Chapter 55 – Rakshasa-Vira Duel
"A warrior knows not just how to strike — but when to lose."
The duel did not happen in a battlefield.
It happened in silence — in the ruined courtyard of Ashtashram, surrounded by broken walls and even more broken people.
The challenge was not spoken aloud.
It was understood.
When the Rakshasa-Vira stepped into the open, he didn't roar, didn't taunt.
He just looked at Yash.
And Yash stepped forward.
Because there was no one else who could.
This Rakshasa-Vira wasn't monstrous in form.
He was human.
Too human.
He wore a bloodstained kurta, eyes glowing not red but empty — like memory erased.
"I was like you," he said, voice hollow.
"Then I remembered who the gods left behind."
The courtyard cleared.
Mira gripped Khushi's hand. Ankita stood near the north pillar, fists clenched.
No one interfered.
Because a duel between Viras must end in death.
Yash's first strike bent the air.
The second strike cracked stone.
The third… missed.
The Rakshasa-Vira moved like time didn't matter.
He twisted Yash's momentum, threw him across the courtyard — and didn't chase.
He waited.
"You are not ready," he said.
"Not because you lack power.
Because you still hope."
Yash activated his second form.
Time fractured around him — multiple versions of himself flickering into the edges of vision.
He struck from five directions.
The Rakshasa-Vira laughed once — a short, ugly sound — and moved with impossible calm.
A counterstrike cut Yash across the chest.
Not deep.
Just enough to remind him: power alone wasn't mastery.
Rishav tried to step forward. Ankita held him back.
Mira looked at the blade pattern — whispering:
"He's studying Yash's time signature.
He's not fighting.
He's… teaching."
Finally, Yash fell to one knee.
Bleeding.
Breathing hard.
The Rakshasa-Vira walked away.
Not because he had mercy.
But because he'd made his point.
"You'll face worse than me.
I just wanted to remind you:
Gods do not save warriors.
They break them."
And then he vanished into shadow.
The duel was over.
Yash had lost.
But in his loss, he learned something far more dangerous than victory:
The Rakshasa-Viras were not just monsters.
They were broken believers, with purpose.
And they were better trained.