The next day.
Ahaan sat on the table near the window, his small body still and his eyes fixed on the light outside. To anyone watching, he looked like a quiet child enjoying the morning.
But his mind was nowhere near the window.
It was still inside the library. Still inside those books.
His thoughts kept pulling him back to that day in his past life—to the moment light had burst from Neel and Lava. At that time, he had not understood why both of them had reacted as if they had witnessed a god descend before them. But now, after reading those books, the scattered pieces had finally begun to fit together.
They had broken their Mana Locks.
And Neel—
Neel had been the first in his clan to do it. That was why the King's Mark had appeared on his back.
Ahaan understood now what even Neel and Lava themselves had not fully grasped in that moment. The mark was proof. Proof that the one who awakened first had become the king of the clan. The first to break the lock possessed the greatest mana, and from that point onward, his bloodline became royal. That was why kings and their direct families stood above the rest of their clan. That was why they were the strongest. And according to the books, the King's Mark could even be passed down through the next generation of that same family.
So that was it.
That was the truth hidden behind the light.
Ahaan stared out the window, his little face unreadable.
He had left the library with more knowledge than before, but that knowledge had done something else too. It had stirred his past memories more clearly, but without giving him back the emotions tied to them. He could see those memories now like scenes carved into glass—sharp, precise, impossible to deny.
Yet he still could not truly feel them.
And somehow, that made everything worse.
It irritated him. It angered him.
The feeling of remembering everything and still being unable to grasp it properly made his jaw tighten. Without thinking, he bit his lip and punched the table with all the force his tiny body could gather.
Ahaan froze. Then his face twisted.
"Ahhhh—!"
Pain shot through his hand so hard his eyes watered instantly. He grabbed his fist with the other hand and nearly folded in on himself, forced into offended silence by the sheer betrayal of his own body.
What kind of useless body is this…?
I hit one table and almost died. Wonderful. Truly terrifying power.
That thought only made him more irritated. So, of course, he hit the table again.
"I'm some kind of—ahhh—I forgot—!"
The second burst of pain shot straight up his arm. His whole face scrunched in suffering, and for several deeply humiliating seconds, Ahaan could only sit there clutching his fist like a tragic hero defeated by furniture.
From that day onward, he began reading everything he could about Mana Locks and human evolution. He had no intention of standing helpless ever again. Not with this new family. Not now. Not when he had already lost one.
If this world respected strength, then he would gain it.
He just had to find the method. Unfortunately, most books were either too vague, too dramatic, or explained important things in the most useless way possible.
But after enough searching, one method began appearing again and again—
Meditation.
To feel the inner flow of energy. To quiet the body. To search inward until mana revealed itself. To sense it with every part of one's being.
So, Ahaan began.
Every day he meditated. Every day he read. Every day he repeated the same process with stubborn determination.
One day, from the doorway, Saanvi's soft voice called out, "Rey… come here."
Reyansh walked over. "What happened, Saanu?"
She pointed inside with the expression of someone who believed she had just discovered a small miracle. "Look there… Ahaan."
Reyansh looked in—
and stopped.
Ahaan sat on the floor in a meditation posture, back straight, tiny hands resting on his knees. A book lay open before him, its pages spread wide, making it look as though he were studying and cultivating at the same time.
Reyansh blinked once. Then again.
"Saanu…" he said slowly, still staring inside. "Isn't that a little weird?"
Saanvi turned to look at him.
He coughed lightly and corrected himself. "I mean… sometimes it feels like Ahaan is too grown for a child who is only six months old."
Saanvi's expression softened, and a smile touched her lips. "Hmm… I feel that too." Her gaze returned to Ahaan, warm and full. "But I am happy. God gave me the chance to become the mother of two brave and smart children."
Reyansh placed a hand over his chest in mock injury. "Please don't forget me. I'm their father. I contributed."
Saanvi laughed quietly.
Then something clicked in Reyansh's mind. "Wait… where is our other brave child? Rowan?"
"Oh!" Saanvi brought her hands together in sudden remembrance. "You weren't here at that time. He left two days ago to continue his training."
"So early?" Reyansh frowned. "He still had time."
While the two of them continued whispering outside the door, Ahaan sat with his eyes closed and thought with full annoyance:
They really think I can't hear them.At this rate, I won't unlock any Mana Lock. I can't focus.
Still, he continued.
Days turned into months. Months turned into years.
And then—
Six years later.
Ahaan sat in the centre of his room, legs folded, back straight, breathing slow and controlled. His body had grown stronger over time. He had kept reading, kept exercising, kept meditating. Every single day, without fail, without excuses.
And still —
Nothing.
After several long moments, he opened his eyes in disappointment and let out a long, suffering breath.
"Ahh… what the hell," he muttered. "It's been six years, and I still can't feel even a single spark of energy inside me."
He looked a little irritated. "I read every single book on Mana Locks, and still I fail."
Ahaan stood up, frustrated, and left his room. "I need fresh air before I start insulting every author in this kingdom."
But the moment he stepped into the hall, he noticed something felt different. The house was busy.
Maids were running here and there, decorating walls, arranging flowers, carrying trays, straightening cloths, dusting things that definitely did not need dusting. It looked less like a normal day and more like a festival preparing to happen.
Ahaan frowned and walked toward his parents, who were speaking nearby. "What happened?" he asked. "Why is everyone decorating the house?"
Reyansh turned, immediately brightened, and lifted him into his arms with an enormous smile. "Ahaan, your big brother is coming home!"
Ahaan blinked. "What? Isn't he still in the academy?"
Saanvi smiled warmly. "He completed his studies."
That made Ahaan genuinely pause.
