Something shattered.
Not outside.
Not in the ruins.
Not upon the broken gates of Vera.
Deep within Rajiv's soul...
Something that had been sealed since birth trembled violently.
The child stood motionless before the gate.
His hand remained raised toward the place where his father's head had been displayed.
His eyes were wide.
Empty.
Uncomprehending.
"...Father?"
The word was barely a whisper.
Still...
No answer came.
Then—
WHOOSH!
A terrifying wave of heat erupted from Rajiv's body.
The air distorted instantly.
Several nearby warriors staggered backward.
"What—"
Before anyone could finish speaking, the ground beneath Rajiv's feet cracked.
The blackened earth turned red.
Stones hissed as if thrown into a furnace.
Ananya's eyes widened.
"Rajiv!"
She rushed forward.
Vicky reacted faster.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"Don't!"
The next instant—
The heat vanished.
An unnatural cold replaced it.
Frost spread across the ruined ground.
Ice crawled over charred stones.
The warriors closest to Rajiv shivered as white mist escaped their lips.
Then the heat returned.
Then the cold.
Again.
And again.
Each surge stronger than the last.
The ruins of Vera trembled around him.
No one understood what was happening.
Rajiv's small body shook violently.
His black hair flickered.
Black.
Silver.
Gold.
White.
Then black again.
The colors changed so rapidly that they seemed unreal.
His eyes changed with them.
One moment black.
The next golden.
Then icy blue.
Then crimson.
Then silver.
Every color carried a different aura.
Every aura fought against the others.
Scorching heat.
Freezing cold.
Life.
Death.
Light.
Darkness.
All of them collided inside a single five-year-old child.
Vicky's face turned pale.
"Impossible..."
Lord Cris stepped forward.
"Rajiv!"
The moment he approached—
BOOM!
An invisible force blasted outward.
Vicky, Ananya, and several nearby warriors were forced back at once.
Lord Cris barely managed to remain standing.
His eyes widened in shock.
This power...
It should not belong to a child.
It should not exist.
Inside Rajiv's soul...
The golden seal cracked.
Then another.
Then another.
A cold mechanical voice suddenly echoed through the darkness.
══════════════════════════════
[Warning.]
[Host awakening process initiated.]
[Error.]
[Host age below minimum requirement.]
[Error.]
[Premature awakening detected.]
══════════════════════════════
The cracks spread faster.
Deep within the sealed space, countless fragments of power awakened at once.
Too many.
Too early.
The child's soul could not endure it.
══════════════════════════════
[Host soul integrity collapsing.]
[Emergency intervention required.]
[Awakening forcibly suppressed.]
══════════════════════════════
Outside...
Rajiv's body suddenly arched backward.
A silent scream escaped his lips.
No sound came out.
Yet everyone present felt it.
Pain.
Grief.
Rage.
Despair.
All erupting at once.
Ananya struggled desperately against Vicky's hold.
"Let me go!"
"Rajiv!"
"Let me go!"
Vicky's eyes were red.
But he did not release her.
He couldn't.
If she stepped closer now...
She might die.
Inside Rajiv's soul...
The destruction slowed.
But something else appeared.
A price.
══════════════════════════════
[Equivalent exchange required.]
[Calculating cost...]
══════════════════════════════
For a moment...
Even the system seemed silent.
Then—
══════════════════════════════
[Cost determined.]
[All emotional functions will be sealed until successful awakening.]
[Executing emergency suppression.]
══════════════════════════════
Countless golden chains emerged from the darkness.
They wrapped around Rajiv's soul.
Around every emotion.
His grief.
His sadness.
His rage.
His fear.
His love.
His joy.
His innocence.
One by one...
The chains tightened.
The child who had cried for his father...
Stopped crying.
The child who had trembled before the gates...
Stopped trembling.
The pain remained.
The memories remained.
But the emotions attached to them were locked away.
Not healed.
Not erased.
Simply sealed.
Waiting.
══════════════════════════════
[Host stabilized.]
[Awakening delayed.]
[Suppression complete.]
══════════════════════════════
Outside...
The heat disappeared.
The cold faded.
The frost melted.
The cracked earth stopped trembling.
The strange colors vanished from Rajiv's hair.
His eyes returned to normal.
The ruins became silent once more.
For several breaths...
No one moved.
No one dared.
Then Rajiv slowly lowered his hand.
His gaze drifted toward the ground.
Toward the white egg lying in the ash.
He walked toward it.
Calmly.
Too calmly.
He knelt.
Carefully picked it up.
Then began inspecting it.
Turning it gently in his hands.
Checking every line.
Every silver pattern.
Every tiny mark.
Looking for cracks.
Looking for damage.
Only after confirming the egg was unharmed did he relax.
He hugged it against his chest.
As though nothing had happened.
As though he had not just seen his father's remains.
As though something inside him had not shattered before everyone's eyes.
The silence around him became suffocating.
Ananya stared at him.
"Rajiv..."
Her voice trembled.
He looked up.
His face was blank.
No tears.
No anger.
No fear.
Nothing.
Lord Cris slowly approached.
This time, the invisible force did not stop him.
The old chief knelt before his grandson.
His eyes were filled with fear.
Not fear of the power.
Fear of what had been taken.
"Rajiv."
The boy looked at him.
"Are you alright?"
For several moments...
Rajiv simply stared.
Then he nodded.
"Yes."
His voice was calm.
Flat.
Empty.
"I am fine."
Those words frightened everyone more than the eruption of power had.
Because no child standing before such horror should be fine.
No child who had just seen his parents displayed like trophies should speak so calmly.
No child should look so empty.
Lord Cris slowly reached out and placed a trembling hand on Rajiv's shoulder.
The boy did not flinch.
He did not lean in.
He did not cry.
He simply stood there...
Holding the egg.
Like a child who had forgotten how to feel.
Ananya covered her mouth.
Fresh tears streamed down her face.
Vicky lowered his head.
His fists clenched.
And Lord Cris...
Slowly closed his eyes.
Another piece of Varinder's child had just been taken from him.
Right before their eyes.
For a long time, the expedition remained frozen before the gates.
Finally...
Lord Cris stood.
His gaze moved toward the wrapped remains of his son and daughter-in-law.
Then toward the heads still mounted above the gate.
His expression changed.
The grief remained.
But now it was covered by command.
"Bring them down."
His voice was quiet.
Deadly.
"Every one of them."
The warriors immediately bowed.
"Yes, Lord Cris."
No one wasted another moment.
Ladders were raised.
Spikes were removed.
White cloth was prepared.
One by one...
The heads of Vera's people were taken down.
Warriors.
Hunters.
Mothers.
Fathers.
Elders.
Friends.
Each was wrapped carefully.
Each was treated with respect.
Not as trophies.
Not as victims.
But as people who had once lived.
Once laughed.
Once loved.
Lord Cris watched in silence.
Vicky stood beside him.
Inder lowered his head.
Ananya remained near Rajiv, crying silently.
Rajiv only watched.
Calm.
Still.
Empty.
The white egg rested safely in his arms.
And above them...
The ruined gates of Vera finally stood bare.
No longer decorated by cruelty.
Only blackened by fire.
The work continued until the sun began to descend.
Yet no one complained.
No one stopped.
Because this was no longer only a recovery.
It was the first act of farewell.