The wraith's black tendril touched Jaswant's forehead—
WHITE.
BLINDING.
ENDLESS.
For a moment, Jaswant felt as if he had fallen out of his own body into a world made of smoke and memory.
The white light slowly bled into his forehead…
And before him appeared a valley shrouded in thick, emerald-green mist.
A colossal tree pierced the sky — its leaves glittering like stars, its roots coiled deep into the earth.
The Harichandana Tree — but not corrupted, not withered…
Instead divine, alive, magnificent.
At its base stood ancient guardians draped in long robes.
In their hands were staffs carved entirely from pure sandalwood.
They were chanting in a language that seemed older than the system itself.
A woman with gleaming eyes, her whole form covered — whispered:
"Seal the Heart-Root… before it awakens."
Suddenly the ground trembled.
Somewhere deep below the tree — a pulsing light flickered.
Thump… thump… thump…
The heartbeat grew louder — then the earth split open.
A thick, black, living root — like a serpent — shot upward.
The guardians screamed.
The mist turned red.
And Jaswant saw—
in the reflection of a cracked water surface — an eye opening beneath the earth.
Looking directly at him.
Just that single glance made Jaswant shiver to his core.
The vision shattered.
---
Back to reality
Jaswant collapsed, gasping—
"Ha—!"
He fell to his knees, clutching his head.
The wraith hovered above him.
"Now do you see?" it whispered.
"The Heart-Root is awakening. And you—"
Its voice trembled like hungry wind—
"—are the spark that will free it."
Jaswant's fingers trembled — not out of fear.
But because something inside him…
had awakened.
---
His mana-core pulsed—
but this time it wasn't the usual blue.
This time — GOLD.
BRIGHT GOLD.
A symbol appeared in his vision—
Not from the system.
Not from the wraith.
Something from a much deeper place.
At that moment his pendant was flickering rapidly.
But since it was hidden beneath his clothes, neither of them noticed.
[Temporarily The Bloodline Ability Unlocked: Breath of Sight]
[Warning: The energy is comming from unknown source.]
[Warning: The source is undetectable.]
[Ability deactivates within 60 seconds]
Warning...
Warning...
Warning...
And suddenly — he could see the wraith.
Not its blurry mist-form… — its real form.
A living fog-parasite clinging to his grandfather's life-force, feeding on subtle spiritual veins.
Jaswant's eyes widened.
"So this was the truth."
The wraith stiffened at his expression.
"...Impossible," it muttered.
"No Maheshwari should be able to see my real form this quickly…"
Jaswant slowly stood up.
Golden energy from the pendant shimmered faintly in his eyes.
His breaths were steady, the new power swirling inside him—
like divine light filling his vision as well as lungs.
"You chose the wrong person," he said quietly.
The wraith stepped back.
Jaswant moved forward — the floor cracked under his steps.
His fist glowed with golden radiance. Not mana — something purer.
"Leave. Now."
He struck.
BOOOOM!!!
His punch didn't even touch the wraith — the air itself hit it. A pure shockwave of breath-force exploded outward.
The wraith screamed — its misty body ripping apart in midair.
"Y-you… you have Breath!" it shrieked.
"You're from that bloodline—"
But before it could finish, Jaswant struck again.
WHRRAAASH!!!
The wraith crashed against the wall, torn away completely from his grandfather.
Its existence shuddered, breaking into trembling wisps of vapor.
But before fading — it smiled.
A thin, horrific smile.
"You can kill me," it whispered,
"but what's coming… you cannot."
The room grew cold.
And then it showed him—
In the shattering particles of mist — a vision emerged:
A forest of black roots…
spreading…
crawling…
devouring mountains.
At the center, the same colossal root-eye rising.
Clearer.
Closer.
More awakened.
And it whispered—
"Breath-Bearer… come to me."
The illusion burst.
The wraith vanished completely — leaving only silence.
---
Jaswant stood still, chest rising and falling,
a faint golden aura still glowing around him.
His grandfather was unconscious, but breathing steadily now.
The parasite was completely gone.
But the vision burned in Jaswant's mind.
