The two fireballs rushed toward Vivaan.
One approached from directly ahead, its blazing surface radiating intense heat, while the other cut across from the side, trapping him between the two attacks.
Their combined force was enough to threaten an ordinary child, and the shakti condensed within the flames made their destructive potential far greater than their appearance suggested.
Yet Vivaan did not move.
His hands rested loosely at his sides, and his expression remained as relaxed as it had been when he was examining the blue bracelet.
His Cosmic Galaxy eyes followed the approaching flames without the slightest trace of panic.
Within his deep galaxy irises, countless stars continued their slow, mysterious movements, constellations shifting against the backdrop of a boundless celestial night.
For a brief instant, a small moon appeared among those distant stars.
Then the fireballs reached him.
A celestial-blue streak appeared before Vivaan, the two fireballs were about to strike Vivaan; the next, the space before him was filled with a brilliant celestial blue radiance.
BOOM!
The two attacks collided with the incoming celestial-blue force.
An enormous explosion erupted in the middle of the market street.
The blast was far more powerful than the two brothers had intended.
Their condensed fire expanded violently, colliding with the blue energy that had intercepted it.
The resulting shock wave swept through the surrounding area, shaking buildings and sending loose objects tumbling across the ground.
The ground trembled beneath the merchants’ feet.
The glass display cases of the accessory shop shattered almost simultaneously.
Fragments scattered across the counter and floor as the shopkeeper instinctively ducked behind a sturdy wooden cabinet.
The nearby tree bent under the immense pressure, its branches whipping violently while leaves detached in great numbers and swirled through the air.
Several stalls shook on their foundations.
Wooden signs swung wildly overhead, and goods that had been neatly arranged on tables fell to the ground.
People cried out as the shock wave swept through the street.
Fortunately, several Shurveer had already been approaching the market to resolve the disturbance.
They had heard reports of the two brothers’ behavior and had come to investigate before the situation escalated further.
The moment the explosion occurred, every one of them felt the enormous pressure.
One Shurveer immediately raised a protective barrier around a group of fleeing customers.
Another hurried toward a collapsing display stand, catching it before it could fall on an elderly merchant.
The remaining Shurveer gathered their Shakti, attempting to stabilize the surrounding area while trying to understand the source of the terrifying energy.
But even they were astonished.
The pressure had not merely come from the fireballs.
Something else had appeared between the attacks and their intended target.
Something powerful enough to intercept both condensed fireballs in an instant.
As the blast continued to expand, the two brothers stood frozen near the entrance of the shop.
Their expressions had changed completely, and neither seemed capable of understanding what had just happened.
Manav Hitesh, the elder brother, instinctively examined the residual energy spreading through the air.
I’m at the initial stage of the Shakti Core Disciple Realm.
Maketra is only at the tenth star of the Spiritual Body Temperament Realm.
His thoughts raced as he attempted to identify the energy responsible for the explosion.
That blast was not produced by our Shakti.
Our attacks were condensed fire, but whatever intercepted them was on an entirely different level.
His fingers trembled.
And that wasn’t ordinary Astral Shakti.
Beside him, Maketra had gone pale.
He could still feel the residual pressure pressing against his chest, making it difficult to breathe comfortably.
Heavenly Shakti?
No…
could it be Celestial Shakti?
His eyes widened as he considered the possibility of something even more powerful.
No.
Could it be beyond Celestial?
But who could possess such terrifying strength in this little village?
Neither brother had an answer.
The dust cloud thickened, spreading across the market street and obscuring the shop entrances.
Fine particles drifted through the air, catching the light of the remaining flames before slowly settling on the ground.
The Shurveer who had arrived to intervene moved forward cautiously.
One of them kept his protective barrier active while another attempted to sense the energy concealed within the dust.
Their expressions grew increasingly serious as they realized that the source of the pressure was still present.
Then the dust began to clear.
A figure stood in front of Vivaan.
