As Rudra crossed the white line marking the end of the fourth stage, a loud buzz echoed through the clearing—
signalling completion.
The armed men who had been pursuing him stopped in their tracks.
One of them, a tall man with a scar over his right eye, sighed and muttered,
Tch~
"Tch… Lucky kid."
Another, with a faint grin, shook his head.
"No... that wasn't luck. He earned it."
They watched Rudra fade into the next trail, then turned around and disappeared into the woods, their job done.
Rudra walked forward with quiet determination, but just a few steps in, a cold mist began to seep into the forest floor, rising up like fingers curling around trees.
Within seconds, everything was cloaked in a thick fog.
The trees looked distorted, shadows stretched unnaturally, and the air itself felt heavier.
Hammy, peeking out from Rudra's jacket, squeaked nervously.
"This doesn't feel right…"
"____"
Rudra narrowed his eyes, trying to scan the area, but visibility dropped to barely a few feet.
Suddenly, the world around him tilted—
or at least, it felt like it did.
A wave of dizziness hit him. His legs felt heavier, his balance slightly off.
He blinked rapidly to stay focused.
"Poison gas?"
he muttered to himself.
"No… more like… illusion?"
As he pressed forward,
he began to see strange fragments scattered across the ground—
broken weapons, shattered pieces of armour, splinters of carts, and what looked like old training dummies torn apart and scattered as if a battle once had taken place.
But there was no blood.
No sound.
Nothing but silence and the distant drip of water.
Rudra paused near a half-buried mask, cracked in two.
He knelt to examine it, his mind still foggy, but every instinct screamed:
This is part of the test.
The mist wasn't just clouding his vision—
it was playing tricks on his mind.
A flicker in the corner of his eye—
he turned, and for a split second, he saw himself, standing with his back turned.
He blinked, and it was gone.
Hammy whispered,
"This place... It's is very confusing."
Rudra clenched his jaw, grounding himself with deep breaths.
"This must be a trial of the mind."
He focused on his heartbeat, controlled his breathing, and tightened the grip on his senses.
'Don't trust what you see. Don't trust what you feel. Just move forward.'
As Rudra pressed forward through the dense, chilling mist, he spotted a faint glimmer ahead—
something half-buried beneath the moss and twisted roots.
He crouched down and carefully brushed the dirt aside to reveal a broken shard of what looked unmistakably like a piece of the Brahmastra—
its divine markings faint but still glowing softly.
Rudra's eyes sharpened.
"This could be it..."
With cautious hands, he picked it up.
But the moment his fingers closed around it, the shard crumbled—
not into dust, but into mud that slithered down his palm like wet clay.
His expression didn't change, but his breath caught for a second.
He stood still, listening to the silence pressing in around him.
Then he moved again—this time more carefully, more deliberately.
Just a few steps away, he found a spear tip, glinting with runes.
It looked real.
Ancient.
Powerful.
But the moment he touched it—
mud again.
"Damn…"
he whispered.
"None of this is real."
Hammy peeked out from his jacket, sniffed the air, and then sneezed.
"Ptooey! Even the smell is weird!"
Rudra's vision blurred slightly, and he shook his head.
The dizziness was creeping in again.
His thoughts began to feel sluggish, like trying to run through water.
The trees around him began to subtly shift.
Their trunks twisted.
Some looked like people.
Others looked like... himself, just standing there, unmoving.
His heartbeat grew louder in his ears.
"Focus,"
Rudra muttered to himself.
"Focus."
But it was getting harder.
The mist was not just an illusion—
it was a mental assault.
It was dulling his mind, breaking his sense of reality, pulling him into a trap not made of blades or beasts, but of confusion and despair.
Rudra dropped to one knee and closed his eyes tightly.
He began to count each breath slowly.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
He tapped the center of his forehead, a small trick Guru Arvind had once taught him to restore clarity.
