Chapter 11: 1.10 Kundalini Firework Festival. (3.7k)
My Kundalini tethers fired up, leaving stinging sensations all over my skin. It felt like each of the tiny hairs on my arms was being pulled in a different direction. These were the connections to each of my Akshara animals that I had painstakingly given birth to, by my very own hands. They numbered somewhere around twelve hundred, each taking less than two minutes to make on average, repeated for over forty hours.
I had thought about the connection I shared with Panna while creating them from my own Kundalini, and created the Kundalini Tethering skill after a couple hundred tries. The earthworm-like beings I so carefully crafted were small in length, with all their durability concentrated at the tip of their heads, which ended in a sharp thorn-like protrusion. Their orders were to stay hidden under the ground, near the soft ground of the pool, until I wished them to relocate to wherever I wanted, depending on the spawn point of the monsters. But it seems that they don't need to go much further. I spread them out over the southeastern region of this Ashrama section, outside the range of the barrier and right on the path of the Asuras running towards us. My Kundalini tethers trembled as the footsteps of the bloodthirsty Asuras, bent on destroying our haven got closer, as they neared the flat lands from the steep mountain slopes. My chest threatened to give out under the intense anticipation and erratic pounding of my heart. The fifth-standard students urgently continued with their Rakshak Vrata as the seniors gripped their weapons tightly.
"Just a few more seconds until impact!! Brace yourselves with the shields, Surakshaks!!!!" I heard a leader-like voice from the crowd of seniors.
"Yes!!!" seniors shouted all around us and rested their huge circular shields on the ground with a thump.
"Yoddhas, take cover behind the Surakshaks! Be ready to strike out at any time!!"
"Yes!!" another set of seniors brandished their Kundalini-covered swords.
"Dhanurdhars, take aim, ready your arrows. Vaidyas, be on standby, ready to act for any injuries happening among the Surakshaks and Yoddhas!!!!" The commander finished giving out orders.
The gravel between the grass blades got wilder, skipping on the ground due to the intense vibration from below.
I got disappointed as the first batch of thorn-headed earthworms that I created just a while ago popped and died as they tried to breach the Fire God's barrier from inside the Ashrama. No need to create them now then. I'll need to depend on the ones currently outside.
Just as the Asuras reached the flat lands, I commanded the earthworms to poke their heads out from the ground.
Pop! Pop pop pop pop pop!!!! Pop Pop POP POP POP POP POP POP POP POP!!!!!!!!!
My insides twisted with pain as the tethers broke one after another. It felt like someone had invaded their hands into my body and now wringing it, bursting invisible bubble wrappers within my body. It is an enjoyable experience when you're the one who pops it, but incredibly painful when you're the one that gets popped. I felt like pieces of my soul were disappearing in an instant. I strengthened the rest of the earthworms that were still alive by sending my Kundalini through the tethers. Hundreds of pieces, that were once me, died within seconds making me lose my mind. My brain froze, eyes went hazed, ears rang and my nose started bleeding. It was way worse than activating multiple skills for the first time. Anik who sat beside me held my shoulders shouting something illegible beside my ears. And then the Ashrama shook again with the impact born from the Asuras slamming against the fire barrier.
I heard a warcry from the seniors as thousands of Kundalini fireworks lit up the sky. Trailing above us like colorful meteorites, the arrows from Dhanurdhars, the ranged dealers, slammed against the burning bodies of the Asuras blasting them to pieces. Blood and organs flew everywhere, still burning, slowly turning into Ash.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
As an unknown energy burned through my body clearing my mind, I realized my plan had worked, somewhat, because I had no idea how many Asuras you needed to hit before they could give you enough experience for leveling up.
I probed into my body to see how many worms are still left and got depressed. Only about fifteen or twenty were left, out of twelve hundred, who were lucky enough to not get trampled by the Asuras yet.
They also died within the next few minutes not giving enough exp for going up another level. Should I have asked them to come out later? When the stronger-looking ones arrived? Naah, I couldn't take any risks. What if they died, crushed to death because of the pressure from above? They wouldn't have achieved whatever little they did.
"What happened to you??? Are you okay?" I looked sideways to find Anik's worried face in front of me.
"I suddenly got dizzy because of the training maybe. I seem fine now." I said acting as if I had no energy left in my body. But the tension in my facial muscles gave quite an indication that clear disappointment was showing across my face.
