“So… that’s where your proof is?”

  The Vice Leader asked Surendranath. To which Surendranath replied,

  “Yes, the proof is right there. I think we should hurry, before the Society Leader’s mood gets any worse.”

  “Haa… Fine! Fine! Let’s hurry, then.”

  Both of them moved ahead. They were going in front of the Death Hall now, about to enter. But instead of going in from the front entrance, they circled around the Death Hall.

  There were a few trees beside the Death Hall. Passing through them,?after a long time, Surendranath and the Vice Leader reached the small gate at the back of the Death Hall.

  “We’re here. The proof is right here. You can take a look yourself if you want.”

  Surendranath said, then stepped back.

  The Vice Leader walked forward and stopped at one spot. He looked down at the ground. There wasn’t anything visible there to the naked eye. But the Vice Leader was a very experienced martial artist—he could sense something there.

  ‘Prana?… with Lunar Energy mixed in…?’

  The thought crossed his mind.

  He could feel the presence of someone’s Internal Energy;Prana right there on the ground. It was a strange Prana, very different from normal Prana.

  But that wasn’t what shocked him the most. The surprising part was that he could sense traces of Lunar Energy mixed within that Prana.

  He remembered what Surendranath had told him earlier that the boy (Sharv) he had captured possessed Lunar Energy, despite being male.

  So based on that, it could be said that this Prana probably belonged to that same boy, but…

  “I can see what proof you’re trying to show me. But… this still isn’t enough. This only proves that the boy was here. Just this alone isn’t enough for your accusation to be taken as truth, Surendranath.”

  The Vice Leader said. Hearing that, Surendranath replied with a faint smile,

  “I know that very well, Vice Leader. This isn’t the only proof. There’s more.”

  “Eh?… There’s more?”

  Saying that, Surendranath walked over to a nearby tree and stood beside it, looking up. The Vice Leader followed him.

  “Look at this tree carefully. Do you notice anything?”

  Surendranath asked.

  “…This tree… it has the Death Hall Master’s internal energy presence all around it.”

  The Vice Leader could clearly sense a heavy trace of the Death Hall Master’s Prana on the tree. As if he climbed or sat on this tree every day.

  “Yes! Exactly. And now…”

  Bam!

  Surendranath jumped up, broke off a branch from the tree, and brought it to the Vice Leader.

  “…take a look at this.”

  ‘?!’

  The Vice Leader’s eyes widened in shock.

  Because the branch Surendranath had brought two different Internal Energy;Prana traces on it. One clearly belonged to the Death Hall Master.

  But the other…

  The other Prana was the same strange Prana he had sensed on the ground earlier. And this one too contained Lunar Energy.

  ‘But the Death Hall Master doesn’t have Lunar Energy. He has Solar Energy.’

  Every human has Prana, along with that, they have other two energies. Boys are born with strong solar (shiva) energy and girls with strong lunar (shakti) energy from childhood.

  They are separate from Prana, but help cultivate it, eventually merging into the Prana itself.

  The Vice Leader could clearly feel it:

  The Death Hall Master’s Prana contained Solar Energy. The unknown Prana contained Lunar Energy.

  Which meant only one thing...

  The Death Hall Master had definitely come into direct contact with that boy, here at this place?

  “I believe you must have understood by now... Even the Desolate Maiden Sect is far away from here, so the chance of any woman appearing here is nearly zero. And as you already know, the Death Hall Master doesn’t have a single female disciple. Even if we somehow assume a girl did come here what are the odds that she touched this exact tree that the Death Hall Master climbs…?”

  “Enough! Enough! I understand what you’re trying to say!”

  The Vice Leader cut him off, holding his forehead in frustration. He had never expected the Death Hall Master to do something like this.

  He was in charge of the internal matters of Crimson Heaven Society, obviously he doesn't wants a conflict between Surendranath and Death Hall Master.

  ‘This time… even I may not be able to protect him.’