"Don't fight the mist. Accept it. Feel it, then pass through it."
"I just need to find… the real one,"
he said quietly.
"But what if none of them are real?"
Hammy asked innocently, her red tail twitching.
"Then I make it real,"
Rudra replied, his voice gaining strength.
He stood up again, more resolute now.
The swirling fog still clouded everything—
but he narrowed his senses, relying not on sight or sound, but on instinct—
the same instinct that had carried him through traps, predators, and deadly battles.
Rudra moved deeper into the misty woods, his breath forming small clouds in the cold, damp air.
The ground beneath his feet felt softer than before—
wet, uneven, almost like it wanted to pull him under.
Every few minutes, he would stumble upon another replica of the Brahmastra—
a blade tip, a half-broken hilt, a glowing orb embedded in a staff—but each time, when his fingers wrapped around it…
Mud.
It would dissolve, slipping through his hands like an illusion refusing to be held.
He didn't know how long he had been walking now.
Time had become meaningless.
The mist swallowed the sun, and without any light filtering through the dense canopy, the forest seemed locked in an endless twilight.
The only sounds were the soft rustling of the trees, the occasional flutter of wings overhead, and Hammy's tiny, irritated squeaks whenever another weapon dissolved into nothing.
"Gah, how many of these fake things do they have?!"
she huffed, arms crossed.
"I don't know,"
Rudra muttered, his voice low, heavy.
Each failed attempt was a crack in his will.
A small voice in the back of his mind started whispering:
'What if?..'
'What if this is just a game? A trick?'
'What if you're meant to wander forever?'
He shook his head, trying to push away the thoughts.
But the fog was messing with more than just his vision.
It invaded his senses, his perception, even his resolve.
His eyes were bloodshot.
His legs were tired.
But he kept moving.
And still… nothing.
Another fake Brahmastra.
And another.
Every time he picked one up, hope would rise—
then shatter into sludge between his fingers.
"How long have I been here?"
Rudra whispered, looking down at his hands.
They were trembling.
Not from fear—
but from exhaustion.
Hammy jumped onto his shoulder and patted his cheek.
"Hey! Don't zone out. I'm here. We'll figure this out."
Rudra gave a faint smile and nodded.
"I know."
But deep down…
he knew this was a test of endurance, more than combat.
It was meant to break his spirit.
And so far…
the forest was doing a very good job.
Just as the weight of the endless searching began to press down on Rudra's chest like a boulder…
just when the mist seemed to whisper louder than his own thoughts…
he froze.
A soft, gentle voice floated through the thick fog—
a child's voice, sweet and clear like a bell ringing in the dead of night.
"I'm here…"
Rudra's eyes widened.
His heart, dulled by fatigue, lurched with sudden emotion.
That voice—
though he had never heard it before—
felt strangely familiar…
comforting, like a memory from a dream he couldn't fully remember.
It didn't echo like the illusions around him.
It was warm.
Real.
Hammy's ears twitched on his shoulder.
"Did you hear that?"
she whispered.
Rudra gave a slow nod, his eyes scanning the fog.
"I'm here… come find me…"
The voice repeated softly, guiding him like a thread through the madness.
He moved.
For the first time in hours, maybe longer, Rudra walked with purpose.
He ignored the fake Brahmastra fragments that lay along the path—
glittering, beckoning, whispering promises—
but he no longer cared.
He could now hear her clearly, the child's voice cutting through the fog like a beam of light.
"They're all fake. I'm the one you're meant to find."
After what felt like a breathless eternity, Rudra came to a stop.
Before him stood a massive, ancient tree, long since dead.
Its gnarled roots clawed at the ground, and its hollow trunk loomed tall and wide like a forgotten gateway.
A deep hole yawned at its center, like the very heart of the forest had opened itself to him.
And inside it—
glowing with an ethereal light—
was a single fragment of the Brahmastra.
Rudra stepped forward.
No illusions. No tricks.
