Storm clouds brewed over Kashi Gurukul, despite the sun still rising. The wind had changed—now it carried whispers from beyond, voices that did not belong in this world.
At the summit of the sacred grounds, where the Gurukul's strongest cultivators once meditated, a chasm had opened overnight.
It pulsed with black mist and silent screams.
"The Gates of Pātāl Lok..." Master Arvind whispered, staring down into the abyss. "They were never supposed to open during the age of men."
Ancient glyphs lit the rocks around the rift—glyphs of judgment, death, and forgotten beasts. Scrolls in the Grand Library had called it myth. But now, it was awake.
Raghav stood at the edge with Nyra, his breath steady. The mark of the Trishula glowed with a new brilliance. Visions swirled in his mind: pale-skinned creatures with eyes like hollow moons, beasts with no mouths, only hunger. They were coming through.
The Pale Beasts of Pātāl Lok—abominations that devoured soul-bonds, leaving tamers hollow and their companions corrupted.
Suddenly, a scream rang out from the lower levels of the Gurukul.
One of the contestants—Raksh of the Garuda Clan—was under attack. Raghav and Nyra rushed in.
They arrived to see a Pale Beast clawing through his soul barrier, its body thin like ash, eyes void of meaning. With a single strike, Raghav drove his staff into the creature's back, but it melted into smoke and retreated into the shadows.
"They're testing us," Nyra growled. "Hunting… bonding… then invading."
Arvind gathered the remaining finalists.
"This is no longer a tournament," he declared. "This is a Divine War Trial. Only the worthy shall face the last battle—and survive the gaze of the god."
The final test would not be against fellow disciples—but against the first wave of Pātāl invaders.
And at the peak of the Gurukul, a celestial figure stood in the mist—barefoot, ash-smeared, a serpent around his neck, and a crescent moon in his hair.
Lord Shiva, the Mahadeva, gazed down from Godland, his third eye glowing.
He spoke not through words, but presence.
"Let the Final Flame decide the fate of Dominion."