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  He thought. But Surendranath continued,

  “Now we just need to stop the Entrance Trials. I’m absolutely certain he’s hidden that boy somewhere inside the trial grounds. Otherwise he would have let me inspect the mountain earlier only.”

  “...”

  “...Or maybe… he's even made the boy participate in the trials to keep him away from me. He is clearly trying to frame me, so that I can get punishment from the Society Leader.”

  The Vice Leader understood what Surendranath wanted. They need to?stop the entrance trials.

  So that they can quickly do the searching, find that boy before the Society Leader comes here himself.

  The Vice Leader was about to respond when suddenly...

  “Who goes there?!”

  A voice shouted at them.

  Surendranath and the Vice Leader turned around. Standing behind them in black was Pranay. As soon as he recognized them, he bowed with clasped hands.

  “I didn’t recognize you both. Please forgive me, 3rd Elder and Vice Leader. I am the Death Hall Master’s first disciple, it is an honour to meet you both... My Master is not here at the moment. Is there anything I can assist you with?”

  Pranay spoke calmly on the outside, but inside he was panicking.

  ‘First the Society Leader himself and now even the Vice Leader and 3rd Elder?! What on earth is happening today?! Oh! Wait...’

  Then he suddenly remembered something, and spoke.

  “3rd Elder… The Society Leader was asking about you earlier…”

  ‘?!’

  Surendranath and the Vice Leader’s eyes widened.

  “What?!”

  Surendranath asked sharply. Pranay replied,

  “Yes, just a short while ago.”

  The Vice Leader quickly asked,

  “Wait… did the Society Leader come here himself?”

  Pranay nodded. Seeing that, both of their expressions turned grave, especially Surendranath’s.

  ‘If he came here personally… that means he’s furious. I need to find him. Fast! and explain everything!’

  Surendranath thought, opening his mouth to ask.

  “Tell me! Where did the Society Leader...”

  Tak! Boom!

  A loud explosive sound echoed from the other side of the mountain where the Entrance Trials were being held.

  The sound wave was so much that the soft layer of snow above the trees fell down.

  Thud!

  Surendranath and Vice Leader were strong and experienced, but Pranay not, he was swept away by that sound wave and fell on the ground.

  His calm expression was no more, he was breathing heavily. With a shaking finger, he pointed toward the mountain.

  “The Society Leader…Huff! Huff! he went there…”

  ***

  Half an hour earlier.

  Sharv was running down the other side of the mountain almost at the base already.

  Tak! Tak! Tak!

  He pressed the pressure points around the cut on his arm so the blood wouldn’t flow out. But then… he suddenly realized the arm with the cut had gone numb.

  ‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’

  Sharv’s left hand had gone completely numb. He couldn’t even use it anymore.

  ‘Ah! Fuck, he must have coated that dagger to numb your whole body.’

  Vijay said. And then his master’s voice echoed in his mind as well.

  ‘Good thing you dodged at the last moment. Otherwise you would’ve been finished…’

  “I don’t need a lecture right now. Just tell me how I’m supposed to get out of here alive.”

  Sharv snapped back.

  Vijay and his master both fell silent. They were spirits able to help him in battle—but while escaping, there wasn’t much they could do.

  But then, his master spoke.

  ‘Do one thing, release me first.’

  Sharv did as she said, releasing his master the woman’s spirit from the sacred thread.

  “Yeah? Now what?”

  He asked, still running. The woman’s spirit floated beside him.

  ‘Now… you don’t need to do anything.’

  She said and wrapped her arms around him from behind, and then...

  Tung! Tung!

  ‘?!’

  Sharv’s body held by his master lifted slightly off the ground. The two of them suddenly surged forward at an incredible speed. It felt as though the woman had propelled them forward with a powerful leap from behind.

  Sharv’s eyes went wide. Vijay, on the other hand, sounded surprised.

  ‘I didn’t know it could be used like this. My ancestors’ texts didn’t go into this much detail.’