His instincts didn't scream at him.
The mist even seemed to pull back, giving him space.
He slowly reached into the tree's hollow… and touched it.
The moment his fingers made contact, the glowing fragment shimmered, then began to melt—
liquefying into golden light.
It surged up his arm, and Rudra didn't resist.
It wasn't threatening.
It was… welcoming.
The energy flowed into him, warm and powerful, embedding itself deep inside his core.
"You have found me…"
"You were always meant to."
Rudra's eyes widened.
The forest seemed to exhale, the mist thinning ever so slightly as his head cleared for the first time in hours.
Strength returned to his limbs.
His thoughts became sharp.
Hammy blinked.
"Wha… what just happened? You glowing, Rudra."
He exhaled, steady and calm.
"I found the real one."
Just as the radiant energy of the second Brahmastra fragment dissolved into his body,
Rudra staggered slightly—
his heartbeat echoing louder than ever. He could feel something shifting deep within.
Then, a crisp, clear notification rang out in his mind, like a divine whisper only he could hear
[Ding...]
[You have acquired the Second Fragment of Brahmastra. First and Second Fragments have begun merging…]
[New Energy Unlocked: [Preservation]]
[Current Balance: [Destruction] + [Preservation]]
[🔷 Fragment 1 – Acquired ✅
🔷 Fragment 2 – Acquired ✅
🔷 Fragment 3 – Missing ❌
⚡ Current Fusion: Incomplete
☯ Balance Forming:
🔥 [Destruction] – 50% Synced
🌙 [Preservation] – 45% Synced
🌀 Final Harmony Locked until all fragments are merged]
[Dual Forces detected. Internal equilibrium forming… Initiating Harmony Mode.]
[Ding...]
[Reward: 180 HP, Basic Chakra Flow (Awakening…) and Enhanced Night Vision]
Rudra's eyes glowed faintly, one flickering with the aura of destruction—
fiery and raw—and the other now pulsing with a calm silvery-blue light, representing preservation.
He instinctively gripped his chest as the two powers collided and intertwined inside him, not in conflict—
but in a delicate, dangerous dance.
He dropped to one knee as golden threads of light flickered around him.
Hammy jumped off his shoulder and backed up a step, eyes wide.
"Rudra?! You okay?! You're… glowing again—but like, twice now!"
He let out a long breath.
"Yeah… I'm okay. No—I'm more than okay. I can feel it. Something new… something that's not just destruction. It's…"
He paused, trying to find the word.
"It's like… a strong shield. A power that holds things together."
The two opposing forces—
Destruction and Preservation—
weren't tearing him apart.
Instead, they centered him, made him feel whole.
Like this was always meant to happen.
The mist around the forest recoiled, as if in fear or reverence.
And at the center of it all stood Rudra, cloaked in the energy of the Brahmastra.
After a few minutes of deep breathing and steady focus, the intense divine aura slowly settled around Rudra.
The glow in his eyes faded, but a lingering trace of power still danced beneath his skin.
Yet even with this newfound strength, he didn't feel whole.
"Something's missing…"
he muttered, pressing his palm against his chest.
"It's like… the circle hasn't completed."
Hammy tilted her head from his shoulder.
"You okay? Is it the power again?"
"No,"
Rudra said softly.
"It's the last fragment… I can feel it. I won't be whole until I find the third and final piece."
He took a deep breath, then said in his mind:
'System, show me my status.'
A glowing transparent screen appeared before his eyes.
[STATUS WINDOW]
[Name: Rudra
Race: Human (Reincarnated), (&*^*&^^)
Affiliation: Gurukul Trainee
Level: 5
Title: Hope's Chosen
Strength: 100 (Peak Human)
Agility: 100 (Peak Human)
Dexterity: 100 (Peak Human)
Stamina: 100 (Peak Human)
Abilities:
Third Eye (Locked), Hope System.
