Ankit watched his family slowly stir from meditation on the cultivation ground of Dark Haven Fortress, deep within the mountain range. Kamal had already opened his eyes a while ago but had waited patiently for Sanya and Neelam to awaken.
Once all three stood up, they did not relax or chat. Instead, they immediately continued training, calmly moving through the remaining active Mortal Laws of the Mortal FoundationSutra. They had already completed the Law of Iron Bones and the Law of Burning Blood earlier, and the quiet meditation from which they had just risen was the Law of the Still Mind.
Now they shifted into the Law of Heat and Cold, exposing themselves to controlled temperature extremes under the fortress' Vyuha(or Vuha / formation. All meant same thing).
After that came the Law of Wounds and Healing, pushing their bodies to the edge with safe strain before letting the green healing pills and natural recovery do their work.
Finally, standing side by side in the vast field, they took a deep breath and shouted together, voices echoing off the stone walls, "I will become stronger than I am today!"—thus completing the monthly Law of the Heart Vow.
With that, their active training ended. The remaining Mortal Laws were passive, things to be lived rather than drilled: the Law of Observing Eyes, the Law of the Silent Tongue, and the Law of the Empty Stomach. Those, they would carry with them in every step, every word, and every meal.
Ankit watched as his parents and sister walked into the bathroom and activated the RefreshVyuha, the formation that gently restored stamina and washed away fatigue and grime while they bathed.
After some time, they stepped out, faces bright and shoulders loose, completely refreshed.
Before any of them could speak, a blinding light burst out from the fortress, shot into the cavern ceiling, and then poured down to wrap around the entire underground stronghold.
As the radiance faded, a vast yellow barrier appeared, sheathing the fortress in a translucent shell.
It was light and almost weightless to the eye, covered in intricate flowing patterns that pulsed for a moment before the barrier slowly turned invisible.
Kamal, Sanya, and Neelam blinked in confusion, seeing nothing unusual anymore, but Ankit's eyes told a different story.
The barrier still shimmered clearly before him, every line of its patterns visible, and he instantly understood who had created it.
From deep within the fortress, the voices of the Sacral Clone and Solar Clone echoed through their chambers, brimming with triumph, "Yes, we did it. We finally completed this Vyuha."
"With this in place, even humanity's most powerful weapons won't be able to break through."
As their voices faded, another surge of brilliant light erupted and condensed into a second barrier around the fortress, this one denser and about one and a half times stronger than the first.
The process did not stop there; seven more waves of light followed in succession, each birthing a new barrier that stacked neatly over the previous layers, every one of them about one and a half times stronger than the one before.
By the time the ninth barrier locked into place, an invisible ninefold shell guarded the fortress, its strength multiplied to a terrifying degree.
And defense was only the beginning; this Vyuha also carried terrifying functions—elemental strikes that could rain down on enemies, binding fields for trapping and crowd control, elemental puppets and weapons, and many other hidden mechanisms waiting to be triggered.
This masterpiece was the fortress's new guardian: the Nav‑Kavach Astra Vyuha.
Solar Clone and Sacral Clone appeared a moment later, identical smiles on their faces.
They stopped in front of the family and bowed slightly. "So," Solar Clone said, "how is our new masterpiece, the Nav‑Kavach Astra Vyuha? From now on, it will guard this fortress and keep us safe."
Kamal, Sanya, and Neelam looked from Ankit to his clones, confusion flickering in their eyes before suddenly turning into realization.
"Ankit! When did you come back?" they exclaimed together.
Only now did they truly understand that this was Ankit himself, not one of his clones. The last time they had met him, they had assumed he was either the Solar Clone or the Sacral Clone.
Before, it had been easy to tell them apart because Ankit had always felt different—more solid, more real—than the clones.
But after the clones began cultivating with the Mortal Foundation Scripture, they had become almost indistinguishable from him, their presence fuller, more alive.
Now, if Ankit and his clones stood side by side, no ordinary person could tell who was who.
Ankit knew that if he, too, started following the Mortal Foundation Scripture, he would once again pull ahead and become something different.