lava's eyes shimmered. She nodded, her lips trembling as she whispered,
"Yes… we are evolving."
Before Kaal could react, they pulled him into a tight embrace. Their arms wrapped around him, warm and protective.
Tears welled in their eyes—not of fear or sorrow, but of something far rarer.
Hope.
"From this moment on," Lava whispered, her voice barely holding,
"A new life begins… for all of us."
Neel tightened his hold just a little.
"Together," he said softly, "we move forward as one."
Suddenly—
Shouts. Screams. The pounding of frantic footsteps.
Neel froze.
"What's going on out there?" he muttered, already moving toward the door.
The moment he stepped outside, chaos crashed into him.
People were running—everywhere. Faces twisted in terror. Voice overlapped in panic.
"Neel!" Lava called, rushing after him with Kaal close behind.
"What's happening? Why is everyone—"
She stopped.
Mid-sentence.
Neel stood motionless, staring upward. His face had gone pale, his eyes wide with something close to dread.
"Neel?" Lava's voice cracked with unease. "What is it? Why are you just—"
Then she looked up.
Her words died in her throat.
A sharp breath escaped her lips as her eyes locked onto the impossible light blazing across the sky.
"No… no," she whispered, stumbling back. "That's not possible…"
Just moments ago, the Gray family had stood wrapped in warmth—
laughter echoing through the walls, hope blooming quietly in their hearts.
But now…
That light was gone.
The joy shattered, replaced by a silence so heavy it stole the breath from their lungs. They stood side by side, unmoving, as if time itself had frozen. And in each of their eyes lived the same unspoken thought—
We believed a new life was beginning…
But now, we're watching our end unfold.
Together, they had dreamed of a future. Now, together, they faced what felt like their final hour.
The scene shifted—
Kingdom of Evergrove.
Capital: Vrindalok.
The muffled groan of straining hands echoed softly through the chamber.
The large, circular room stretched upward, its high ceiling vanishing into shadow. Faint light pulsed along ancient markings carved into the walls. At the heart of the chamber sat Shaan kaitoke—the Green-Eyer, CEO of the Association of Evolutionary and Atmospheric Advancement (AEAA).
A middle-aged man, worm by responsibility.
Old papers lay scattered before him, their edges curled and yellowed with age. Each one whispered of imbalance. Of a world quietly slipping toward chaos.
"From the last month…" Shaan muttered under his breath, his voice tight, uneasy.
Then—
BOOM!
The impact sent papers flying, the sound cracking through the room like thunder. The fragile silence shattered under the weight of his frustration.
"It's been an entire month!" he growled, eyes narrowing.
"The Jal chakra hasn't appeared in Ironwood Land."
He stood abruptly, boots thudding against the cold stone floor as he began to pace.
"No rain. No rivers," he whispered darkly.
"Where will they get water from now?"
He stopped mid-step, the thought pressing heavily against his chest.
"If the Jal chakra fails to appear," Shaan said grimly, "then the Mana level in Ironwood isn't just low…"
His voice dropped. "It's dangerously."
A pause.
"…Critically low."
His hands trembled slightly as he lifted a weathered chart, green eyes scanning its fading symbols—desperately searching for answers that refused to reveal themselves.
He clenched his fists.
"I need to act fast."
Just then—
BANG!
The door burst open with a sound loud enough to wake the dead. Shaan spun around, his voice edged with fire.
"Do you plan on breaking the door every time?" he snapped. "What happened?"
Railu, Captain of the Atmospheric Team, rushed in like a storm given human form. Words spilled from his mouth faster than breath itself.
"Sir—the chakra device—mana surge—massive—pressure—not a kingdom—"
Shaan blinked.
Eyebrows twitching.
"W-What?"
Railu keep going, hands flailing, speech tripping over itself.
Shaan rubbed the bridge of his nose slowly, simmering frustration, then turned a sharp glare toward Railu.
"Enough," he said coldly.
He straightened.
"Railu, how many time—how many—must I tell you this?" His hand moved in exaggerated slow motion.
