The massive, reinforced gate of the training room slid open with a sharp, heavy metallic groan. The unexpected noise echoed loudly through the enclosed space, instantly breaking Rohan's focus.
Rohan snapped around on his heel. His heart hammered violently against his ribs from the sudden startle.
Standing directly in the threshold was his mother, Anjali. She stood completely rigid against the doorframe, her posture tense and her face pale.
A look of pure, unadulterated shock gripped her features as she took in the state of the room. Her wide eyes anxiously darted across the scuffed floorboards and walls, scanning for damage.
"What on earth happened here?" she demanded, her voice tight with maternal worry. "The entire structure was vibrating. How was the training room shaking like that?"
Rohan rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a hot flush of embarrassment creep up his cheeks. He offered her a sheepish, highly awkward grin to try and defuse her anxiety.
"Sorry, Mom," he said, shifting his weight uneasily from one foot to the other. "It looks like I've made some pretty great progress in my superpower development."
He gestured vaguely toward the training floor, offering an apologetic shrug. "I was just testing things out to see what I could do. That's the only reason the room was shaking."
Anjali raised her eyebrows, her sharp, evaluating gaze narrowing as she looked him up and down. "You made great progress? Just like that?"
"Yeah," Rohan said, a mysterious, knowing smile slowly creeping onto his lips as he met her eyes. "I also really want to show you something incredible."
Anjali raised her eyebrows even higher, clearly skeptical but choosing to let the matter rest for the moment. She sighed softly and waved her hand in a dismissive arc.
"All right, all right," she said, her tone softening but remaining firm. "Whatever it is, you will have to see it and show me later. First, go upstairs and get yourself ready."
She crossed her arms, fixing him with an unyielding motherly stare. "Today is your birthday party, even though your actual birthday was the day before today. We have guests to prepare for, so don't dawdle."
"Yes, ma'am!" Rohan barked out playfully.
He flashed her a crisp, energetic salute. Without waiting for a lecture, he turned on his heel and ran straight toward his bathroom to get washed up and fresh.
The bathroom rapidly transformed into a dense cloud of white mist as hot steam rolled off the shower walls. The loud, steady drumming of rushing water filled the enclosed space, echoing off the tiles.
Inside the stall, Rohan unironically belted out a melody at the top of his lungs, completely unbothered by being out of tune. "We should bathe in cold water!" his voice boomed, bouncing off the damp ceiling.
He scrubbed his skin thoroughly, letting the icy temperature shock his muscles and pull the lingering fatigue from his limbs. The freezing spray felt incredibly sharp against his chest, instantly clearing his mind after the intense session downstairs.
After a while, the rushing water stopped, leaving only the sound of heavy dripping. The bathroom door clicked open, and Rohan stepped out into the relative coolness of his bedroom.
Water droplets still clung to his shoulders, glistening against his skin, as he walked around wearing nothing but his boxers. He headed straight for his wardrobe, ready to pick out something suitable for the day.
He pulled out a selection of stylish, comfortable clothes, sliding them on and smoothing down the fabric until it sat perfectly. He wanted to make sure he looked presentable for what was coming.
Next, he reached for his desk, picking up a heavy, expensive watch. He wrapped the metal band around his left wrist, clicking the clasp firmly into place before giving it a quick, satisfied glance.
With his clothes and accessories sorted, Rohan turned on his heel and headed downstairs toward the dining table.
Both Vikram and Anjali were already waiting there in their usual spots. Vikram sat at the head of the table, his eyes scanning the crisp pages of the morning newspaper, while Anjali stood a few feet away by the stove, carefully flipping food in a pan.
The warm, rich scent of breakfast hung thick in the air, instantly making Rohan's stomach rumble.
"Good morning, Mom and Dad," Rohan said cheerfully, breaking the silence of the kitchen as he slid into an empty chair. He sat down with a bright, energetic smile.
"Good morning to you, son," Vikram replied smoothly. He folded the newspaper with a crisp snap, setting it face down on the side of the table to give Rohan his full attention.
Before speaking further, Vikram shifted his gaze over toward the stove, his eyes locking onto Anjali's back. He asked a silent, heavy question with a single intense look: *Should I bring it up now?*
Anjali didn't turn around completely from her cooking, but her eyes flicked back toward him over her shoulder. She answered back instantly with an unmistakable glare of her own: *Why not? What are you waiting for?*
Vikram cleared his throat, the sharp, deliberate noise cutting straight through the hum of the kitchen. His spine went rigid as he sat up straighter in his chair.
He fixed a heavy, unblinking gaze entirely on Rohan. "Son, there is something I want to ask," he said, his voice tightening. "Your mom and I want to ask you something. Are you listening?"
Rohan didn't look up from the bright screen of his smartphone. His thumbs kept flying across the glass, playing with an app. "Yeah? What do you want to ask, Papa? Ask it."
Vikram’s brow furrowed deep, a tight wave of annoyance settling into the lines around his eyes. "Can you keep away your phone first?" he demanded, his voice clipped and dry with irritation.
Rohan sighed softly, clicking the power button to black out the screen before smoothly sliding the phone into his pocket.
"Yeah, what do you want to ask?" Rohan said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the edge of the dining table.
Deep down, a sharp spark of awareness flared in Rohan's mind; he already had a very clear idea of exactly what his father was gearing up to ask him.
"Well," Vikram began, his voice dropping to a low, incredibly serious register. "When you were injured, both your mom and I thoroughly checked your body. And we found something unexplainable."
A cold knot of tension instantly tightened in Rohan's stomach, his posture freezing as he forced his expression to remain completely neutral.