"I'll support you until we reach our room. Don't decline." he said in return. "I knew you were training in a way different than us, but I never assumed that you were lazing around just because you weren't in the room. I knew at a glance that you were also working hard, just like us."
"You also give an impression like those seniors sending out powerful arrows right now." I returned the kind gesture with a smile and thoughtful words.
"I'll be much better than them. Keep watching. I'll not stop until I get acknowledged as a Kshatriya by the kings here in Satya Marta and become a ruler one day." he said as if he was praying for it in front of a divine idol.
This is the first time I heard him talk about his ultimate goal. I knew he wanted to stay in Satya Marta, but being a king here...King? I didn't think that far ahead. Alik Marta is just a mirror image of Satya Marta. Like we have democratic states in Alik, the system of kings and kingdoms stayed as it was from ancient times in Satya Marta. It is fascinating!!!! It was like stepping into the past again, or a new world with different aspects of society that I have heard about only in the mythologies or epics.
"Thanks for telling me this. I'll help you too, in your quest to become a king. But I hope you'll be a strict, fair, and benevolent ruler." I told him.
He smiled gratefully and said, "We will stay together for a while, so see for yourself and judge me whether I am someone worthy of being a King. If you see some flaws, make sure to correct me. Keep it a secret for now..." he whispered putting a finger on his lips.
I wondered why he told me about his dreams at this moment. Was there some condition that I fulfilled that was set in his mind? I remembered from my vow from before to talk openly with whoever I considered to be my friend from now on.
"Why did you tell me this?" I asked him directly, "And why now?"
"The reason you asked this question." he answered without even giving it any thought. "I feel like you often hide things from us, but overall you are a genuine guy who speaks his mind. You just take time to trust people. As a member of the same team, I'd like to be someone you can trust your back with, as you do with Saiyan. I also want people who can do the same for me too."
The crowd of seniors suddenly got agitated as the first wave of burning Asuras breached the fiery barrier and slammed against the sturdy shields of the Surakshaks. The Yoddhas cut off their necks with a swift motion of their one or two-handed sharp weapons. Colorful bombardment continued incessantly from the Dhanurdhars who were now shining with the Kundalini shared by the Vaidyas.
"Thirty minutes more. Sixth standards will then exchange places with the seventh graders starting with the Vaidyas." the same commander voice appeared from the north side this time.
Several more waves followed which were taken care of by the sixth graders, but they seemed to have gotten slower because of the tension and fatigue. Watching them, I realized what was wrong with my earthworm strategy. My Akshara animals were just animals. All the seniors used Kundalini to continuously coat their weapons. The feeling I got from the Asura's presence was similar to that of Kundalini too. And that Kundalini was alive, traversing the length of the weapons at a regular interval. I got rid of the Kundalini properties to turn the Aksharas into animals. Again, while thinking of them as Kundalini only made them inanimate like simple toys devoid of autonomous functionalities. Stagnant Kundalini Aksharas couldn't break through the defense of the Asuras. That's why the mishap happened. My idea was a flawed one from the very beginning, the fault being my ignorance of the anatomy of my opponents. I could have done better. Why can't I do anything in a proper way?
Let's make sure to summarise points about the characteristics of the beings I'll fight from now on before coming up with an appropriate measure. Point noted.
What should I have done then? Make the Aksharas with continuously circulating Kundalini? Or coat their bodies with another layer of Kundalini that keeps circulating over them? One needs precise control while the other will need twice the amount needed for creating a single specimen. I didn't even know how to circulate the Kundalini over an external body yet. Another range of experiments needs to be done.
It was almost time for us to move towards the sacrificial fire.
"I'll try talking with you more often from now on. To better know you. Since you have given me the important task of judging you, right?" I told Anik as we got up, making our way toward the sacrificial fire. He nodded with a handsome smile. "Make sure to test me rigorously. I'll try not to disappoint you."
"You can't make everyone satisfied." I objected with a smug face, "Set your morals and act by them. This will be your first step to Kinghood."
"You say such wise things, often out of the blue. Sometimes it makes me wonder whether you're just repeating things you've heard over the years." He got obstructed by me as I stopped in my tracks hearing what he said.
Now that I think about it, wasn't what he said totally true? This was what I had heard from a movie I had watched some time ago. Did I truly understand the meaning behind those words? Or did I just repeat them to look cool?
"What happened? Why did you stop?" Anik complained from behind.
"No, nothing! You just activated my overthinking self. I'll need to think about what you said right now. Sorry." I apologized.
