The golden hues of dusk draped the Varma palace in a quiet majesty as Shiv stepped through the hallowed corridors. The walls, adorned with murals of ancestors and ancient battles, seemed to watch him pass — as if the echoes of generations were measuring his steps.
Two guards, silent and stern, opened the heavy doors to the Inner Sanctum — the private hall of Mahādev Varma, the family head.
Shiv entered and bowed slightly, his heart steady, though he knew what was coming.
Mahādev stood with his back to him, gazing out a tall arched window, hands clasped behind him.
"You fought well today," he said, voice calm but edged with something colder. "Better than anyone expected… perhaps even better than I expected."
"Thank you," Shiv replied cautiously.
Mahādev turned, his gaze sharp, unblinking.
"But it wasn't just skill or training that brought you victory."
A silence hung between them.
"I felt it," the Head continued. "A flame that should not exist anymore. That energy… that power inside you — it wasn't ordinary prāṇa."
Shiv didn't answer, maintaining a composed face, but Mahādev's eyes narrowed with piercing focus.
"I know what it was," he said, voice lowering. "Nāga-Tejas."
Shiv's breath hitched, barely perceptible.
The family head stepped closer, each word like a weight.
"That energy… it was once the lifeblood of the founders of our clan — warriors of divine flame and serpentine will. They weren't just cultivators. They were flames in mortal form. For centuries, the Nāga-Tejas was revered, then feared… and finally vanished, said to be sealed or lost forever."
He studied Shiv carefully. "It became a legend in our records… stories we told to children around the fire. But today, I felt it again — in you. Burning, alive… and ancient."
He paused, then added coldly, "Where did you find it?"
Shiv lowered his gaze but did not speak. His silence was answer enough.
Mahādev's jaw tightened. "So… you won't say. That's fine. Power reveals itself in time."
He turned away, walking slowly toward a display wall lined with ancestral weapons.
"Let me be clear, Shiv. That power you carry… it's dangerous. Not just to your enemies — but to you. There's a reason it vanished. A reason it was sealed."
He spun back around, his eyes darker now.
"If you lose control, it will devour you. And if you shame this clan with that flame — I will be the one to extinguish it."
Shiv met his gaze without flinching. "Then I'll master it before it masters me. Isn't that the Varma way?"
A long pause. Then — Mahādev nodded, slowly.
"Good," he said. "Then prove it. Because whether you realize it or not, the shadows that once feared the Nāga-Tejas will soon turn their gaze back to us. And if they find it here… they will come for you."
He walked back to his seat but stopped one last time.
"And Shiv — remember this: being heir is not the end of your trials. It is only the beginning."
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