The night was going to over.
A pale moon hung low over the forest, its silver light dissolving behind the horizon. Mist clung to the soil, swirling between the roots of ancient trees. Lioran and Aishwarya sprinted through the undergrowth, lungs burning, hearts hammering.
When they finally stopped, both of them tired, panting heavily.
"Hah… hah… What do we do now?" Lioran asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Our attacks… they're not even scratching him."
Aishwarya's chest rose and fell rapidly. "I don't know…" she murmured—then her knees gave way. She dropped to the ground, trembling.
"What happened?" Lioran caught her before she hit the earth.
"My Prāṇa… it's over," she said weakly. "I need time to recover it."
"My Prāṇa's almost drained too," Lioran admitted, gritting his teeth. "But we can't stop now. We need a plan—a real one. Something that'll break through that Prāṇa cloak of his."
Aishwarya clenched her fists. "Somehow, we need to pierce his Prāṇa cloak… but how?"
Lioran stared at the ground for a long moment, lost in thought. Then, a spark flickered in his eyes.
"I might have a plan," he said quietly.
"What?" Aishwarya's gaze snapped toward him. "What plan?"
He leaned closer and whispered the idea. Her eyes widened.
"Are you sure?" she asked, voice shaking. "If it fails…"
"We don't have another choice," Lioran said. "It's risky—but it's all we've got. And it won't work without you."
Aishwarya hesitated for only a second before nodding. "Then let's do it."
But before they could move—
WHAM!!!
A burst of air exploded behind Lioran. His eyes widened just as a fist cloaked in burning Prāṇa slammed into his ribs.
CRACK!!
Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was hurled backward, crashing through the bushes and rolling across the dirt. He coughed violently, clutching his side.
"Lioran!" Aishwarya screamed.
From the shadows, Bheem emerged..
"You should worry about yourself first," he growled.
BOOM!!
Another Prāṇa punch tore through the air.
Aishwarya barely managed to dodge, feeling the shockwave brush past her cheek. The ground behind her erupted, soil spraying upward.
"I have to stick to the plan," she thought, forcing herself to focus. She formed a fiery sphere between her palms. "Prāṇa Sphere!"
WHOOSH!
It shot toward Bheem, slamming into his torso—but it fizzled out on impact, dissipating against his glowing Prāṇa cloak.
"Useless," he smirked.
"Hopefully I've recovered enough…" Aishwarya muttered under her breath. She gritted her teeth and began to launch one sphere after another.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each blast struck Bheem in rapid succession. Smoke flooded the clearing, obscuring his vision.
Aishwarya's heart raced. "Now, Lioran! Now!"
From above, a golden flicker appeared through the smoke.
Lioran descended like a meteor, his right fist glowing with golden sparks—each one crackling like lightning.
Aishwarya remembered his words before the ambush.
"I've been saving one thing," he'd said.
"Something that can bypass his Prāṇa cloak. Just make a way for me."
She whispered under her breath, "It's our last hope… do it, Lioran!"
His fist came down with unstoppable force.
But Bheem's instincts screamed danger. He twisted his body at the last instant.
SWISH!!
Lioran's punch missed by inches.
"Prāṇa Kick!"
Bheem's counterattack struck like thunder.
CRASHHHH!!!
Lioran's body hit the ground, bones snapping. Blood burst from his lips as he slid across the dirt. His vision blurred; pain tore through every muscle. Then—darkness.
"Lioran!" Aishwarya shouted.
Bheem loomed over his fallen body, cold and unfeeling. He placed a heavy boot on Lioran's head.
"I don't know what trick you planned," he said flatly, "but it ends here."
He pressed down.
CRUNCH…!
"Stop it!" Aishwarya screamed, charging toward him. She threw a flaming punch, her Prāṇa igniting her fist.
FWOOSH!
Her knuckles met his Prāṇa cloak.
"You can't hurt me," Bheem said calmly, not even glancing at her. "Wait your turn."
Aishwarya froze. Helplessness crawled up her spine. Her knees trembled as she saw Lioran's body twitch under Bheem's boot.
Tears welled in her eyes. "Please… stop…"
But he didn't.
Something inside her snapped.
The flame on her fist began to swirl violently, turning from orange to red-hot.
Heat radiated from her arm, cracking the ground beneath her feet.
Bheem's eyes narrowed. "What is this?"
"I said… STOP IT!" she screamed.
FWOOMMMM!!!
Her fist erupted like a volcanic blast. The flames melted the air around her, and when she struck again, her punch burned through the Prāṇa cloak.
SZZZZZZT!!
