The Oath Beneath the Moon

The moon hung low and full over the ancient stone path Veer now walked, casting a silver light across the dense forest. Each of his footsteps echoed in the cold silence, disturbing the fallen leaves that crunched softly underfoot. He carried more than just his blade now. The weight of truth, heavy and unrelenting, bore down on his shoulders like an invisible cloak.

He had seen it—his parents, not victims of fate, but warriors cut down by kings drunk on fear.

His fists clenched at the thought. Not out of rage. No—Veer had passed that. This was something deeper. A stillness before a storm. A storm that he would become.

Ahead of him lay a crumbling shrine, half-swallowed by the jungle. Vines had wrapped around the stone pillars like skeletal fingers, and moss clung to every crevice. A faded trident had been etched into the largest slab in the center—a forgotten shrine to Lord Shiva.

Veer stepped inside and kneeled.

Not to beg.

To listen.

The air was thick with age and power. The kind that hummed just beneath the surface of reality.

He placed the Whispering Blade before him, its metal catching the moonlight like a breath held between words. The system buzzed faintly in the back of his mind.

> [Spiritual Sync Point Discovered]

[Do you wish to activate a Karmic Oath?]

[Warning: Irreversible.]

Veer closed his eyes.

He had been hunted, broken, lied to. But he was not a victim.

He was becoming.

"I do," he whispered, voice clear as a temple bell.

> [Oath Registered.]

The wind stilled. The forest fell silent.

And then—a presence.

Not seen. Not heard. But felt, in the marrow of his bones.

A deep vibration, like the distant echo of a damaru drum.

"Speak, child of the ash," came a voice—not through his ears, but within his soul. "Why do you call to me beneath the veil of shadow?"

Veer inhaled slowly.

"To remember who I am," he said. "To claim what was taken. To bring truth to a world that fears it."

A flicker of warmth passed over his skin. The silver light grew brighter, casting an otherworldly glow around the shrine.

"What will you sacrifice?" the voice asked, calm and unmoved.

Veer's hand hovered over his heart. "My peace. My ignorance. My safety. But never my soul."

Silence.

Then a pulse of divine energy surged through him. The trident on the stone slab glowed faintly, and his Whispering Blade vibrated with a low hum.

> [Oath of Ash Registered: Path of the Karmic Flame Unlocked.]

[Passive Skill Gained: Tranquil Wrath]

—In moments of truth, silence becomes strength.

[Stat Boost: +5 Inner Will | +3 Perception | +2 Aura Resistance]

Veer opened his eyes. He felt no different—yet everything had changed.

He stood, picking up the blade. It felt lighter, clearer.

A new path was opening.

Suddenly, a rustle behind him.

He spun, blade raised—

—but stopped.

A figure emerged from the tree line. A woman. Cloaked in green and gold, her face marked with tribal paint, her eyes sharp and knowing.

"I've watched you," she said. "Since the moment you entered the valley."

Veer lowered the blade a little. "You're not one of Kael's?"

"No. But I knew Kael once." She stepped forward. "He was my brother."

Veer tensed.

She stopped a few feet away. "You spared him."

"I didn't spare him," Veer said coldly. "I broke the shadow binding him. He chose to flee."

She nodded. "Still… not many would've made that choice."

The woman placed a hand over her chest. "My name is Ishaya. Keeper of the Last Flame. Guardian of the forest's truth."

Veer didn't respond immediately. He watched her, cautious.

"You're here for more than conversation," he said finally.

She smiled. "Indeed. You've awakened something. Not just the system… but the forest. The shrine. The ancient balances. And now the old tribes want to meet the one who bears the Karmic Flame."

"The tribes?" Veer asked.

"There are nine left. Scattered, hiding, clinging to forgotten powers. They've long awaited a Seeker of Ash." She walked past him, kneeling before the shrine, and lit a small flame from an old copper urn.

"Come," she said, not looking back. "Let me show you what they've hidden."

Veer followed, blade at his back, eyes never fully leaving her.

They walked for what felt like an hour, deeper into the heart of the forest. The terrain changed—trees larger, air thicker with ancient energy. Fireflies danced around them like sparks from an unseen forge.

Finally, they reached a hidden clearing. At its center stood a massive tree, its roots curled around stone ruins, and embedded in its trunk was a massive, broken horn.

Veer stared.

"What is this place?"

Ishaya whispered, "The Grave of the First War. This horn once called warriors from every corner of Bharat. It was shattered the day the Nine Kings betrayed the Old Guardians… the day your bloodline was marked for death."

Lightning flashed in the distance.

Veer's chest rose and fell slowly. "Show me everything."

And she did.

Symbols. Maps. Names. Bloodlines. Alliances. Betrayals.

Stories carved into stone and painted on cave walls, all echoing a single truth:

The kings had feared unity. Feared the old gods' balance. So they broke it. And anyone who tried to restore it was erased.

Including Veer's parents.

"They weren't just rebels," Ishaya said. "They were the bearers of the Ninth Flame. Protectors of the truth. You are their legacy."

The wind howled through the trees. Veer stepped closer to the great tree.

"Then let their legacy burn in me," he said. "Let their silence become my voice."

Ishaya smiled.

"You've taken your first step, Veer. But the path ahead is steep, and the enemies more cunning than shadows."

Veer touched the bark of the tree. "Let them come."

> [New Objective: Awaken the Nine Tribes]

[System Path Update: Legacy of Flame – 1/9 Activated]

He turned his back to the tree, eyes shining in the moonlight.

Not as a boy fleeing a painful past.

But as a man walking into a dangerous, divine future.