*If it is just about my superpower, then it's totally okay,* he thought, his pulse starting to beat faster against his wrists. *I can just tell them that the trauma triggered a breakthrough, allowing me to awaken a new supernatural ability.*
*But it would be infinitely better to not tell them a single thing about my previous life,* he warned himself, his mind racing through the worst-case scenarios. *Otherwise, the terrifying question of a body takeover might come up.*
*And there is no way I would ever be able to properly explain that to them. I am their true son, not some body taker who stole their child's flesh.*
He knew how incredibly dangerous that kind of suspicion would be in this world. After all, it was a known fact that highly powerful ancient magicians had done exactly that kind of horrific body-snatching thing in the past.
Vikram shifted forward, continuing to layout his observations. "You see, when you were in that coma, both your mom and I ran a deep check on your physical condition. I observed that your internal Prana reserves have increased."
He paused, letting the weight of his words hang in the air before pushing forward. "As well as the control over your Prana. Right now, your instinctual energy control is equal to a seasoned martial artist."
Vikram shook his head slowly, his tone tightening with genuine disbelief. "This is still not the most important thing, though. The truly critical thing we found is your mental power. Your spiritual and mental capacity literally doubled while you were trapped in that coma."
He leaned back, his eyes drilling into Rohan as if trying to read his thoughts. "This entire phenomenon completely defies all logic."
Both Vikram and Anjali stared at Rohan, their faces lined with a deep, painfully heavy worry for their son's life.
Rohan exhaled heavily, letting a long, slow breath pass through his lips. The crushing weight of anxiety that had just gripped his chest vanished in an instant, leaving him entirely relieved.
Vikram and Anjali immediately exchanged a quick, profoundly confused look. They were completely thrown off by their son's sudden, strangely relaxed change in demeanor.
"This was it?" Rohan said aloud, a loose, confident smile spreading across his face as he looked at them.
"I completely understand your confusion, but it is actually a wonderful thing," he continued, leaning back in his chair. "Because at that exact time in the coma, I awakened a brand-new superpower."
Vikram bolted upright from his chair in absolute shock, the legs of the seat scraping violently against the floorboards.
Across the kitchen, the heavy frying pan slipped clean out of Anjali's hand, clattering noisily onto the floor as the food spilled out.
Yet, neither of them even blinked or looked down at the mess.
Anjali kept her wide-eyed stare locked entirely on her husband, her voice trembling slightly. "Vikram... What did he just say? It's like my ears are not working properly. I thought I heard him say he has awakened a new superpower."
Vikram stood completely frozen, his eyes vacant as he shook his head. "My ears are also not working. I also heard Rohan say he has awakened a new superpower."
Rohan smirked, watching his parents struggle to process the impossible news.
After all, no one had ever heard of a person awakening two distinct superpowers. It completely shattered everything they knew to be possible.
In a flash, Anjali crossed the room and caught the side of Rohan’s ear, twisting it firmly between her fingers. "You little brat! Have you seriously started to make this kind of wild joke with your parents now?"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Rohan shouted, wincing under her tight grip as he tried to pull back. "I'm not lying to you! I have really awakened a new superpower!"
Anjali slowly let go of his ear, her chest heaving as she stared down at him.
"Then prove it," she said, her voice dropping into a sharp, completely demanding tone.
"Okay, fine," Rohan said, pushing himself up from the dining table to give himself some room.
He closed his eyes for a brief second, shifting his focus inward. Slowly, the individual strands of his hair started to lift from his scalp and move entirely on their own, swaying and twisting gently through the still air of the kitchen.
Both Anjali and Vikram stared at Rohan's floating hair, their jaws dropping as they stood completely dumbfounded.
Their total speechlessness was because he had actually proven his claim, but his miraculous, logic-defying new superpower appeared to be nothing more than the basic ability to control his own hair.
"Very good," Vikram finally managed to squeeze out, his tone completely flat as he struggled to find any words that could properly console his son.
Anjali didn't speak a single word, her lips pressed into a tight, strained line.
Rohan carefully observed his parents' shifting expressions, expecting excitement but finding a heavy wave of downcast emotion instead.
*Wait, why are they looking at me with so much absolute pity?* he thought, his brow furrowing as he caught their tragic glances.
Vikram stepped forward, releasing a quiet sigh as he gently tapped Rohan on the shoulder. "Listen, son, it is a truly good thing that you awakened a new superpower. It doesn't matter how weak or simple it looks on the surface."
Vikram offered a warm, encouraging smile, trying his best to lift the boy's spirits. "Even controlling hair can become one of the strongest superpowers in the world if you train it properly and find the right application."
"Your dad is completely right," Anjali chimed in quickly, nodding her head in frantic, supportive agreement. "I've personally seen historical examples of superpowers that looked completely worthless at first, but their holders eventually became some of the strongest people alive."
The realization finally clicked in Rohan's mind, and he nearly choked on his own breath as he realized what they were thinking.
"No, you've completely misunderstood!" Rohan hurriedly explained, waving his hands frantically in front of his chest. "My superpower is perfect control! It's not just controlling my hair!"
"Is that really true?" Vikram asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as a trace of deep suspicion returned to his voice.
To clear up the massive misunderstanding, Rohan gave them a thorough, step-by-step explanation of his true capabilities. He then demonstrated several clear, highly precise physical examples of what absolute, flawless control over his internal biology actually meant.
Watching the unnatural precision of his movements, both Anjali and Vikram finally understood the true, terrifying potential of the new superpower Rohan had actually awakened.
Rohan took a deep, steadying breath, looking back and forth between his mother and father before putting forward his ultimate request.
"I want to officially begin my training and awaken my Prana," he said, his voice turning entirely serious. "But before we start, I also want to ask you both—should I choose to awaken as a martial artist, or should I walk the path of a magician?"