"So how did you know I was a Keeper?" Sharv asked Kant. They had been flying for a few minutes. The forest looked dense even from the air, and the lush greenery and the variety of plants created a heaven for every nature lover. If one flew a little low and slow, the smell of wildflowers and fruits, along with the singing of birds, might just infatuate him.
Kant, who was deprived of this view as he was lying face up on his flying platform, spoke with a tinge of envy, "Well, my grandpa used to tell us stories about Keepers: how bravely they fight Voidhearts, how they believe in duty from birth and stay true to it, how they live a modest life in the forests and come to aid the general populace if needed, how they are different from a general cultivator, and many more such stories. We usually didn't believe it, but he insisted that he was true. In one such story, he had told us that Keepers have different colored Chakras than any normal cultivator."
Kant took a pause to look at an eagle passing by, then added, "He told us that generally they have normal colored Chakras, but once they really unleash full power, their Chakras change color. And I had seen you generally using your Chakra, but when you unleashed your full power, I just got a glimpse of the changed colors. That's it."
"Interesting," said Sharv. "So people know about us?"
"No, my Grandpa said he had some Keeper friends; that's why he knew it," Kant denied.
As they were talking, Sharv reached a small mountain range aligned North-South. On its eastern part, a beautiful waterfall consisting of three streams created a lake below the range, with water so clear that the floor was visible even from the air. The sound of water falling into the lake acted like drumbeats for the chirping birds.
"We are above a mountain range," Sharv notified.
"Oh, then after ten miles, you will find Ebony trees. Let me know then."
After a couple of minutes, Sharv reached the destination.
"Yeah, this is it. Land near that small tree."
Kant said, pointing towards a small clearing, like many others that were everywhere in the forest. But what marked this one was a small Ebony tree almost at the center. After landing, Sharv looked around, even used his PRĀNÀ to sense anything, but all for naught.
"I don't see or sense anything special. Maybe that's what makes it special," he stated, but his tone was still questioning.
"Yeah, you are right about that," Kant spoke dramatically. "Just remove these bindings, and I'll show you a new world."
"What?" responded Sharv with a bland face.
"I mean, I'll open the gate," Kant said, squirming.
"Okay."
Sharv removed the earthen bindings keeping Kant in one place. Kant, now free, got up, still wobbly on his feet, and then moved to the small Ebony tree.
"You see… this… is the gate," he said, cutting his finger with a special dagger that had a hilt designed like a peacock's feather. As his blood dropped on the tree stem, it vanished inside the tree as if the tree had absorbed it. Then, a black ebony wood door was revealed, with engravings of a peacock. It gave way for a single person at a time. Kant entered it, followed by Sharv.
*******
"So you are saying that boy is a Keeper, Shyam's son, and not a Voidheart," spoke a familiar bald man in a familiar golden office.
"Yes, Marshal. As it stands, they used void chains, but it did not have a proper effect, or any effect at all, on him," answered another man, cloaked in black clothing, his face hidden in black smoke. "But his soul definitely is not normal because its sensations are different from an ordinary or stable human soul."
"Hmm, if he is not a Voidheart, then what is he?" mused the City Magistrate, but then waved his hand as if dismissing this thought. "Tell me about his powers."
"Yes." The shadowy man nodded. "The two commanders from the Void Corps used a combined attack which was immensely powerful, but the lad not only survived but also killed the other twenty-five knights with a single move. In my opinion, it is impossible for any other commander to survive that combined attack. He also managed to heal back even after being infected by their cursed technique." Now the man stopped to gather his thoughts and then spoke again, "And I think he was able to sense me from at least a distance of two miles after activating his breathing technique and all five Chakras."
"Hmmm, that's a really powerful warrior, I must say," the City Magistrate murmured to himself. "You said he had already awakened his first five Chakras, so he's more or less a Marshal level threat. What do you think, will I be able to beat him?"
"Marshal, he has not only awakened but also mastered the first five Chakras. And you, more or less, know what the mastery level requirements are among Keepers. So I can't really say who will win." The man avoided answering clearly, but the City Magistrate got the gist of it.
"Okay, since the commanders assigned to our city by the Void Corps are dead, I have to go to the district headquarters to report this and get backup," Durjay, the City Magistrate, said, scratching his goatee. "Keep an eye on the city and the forest nearby. I'll go in a few days."
********
Just a few seconds ago, they were in very normal natural scenery, yet now, there was nothing natural about where they were. It was a plain, unicolored room, with walls coated in some red metal alloy.
'What kind of rebellious organization is this? With a symbol the same as the Army's?' Sharv questioned himself after taking a look around and noticing the same peacock symbol, with a few color changes, on the wall behind. The symbol was shaped just like the one on the entry gates.
After entering the gate, his feet hadn't touched the ground; he was simply teleported to this room. It was like he had dropped into a well but landed smoothly without any jolt or using his own power. Soon, the sounds of boots were heard outside the front wall. The wall then lifted up, disappearing into the roof, revealing crossed bars still keeping them inside.
There were five men outside, all wearing different kinds of clothes, but a Golden Peacock insignia on their right chests revealed their unity and affiliation. A young man with a buzz cut and clean shave called out to them, "Kant, good to see you back. But who is that unknown person? You know you shouldn't bring an outsider here."
"Well, he saved my life and fought the knights sent by the City Magistrate. So he is kind of like us, and he came to drop me off," Kant explained, while Sharv just gauged the men.
"How so? You don't even have a scratch," the man outside countered.
"You see that, Sharv," Kant turned to Sharv. "Sometimes being too good is also bad," he joked. But then he moved ahead towards the bars and showed his hand and leg. "Don't you see this baby skin I have got, Manoj? It's because of how good he is at healing that you don't see the wounds. Otherwise, if it had been somebody else, you probably wouldn't even have gotten my dead body to see."
And that was absolutely true. No ordinary healer could heal him like Sharv. Manoj, who was just about to dismiss Kant, was bewildered after seeing the extent to which his hand and leg were different from his whole body. Not only was their color lighter, but he could also see their softness, which was almost impossible for a warrior to have.
"Okayyy, I believe you, but the in-charge commander wants to see you. So you have to come with me along with that friend of yours," Manoj demanded.
"That's good, show us the way."
The bars then disappeared, moving into the left wall. Manoj turned, and now Sharv noticed a capital M designed in his hair, above his ear. They moved from the room to a well-lit hallway which was covered with the same alloy as the room. There were many other hallways connected to it, and a row of rooms also followed on the left side. All the hallways met eachother at right angles but there was no other symbol or giveaway for any particular memorable thing.
After a five-minute walk, Sharv entered a large yet simple hall.