The Heart-Root…
The Breath of Sight…
His bloodline…
The tree calling his name…
Nothing was normal anymore.
Just then the system flickered—
"New Bloodline Path detected.
Would you like to unlock the next stage?"
Before Jaswant could respond — a whisper came from the dark hallway:
"Don't."
Jaswant's head snapped up — someone stood in the shadows.
Tall… quiet… unmoving…
The same figure that had watched him earlier.
Now stepping slowly into the light.
---
Soft footsteps echoed.
The figure stepped out of the shadow — a man wrapped in a long, ash-grey cloak.
Not old. Not young.
His presence felt… ancient, yet sharp as a blade.
His face remained partly hidden beneath the hood, but his eyes—
A pair of calm, steady silver eyes looked directly at Jaswant.
Eyes that had seen too much.
Eyes that held no fear of him.
He raised one hand — not to attack, but to signal silence.
"Don't touch that option," he said again, voice low and steady.
"Not until you know what that 'bloodline path' really demands."
The system's text flickered urgently behind Jaswant's vision.
[Warning: New Bloodline Path awaiting confirmation…]
[Source: ???]
Jaswant tightened his fists.
Golden sparks still shimmered around his knuckles.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The silver-eyed man didn't answer immediately — instead, he looked toward the bed, at Jaswant's unconscious grandfather.
"You did well removing the parasite," he said quietly.
"Most people can't even see a Wraith, let alone break its hold."
He finally faced Jaswant again.
"But using Breath-Force without training will tear you apart."
Jaswant's jaw clenched.
"What do you know about my ability? About my bloodline?"
The man stepped closer — but the floor didn't creak, not even once.
It was like he wasn't fully touching the ground.
"I know," he whispered,
"that your awakening wasn't supposed to happen tonight."
Jaswant's eyes narrowed.
"And I know," the man continued, "that the thing under the Heart-Root… the one that spoke to you…
is not done with you yet."
A cold chill slid down Jaswant's spine.
"You saw the vision?" he asked.
The silver-eyed man didn't blink.
"I see all visions tied to Breath," he said.
"That's why I'm here."
He finally reached the center of the room and pulled back his hood.
A long scar ran from his temple to his jaw — old, clean, and almost shining faintly in the golden glow around Jaswant.
"My name," he said, "is Arkam."
Jaswant blinked.
He had never heard that name before.
Arkam continued:
"And I belong to the same lineage as you.
The Breath-Bearers."
For a moment, Jaswant felt his breath stop.
"You're saying… we share the same bloodline?"
Arkam shook his head slowly.
"No. Not the same family.
The same curse."
Before Jaswant could reply, Arkam lifted a hand and pointed toward the system prompt still hovering in front of him.
"Unlocking the next stage right now will open a bond between you and the Heart-Root. A direct path."
Jaswant frowned. "And what's wrong with that?"
Arkam gave him a look — ancient, tired.
"When the Heart-Root calls you,
it isn't calling for help."
He paused.
"It's calling for a vessel."
Silence.
Air.
Jaswant felt something cold crawl through his spine.
He whispered, "A vessel for… what?"
Arkam's silver eyes glowed faintly.
"For an entity that should have died thousands of years ago."
Before Jaswant could react, Arkam moved his hand in a swift gesture.
A ripple of pale air — like a breath turned into light — spread out and sealed the system prompt.
[Bloodline Path (Temporarily Locked)]
[External Intervention Detected]
Jaswant gasped.
"You can interfere with the system?"
Arkam's expression didn't change.
"Only with the parts connected to Breath. And only for a short time."
He stepped closer — just an arm's length away now.
"You've awakened too early," Arkam said,
"and that means one thing."
"What?"
Arkam's voice dropped to a whisper—
"You are in danger."
Jaswant steadied his breath.
"From the Wraiths?"
Arkam shook his head.
"From things far older than Wraiths."
He looked over his shoulder, toward the hallway he came from.
"And one of them," he said softly,
"is already on its way here."
The room darkened — not from lights, but from something else.
A pressure.
A whisper.
A distant vibration in the walls.
Jaswant felt the hair on his arms rise.
"What is that?" he whispered.
