Vyom appeared a few steps away from them.
His posture was calm and relaxed.
But something in his expression was different.
He simply stood there without a word.
The others turned their heads and looked at him, but none of them attacked him.
Only their eye contact clashed.
A moment later, he spoke—
“Didn’t attack until now?
Is it patience…
or fear?”
No response came from them.
Suddenly, a wormhole opened in front of him, and Sia stepped out.
In the next instant, she drove an uppercut toward his chin.
Before it could connect, Vyom caught her wrist with his left hand.
Sia reacted instantly.
The moment her right wrist was caught, she twisted her body and launched a spinning kick toward Vyom’s temple.
Vyom raised his right forearm.
THWACK!
The kick slammed into his guard.
The impact sent a powerful shockwave rippling through the surroundings.
Without missing a beat, Vyom tightened his grip and pulled.
Sia was dragged a step forward.
Instead of resisting, she used the momentum from his pull to propel herself into the air.
Her free leg snapped downward in a brutal axe kick aimed at the top of Vyom’s head.
Vyom released her wrist.
He stepped backward.
The axe kick crashed into the ground.
KRAK!
The floor fractured beneath the impact as cracks spread in every direction.
Dust burst into the air.
When the dust began to settle, the two of them were already standing apart.
They faced each other again.
For a brief moment, silence lingered.
Then a calm voice echoed across the floating landmass.
A mocking smile spread across his face.
“I expected something a little more…
impressive.”
Sia remained silent.
He tilted his head.
“You opened a wormhole, launched a surprise attack, followed it with a spinning kick and an axe kick…”
He let out a quiet chuckle.
“And yet you couldn’t land a single hit.”
His smile widened.
“Are you really trying to defeat me…”
“…or entertain?”
Zoya blinked and turned toward Rhea.
“What just happened in half a second?”
The next instant, Rhea was gone.
Zoya snapped her gaze back toward Vyom—and froze.
Rhea was already behind him.
Crouched slightly forward in a sprinting stance, her fingers locked tightly around her sword.
Her posture was perfect—ready to explode into a strike at any moment.
But there was something wrong.
Vyom hadn’t reacted,
Not even slightly.
At that moment, Isha appeared—closing in from another angle.
Now Vyom was surrounded.
Sia in front.
Rhea behind.
Isha completing the encirclement.
Three killing intents locked onto him at once.
But before anything could happen—
A meteoroid appeared above them again.
The sky darkened instantly.
Zoya’s eyes widened slightly.
“This again…?”
Vyom smirked.
“Let’s take a delicious test of another meteoroid.”
And he vanished.
Then—
Rhea didn’t even look up.
She leapt into the air in an instant—in front of the meteoroid.
Her sword flashed through the sky.
SHRAAANG—!!
A visible arc of force exploded outward.
The meteoroid hanging above them shattered into multiple pieces, scattering like broken stone petals across the air.
The scattered meteoroid fragments didn’t just break further—they disintegrated into dust, burning trails across the air like fading stars.
Silence followed for a brief moment.
Rhea rotated mid-air, landing lightly on the floating landmass without even bending her knees.
The moment her boots touched—
Zoya exhaled slowly.
Then—
A sniper rifle appeared in her hand.
“Okay… no more jokes from right now.”
She raised the sniper rifle.
Her gaze sharpened.
“Got you…”
Far away, Vyom stood on another floating landmass.
His head tilted slightly.
His gaze locked onto Zoya’s weapon.
“…AXSR?”
A soft laugh escaped him.
“Hey, little girl.
However, he controlled his laugh.
Then he looked at Zoya.
“To kill me, you need AWM.
It screams ‘one shot, one kill’.”
Then he burst into another laugh.
Zoya narrowed her eyes.
“I know the legend AWM.”
Her expression dimmed slightly.
“But I have used all ‘.338 Lapua Magnum’ in my last mission.”
For a moment, her face wavered—like tears might come out any moment.
“AXSR… you are my last hope currently.”
“LET’S CONQUER THE WORLD.”
The other three stood a few steps away from her.
“Conquer the world?” Sia muttered in confusion.
“Let her be lost in her own fantasy world.
It’s the best option,” Isha suggested.
Then—
Vyom disappeared from his position and reappeared beside Zoya.
Zoya instantly reacted, swinging her sniper toward him.
“You only know escape techniques.
If you have courage, then face me directly.”
Vyom calmly closed his eyes.
“I’m simply too fast for you to see.
So it’s not my fault.”
Then he opened his eyes—
And froze.
In front of him stood a military tank instead of a girl holding a sniper rifle.
For a brief moment, silence spread across the floating landmass.
“…Wait.
This is openly cheating.”
KRRR—BOOOOM—!!
The cannon fired.
The entire floating landmass shook violently.
A shockwave tore through the air, splitting dust, pressure, and silence itself.
*
*
*
The courtyard was quiet except for the steady creak of the old hand pump.
A woman stood beside the tube well, one hand resting on the handle as she worked it up and down.
Each pull sent a rush of cold, clear water spilling into the metal bucket below.
The sound echoed softly through the open space, mixing with the faint rustle of trees nearby.
She paused briefly, adjusting her grip, her attention still fixed on the water filling up.
Then—
Small footsteps broke the stillness.
Quick.
Uneven.
Excited.
“Mother…!