The cloak sizzled, warping and tearing apart like melting metal.
Bheem grunted, staggering backward as the flames licked his face.
Before he could react—
BOOOOMMM!!!
Aishwarya's second punch connected square with his stomach.
"Flame Impact!!" she shouted.
The explosion hurled Bheem several meters away. His Prāṇa cloak shattered like glass. He crashed into a tree with a deafening CRACK!
Smoke and embers filled the clearing.
Aishwarya's breath came in ragged gasps. Her vision flickered. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground. "My Prāṇa… I overuse it due to which my body give up"
Bheem slowly pushed himself to his feet. His shirt was torn open, revealing a deep burn that stretched across his abdomen. Blood trickled down his lip.
"I'll admit…" he said, voice rough. "That actually hurt. But now…" He took a step forward, his shadow falling over her trembling form. "You're done."
Aishwarya's world spun.
She could barely see. The forest tilted and blurred.
"I… can't move," she thought weakly. "My body's empty. My vision's fading… Maybe this is where it ends."
Her eyes fluttered closed.
Then—
A voice.
"Don't… lose hope."
Her eyes snapped open.
Lioran was standing again.
He was barely breathing, body covered in blood, ribs crushed, face pale.
"Lioran…" Aishwarya whispered.
He wiped the blood from his mouth, standing tall despite the pain.
"So, you still have a little strength left," Bheem said, smirking. "I am impressed."
Lioran clenched his right fist. Crack. His bones screamed in protest, but he didn't care.
"I'm still here," he said hoarsely. "So don't… lose hope."
The air around him began to shimmer.
His fist glowed gold—dim at first, then brighter, until the light engulfed his arm.
"You know what separates humans from other beings?" he said, voice steady even as the light flared. "It's not our power… not our strength…"
The glow expanded, swirling into radiant sparks.
"It's our purpose to live," he continued, taking a step forward.
WHUMM!
Each footstep sent golden ripples through the ground.
"We live for our goals…" The sparks grew into threads of lightning, dancing around him.
"And most of all—"
He lowered his stance, golden aura bursting outward.
"We live for our hope!"
SHRRRRAAAAA!!!
Bheem snorted. "So what? You're just going to die."
He raised his palm, conjuring a crimson sphere.
"Prāṇa Sphere!"
BOOOOOM!!!
The explosion swallowed Lioran whole, dust and fire swallowing the clearing.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then—
WHOOSH!
A golden streak cut through the smoke. Lioran blurred forward, his movement leaving afterimages.
"Prāṇa Swift!"
He darted left, then right—disappearing entirely. Bheem spun around, eyes wide.
"Where—?"
A whisper echoed behind him. "Right here."
FLASH!!
Lioran appeared midair, his glowing fist inches away from Bheem's face.
Bheem instinctively tried to dodge—but Lioran activate Prāṇa swift symbol behind Bheem's back. A force like a gale struck his back, hurling him forward—straight toward Lioran's incoming punch.
"What—?! He can… use it to push others too?!" Bheem shocked.
Lioran's eyes burned like molten gold. "Now take this…"
He thrust his fist forward.
"Golden Burst!!!"
KAAAA-THOOOOOMMMM!!!
The impact exploded like a thunderclap.
But Prāṇa cloak stopped the attack.
Bheem smiled. "Hahaha… I said to you before. Your attacks don't work on me."
Then suddenly his expression twisted in agony.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
His scream tore through the forest. Blood burst from his mouth and eyes. Invisible slashes appeared all over his body—deep, brutal cuts."
"What… is… this—?!" Aishwarya said.
Lioran's voice came through the golden haze. "My Golden Burst doesn't just hit from outside."
Bheem staggered, trembling violently.
"When it connects to your Prāṇa cloak," Lioran continued, "the impact travels through your Prāṇa cloak… and detonates inside your body."
Bheem's knees buckled. His hands clawed at his chest as pain flooded every nerve.
"It destroys everything—your tissues, your bones, even your organs," Lioran said softly.
Bheem let out a final, strangled cry—
and collapsed.
THUD.
The forest fell silent.
The golden light faded slowly, dissolving into glittering motes that drifted into the wind.
Lioran stood over his fallen opponent, his chest heaving, eyes hollow with exhaustion.
Aishwarya, still on her knees, felt tears blur her vision. "He… did it…"
Lioran turned his head slightly, giving her a faint smile.
His voice was weak but steady. "No matter how strong a human form outside is… if anything happens to his internal body then his game is over." He looked toward the horizon, where the first light of dawn was breaking.
TO BE CONTINUED…