Chapter 8: The Voice Beneath Silence

They bound Aghor Devra in chains etched with mantra, each link forged from celestial iron. Meera's healing had kept him alive — barely — though his bones still squirmed under his skin like worms under glass.

The monks at Dhoom Pashar, an ancient neutral sanctuary, received Ravi and his friends without question. Their eyes widened at the warlord's capture, but none spoke it aloud:No one had ever taken a warlord alive.

Ravi sat cross-legged before the sacred flame. Incense curled into the rafters. His hands trembled slightly as he tried to enter a meditative state — but something always broke his focus.

Whispers.

Cracks in silence.

Shadows without sources.

Inside the Flame Hall

An elder monk approached him. Master Agnyaat, blind but all-seeing.

"You carry a wound deeper than blade or grief," the monk said. "A fracture in the soul."

Ravi didn't reply.

Agnyaat sat beside him. "The Void chose you, child. But it does not love you. It only hungers. You must descend — into yourself — and face what waits."

Ravi opened his eyes. "What if I lose control?"

The monk smiled. "You won't be the first. But perhaps… you'll be the first to return."

The Descent: Meditation Chamber

They led Ravi into a sealed chamber carved into the mountain's bones. There, on a dais of obsidian, he sat. Alone. Surrounded by burning blue lotus candles.

He closed his eyes. Slowed his breath.

And fell inward.

Inner Voidscape

He stood in an ocean of black glass, the sky above swirling with dead stars. Shapes floated in the distance — memories, fears, regrets — all twisted, merging into something formless and alive.

A single shape emerged before him. Humanoid. Cloaked in shadow.

Its face was his own.But older.Eyes silver with madness.

"I am the You that accepted everything," it said."I am the Void God you will become."

Ravi summoned his energy, shaping his stance. "You're not me."

The reflection smirked. "Not yet."

It attacked.

They clashed — Void against Void. Each strike split the dreamscape, memories shattering like glass. Ravi saw his parents burning again. He saw Kiran dying with blades in his back. He saw Meera's face, twisted in betrayal.

But he refused them.

With a roar, he drove his palm into the reflection's chest.

A surge of pure white Void exploded outward.

The figure crumbled — not into nothingness — but into peace.

Back in the Chamber

Ravi gasped awake. The candles had all gone out. But the air felt different.

His heart still pounded. But the hunger was quieter.Not gone.But... listening.

And in his palm, for the first time, the Void glowed with warmth.

Outside, Meera and Kiran waited.

"You alright?" Kiran asked.

Ravi nodded. "Better."

Meera tilted her head. "You found something in there?"

Ravi looked at his hand.

"No. I left something behind."