Mother!”
The voice cut through the air before the child even reached her.
The woman turned her head slightly.
A little child was running toward her across the yard, arms slightly lifted for balance, face bright with urgency and joy.
The ground seemed too big for such small steps, yet the child never slowed.
“Mother!”
The call came again, louder this time, as if the word itself was pulling them forward.
The woman’s expression changed instantly.
The tired focus at the well softened into something warmer—recognition, relief, instinct.
She let go of the pump handle.
The water continued dripping into the bucket behind her, forgotten.
Her body turned fully toward the child just as the child reached her, almost stumbling into her space.
Two women were passing near the yard.
They saw the woman and the child.
One of them called to the woman.
“Lavanya Vati, you’re still here?
I told you yesterday to leave him and go away from him.”
The second woman joined.
“Yes, Lavanya.
Bimala is right.
You should leave him.
He always beats you and doesn’t care about you.
He’s a demon in human form.”
The courtyard fell quiet for a moment after their words.
The child clutched Lavanya’s saree, breathing a little heavily from the run, unaware of the tension settling in the air.
Lavanya Vati slowly looked down at the small hands holding her saree.
Then she gently placed her palm on the child’s head.
A soft smile formed on her face.
Not joyful,
Not relieved.
Just… steady.
“I told you both already,” she said softly, without raising her voice.
Both women frowned.
Bimala crossed her arms.
“And we told you already.
You’re not safe here.
That man—”
“He is still my husband,” Lavanya interrupted calmly.
The words didn’t sound like pride.
They sounded like something she had repeated too many times… until even pain became familiar.
The child looked up at her face.
“Mother…?”
Lavanya blinked once.
Her expression softened immediately.
“Yes,” she said gently.
“I’m here.” The source of this chapter is g.com.
A breeze passed through the courtyard, making the old pump creak again.
For a second, it almost felt like a normal afternoon.
But the silence that followed wasn’t peaceful.
Lavanya’s hand remained on the child’s head—warm, steady.
Then she exhaled softly and brushed a few strands of hair from the child’s forehead.
“Ram, go inside and sit for a bit,” she said gently.
“I’ll finish this quickly.”
The child hesitated.
“Mother will come soon?”
A soft smile returned.
“Yes.
I’ll come.”
Satisfied, the child turned and ran toward the house at the edge of the courtyard, glancing back once before disappearing inside.
The two women watched this, still uneasy.
Bimala’s voice dropped.
“You always say ‘I’ll come.’ That’s what scares us.”
Lavanya didn’t answer immediately.
She turned the pump handle again.
Creeeak… splash…
Water flowed as if nothing in the world was wrong.
Then she spoke, casually—almost like she was discussing the weather.
“If I don’t finish this now, the storage will be empty again by evening.”
“Lavanya, are you even listening?” the other woman asked.
“I am,” she replied.
Another pull of the handle.
Creak—
Her voice remained calm.
“But I also heard the child.”
Silence returned briefly.
Bimala stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“We’re talking about your safety.
Not water.”
Lavanya paused for a moment.
Then she finally looked at them.
Not irritated.
Not emotional.
Just… clear.
“I know,” she said simply.
That single line made both women stop.
She turned back to the bucket, watching the water rise slowly.
Then Bimala spoke again.
“In our world, assassins are the strongest entities.
But something’s been bothering me.”
“About the mission?” the other woman asked.
“Yes,” Bimala nodded.
“This morning, my husband told me about a mission on the board.
High reward… but extremely dangerous.”
Lavanya’s gaze stayed on the water.
“What mission?”
“They’re supposed to kill a kid,” Bimala said slowly, “but there’s a twist.
His elder sister is unbelievably strong.
No one wants to take it… especially not one that leads into another universe.”
Lavanya’s hand paused slightly.
“Another universe?”
“Yes,” she continued.
“Zero Plane universe.
Next to the Seven Plane universe.
That’s all my husband said.”
A quiet shift passed through the air.
Then she added, softer this time.
“But your husband accepted it.
For the reward.
And my husband said… no one even knows where he is right now.”
The wind moved again through the courtyard.
But now it felt heavier—like it was passing through something unseen.
Bimala hesitated.
“Lavanya… are you okay?”
Lavanya didn’t look at her.
“I believe,” she said softly,
“He will succeed in his mission.”
There was a moment of silence.
Only the pump creaked.
Creeeak—
She finished filling the bucket and finally stopped the handle.
Then she quietly wiped a tear from her cheek and looked toward the house where the child had gone.
She picked up the bucket slowly.
From inside the house, the child’s faint voice called once.
“Mother?”
Lavanya’s expression changed instantly again—like a switch flipped.
Warmth returned.
“I’m here,” she answered gently.
She placed the bucket down near the step and adjusted her saree.
She turned slightly toward the house.
The child peeked out from the doorway for a moment, hesitating—still unwilling to fully disappear from his mother’s view.
Lavanya raised her hand lightly.
A simple gesture.
Reassuring.
The child disappeared inside again, satisfied.
The two women remained still, watching her.
Because something about that calm…
didn’t feel like peace anymore.
It felt like something that had already decided the outcome of a war—long before anyone else even realized it had begun.
A smile, a silence, a promise… sometimes they don’t mean peace.
Sometimes they only mean acceptance of what cannot be changed.