Her long midnight-blue hair flowed behind her, its dark strands shimmering with faint blue highlights.
Her elegant blue-and-white garments moved gently in the turbulent air, silver and crystalline patterns reflecting the light of the fading explosion.
Her eyes were unmistakable.
They were Cosmic Galaxy, just like Vivaan’s, containing a living celestial night within their deep blue irises.
Stars moved silently through their depths, and a distant constellation shifted as she raised her gaze.
Across her forehead, the Shaktiveer Soul Signature shone brilliantly.
Its intricate crystalline design radiated luminous blue-white light, delicate golden accents tracing the symmetrical patterns as though countless tiny stars had gathered upon her skin.
Vanshika Shaktiveer had arrived.
She stood between her son and the two attackers, her posture perfectly composed.
There was no visible sign of exertion, no hurried breathing, and no indication that intercepting the two fireballs had required any effort from her.
Her eyes moved briefly toward Vivaan.
He was unharmed.
The sight should have been enough to settle her concerns, but it did not immediately ease the anger rising within her.
Someone had launched two destructive attacks at her seven-year-old son in the middle of a crowded market.
Someone had deliberately chosen to hurt him.
And they had done so in her territory.
Vanshika slowly turned toward the brothers.
Her expression remained calm, but the atmosphere around her changed.
“Who dared to hurt my son?”
Her voice was quiet.
That made it worse.
Manav and Maketra suddenly felt as though an invisible mountain had descended upon their shoulders.
Their knees buckled under the overwhelming pressure, and they dropped heavily to the ground.
Neither brother could lift his head properly.
The Shurveer who had come to resolve the dispute stopped where they stood.
Their expressions shifted from astonishment to alarm as they recognized the woman standing before the child.
The shopkeeper emerged cautiously from behind the cabinet.
Despite the shattered displays and scattered merchandise, his attention remained fixed on Vanshika.
“Your Majesty…”
The words escaped him almost involuntarily.
Several nearby merchants immediately recognized her. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Whispers spread through the crowd, but nobody dared approach while the terrifying pressure continued to fill the street.
Vanshika did not look toward the merchants.
Her attention remained on the brothers.
Vivaan, meanwhile, looked up at his mother.
“Mom?”
His voice was as calm as ever.
Vanshika’s expression softened for the briefest moment when she heard him.
She turned her head slightly, allowing her gaze to rest on his face.
“Are you hurt, my son?”
Vivaan glanced down at himself, then looked toward the shattered shop and the brothers kneeling on the ground.
“No, Mom.
I’m fine.”
He paused, looking at the space where the fireballs had disappeared.
“They were rather rude, though.”
For a moment, Vanshika said nothing.
Then she looked back at the brothers.
The pressure in the market intensified.
“Stay behind me, sweetheart.”
Vivaan considered her expression.
He could see that his mother was angry, although her voice remained controlled.
He had seen her tease people, smile at merchants, and patiently explain unfamiliar things to him.
This expression was different.
He quietly moved half a step behind her.
Vanshika lifted one hand.
Her index finger rose toward the sky.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then she slowly moved that finger downward.
The world responded.
A deep tremor rolled through the market, stronger than the earlier shock wave.
The surrounding buildings shuddered, and the ground beneath the brothers seemed to groan under an immense, invisible weight.
Dust rose from the streets once again, but this time it did not spread randomly.
It spiraled upward, drawn toward a point high above the territory.
The sky changed.
Purple and golden radiance spread across the heavens, pushing through the clouds as though the atmosphere itself had become a vast canvas.
The light gathered into an enormous shape, its outline growing clearer with every passing moment.
A trident.
Its three elongated blades shone with a combination of royal purple and brilliant gold.
Each blade ended in a devastatingly sharp point, while intricate patterns ran along the weapon’s central body.
Its proportions were so immense that the surrounding buildings appeared insignificant beneath it.
The trident descended from the enormous sky.