Arkam inhaled deeply — and the air around him swirled, responding to his breath like a living force.
"The reason," he said,
"I needed to reach you before the system did."
He turned toward Jaswant.
"Prepare yourself."
A distant roar echoed in the night.
Something was coming.
Something that recognized the golden spark inside him.
Something that wanted it.
----
The distant roar faded into the night, leaving a heavy silence in the room.
Arkam didn't move.
His silver eyes stayed fixed on Jaswant, measuring him, weighing him — as if deciding how much truth to reveal.
Finally, he spoke.
"You're wondering what I meant by 'same curse,' aren't you?"
Jaswant didn't answer — but the tension in his shoulders said enough.
Arkam nodded, as if he expected that.
"Very well. You deserve to know."
He took one slow breath — the air around him shifting gently, bending to him like obedient mist.
"Jaswant… your lineage isn't just ancient.
It is forgotten — buried deliberately."
Jaswant frowned. "But the Maheshwari line—"
Arkam raised a hand.
"I'm not talking about your family.
I'm talking about the blood that runs under your family name — the part no one remembers."
His voice dropped lower.
"The first Breath-Bearer."
Jaswant's heartbeat picked up.
Arkam continued:
"Thousands of years ago, before systems, before spiritual trees, before even the earliest sects…
there was a tribe."
Not a clan.
Not a kingdom.
A tribe that lived far from civilization — deep in forests that no longer exist.
"They were born with something no other humans had," Arkam said softly.
"A connection to the Breath of the world itself."
"The world… breathed through them?"
"Exactly."
Arkam stepped closer, his cloak brushing lightly against the floor.
"They could see the invisible.
Hear the unhearable.
Sense living and dying in ways normal people could never understand."
He paused.
"And among them was one who was unlike all others — a child born with golden breath."
Jaswant's eyes widened.
Golden.
Like him.
Arkam saw his reaction but didn't comment.
"That child," he continued, "was the strongest of them.
The first to wield Breath as a weapon.
The first to peer beyond the surface of the world…"
His voice dimmed.
"…and the first to see the Heart-Root."
A chill clamped down on the room.
Jaswant swallowed.
"What happened to him?"
Arkam looked into the distance — a memory flickering in his eyes.
"He went into the Heart-Root… willingly."
Jaswant stepped back. "Why would he do that?"
Arkam's jaw tightened.
"Because the Heart-Root called him — the same way it called you."
Jaswant's breath hitched.
"The Heart-Root chose him," Arkam said quietly.
"And it changed him. Gave him power beyond understanding."
"But?"
Arkam nodded sharply.
"But it also twisted him.
Turned him into something… neither human nor spirit.
A being made of breath and root."
Jaswant felt a tremor inside him — the exact vision he had seen, the eye beneath the earth, the black roots, the pulsing heartbeat—
"Where is he now?" Jaswant whispered.
Arkam's silver eyes locked onto his.
"Buried. Sealed.
Locked away by the very ancestors who feared what he had become."
He inhaled deeply.
"And that seal is cracking."
Jaswant's fingers curled.
"You're saying the Heart-Root is him?"
Arkam shook his head.
"No.
The Heart-Root feeds him."
Jaswant froze.
Arkam added, voice quiet as falling ash:
"And the only ones whose bodies can hold his essence…
are those who carry the golden breath."
Jaswant felt his lungs tighten.
"You mean—"
"Yes." Arkam's face hardened.
"He chose you."
Silence.
A cold, suffocating silence.
Jaswant's pulse throbbed with a mix of fear and anger.
"I'm not letting anything control me," he said, voice low.
Arkam nodded approvingly.
"That's good. You'll need that resolve."
He turned slightly — listening to the faint vibrations in the air.
"Because once a Breath-Bearer is chosen… the world's hidden things begin to move."
Jaswant clenched his jaw.
"What hidden things?"
Arkam exhaled slowly — the lights flickered.
"The ones that served the First Breath-Bearer."
A distant rumble shook the windows.
"They have sensed your awakening."
The floorboards trembled.
"And now, Jaswant…"
Arkam's eyes glowed faintly silver.
"…they are trying to test you."
---