In the middle of the underground fields, under red suns and flowing water, the family stood together—finally starting to understand just who, and what, Ankit had become. Then they left Sacral clone and continued their journey.
At the far left, they saw the cultivation grounds: open stone platforms, training dummies, and wide empty space for techniques. On the right, more space waited—future training zones, storage, maybe even another garden.
Solar clone looked at his family and said quietly, "From now on, this is our home."
Then he added, "Now go and rest in your rooms. I'll call you in three hours for lunch. If you want to go around, just use the wind puppets I left in front of your rooms—or clap three times."
Then he left.
Seeing Solar clone go, they started back toward their rooms. On the way, Sanya said excitedly, "Dad, Mom, even now I can't believe this is our new home. And my room… it's too good for me. Hahaha!"
Kamal and Neelam, seeing their daughter so excited, had the same thought: *I know. I feel the same. Even I can't believe it.*
But they didn't say it. Instead, Kamal said, "Sanya, you shouldn't get excited so easily. You should keep your composure."
"Yes, Sanya, your dad is right," Neelam said. "You should keep your composure, not get excited so quickly like now."
Seeing her family lecturing her, Sanya kept quiet. She knew her parents were just as excited, only better at hiding it.
They all reached their rooms. When Sanya passed Ankit's door, she wanted to barge in, but her parents strictly told her not to disturb her brother's rest.
Sanya understood and obediently went to her room. Her parents also entered theirs.
______
Ankit awoke in his room. He freshened up by activating his water‑controlling technique.
Clear water formed in the air, first as a thin mist, then as steady streams circling his body. The water wrapped around him like a gentle cloak, sliding over his hair, face, and skin.
Ankit opened his room door and stepped into the corridor. He moved his foot slightly and activated his earth‑controlling technique.
The stone beneath his feet rose in a neat round platform, just big enough for him to stand on.
The lifted earth began to slide smoothly along the floor, carrying Ankit forward like a silent scooter.
He stood with hands in his pockets as the stone circle glided through the wide passage and turned toward the kitchen on its own.
On the way, he linked his mind with his two clones. Fresh from his "bath," all their memories and actions flowed into him in an instant. He learned that his parents had already reached the kitchen, and both Solar clone and Sacral clone were there, serving them at the long, sixty‑meter dining table.
By the time his moving platform reached the kitchen entrance, he could already picture the scene clearly—his parents laughing and chatting while eating hot, fluffy rotis, fragrant vegetable curry, rice, dal, crispy pakoras, and freshly cut salad, with cool sweet lassi in tall glasses, every dish made from their own underground fields.
When Ankit reached the kitchen door, the golems standing beside it opened the way and bowed in greeting.
Ankit was honestly embarrassed. He wanted to smack Sacral clone's head. Why did he have to add something so cringe?
He stopped using the earth‑controlling technique, and the round platform under his feet sank back into the floor, merging with the stone as if it had never risen. Then he took the last few steps toward the kitchen.
______
Sanya was resting on her bed, gazing at the ceiling, smiling. She hadn't taken her eyes off it since she entered the room, staring at the purple butterfly Sacral clone had carved for her.
After three hours, the fire wisps in her room—those that provided light and kept the temperature steady—suddenly began to gather at one point and formed a circle.
The moment the fire wisps started to move, Sanya was ready to dash out of the room and call for her parents and brother; for a second, she thought a ghost had come into her room.
But then she remembered her parents' words from earlier: "You should keep your composure."
Remembering that, Sanya took a deep breath and forced herself to think calmly. After a moment, she quickly realised this had to be her brother's doing.
She looked up at the circle of fire wisps. Inside the ring, glowing letters formed a message:
**"Come to the kitchen, food is ready."**
She sighed in relief and thought angrily, *I'll give my brother a beating for scaring me like this… Huh. But he's so strong. Can I even beat him? Ahhh, so annoying.*
She ran to her door, which opened automatically as the earth golems outside reacted to her approach. A wind puppet in the shape of a mattress floated to a stop in front of her.
She climbed onto the mattress, and it automatically headed toward the kitchen.
The same thing happened with Ankit's parents, but they didn't lose their composure like Sanya. They simply stepped onto their own wind‑mattresses and glided toward the kitchen for their first proper family meal in Dark Haven Fortress.