Chapter 9: The Karmic Reversal
The violet orb above the ritual fire hummed with the stolen lives of fifty innocents. Guru Bhargava—or the creature wearing his skin—laughed, a sound like dry bones rattling in a jar. The Blood Moon had fully emerged, casting a crimson stain across the indigo sky.
"You speak of unmasking codes, boy?" the Asura mocked. "I have spent ten thousand years perfecting this weave. You are but a child playing with the hem of a god's garment!"
Vikram looked down at the fifty disciples. Through his Eye of Truth (L5) and MAX Intellect (L10), the world had slowed to a standstill. He didn't see people; he saw fifty distinct streams of Sanskrit code being corrupted by a virus.
I don't have enough Punya to buy a solution, Vikram realized. But I have the one thing the Asura lacks: Purity.
The Siphon-Flip
"System," Vikram whispered, his voice resonating through the Akashic Interface. "Activate Mantra-Hacker L2. Targeted Strike: The Heart-Threads."
[ SYSTEM MESSAGE ]
Attribute Synergy: Dhi (L10) + Mantra-Hacker (L2).
Calculating Inverse Frequency...
Warning: To reverse the flow, you must act as the 'Karmic Bridge.' Your body will take 10% of the Paap-load as spiritual damage.
"Do it," Vikram commanded.
Vikram's hands blurred into a series of ancient mudras. He didn't chant a destructive mantra; he began the Mahamrityunjaya—the great life-restoring vibration.
"ॐत्र्यम्बकंयजामहे..."
As the syllables left his lips, they manifested as golden golden glyphs that raced down the black threads. To the Guru's horror, the violet orb didn't explode. It began to spin backward.
[ KARMIC ACTION: SYSTEM REVERSAL ]
Effect: The Siphon has been inverted.
Result: The 'Vritra-Shadow' energy is being drained from the Guru and purified into Punya for the disciples.
Karmic Gain: +500 Punya per second.
"What?! Stop! You are stealing my harvest!" the Asura shrieked. The Guru's body began to wither as his stolen power was sucked out of him. The black smoke of his Paap (150,000) was being pulled into the golden frequency of Vikram's chant, bleached white, and sent back into the hearts of the students.
The Divine Call
The Guru's eyes flickered. For a split second, the rot receded, and the kind, tired eyes of the real Maharishi Bhargava appeared.
"Vikram..." the real Guru gasped, his voice barely a whisper. "Strike now... the core... I cannot... hold him... much longer..."
Vikram saw it. Inside the Guru's chest, the Anahata Chakra was being held in a spiritual vice by a dark, amorphous shape—the Vritra-Shadow.
The Final Punya Surge
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Punya Gained from Reversal: +15,000.
Total Current Punya: 15,005.
Vikram descended from the air, his feet touching the edge of the ritual pit. The violet orb was now a brilliant, blinding white. It was no longer a bomb; it was a Battery of Divine Energy.
"I don't need to kill you, Asura," Vikram said, drawing the Whisper of Kalindi. The C-Rank blade was vibrating so violently it hummed like a choir. "I only need to give the Guru his body back."
Vikram channeled the 15,000 newly earned Punya directly into his sword.
[ WEAPON EVOLUTION INITIATED ]
Cost: 15,000 Punya.
Whisper of Kalindi: Rank C ➔ Rank B (Astra-Grade).
New Property: [Soul-Sever] — Can strike a possessor without harming the host.
The Strike of the Iron Sage
With Speed (L7) and Reaction (L6), Vikram moved. He didn't use Flash-Step; he used Akash-Gaman, appearing instantly behind the Guru.
He drove the silver-white blade not into the Guru's heart, but into his Shadow.
"CHHINDHI!" (Sever!)
The blade passed through Guru Bhargava like water, but it struck the Vritra-Shadow with the weight of a sun. A horrific, non-human scream ripped through the air as the dark entity was torn out of the Guru's back, manifesting as a mass of writhing black snakes.
[ BOSS ENCOUNTER: VRITRA-SHADOW (TRUE FORM) ]
Rank: Atirathi (Level 60).
Condition: Weakened/Exposed.
Threat: If not destroyed in 60 seconds, it will detonate, destroying the Gurukul.
The Shadow-Asura, now separated from its host, coiled itself into a giant serpent of darkness, its fangs dripping with the poison that could end the Silver Age.
The Shadow-Asura is exposed! The disciples are awake but weak. The real Guru is unconscious.
The Ultimate Sacrifice: Use your Charm (L10) to draw the Asura's entire Paap into yourself, then use Vajra-Mushti to explode from within, relying on your Ojas (L5) to survive.The Cooperative Strike: Command the 50 disciples to chant the Gayatri Mantra in unison, creating a "Lasso of Light" to hold the serpent while you deliver the final blow.The Shop Gamble: Spend your remaining 5 Punya on a "Karmic Debt" loan to purchase a [One-Time Brahmastra Fragment] to erase the Asura from the Akashic Records forever.
How will you end the Shadow, Vikram?