Chapter 19: Hidden Flame, Silent Trial
Opening my eyes, I found myself back in my room. The familiar, faded ceiling greeted me with quiet indifference, but the memories of what had happened the night before refused to be dismissed as a dream. The altar. The awakening. The Saint.
I wanted to doubt it all, to write it off as a hallucination brought on by stress, but I couldn't. Because something inside me had changed. I could feel it—the unfamiliar energy dancing beneath my skin, threading through my veins, mingling with the blood that pumped through my heart.
Mana.
It wasn't just energy. It was the root of existence, the primal essence that constellations wielded and the true power behind the strongest hunters. Some called it the breath of the universe, others the rhythm of creation itself. Now, it was within me.
It flowed chaotically, yet there was a rhythm to it—an elegant disorder that hinted at structure, like a storm that followed its own hidden rules. I could feel it responding to my thoughts, my emotions. I could guide it, shape it—but only to a degree. What I lacked were techniques, the codified ways constellations bestowed upon their hunters to wield mana efficiently.
And there lay my current problem.
Status Window
Name: Vijay
Rank: 1
Constitution: Sealbreaker Body
Constellation: Unknown (Linked to Central Hub - Access Denied)
Hunter Coins: 0
The status window was barebones. Functional. Lacking.
Unlike most Indian hunters who connected to localized pantheon-based constellations, my system was glitched—or rather, linked to something called the Central Hub, a mechanism I neither understood nor had access to. Maybe it was a result of the seals. Maybe it was something more ancient.
Regardless, it left me cut off from normal progression.
To rank up, hunters must pass a trial set by their constellations. That trial becomes a gatekeeper of talent. It separates the blessed from the rest. And while I had talent—some, at least—I was no prodigy. I was good among elites. Better than someone like Ross. But not on the level of those blessed with divine favor from birth.
And now, thanks to my strange constitution, I might not even get the chance to try.
I got up, took a deep breath, and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. My reflection stared back with a hint of difference. Was it in the eyes? Or the confidence behind them? I couldn't tell.
Downstairs, the atmosphere felt lighter—as though a storm had passed. Laughter echoed faintly, and the scent of warm food pulled me toward the dining room. I could already hear the news in the background.
News Channel: "The emergency conference convened by the Saints has concluded. As speculated, yesterday the Monkey Saint, alongside the Gun Saint, released a seal. This unprecedented act has granted Indian hunters a power boost, aligning their strength with the global ranking scale."
A momentous announcement.
So, it was public now. My awakening and the seal release were real. Not only had I felt it—the world had.
I stepped into the dining room.
At first, no one noticed me. My family sat together, visibly relaxed. There was a sense of peace I hadn't felt around them in months. Perhaps it was the aftermath of the war with the Aditya Group finally coming to a close.
Then Raj turned.
His eyes met mine. Rank 5 hunters were terrifying in presence. His mana radiated off him in waves—a roaring fire, majestic and threatening. Yet it held warmth too, like a bonfire during a cold winter night.
My father's aura was calmer but no less impressive. Once a Rank 5 avatar of Agni, now Rank 2 due to his injuries, his presence still shone like molten gold. My mother's mana was light and healing, like spring wind. Even my cousins, though not high-ranked, had a distinct flavor to their mana now.
And then there was me.
Raj kept staring. His gaze, honed through years of combat, wasn't just seeing—it was analyzing. He sensed the mana in me. Suppressed as it was, I knew I couldn't hide it from him or Father. Sure enough, my father turned his head with the same narrowed eyes.
I gestured subtly. Please, not now.
They didn't press. I sat, quickly finished breakfast, and just as I stood, Father spoke.
"Vijay. Raj. Come with me. I have some shopping to do."
It wasn't a request.
We followed.
Outside, the sky was bright, cloudless, yet cool. The streets bustled, but our path was silent. I walked behind Father, staring at the back that once carried Delhi's hunter world. Broad, imposing, etched with age and scars.
He wasn't just any hunter. He was a man who had climbed to Rank 5 without shortcuts. Agni's avatar. His injury during a domain break had shattered his bond with Agni, costing him power and years of life. Yet even with a hunched back, he walked like a titan.
He led us to an older building—a low-rise made of sandstone and reinforced metal: the Ram Trading Company headquarters. Though much of the business had been handed to the Aditya Group, this property remained.
Assets not part of the deal. Income streams. Hidden reserves.
We entered through a side door and descended a spiraling staircase that led deep underground. Raj didn't look surprised, so clearly, he had been here before. The air grew cooler, thicker with mana.
At the end of the tunnel was a massive hall. Empty. At its center stood a single black stone pillar, unmarked and ancient.
Father stepped toward it.
I looked at Raj. His expression was unreadable, but there was anticipation in his eyes.
Father raised his right arm.
Flames erupted around it.
Golden-orange fire danced along his hand, forming intricate runes across his fingers. He pressed his palm against the pillar.
Veins of fire spread out like roots.
The pillar groaned, split open with a hiss, and slowly folded outward like a blooming flower.
And from its center, space warped.
A doorway formed, shimmering with blue and red mist, swirling like a vortex.
A dungeon.
Not an entry point from the Bureau. Not a rift from a known dungeon gate.
A hidden, personal dungeon.
Raj inhaled sharply.
My own heart pounded.
Father turned to us, his face calm but stern.
"This was sealed long ago. Only to be used in emergencies. It predates even my peak. Today, you both enter it with me. There are things you need to see."
I didn't know what lay beyond that gate. But the tension in my father's voice told me this was no ordinary dungeon.
This was legacy.
This was fire kept hidden.
And it was time to walk through it.