"Hmm," He smiled brightly, "Let's complete the task right in front of us for now. Let us think about the true meaning of those words together later."
Just as we reached the elevated dais, where the sacrificial fire was burning, shrill cries and groans of agony erupted from the northern part of the Ashrama. The Danavas were on the move. Two of them had already broken through the barrier before it could burn them to ashes and made their way through the defensive line of the senior Surakshaks flinging their bodies into the air. Vaidyas surrounded themselves with Kundalini and created tethers, which looked like grappling hooks, as they aimed at the injured bodies of their fellow classmates. The seventh-grade Vaidyas also joined in to keep people from getting insta- killed.
"Quick!! one of the sages ushered us, handing us a three-leaved stalk dipped in scented ghee. I had to resist myself from licking the stream which dripped down my palm using my now strong mental Fortitude.
Most of the sages were tending to the sacrificial fire, keeping it strong using their own Kundalini, which was useful for both the barrier and the ritual. The other few sages were responsible for guiding us through the process.
One of them, standing at the edge of the dais took my left hand in his, and said, "Look away."
"What...?" I managed to say before a sharp pain stung my left little finger, which was nowhere to be found anymore. The default sap vessel that couldn't be moved no matter how much I willed was cut off just like that. I looked back at the sage with horrified eyes as if he was a plain old murderer.
"Don't look at me like that. I would have liked to explain but we don't have time as you can see." he defended his heinous action. I clicked my tongue and used recovery as the wound closed, leaving me with only 9 fingers.
"You could have explained it instead of saying something useless with the sentence you just used." I mumbled as I refused to give him any more thought of the day, stepping right in front of the fire. I could feel my skin stinging from the intense heat. My body couldn't take it, releasing sweat as a defensive mechanism which also sizzled away.
I offered the stalk to the fire in a hurry as I repeated two hymns that I believed were the oaths, the exact meaning of which I couldn't grasp due to the lack of my knowledge in the subject of hymns. But I felt bound by a curse-like energy grasping me from within. They were taking 'keeping your promise till your final breath' a little too literally. A weird sense of dread germinated deep within the innermost reaches of my mind. I felt unfairly bound to a promise that will probably come to bite me back in the near future. I tried to allocate the stat points I gained from leveling up twice, a total of 10 in number, to curse resistance as my face fell instantly from the disappointment. I couldn't allocate any points to any of the resistances. Sigh!! Let's keep my constantly increasing list of disappointments aside for now.
After the offering was done, I kneeled in front of the sage who always made the important announcements, touching his feet as a sign of respect. He gently placed his hand on my head, muttering a chant, offering me water to wash my hands from a teapot-like utensil, and finally presenting me with a fish-shaped spoon, which held a murky white liquid on its main body while he held it by the tail. I placed my right palm over the left, facing upwards in a cup-like pose so that it could hold liquid without spilling it. I was surprised as moments like these made me forget the chaos and slaughter that was currently going on over the northern side just behind the Banyan tree. I drank the Sanjeevani Amrita which tasted like a mixture of honey and milk with a slight hint of Tulsi leaves. I felt it burning down my throat as if rejecting to be inside me at first, but eventually settled in there.
Just as the burning sensation stopped, violet-colored status windows popped up all over my vision.
"Rest in your room and take a look at it properly later. It will be the foundation of your power in the future." the sage explained with a gentle smile. Meanwhile a fog of red spread in the distant northern horizon which couldn't be veiled by the huge Banyan tree anymore. Technically, aren't things working for me? I thought as I stepped down from the dais. I already got an idea how to strengthen my Akshara beings, and the enemies were now available inside the barrier. I need to hurry, no need to waste any time.
Just as I stepped towards the dorms, an ear-shattering roar vibrated the molecules in the air. The Agni Barrier flickered for a moment, sending forth two waves of monsters that our seniors intercepted. Looking carefully now, injured people lay strewn about all over the ground, Vaidyas with Kundalini about to go out, still tending to them. Pieces of dismembered bodies from both sides were scattered everywhere, as streams of yellow and red blood flowed away from the center. I was astonished. How blind was I to ignore such sights as if they were no big deal? When did I get so desensitized? Turning to face the northern side, I saw a twelve-story building looking over us. Ahara has recovered.
He covered his body with a thick metallic ash gray energy and slammed into the barrier.
