Karma pulled a heavy wooden chair from the nearest desk and dragged it over. He sat down facing the old librarian, wincing slightly as the bruises on his ribs protested. The library was completely silent, the evening shadows stretching across the dusty floorboards.
The old man had safely hidden his ruined magazine in a drawer. He leaned back in his leather chair, his messy gray hair catching the dim light. He looked at Karma with a suddenly serious, piercing gaze.
"Tell me, boy," the old man began, his voice echoing softly in the massive room. "What do you think is the oldest species to ever walk this Earth?"
Karma blinked, thrown off by the sudden history quiz. "Uh... dinosaurs? But they went extinct millions of years ago because a giant meteorite hit the planet."
The old man smirked, letting out a dry chuckle. "Yes, that is the truth... superficially. What they teach you in regular schools is only half the story. The meteorite didn't just bring fire and destruction, Karma. It brought something else. A strange, cosmic energy."
Karma leaned forward, his pain forgotten. "Energy?"
"Yes. We call it Pran Energy," the old man explained, his eyes darkening. "When that meteorite collided with Earth, the physical explosion wasn't actually big enough to wipe out the whole planet. But the Pran Energy it carried leaked out. It spread through the air, the water, and the soil. The climate changed drastically. The dinosaurs couldn't adapt to this new, heavy cosmic energy... so they died out."
Karma sat frozen, his mind racing. This sounded like a sci-fi movie, but the old man was completely serious.
"Thousands of years passed," the old man continued. "Then, humans were born. Because our ancestors evolved in a world soaking in Pran Energy, something incredible happened. A small percentage of humans developed a genetic mutation. Their bodies adapted to absorb and control this energy. Those rare individuals... were the first Pranists."
Pranists. Karma remembered Daizy calling Sera a Pranist near the lake.
"When a Pranist absorbs this energy into their body, it doesn't just float around," the old man said, raising a hand. He pointed a finger at Karma's chest. "It gathers inside you. It condenses. Over time, this condensed energy forms a core. We call these cores Chakras."
The old man leaned forward, his voice turning into that of a strict teacher. "There are exactly 7 Chakras a human can unlock. Listen closely, because this is the law of our world."
The librarian held up his fingers, counting them off one by one:
1st Chakra: "Unlocks basic energy flow. Your reflexes, speed, and senses become sharper. You used this instinctively when you attacked me with your Storm Hand Style."
2nd Chakra: "Physical enhancement. Your bones become like iron, your muscles can crush stone. You gain superhuman body strength."
3rd Chakra: "This is the turning point. When you awaken the third core, you unlock your Personal Ability or Signature Skill. It is entirely unique to your personality and soul."
Karma's eyes widened. Sera, he thought. Daizy said Sera had awakened her 3rd Chakra. That's why she had that terrifying flower-scent illusion!
"Examples?" Karma asked quickly.
"Anything," the old man shrugged. "Shadow control, manipulating sound, gravity push, elemental fire... or mind-bending illusions."
4th Chakra: "Ability Evolution. Your signature skill mutates and becomes vastly more powerful and complex."
5th Chakra: "Advanced Techniques. The user can perform large-scale attacks and manipulate the environment around them."
6th Chakra: "Special Form. The Pranist's physical body merges with their energy, allowing them to transform into higher states of being."
7th Chakra: "The Ultimate State." The old man's voice dropped to a whisper of awe. "When all seven are open, a Pranist transcends normal limits. They can project a massive Energy Avatar—like an impenetrable energy armor, a towering giant spirit form, or a divine energy weapon."
Karma's jaw was practically on the floor. He was a first-year BCA student. His biggest worry yesterday was passing his computer science exams. Now, he was being told that people could summon giant spirit avatars.
"But..." the old man's voice suddenly turned sharp and dangerous. "Do not get greedy, boy. Drawing Pran Energy is like drinking water from a fire hose. If you pull too much, or try to force a Chakra open before your body is ready... there are severe consequences."
Karma gulped. "Like what?"
"Severe body damage. Your internal organs will rupture. If you're lucky, you only get temporary paralysis. If you're unlucky? Your Chakra core cracks. If your Chakra cracks, you become a cripple forever. You lose your powers, and your lifespan is cut in half."
A heavy silence filled the library. Karma felt a cold sweat form on the back of his neck. Kanha, he thought. Kanha was fighting so recklessly in that Mirror Dimension. Is he risking a Chakra crack?
"Is this why the school exists?" Karma asked, his voice shaking slightly. "To teach us how to survive this?"
"Partly," the old man nodded. "But to understand why Vedas Heritage is so secretive, you have to look at history. The ancient timeline. The Four Yugas: Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali Yuga."
Karma frowned. "Wait, you're talking about Indian mythology now?"
"Mythology to you. History to me," the old man corrected. "In the Satya Yuga, the concentration of Pran Energy on Earth was at its absolute peak. It was the absolute 'Golden Age of Pranists'. People breathed in power."
The old man closed his eyes, imagining the ancient world. "You've heard stories of great Rishis and Munis (sages) who sat in forests meditating for hundreds of years, right? They weren't just praying. They were cultivating Pran Energy. Their bodies were super-conductors."
Karma's eyes widened in realization. "Wait... so when the stories say a Rishi got angry and gave someone a Shraap (curse)..."
"Exactly," the old man smiled, pointing a finger at Karma. "A 'Shraap' wasn't magic words. It was a highly concentrated, advanced Pran Energy attack, targeted directly at a person's soul or genetics. What normal humans saw as a 'curse' was just high-level Chakra manipulation. But today, in the Kali Yuga, Pran Energy is incredibly scarce. That is why Pranists are rare, and why we have to hide."
Karma's brain felt like it was going to explode. Everything he knew about the world was shattering. He gripped the edge of the wooden desk, his knuckles turning white.
"Hold on," Karma stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief. "If the Yugas were real... and the Rishis were just powerful Pranists... then what about the great epics? Was... was the Ramayana real too?!"
The old man let out a booming laugh, amused by Karma's shocked expression.
"Yes, boy. The Ramayana was very real," the old man said, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. "But you have to understand, normal humans wrote those stories down. They couldn't comprehend what they were seeing. So, the writers added a lot of... sugar-coating."
"Sugar-coating?" Karma echoed.
"Yes. Exaggerations. Poetic metaphors," the old man explained. "When the epics talk about warriors firing arrows that summoned rain or fire, they were just incredibly powerful Pranists infusing their weapons with elemental Chakra. The mighty 'demons' were likely Pranists who had abused their powers and mutated. The core events happened, but they were battles fought by ultimate 7th Chakra masters, wrapped up in pretty, mythological bows by normal people."
Karma fell back against his chair, exhaling a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He looked at his own hands. Just an hour ago, he had accidentally used the Storm Hand Style and tapped into this ancient, world-shaping energy.
"You're a part of this hidden world now, Karma," the old man said softly, the amusement fading from his face. "You wanted to know what your friend Kanha is doing? He is fighting monsters that are born from the corrupted Pran energy of this school. If you want to stand beside him... you have a very long, very painful road ahead of you."
Karma looked up from his hands, meeting the old librarian's eyes. The fear was still there, but beneath it, the fire of determination burned brighter than ever.
"Teach me," Karma said.