The Curse

Years later...

One day...

The midday sun burned fiercely overhead, casting long shadows on the dusty ground. Karna wiped the sweat from his brow, his body aching from the relentless training. Today had been unlike any other, Parashurama had taught him a divine weapon, the Brahmastra, a secret only given to the most devoted of disciples.

The guru sat beneath the sacred fig tree, his eyes closed, his breath steady. Karna knelt before him, his heart swelling with gratitude. To be here, to be chosen, he had sacrificed everything for this moment.

Parashurama's voice, low and firm, broke the silence. "Rest, my boy. You have earned it."

Karna hesitated. He never rested when there was more to learn. But his body was screaming for respite. He nodded and lay down, his head resting against his guru's lap. The coolness of Parashurama's robes was soothing, a rare comfort in his harsh training.

The world faded. Sleep took him.

---

A sharp sting shot through his body. Karna's eyes snapped open.

"AHH!"

A searing pain lanced through his thigh. His breath came in ragged gasps as he looked down, blood seeped from a wound. A scorpion, its tail still poised, had struck him. It scuttled away into the dust.

Parashurama's hand gripped Karna's shoulder. "You did not wake?"

Karna swallowed hard, his vision swimming. "No, Guru." His voice trembled, the pain nearly unbearable.

Parashurama's gaze darkened. A dangerous silence stretched between them.

"No Brahmin could endure such pain without crying out, Only a kshatriya has this much endurance." His voice was cold, laced with suspicion. "Who are you?"

Karna's breath caught in his throat. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. "Guru… I am your student. Your disciple."

Parashurama's hand tightened. "Do not lie to me."

Karna's mind raced. He had lied about his birth to learn from this great sage. But now...now, the truth was a blade at his throat.

"I—I was born to a charioteer…" His voice barely a whisper.

Parashurama's expression turned to stone. "A charioteer's son?"

Karna knelt before him, desperation rising in his chest. "Guru, please! I only wished to learn! Society denied me, Dronacharya turned me away...I had no choice!"

Parashurama's fists clenched. "You deceived me." His voice shook with rage. "You dared to sit at my feet, claiming to be a Brahmin?"

Karna bowed low, his forehead touching the dust. "Forgive me, Guru."

Silence.

Then, the words that shattered his world.

"May your knowledge fail you when you need it most."

Karna's breath hitched. "Guru—!"

Parashurama stood, his robes billowing in the wind. "In battle, when your life hangs by a thread, you will forget this knowledge."

Karna's vision blurred with tears. His hands trembled as he reached out. "Please! Don't take this from me! I have nothing else..."

But Parashurama turned away.

The world spun. The air grew heavy. Karna felt his body sink to the ground, his hands clawing at the dust.

The sky, vast and endless above him, swallowed his cries.

And for the first time since he left home, he felt truly… alone.