"Ashwatthama, come out if you really want to protect this place. The new Rakshaks must die. We can't let Kalpa get any stronger. This year, we will finally destroy this heinous place!!!!" he shouted like a huge loudspeaker. "You think raising children like this will be enough for your repentance? Did you think that 'You' who is the epitome of dishonor, sneaking into the enemy camp at night and killing innocent children out of spite, will ever be forgiven? Even the human children you take care of are afraid of you, of your ugly sick face. No wonder you haven't revealed yourself in all these years. You people have everything, yet you still fight amongst each other. Try living in a place like Patala, you'll come out to be far worse than us. My children have grown up eating my flesh because there is NOTHING there!!! And you accuse us, calling us barbarians and cannibals. Come out!! Show your cursed body to your faithful followers. Let them know your story, how you uprooted the younger generation of a family and got cursed by Krishna."
"Your cheap efforts to insult me will never be fruitful, Ahara. People make mistakes and they change. Only Asuras like you are still stuck in the first era, still blaming the Devatas for your own naivety. Krishna may have cursed me for the mistakes of my past, but I have used that for the greater good instead. What have YOU done? Except for blaming other people? Did you savages ever try building something instead of destroying? When you took over Swarga, how did the Devatas live in Patala?" The voice within the tree replied with a calm voice.
"They couldn't live there. That's why they came to deceive us!!! If even Lord Vishnu helped them, how were we supposed to win? Did we have to suffer for all these years just because we were born from a different mother? Are your mighty Gods so petty to discriminate like that?" Ahara was getting angrier. His Kundalini now seemed to bend the space around him, setting his immediate surroundings to black-and-white mode. "I am a glutton, right? You got no right to tell me that when you have never experienced true hunger. I'll show you what I gained from the curse of hunger."
Ahara shoved his hand into the fiery barrier and started scooping the material that constituted it, shoving them into his mouth. He was consuming the divine Kundalini of Agni Deva.
Ashwatthama's voice now grew concerned as he gave a signal to the sages to complete the ritual fast. "Stop him, Rakshaks!! Your juniors will be in deep trouble if the barrier gets deactivated."
The wardens started calling us to gather near the Banyan tree instead of the dorms. As the barrier started getting dimmer, it shrunk in size, covering lesser and lesser area. The defensive perimeter of the seniors that was so far away before was now just a few dozen of meters away. I could see the panic setting in the faces of our seniors. The mountains were still swarming with hundreds and thousands more of these Asuras. The seniors who seemed invincible at first didn't retain the same aura anymore. They were looking just as helpless as us. A few of them were crying too, probably having lost friends. It suddenly dawned on me that people have already died. Wait, what will they tell their parents then? Won't this be a pressing issue already? Sanjeevani Mantra is a resurrection spell that I have already heard in legends. Won't the artificial Amrita we drank give us some more lives?
"That will be a nightmare for me." Anik was with me all this time, I realized among the chaos. After you lose all your lives, you forget everything about Satya Marta, never able to transmigrate again. That's why they don't allow talks about this place in Alik. Most people don't talk about it openly out of consideration for their friends who will forever be oblivious to the truth of this world."
"Isn't this looking really bad?" Dweep appeared in front as if wanting to shield us from whatever danger about to befall us.
"Do you now realize why we have to fight? Because they won't have a conversation with us. It directly devolves into killing and reviving." Anik answered Dweep's question from long ago.
"The Asuras are also reviving?" Dweep asked with a face painted in horror. The shadows under his eyes got deeper.
"The Sanjeevani Mantra itself was developed by the Asuras' teacher, Guru Shukracharya. The Devatas were the ones who went and stole its secrets." Anik explained.
"I'm starting to feel pity for the Asuras right now." Dweep concluded after hearing what Anik said.
"Don't. The atrocities they have committed can't be ignored either. Just stay alive for now. That is all that matters in a crazy battle like this." Anik said, "We're also playing a losing game. The seniors losing their lives will respawn in their own Ashrama sections or directly at the Gurukul. They'll only get scarce in numbers while the Asuras remain the same until they are killed multiple times. The fire barrier just needs to hold on until the ritual completes, after that, the wardens and sages can also join in."
The roots of the Banyan tree suddenly shifted as a tremendous pressure rolled over us. Ashwatthama, Son of Dronacharya, the legendary Guru, was finally coming out.
"Do you finally feel threatened? But it's already too late." Ahara swung his fist at the barrier, shattering it like orange-tinted glass. With nothing in between the students and Asuras, slaughter unfolded.
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