The air was filled with the sounds of cheering, crying, and quiet recovery.
On the coastal mountain, Akash slowly pushed himself up. His body ached, his leg still stiff, but the healing had begun. Breathing heavily, he looked toward the sky—his battle with the golden eagle felt like a blur now. He couldn't rest yet.
"I need to get back… Sneha can speed up the healing," he muttered, then rose into the air and flew toward the A-building.
The world below was in ruins.
Charred trees. Cracked roads. Crushed vehicles. Beasts' corpses mingled with human remains. Survivors wept beside fallen friends, while others hugged each other, grateful to be alive. There was pain, relief, and joy—everything all at once.
As Akash flew above it all, something stirred inside him.
"This... this is still not enough. I'm not strong enough. If I were, none of them would have had to suffer."
He clenched his fists.
But then he spotted them—his friends. Rohith, Mohan, Dhaya, Sivaranjini, Sneha, Haritha, and the others—searching, scanning the skies with worry written across their faces.
"Akash!" Mohan called out as he landed nearby.
Everyone rushed toward him.
"You idiot, where were you! You look like a mess!" Rohith scolded, though his voice was shaky with relief.
Sneha immediately placed her glowing hands on Akash's chest, a warm light spreading through his body.
"You're bleeding—fracture here, muscle tears, internal bleeding—"
"That's enough, Sneha," Akash gently grabbed her wrist. "You've already used a lot of your energy. Just heal the fracture—my body can take care of the rest."
"You sure?" she asked, sweat lining her brow.
"Yeah. And… you need to take care of yourself too. You look exhausted."
Sneha sighed, but smiled. "Okay."
"Alright," Akash turned to the others, "Let's go rest. Everyone needs it."
Just then, Advisor Semion, walked toward them.
"You were amazing out there," he said, extending a hand. "Thank you, all of you."
"Thank you too," Akash replied. "We made it because everyone stood together."
Semion nodded. "Also… from morning the network signal is back. If you want to contact your family, now's the time."
Everyone froze for a moment.
Then chaos erupted.
"My parents!"
"Let me call them—"
"Is there still battery?!"
Phones appeared in trembling hands as everyone began calling home.
Akash walked away quietly, toward a ruined garden corner. He took out his own phone. A single bar of signal. Just enough. He dialed.
It rang.
Then, "Hello?! Akash?! Are you alright?"
His mother's voice trembled with panic.
"I'm okay, Amma. I'm safe. What about you all?"
"We're fine! We're in the Kalpakkam CISF quarters. It's heavily guarded. Your father and brother went out for registration. Akash… your brother awakened yesterday! Everything around him just… floated."
Akash blinked. "That's… amazing. Really."
"You're sure you're okay?"
"I've just been helping out… nothing too dangerous," Akash lied, not wanting her to worry.
"Take care, son. We'll call again soon."
"Love you, Amma."
He ended the call, letting the phone fall into his lap.
"My younger brother… awakened too. Looks like the world's changing faster than any of us expected."
He flew to the broken dorms, entered through a shattered window, and found an old change of clothes. Torn, dusty—but better than blood-stained rags. After changing, he returned to the A-building.
Everyone was back, sitting in groups, some smiling, others teary-eyed after speaking to family. The weight of survival was heavy on them all.
Akash approached Mohan and the others.
"Everyone's families okay?" he asked.
Mohan nodded. "Safe. Main city's under protection. Guess we're lucky."
"Good" Akash smiled faintly.
Their stomachs growled almost on cue.
"We've been fighting for three hours straight," Rohith groaned. "And there's barely any food left."
"Most of the supplies were crushed," Sathish added. "Only preserved stuff remains, and it's not enough for everyone."
Akash stood up.
"I have an idea."
He flew off before anyone could ask further.
A few minutes later, a loud thud shook the ground.
Everyone turned to see Akash dropping the massive corpses of the three Rank-3 beasts—the tiger, the eagle, and the spiked tortoise—right outside the building.
Gasps echoed through the crowd.
"All elemental fire users and chefs," Akash called out, "start cooking. These are the monsters we took down—and their meat is our reward."
"But… can we eat that?" someone asked nervously.
Akash nodded. "These are high-rank monsters. Their meat can replenish stamina, aid in faster recovery, and maybe even help some of you break through to the next rank."
A buzz of excitement spread.
"Let's gooo!"
"I call dibs on eagle thigh!"
"Don't overburn the tortoise meat—it smells like seafood!"
Dozens of awakened with fire powers, blade abilities, and control skills came together, cooking, chopping, grilling with controlled precision.
The first bite was hesitant—but as the taste and energy kicked in, cheers erupted again.
"This is amazing!"
Akash sat down, letting the warmth of the food and friendship settle in.
People clapped him on the back. Thanked him. Smiled at him.
But he stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the campfire.
"This time we survived… But what about next time?"
He raised his eyes to the stars above and whispered to himself.
"I need to become stronger. Strong enough to protect all of them... no matter what comes next."