Its movement was slow enough to be seen, yet the pressure accompanying it made the entire market feel as though it were standing beneath an approaching celestial catastrophe.
The weapon was not merely large.
It was incomprehensibly enormous.
Its shadow spread across the surrounding landscape, and its three spear-like blades cut through the spatial fabric itself.
The space around their edges cracked, forming jagged fractures that extended through the air like shattered glass.
Beyond those torn boundaries lay an unsettling void.
The trident’s descent distorted the surroundings, and the sky itself appeared to bend beneath its presence.
Purple-golden light streamed from its surface, illuminating distant rooftops and mountain slopes far beyond the market.
The Shurveer who had arrived to investigate stood motionless.
One of them stared upward, unable to conceal the fear in his eyes.
“This pressure…”
He struggled to complete the sentence.
Another Shurveer immediately ordered the nearby people to retreat, but even he understood that ordinary defensive barriers would be meaningless if the descending weapon reached the ground.
The two brothers were no longer thinking about the storage ring.
They could barely think at all.
Manav pressed both palms against the ground, trying desperately to raise his head.
The pressure forced him down again.
Maketra’s face had lost all its color.
They had come to Shaktiveer Territory believing that its reputation was exaggerated.
They had expected to bully a few merchants, collect information, and return to their superiors with whatever they could discover.
Instead, they had provoked a woman whose power made their own cultivation seem insignificant.
And they had attacked her son.
The realization struck them with horrifying clarity.
Vanshika raised her gaze toward the enormous trident.
Her Cosmic Galaxy eyes reflected its purple-golden brilliance, but her expression remained cold.
“No one is allowed to hurt my son.”
The words were not a threat.
They were a decision.
The trident continued descending.
Far from the Market Division, the Grand Council Hall trembled.
The five senior figures gathered there felt the sudden change in the atmosphere.
Papers lifted from the council table, and several decorative objects rattled against their stands.
First Grand Elder Reyansh Chandraketu immediately rose from his seat.
His expression changed the moment he sensed the enormous energy spreading across the territory.
He turned toward the open side of the hall.
Above the distant buildings, a gigantic purple-golden trident had appeared in the sky.
Even from so far away, its size was unmistakable.
Reyansh stared at the descending weapon, his usually composed expression becoming grave.
“That is coming from the Market Division.”
The other Grand Elders turned toward the same direction.
Second Grand Elder Aarush Agnivansh stepped toward the edge of the hall, his eyes narrowing as he assessed the weapon’s scale and the spatial fractures surrounding its blades.
“Such an enormous manifestation…
and the spatial fabric is breaking around it.”
Third Grand Elder Adhira Vardhanya had lost her usual playful expression.
She watched the trident’s descent, concern replacing her earlier amusement.
“Who could have provoked something like this?”
Fourth Grand Elder Kartik Mahakil looked toward Reyansh.
“First Grand Elder, we should reach the market immediately.”
The oldest Grand Elder did not waste another moment.
He gathered his Shakti, and the space around him distorted.
“I am going ahead.
Follow as quickly as you can.”
Aarush, Adhira, and Kartik immediately took flight, gathering their Shakti as they accelerated toward the Market Division.
Mahaveer Rishi, the acting ruler, was already moving toward the exit.
His expression had become unusually severe.
He had received no report explaining what had happened, but he knew one thing with absolute certainty.
Whatever had occurred in the market, the entire territory might soon be affected.
He followed the Grand Elders without hesitation.
Back in the Market Division, Manav finally managed to force words from his throat.
“Please…
listen to us.”
His voice trembled beneath the pressure.
Maketra struggled to raise his head beside him.
“We didn’t know!
We didn’t know who the child was!”
Vanshika looked down at them.
The enormous trident continued its descent, and its shadow spread farther across the market.
The spatial fractures around its blades widened, revealing deeper darkness beyond the torn boundaries.
Manav swallowed, fighting against the pressure that kept him pinned to the ground.