  ‘Humph! There’s nothing special about it. There are Nadis in our legs as well. If you understand them properly you can easily do this.’

  Sharv's master replied arrogantly.

  Tung! Tung!

  Again that same sound. Again Sharv and his master shot forward skimming just above the ground like they were making long, flying strides.

  ‘Gravitational force…’

  Sharv realized.

  She was using gravitational force itself to accelerate forward.

  Tung! Tung!

  She was striking the gravitational force through her legs at a specific angle allowing them to rocket ahead like this.

  ‘…if only I could learn this…’

  Sharv thought, a little bitterly.

  When he’d been reading ‘The Wall Between Spirit and Man’, after finishing half the book, he’d come across three forbidden techniques safeguarded for generations in Vijay’s family.

  The first was Samavesh, second was Gravity or gravitational force. Last but not?the least, third one was Domain Control.

  Sharv had already learned Samavesh because its greatest benefit was that it didn’t require Prana. All you needed was the correct incantation.

  But Gravity and Domain Control required vast amounts of Prana. Still, that wasn’t a big problem anymore—Sharv already possessed Prana.

  He did want to learn gravitational force, but there was a problem.

  To learn it, he first needed to master Domain Control. Because, as the name suggests, gravitational force was directly tied to gravity itself.

  But gravity isn’t simple. It is a principle born of nature. It binds together the five elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Space.

  Space is subtle, all-pervading, formless. It gives space for the other four elements to exist. Like a great vessel that houses everything. And what keeps them all together?

  Gravity.

  It holds them all at once together yet keeps them separate. Even if gravity isn’t listed among the five elements, its influence can’t be ignored.

  Which is exactly why using it is so dangerous. Because to use the power of nature itself even a little one must also bear its consequences.

  And the consequence of wielding gravitational force is: The person's mind must withstand the entire weight of that force. The more it's used the more the brain endures. And if the person can’t handle it...

  Boom.

  The person's head simply explodes. That is the price. Which is why one must first learn Domain Control. With Domain Control, one can form a domain, within which everything that exists can be governed by the user.

  Inside that domain, leave gravitational force, even flow of time comes under the control of the user. Not completely but to some extent.

  This is why Domain Control should be used while using gravity, because the burden on the mind can be drastically reduced.

  “Haa…”

  Sharv sighed helplessly.

  Because mastering Domain Control was no easy task. To even begin, one had to open the Manipura (Solar Plexus) Chakra. In other words you had to become a First-Rate Martial Artist.

  Without that, it was impossible.

  Meanwhile, his master; the woman could freely wield gravitational force. Because she no longer had a physical body. There was literally nothing for gravity to crush.

  But Sharv… he was only human.

  “What a helpless situation I’m in… hehe!”

  Sharv let out a faint laugh.

  His lips curled slightly beneath the white cloth covering his mouth, hiding any trace of expression.

  Human life is like this spent beneath the weight of helplessness. Most of the people cry and submit to their helpless situation.

  But Sharv's mother used to say that, Instead of crying in front of that helplessness, it’s better to smile, to live through it, experience it and think about how to break free from it or how to fight it and then act.

  _“No one becomes great for nothing. One must face their helplessness, struggle against it. Only then do they become worthy of achieving anything.”_

  Her voice played in his memory.

  Sharv would do the same—advance his cultivation and face his helplessness head-on so that he never has to face a situation like this again.

  Tung! Tung!

  ‘My Prana is nearly depleted. I can’t keep it up any longer…’

  His master said.

  Sharv didn’t protest. They had already come far, at the foot of the mountain. Beyond that are thick forests and even beyond are the Northern Pains.

  Sharv drew his master’s spirit back into the sacred thread, and continued his escape.

  SHARV'S MASTER : ‘Humph! There’s nothing special about it. There are Nadis in our legs as well. If you understand them properly you can easily do this.’

  VIJAY : ‘Then what about using it on peni...’

  SHARV'S MASTER : ‘Just shut the fuck up lowly spirit!’