The night air was colder than usual as Arjun and Ishani made camp at the edge of the Whispering Woods, just beyond the scorched remains of the cursed village. A fire crackled between them, casting flickering shadows against the towering trees. The victory over the corruption should have brought relief, but unease lingered in the air like a silent predator.

  Ishani tended to her wounds with practiced care, wrapping gauze soaked in a healing salve around her arm. She caught Arjun staring at the stars, his brow furrowed with worry.

  "You’re not celebrating," she said lightly, tossing him a small apple from her satchel.

  He caught it without looking. "The tree was only a branch," Arjun said quietly. "The real rot... is deeper."

  The System confirmed his fears with a soft, emotionless chime:

  > "System Notification: Major Adversary Awakened — Avatar of Vaikuntha."

  "Threat Level: Cataclysmic."

  "Warning: Immediate danger. Prepare for confrontation."

  Arjun closed his eyes briefly.

  Their battle had not gone unnoticed.

  Ishani saw his expression and rose to her feet, daggers flashing in the firelight.

  "What is it?"

  "He's sending someone," Arjun said grimly. "An Avatar. A piece of himself."

  Ishani paled. "Here?"

  Arjun nodded.

  The woods around them, so recently still, seemed to grow even quieter. No birds sang. No insects buzzed. Even the wind itself held its breath.

  And then — the ground trembled.

  From the darkness beyond the trees came a sound like wet cloth dragging across stone.

  The mist thickened, swirling unnaturally, forming a corridor of shadow.

  And through it stepped a figure.

  The Avatar of Vaikuntha.

  It was a towering being of obsidian and crimson, its body resembling molten rock barely held together by veins of black magic. Two burning eyes peered out from a cracked, featureless face. Chains dangled from its arms and legs, dragging behind it with a dreadful clatter.

  Every step it took poisoned the earth beneath.

  Arjun rose slowly, sword in hand.

  Ishani stood beside him, her daggers trembling ever so slightly.

  The Avatar spoke — though it had no mouth.

  Its voice entered their minds directly, a sickly, corrosive presence:

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  "Arjun... chosen of the Throne... your soul is wasted. Kneel, and I shall end your misery swiftly."

  Arjun tightened his grip on his blade.

  "Come and take it, if you can," he replied.

  The Avatar's laugh was like knives scraping bone.

  And then it attacked.

  The ground shattered under the Avatar’s charge. It moved faster than anything so massive should have been able to.

  Arjun barely raised his sword in time to block a crushing blow.

  The impact sent him skidding back, boots digging furrows into the dirt.

  Ishani flanked the creature immediately, striking at its exposed side. Her blades sparked uselessly against its molten skin.

  The Avatar retaliated with a backhanded swipe that sent her flying into a tree with a sickening crack.

  "Ishani!" Arjun shouted.

  She groaned but forced herself to her feet, blood dripping from a split lip.

  "This one's tougher," she gasped.

  "No kidding," Arjun muttered, heart hammering.

  The Avatar raised one massive arm, summoning chains of shadow from the earth itself.

  The chains whipped toward Arjun, hissing through the air.

  He dodged the first two but the third caught his ankle, yanking him off his feet and slamming him into the ground.

  Pain exploded in his ribs.

  The Avatar stalked toward him, slow and inevitable.

  > "System Notification: Emergency Ability Unlock — Karmic Pulse (First Stage)."

  "Effect: Unleashes a shockwave of pure karmic energy, temporarily stunning enemies. Cooldown: 24 hours."

  Arjun didn’t hesitate.

  He triggered the ability.

  A blast of golden light erupted from him, blasting the Avatar backward several meters and shattering the chain around his ankle.

  Arjun struggled to his feet, gasping.

  "Now!" he shouted to Ishani.

  She understood instantly.

  They attacked together.

  Arjun went high, Ishani went low.

  Their movements were perfectly synchronized, the bond forged in battle sharpening their instincts.

  Arjun’s sword blazed with karmic energy as he struck at the Avatar’s head.

  Ishani, moving like a dancer, slashed at the tendrils of shadow writhing around its legs, disrupting its balance.

  The Avatar roared in frustration, its molten body cracking under the assault.

  For a moment — just a moment — it staggered.

  And Arjun seized the chance.

  He drove his sword deep into the creature’s chest.

  The blade sank halfway before it met resistance — a black core, pulsing with dark energy.

  The Avatar grabbed him with one giant hand, lifting him off the ground.

  "You dare..." it hissed.

  Arjun gritted his teeth, feeling his ribs creak under the pressure.

  But he would not let go.

  Summoning every ounce of strength, he pushed the sword deeper, twisting it.

  The core cracked.

  The Avatar howled.

  Ishani, seeing her moment, hurled one of her flaming daggers directly at the core.

  It struck true.

  There was a blinding explosion.

  When the light faded, Arjun lay sprawled on the ground, ears ringing.

  The Avatar was gone.

  Only a smoldering crater remained where it had stood.

  Slowly, painfully, he sat up.

  Ishani staggered over, collapsing beside him with a laugh that was half sob.

  "You’re insane," she wheezed. "Absolutely insane."

  "Maybe," Arjun said, grinning despite the pain. "But we’re alive."

  > "System Notification: Major Adversary Defeated — Avatar of Vaikuntha (Fragment)."

  "Reward: Karmic Energy +1500."

  "New Ability Unlocked: Karmic Seal — Chains of Judgment (First Stage)."

  "Title Earned: 'Avatar Slayer'."

  Arjun’s heart thudded painfully in his chest as the system’s words washed over him.

  They had done the impossible.

  But even as he reveled in the victory, a shadow of doubt gnawed at his mind.

  This had been only a fragment — a sliver — of Vaikuntha’s true power.

  The real battle was still ahead.

  And it would be a thousand times worse.

  As they sat together beneath the stars, bruised and bloody but unbowed, Ishani nudged him lightly.

  "You know," she said, "you’re not half bad as a hero."

  Arjun chuckled weakly. "And you’re not half bad as a lunatic."

  She laughed, the sound light and free for the first time in what felt like ages.

  The night stretched on around them, vast and unknowable.

  But for now — for tonight — they had carved out a victory.

  A spark of hope in the darkness.

  And Arjun vowed silently, with all the strength in his battered soul:

  No matter how dark it grew…

  He would rise.

  Again and again.

  Until the Karmic Throne stood tall once more.