He completed the academy that quickly…?
Then his expression darkened just a little.
Amazing. He finished the academy, and I still can't even unlock one miserable Mana Lock. Wonderful. Truly inspiring.
But then another thought came.
Wait… that's good. I can ask Rowan how he broke his.
Ahaan immediately decided this was the first useful thing the day had offered him.
A few hours later, Rowan finally returned to Cyan House.
The carriage stopped before the gate, and the moment he stepped down, his foot touched his hometown's soil after five long years. He looked older now—sharper around the edges, taller, calmer—but the happiness on his face was real. He entered the house, and the warmth that greeted him nearly swallowed the hall.
"Mother… Father," Rowan said, smiling as he embraced them. "It's been so long." Then he touched their feet and hugged them, and when his gaze finally found Ahaan, his smile deepened.
"Oh, Ahaan… you've gotten big."
Ahaan looked at him and replied simply, "You too, brother."
Rowan paused for a second.
Then laughed softly and picked him up. "Ahaan, even your voice is cute now. You have no idea how much I missed you."
Ahaan's face remained calm, but inside he was already protesting.
…Okay, okay, that's enough. Put me down. I'm not a pillow. Ahh — he hasn't changed in these years.
Later, once the first excitement had settled, the family sat together, ate together, talked together, and let the house breathe again with laughter. For a little while, Cyan House felt full in the gentlest way.
That night, when the house had gone quiet and the cool night air had softened everything, Rowan and Ahaan sat beneath the stars.
Rowan looked up at the sky and asked, "So, what have you been doing all these years?"
Ahaan let out a small breath. "Nothing much. Just reading and meditating."
Rowan glanced at him. "Oh. So, you were trying to break your Mana Lock."
Ahaan nodded. "Hmm. But nothing happened. I still can't feel any energy inside me." He turned his head slightly and looked at Rowan more directly. "Tell me. How did you do it?"
Rowan was silent for a moment.
Then he said, "I don't know."
Ahaan slowly turned toward him with the kind of look that suggested he was only one breath away from filing a formal complaint against the heavens.
"What do you mean, you don't know? Didn't you meditate?"
"No," Rowan said simply.
Ahaan immediately looked away in disgust.
Who even wrote those books? Six years. Six fucking years. I followed breathing techniques written by frauds.
His face became so deeply offended that Rowan nearly laughed.
And then Rowan actually did.
He laughed softly and nudged his shoulder. "Bro, there's no shock in that. Of course, you can't evolve now. It's impossible. No one evolves before ten."
That made Ahaan pause. Then—
He grumbled inwardly, his tiny face darkening with pure irritation.
They had somehow managed to fill entire books with useless nonsense, yet not one of them thought to include the thing that actually mattered.
Then Rowan's expression softened, the humour fading into something more thoughtful. "I just remember that I was angry. Very angry. I had left the house around that time, and I felt emotions so heavily that it was like something inside me broke open. Then light started coming out from me… and I evolved."
Ahaan fell silent.
So that was how Rowan had done it.
Then Ahaan remembered—In his past life, when his parents had evolved, the same thing had happened. They had been overwhelmed with emotion that day—happy, deeply happy—and then the light had appeared.
Ahaan's brows slowly drew together.
…Why had they been so happy that day?
He had been happy too—he remembered that much. But before he could ask Rowan anything further, hurried footsteps broke the moment.
A maid rushed toward them, breathing hard. "Master Rowan—Young master—Madam Cyan… something happened to her!"
Both of them stood immediately and ran inside. Another servant had already gone to call a doctor.
The doctor arrived quickly and entered Saanvi's room while everyone waited outside with growing worry. Reyansh sat at the bedside, holding Saanvi's hand tightly. Rowan stood nearby, tense. Ahaan stayed quiet, watching, worry sitting still and heavy in his chest.
After examining her, the doctor remained silent for a few seconds.
Then a smile slowly touched her lips.
"Mr. Cyan," she said, "it is good news. You are going to become a father again."
The room fell silent for one heartbeat.
Then joy burst through it.
Rowan immediately picked Ahaan up with a huge smile. "Ahaan, we're going to become big brothers!"
The maids broke into delighted chatter. Some hugged one another. Others rushed off to bring sweets. And for one brief, glowing moment, the whole house felt lighter—as if happiness itself had entered and filled every corner.
For a moment, Reyansh still seemed too stunned to react.
Then Saanvi opened her eyes weakly, and the doctor leaned toward her with a smile. "Congratulations, Mrs. Cyan. You are going to become a mother."
Saanvi's face lit up. She looked at Reyansh, and for a moment he simply stared at her—as if he had forgotten how words worked. Then he bent down and embraced her, smiling in a way so full of relief and happiness that it made the whole room feel warm.
But at that same moment—
Inside Saanvi's mind, those cruel words returned.
You will never give birth to a living baby.
Her smile trembled. So slightly that almost no one noticed.
Everyone in the room was happy. Too happy.
But Ahaan had gone still.
His face went blank, because in that instant, he remembered. That was why they had been so happy that day—in his past life. This moment. This exact kind of joy. He had felt it too, standing in a room just like this one, surrounded by the same warmth.
And then—
Something moved inside him. A sound reached him from somewhere deep within his body. Not a voice. Not a thought.
The shaking sound of chains.
Ahaan froze.
Around him, Cyan House had already erupted into celebration. Laughter filled every corner of the room. Happiness spread from one heart to another—everyone relieved, everyone already dreaming of the child yet to come.
But they had no idea that on that same night, another figure had quietly entered the kingdom—
a man who had already accepted the contract to slaughter the Cyan family.
To be continued…