Passive Skill:
Peak Human Stats ⚔️
Instinctive Combat Awareness 🧠
Adaptive Reflexes 🌀
Enhanced Night Vision 👁️
Basic Chakra Flow (Awakening…) 🌌
[Nature's Son] Lvl-2 🌿 (Passive – boosts sensory perception, environmental adaptability, and animal empathy)
Destined One To Be With Fate
BGM Booster 🎵
Dance (MAX) 💃
Divine Body (Locked) ✨
[Inventory: Unlocked]
Inventory:
2x Water Bottle
1x Unopened Bread Pack
2x ₹10 Biscuit Packets
Few Wild Berries (Hammy's Stash) 🐿️
Green Flag x4 (Checkpoint Flags)
Rope (3 meters)
Hope Points: 1,300]
Rudra stared at the glowing status window hovering before him, his sharp eyes catching something new flashing at the corner of the interface—
[Inventory: Unlocked].
He blinked in surprise.
"Inventory…?"
As the thought crossed his mind, he noticed the lightness of his shoulders.
His bag… it was gone.
Startled, he checked his side—
but then realized with a grin that the bread, biscuit packets, water bottles, and even the few berries Hammy had stuffed in had all been automatically transferred into his Inventory.
Seeing this, Rudra couldn't help but chuckle.
"Finally, some quality-of-life upgrades."
But then his eyes drifted down to the rewards given by the system.
He sighed softly.
"HP again…"
Even though he understood the importance of Hope Points—
they were his primary currency but the problem was that the store function was still locked.
Yet the new trait Basic Chakra Flow caught his attention.
He could already feel a gentle warmth flowing in his limbs, especially at his pressure points, as if something dormant had been nudged awake.
And Enhanced Night Vision.
Well it is a useful skill.
As Rudra dismissed the glowing status screen, a gentle breeze rustled through the forest, carrying with it the faint scent of earth and leaves.
He glanced around—
the thick, mind-twisting mist that had blanketed the entire woods was now gone.
In its place was a calming twilight.
The sky had turned orange, painted with streaks of red and gold, signaling that the sun was about to set.
The trees, once eerie silhouettes in the mist, now stood tall and quiet.
Birds returned to their nests, and a soft hush fell over the forest.
"____"
Rudra blinked.
He had completely lost track of time inside that mist.
"A whole day…?"
he whispered to himself, astonished.
But before he could dwell on it, two figures emerged from the path ahead.
One of them, who had calm wisdom in his eyes, was none other than Guru Arvind.
A serene smile played on his lips as he stepped forward.
"Rudra,"
he said, his voice carrying both strength and warmth,
"you have done well. You have created a history."
Rudra bowed his head in respect.
"Thank you, Guruji."
Next to him stood a man whose presence was sharp, powerful, and steady like a mountain—Mohan Bhargav.
Rudra's eyes widened slightly, but then softened.
He knew who this was, even before he opened his mouth.
Mohan extended his hand with a proud smile.
"You've done a good job, Rudra. That test wasn't just about strength… it was meant to test your sanity, your will, your clarity under pressure."
Rudra shook his hand firmly, nodding.
Nod~
"It wasn't easy. That mist… it almost broke me."
"But it didn't,"
Mohan said with a glint of approval.
"You listened to your instincts. And your friend."
He glanced at Hammy, who sat confidently on Rudra's shoulder, chest puffed out like she just saved the world.
Guru Arvind folded his hands behind his back, observing Rudra quietly before speaking again.
"Two fragments of the Brahmastra now rest within you. You've inherited more than energy—you've inherited responsibility. The final piece awaits."
Rudra took a deep breath, feeling the divine power still gently humming through his veins, the second fragment now fully merged with the first.
"I'm ready,"
he said calmly.
Mohan and Arvind exchanged a brief glance.
"We know,"
Mohan replied.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N):
Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review!!! And power stone!!!
Which will motivate me more.