"Speak. Like. A. Human. Being."
A pause.
"Not like a possessed squirrel."
As Railu opened his mouth again—
Crrrrreeeeeek…
The second door creaked open painfully slow, the sound dragging on as if time itself had decided to protest.
Mailu entered.
Railu's twin brother.
Captain of the Evolutionary Team.
He stepped in so slowly, even time seemed annoyed.
"Siiir…" Mailu began, dragging the word like it weighed a ton. "It's… an… emer—"
Shaan interrupted him off before the sun could change sides. He clapped his hands slowly, sarcastically.
"Oh, lovely. Mailu."
He smiled thinly.
"Yes. Please. Take your time. Sit down, Relax. We have all day."
A pause.
"Maybe a week?"
Mailu blinked, confused. Railu stood stiff as a board. Shaan shock his head with a groan.
"You two are a walking headache," he muttered.
"No—worse."
"One's a fire alarm"
"The other's a lullaby."
"Together… you're just a butt cramp with legs."
For a moment, silence.
Then Mailu coughed. Slowly. Of course.
Railu blinked—once, then again.
Shaan turned back to his desk with a weary sigh.
"I should've hired birds instead," he muttered.
He folded his arms. The weight of his glare enough to silence both twins.
"Now," he said coldly, "say it again—clearly."
Railu straightened, swallowing his panic.
"The Chakra Device just detected a dangerously high Mana Pressure," he said. And… it didn't come from any kingdom."
The words fell like iron onto stone. Shaan's brow tightened. For the briefest second, unease flickered across his usually unreadable face.
Before he could respond, Mailu spoke—his voice slower, steadier, carrying weight.
"And… our Evolution device… also detected a dangerously high Mana Pressure too… and also it didn't come from any kingdom."
Shaan shot to his feet so fast his chair screeched across the polished stone floor.
"What?" His voice dropped, sharpened by disbelief.
"Not from kingdom—then where?"
They both fearing the answer.
"Blacknote," Mailu said, almost whispering.
"The land of Black Eye Clan."
—
After the storm in his mind cleared, Shaan took a breath, "Evolution device detected a high Mana pressure in Blacknote land, right?!"
Mailu nodded. "Yes, sir."
Shaan raised an eyebrow.
"Blacknote... hm. I did hear a businessman from our kingdom recently went there—for some labourers."
Mailu's eyes narrowed. "Sir, are you saying… what I think you're saying?"
Railu rubbed his temple. "That someone from that group may have… evolved?"
Shaan nodded once. "Yes, it's possible… but"
"But sir," Mailu interrupted, "the Mana… pressure is far too high. This couldn't have happened… by chance. This only occurs when—"
"—when someone breaks the Mana Lock of their clan for the very first time," Shaan finished quietly.
Silence followed.
Then his voice dropped to a whisper, heavy with implication.
"But that's not the real problem."
Both twins stiffened.
"The real problem," Shaan continued, eyes darkening,
"is which high-level chakra appeared there."
He turned sharply toward Railu.
"Has your team figured it out yet?"
Railu, stranding nearby, responded quickly, "Not yet, sir. But we will—soon."
"Good," Shaan murmured.
His gaze drifted downward, settling briefly on the table as his thoughts churned. He reached out, fingers closing around a glass of water.
A high-level chakra…
if it's truly dangerous, then it should be level three.
While thinking, he took a slow sip.
"Vaayu chakra…" he muttered.
"Or perhaps… Tadit chakra…"
The room remained tense—until—
BANG!
The door burst open.
A young member of the Atmospheric team stumbled into the CEO's room, chest heaving, footsteps hurried and uneven.
"Sir!" he gasped. "We—we found out what chakra it is!"
Everyone froze instantly.
Even the air seemed to still.
The young man swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he forced the words out.
"Sir… that chakra was—"
His voice cracked.
"Second-Level… Agni Chakra."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then—
The glass slipped from Shaan's fingers and shattered against the floor.
Absolute Silence.