The cave was silent, except for the distant echoes of dripping water. The dim glow of the fire flickered across Rishi’s face, but his mind was drowning in chaos. His grip tightened around the Smace, his heartbeat hammering in his ears.
The voice—the one that had whispered in his battles, guided his instincts—finally spoke aloud.
"About time you figured it out, brat."
Rishi inhaled sharply. It wasn’t a hallucination. It wasn’t his imagination.
"You really thought you were just special, huh? That the Smace randomly chose you?" The voice let out a deep, mocking chuckle. "Took you long enough to hear me properly."
Rishi swallowed. "Who are you?"
The Smace pulsed in his grip. And then—
The world around him changed.
Rishi was no longer in the cave. He stood on a battlefield, the air thick with the stench of blood and burning flesh. At the center sat a warrior, regal yet terrifying, clad in tattered crimson robes. His long black hair blew in the wind, and his golden eyes burned like molten fire. He rested his chin lazily on his fist, a smirk playing at his lips.
Beside him lay an identical Smace, pulsating with a deadly aura.
"Finally, we meet face to face," the warrior said.
Rishi’s throat went dry. "You’re… Maharaj Rudraveer?"
The warrior’s smirk widened.
"That name died with my body. Call me Rakhtastra."
Rishi clenched his fists. "You’ve been inside the Smace all this time?"
"Protecting you, actually," Rakhtastra said, stretching his arms lazily. "Remember when you unlocked the Fire Blood Form? You should have died. The Smace doesn’t just grant power—it devours the weak. But I held it back."
Rishi’s stomach twisted. He remembered the hunger of the Smace, the way it nearly drained him dry.
"So, you’re saying I’m alive because of you?"
Rakhtastra chuckled. "More or less. But don’t think it’s out of kindness. You’re just too interesting to let die."
Rishi groaned. "Great. My fate is tied to a sarcastic spirit."
"Oh? Would you prefer I be all wise and noble? ‘Oh, great master, allow me to serve you—’" Rakhtastra mocked dramatically.
Rishi scowled. "Just shut up."
Rakhtastra’s laugh echoed around him.
"I think we’ll get along just fine, brat."
---
Kaviraj’s Revelation
The battlefield faded. Rishi was back in the cave, the Smace still warm in his hands. His thoughts were still spinning when Kaviraj, who had been silently watching, finally spoke.
"Rishi, there is something you need to know."
Rishi turned to him, frowning. He barely knew Kaviraj. The man had appeared just three days ago, claiming he wanted to train him. And now, he was talking as if he knew everything about Rishi’s life.
"You have always believed you were an orphan," Kaviraj said, his voice careful.
A cold knot formed in Rishi’s stomach. "What do you mean?"
Kaviraj hesitated, then spoke the words that changed everything.
"You were not abandoned, Rishi. You had parents. And they were murdered."
Rishi took a step back. His heart pounded violently.
"No," he whispered. "That’s… that’s not possible."
Kaviraj met his gaze. "The ones after the Smace… the ones hunting you… They are not just your enemies. They are your own blood."
Rishi’s body went cold.
"The ones trying to kill you now—the ones who have chased the Smace for generations—are the descendants of the very brothers who betrayed Maharaj Rudraveer."
Rishi staggered. His fingers trembled against the Smace’s handle.
"They stole your family. They stole your past. And they killed your parents."
A storm of emotions crashed into him—grief, rage, disbelief.
"WHO WERE THEY?!" he roared.
Kaviraj’s expression darkened. "They are the same ones after you now. They will stop at nothing to claim the Smace and finish what their ancestors started."
Rishi’s eyes burned. His entire life, he had believed he was no one. An orphan with no history, no surname.
But now—
"And the ones who killed them?" His voice was dangerously low.
Kaviraj clenched his fists. "They were the same ones responsible for the fall of Rudraveer. The same bloodline that betrayed him. They have been after the Smace for generations."
Rishi felt something inside him snap.
"They will pay," he growled.
Rakhtastra’s voice rumbled in his mind, dark and approving.
"Now that’s more like it."
---
Kaviraj’s Truth
But Kaviraj wasn’t finished.
"There is one more thing you need to know," he said quietly.
Rishi turned, eyes burning with fury. "What now?"
Kaviraj exhaled. "I am not just some wandering warrior who took an interest in you."
Rishi’s patience was razor-thin. "Then who are you?"
Kaviraj’s jaw tightened.
"I am the grandson of the Guru who failed to protect your parents."
Silence.
"My grandfather swore to protect your family. He failed. And because of that, your parents died."
Rishi’s breath hitched.
"He lived the rest of his life in regret. And before he died, he passed that burden to me." Kaviraj met Rishi’s gaze. "I came to you not because of fate, but because of duty. Because I will not let history repeat itself."
Rishi stared at him, emotions warring inside him.
"So all this time…" His voice wavered. "You knew about my past?"
Kaviraj shook his head. "Not everything. I only knew you were the last heir of the guardians. That the Smace had chosen you. I didn’t know your full history until recently."
Rishi turned away, fists clenched.
Everything he had believed about himself had been a lie.
He wasn’t just an orphan.
He was the last of his bloodline.
The rightful wielder of the Smace.
And the enemies hunting him… were the ones who had killed his parents.
A low chuckle echoed in his mind.
"So, brat," Rakhtastra murmured. "What are you going to do now?"
Rishi’s eyes glowed with fury.
"I’m going to make them pay."
---
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