The fissure at the center of the chamber pulsed like a beating heart—
slow, heavy, almost… deliberate.
Red-black veins ran outward from it, feeding the Stage 2 and Stage 3 tendrils.
Each pulse vibrated through the floor, through the walls, through Arjun's bones.
He felt the echo responding, almost humming in his skull.
"Home…"
It whispered weakly.
"Close… so close…"
Arjun clenched his jaw.
"No. I'm not letting you out."
The grey limiter tightened—
a gentle pressure against the echo's expanding presence.
Meera, still gripping Arjun's hand, felt his pulse spike.
"Arjun… don't go too close," she whispered.
He didn't answer.
He stepped toward the fissure.
The Root Responds
The ground cracked sharply as a Stage 3 tendril slammed down in front of him—
blocking his path.
Samar instantly jumped between Arjun and the tendril, pipe raised.
"SAMAR—WAIT—!" Meera shouted.
But he didn't hear her.
A red flash ran up his arm—
his Adaptation lines activated again, brighter this time.
He met the tendril's strike head-on.
The impact threw a shockwave across the room.
Samar's feet sank two inches into the cracked tile.
His teeth clenched so hard blood leaked from his gums.
Rudra swore.
"He's over-adapting! His body can't handle that pressure—!"
Samar growled,
"I CAN HANDLE IT—!"
But the truth was obvious:
his legs trembled, his shoulder wound reopened, blood streamed freely.
Still—
he shoved the tendril aside.
Just enough for Arjun to step past.
Meera gasped, "Samar, stop—your body—"
He gave her a crooked, pained grin.
"Sorry. I don't listen well."
Meera's Mistake
A smaller tendril shot from the side—
straight at Arjun's head.
Meera threw herself forward—
"ARJUN—!!"
He barely had time to turn before she shoved him sideways.
The tendril clipped her shoulder
and sent her spinning across the ground.
She hit the wall, sliding down, gasping sharply.
"MEERA—!!"
Arjun ran to her immediately, heart twisting violently.
Blood trickled down her arm, staining her sleeve.
She forced a weak smile.
"It's fine… I just didn't want it hitting your head…"
Arjun trembled.
Not in fear.
In anger.
In something deeper—
a protective instinct awakening like a sleeping beast.
The echo inside whispered gleefully:
"Let me handle this."
The limiter tightened violently.
Arjun buckled for a moment, gripping Meera's hand.
"Don't… ever… do that again," he whispered.
She pressed her forehead to his.
"Then don't give me reasons to."
The Echo Tries to Fuse
Arjun turned toward the Root's fissure.
The closer he got,
the louder the echo became.
"LET ME IN—"
"WE WERE MADE FOR THIS—"
"TOGETHER—WE ARE COMPLETE—"
Pain lanced behind his eyes.
He stumbled.
Rudra rushed to steady him.
"Arjun—STOP!"
But the echo surged—
Grey light flickered—
Silver ruptured outward—
And Arjun collapsed to his knees with a strangled gasp.
Meera screamed his name.
Samar tried running to him—only for a tendril to slam him back into a wall.
Rudra grabbed Arjun's shoulders.
"LISTEN TO ME.
If the echo connects to the Root's core, it will overwrite your mental lattice.
You will become its extension!"
Arjun forced a breath.
"But if I don't reach it…
all of you—
this place—
everything—
it'll collapse."
Rudra's voice broke.
"Then let me fight it with the Core-Breaker, NOT you—!"
Arjun shook his head, jaw set.
"No.
This thing wants ME.
Then I'll be the one to end it."
Rudra Unleashes the Core-Breaker Fully
Rudra cursed under his breath, eyes burning.
"You leave me no choice."
He raised the Core-Breaker.
A second ring activated—
glowing deep blue.
A hum filled the chamber—
a resonance so sharp it made the tendrils recoil.
Isha stared in shock.
"That… is PRIME-LEVEL resonance.
Only someone with first-generation clearance could activate—!"
Rudra didn't listen.
He swung.
The Core-Breaker released a shockwave that split the ground in a straight line.
The Stage 2 tendril shattered.
Samar stared wide-eyed.
"You've been holding out…"
Rudra muttered,
"I didn't want to destroy the chamber.
But we're past fear now."
He pointed to Arjun.
"Finish it."
Arjun's Unstable Origin Burst
Arjun stepped to the edge of the fissure—
the very heart of the Root.
Red-black light rose in waves.
The echo surged.
Limiter sparked.
Both energies collided inside him—
silver twisting with grey—
Pain—not physical but identity-deep—
tore through his mind.
Arjun screamed—
Hands clawing at the air—
knees buckling—
Meera crawled toward him despite her arm bleeding.
"ARJUN!"
She grabbed his shirt, voice cracking.
"I'M HERE—DON'T YOU LEAVE ME—!!"
Her voice
cut through
everything.
The limiter grabbed the echo and throttled it back—
not fully—
but enough for Arjun to breathe.
Grey light wrapped around his arms.
Silver cracked beneath it.
Both fought for dominance—
neither winning—
so they fused
in unstable bursts.
Samar shielded his eyes.
Meera stared in awe.
Rudra whispered,
"…Origin Burst.
Phase One… incomplete… unstable…
but real."
Arjun stood.
Eyes glowing with swirling grey-silver light.
Tendrils recoiled instinctively.
Even the Root pulsed
as if worried.
Arjun whispered—with a voice that didn't echo,
yet filled the room:
"I'll carry what he left me…
but I choose my future."
He raised his hand.
Grey-silver light erupted.
The fissure shook.
The chamber walls split.
The Under-Root screamed like a furious beast.
And Arjun—
the boy the Root could not consume—
the experiment that refused to become a weapon—
the human his father believed in—
stepped into his first true Origin Burst.
END OF CHAPTER 37