“We were sent here to gather information about Shaktiveer Territory.
We were ordered to investigate what happened to the army that was sent here before us.”
Vanshika’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The brothers exchanged a frightened glance.
Maketra understood that concealing the truth would only make matters worse.
He forced himself to continue, his voice breaking as he spoke.
“We came from the Tyrant Grand Domain.
It was the order of Great Ruler Tyranesh Rudraveer himself.
We were supposed to learn what happened to his troops and report everything we discovered.”
The words spread through the surrounding crowd.
The nearby Shurveer exchanged startled looks.
The earlier disturbances caused by the two brothers had already been reported to the Grand Council, but nobody had expected their visit to involve a mission from the Tyrant Grand Domain.
Manav pressed his forehead against the ground.
“Please forgive us!
We were wrong.
We shouldn’t have taken the ring, and we shouldn’t have attacked your son.
We beg you to spare our lives!”
Maketra followed immediately.
“We’ll return the ring!
We’ll pay for everything!
We’ll leave the territory and never cause trouble here again!”
They pleaded desperately, but Vanshika’s expression did not change.
The revelation had confirmed that the brothers were not merely troublesome visitors.
They had entered her territory under orders from a foreign ruler, concealed their purpose, and then behaved arrogantly toward the people who had welcomed them.
Yet even that was not what held her attention.
They had attacked Vivaan.
That alone was enough.
The enormous trident descended another distance, its purple-golden blades shining against the sky.
The spatial fractures around it spread farther, and the ground beneath the brothers trembled beneath the increasing pressure.
Vanshika slowly lowered her hand.
The weapon responded immediately.
Manav’s eyes widened as he realized that the trident was not an uncontrolled manifestation.
It moved with precision, following the slightest gesture of the woman standing before him.
She was deciding where it would fall.
“Your Majesty, please!” Manav cried, struggling to lift his face.
“The Great Ruler ordered us to come here!
We were following his command!”
Vanshika regarded him without sympathy.
“Did your Great Ruler order you to steal from my merchants?”
Manav froze.
“Did he order you to insult the people of my territory?” Vanshika asked.
Neither brother answered.
Vanshika took one quiet step forward.
“And did he order you to launch fireballs at my son?”
The brothers’ silence became an answer of its own.
Maketra began pleading again, but his words dissolved into frightened fragments.
Manav promised to reveal everything he knew about their mission, their orders, and the Tyrant Grand Domain’s intentions.
Vanshika listened without interrupting.
Then she looked toward the descending trident.
The weapon’s three blades gleamed above the territory, each one large enough to cast an immense shadow across the surrounding landscape.
The sky rumbled, and the spatial fractures widened around its edges.
She had no intention of stopping it.
Behind her, Vivaan looked up at the enormous weapon.
His Cosmic Galaxy eyes followed its descent, and the stars within his irises continued moving with their usual calmness.
He glanced at his mother.
“Mom, are you going to destroy them?”
Vanshika turned toward him.
For a brief moment, the anger in her eyes softened at the sound of his voice.
She brushed a loose strand of midnight-blue hair away from his forehead, making certain that he remained safely behind her.
“They tried to hurt you, Vivaan.”
Her voice was gentle when she spoke to him, but her gaze returned to the brothers with chilling certainty.
“And I will not allow anyone to believe that they can do so without consequence.”
At that moment, a spatial distortion appeared near the edge of the market.
Reyansh Chandraketu emerged from it, his gaze immediately locking onto the enormous trident above the territory.
He took in the fractured space, the trembling buildings, the kneeling brothers, and the woman standing before Vivaan.
For the first time since arriving, the First Grand Elder hesitated.
He understood that this was not an ordinary dispute.
The other Grand Elders and Mahaveer were still approaching, but the trident was already descending toward the ground.
Reyansh stepped forward, preparing to speak.
Vanshika raised her hand once more.
The trident stopped for only the briefest instant.
Then its three blades began moving again.
To Be Continued…