“Shivansh... hum... alright, so Shivansh, wha...”

  Before Sharv could finish, Shivansh cut him off in confusion,

  ‘You... you can see me... and these two must be your spirit servants... You can turn spirits into spirit servants?...’

  Sharv didn’t have much time. He also had to return. So he couldn’t waste time explaining. He extended his hand and released the presence of his prana from his body.

  Woong!!!

  As his prana radiated outward, Shivansh’s eyes widened. In a suppressed voice, he muttered.

  ‘Lunar energy?... and Death prana?’

  Shivansh had been a martial artist and then spirit for quite some time. He knew that lunar energy exists only in women, not in men. And Death prana exists in souls, not in humans. Yet both were present within this boy.

  Sharv watched the confusion in Shivansh’s eyes. Without overthinking, he said directly.

  “I won’t beat around the bush. I’m asking you plainly. Will you become my spirit servant?”

  ‘Yes! Fine! I’m ready to become one!’

  Shivansh replied instantly. But Sharv grew a little serious. A frown appeared on his forehead.

  He hadn’t expected Shivansh to agree so quickly. When he had made Vijay and his Master his spirit servants, both had resisted at least a little.

  But Shivansh agreed immediately? That felt strange to Sharv.

  ‘I should prob his for information...’

  Sharv thought. Because making spirits into spirit servants sounds good. But there is a major drawback.

  Whoever makes a spirit their servant must fulfill that spirit’s final wish. Without that, the spirit cannot become their servant.

  Sharv already had two spirit servants; Vijay and that woman, his Master. But among them, his Master’s final wish was extremely difficult and mysterious. Vijay’s final wish, on the other hand, wasn’t that hard.

  Even so, Sharv had still made that woman his spirit servant. Why? Because the benefits were far greater!

  The gains he received after making Vijay and that woman his spirit servants were immense.

  From Vijay, he obtained the book ‘The Wall Between Spirit And Man’ and techniques like Samavesh, which allowed Sharv to cultivate.

  And from his Master; that woman, he gained martial arts and other knowledge that made him stronger.

  Compared to all those benefits, if Sharv had to help them a little in their risky tasks, it was no big deal.

  As long as Sharv sees his own benefit in something, no matter how big the risk is, he will take it.

  But before that, he must at least understand his gains and losses. Otherwise, taking a risk without benefit would be foolishness nothing else.

  If by mistake Shivansh gave him some extremely difficult final wish and then became his spirit servant, it would turn into a huge problem for Sharv. So he had to think carefully before accepting him.

  “And in return, what is your wish? Your final wish?”

  ‘I want revenge! I want to kill someone. I want them dead!’

  Sharv remained silent for a moment, then said,

  “Are you clear about whom you want revenge from? Or do one thing, tell me your whole story. I’m ready to listen.”

  As Sharv spoke, his tone completely changed. Hearing it, Vijay and his Master immediately understood what Sharv was doing.

  After hearing Sharv’s words, Shivansh grew emotional. Different emotions appeared on his face all at once; anger, happiness, sorrow, pain, regret, and who knows what else...

  ‘Who do I want to kill... my story... my story...’

  He let out a long breath and began,

  ‘...It all started when I was an outer member of the Crimson Heaven Society...’

  Shivansh told Sharv everything from the very beginning.

  How his brother had died mysteriously. How his life moved forward after that. How he became an Inner Disciple. How he met Saksham. Then Devika’s murder. Then Surendranath and everything else.

  By the time he reached the end, he had grown extremely dejected. His face had completely withered, like a flower deprived of water.

  While listening, when Sharv heard about Devika’s murder, he began wondering who could have killed her. But when Shivansh said that the blame was placed on him, Sharv was slightly shocked.

  However, after hearing the reason behind the accusation, even Sharv felt that perhaps Shivansh might have killed Devika? Sharv interrupted and asked.

  “Do you want revenge against Surendranath?”

  Hearing this, Shivansh became sad and said,

  ‘No... I hold no desire for revenge against Surendranath. Just like me, he was swept away by emotions and manipulated by someone else. What he did wasn’t truly his fault...’

  Sharv frowned. He was about to ask something further, but before he could, Shivansh continued his story.

  And then came the moment when Jeet had last spoken to Shivansh :

  “Tch! Tch! I did not expect this from you… especially not from you, Shivansh.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  ‘When Master Jeet said that, I thought he was angry with me. But there was no anger on his face. Instead, he was smiling and then… then…!’

  Shivansh continued speaking,

  ‘Suddenly at that moment, Master’s face changed. And only I was able to see that changed face...’

  ‘?!’

  ‘Changed?’

  ‘But how?’

  ‘Was he not human?’

  Sharv, Vijay, and Sharv’s Master all thought at the same time, yet none of them interrupted Shivansh. No one stopped him midway.

  ‘Do you know whose face it changed into?... His face… it changed into the face of the person I had helped that day. That person who claimed that he was the new Fourth Elder’s disciple, the same person whose records Surendranath had brought to prove that he had died thirty years ago! Master’s face changed into that person!!!’

  ‘Ah! I understand. That means your Master Jeet had already died, and his body was being controlled by a spirit.’

  Sharv’s Master said. After which vijay added.

  ‘Wait so that means the person whome you helped that day, was actually a spirit? Damn! This explains why you weren't able to find that person...’

  Shivansh then gritted his teeth and nodded.

  ‘Yes… at first, I did not understand either. But when I died… and became a spirit myself, only then did I understand what had happened. I came to know that all of this was the Fourth Elder’s scheme… When I became a spirit, I found out that the Fourth Elder can communicate with spirits.’

  ‘!!!’

  Hearing this, the hairs all over Sharv’s body stood on end. A faint sound escaped his mouth.

  “Communicate with spirits?”

  Did that mean his third eye was also opened like Sharv’s? Could he also see and hear spirits?

  Sharv needed to know. If he does not figure this out, it would become the biggest obstacle for him within the Crimson Heaven Society.

  ‘…Actually, the Fourth Elder had a wife whom he loved deeply. But she died around, twenty to twenty five years ago while cultivating. She became a spirit, but the Fourth Elder did not cremate her body. Instead, he hid it and preserved it carefully… do you know why?’

  ‘To bring her spirit back into her dead body? Is that it?’

  Sharv’s Master said. Shivansh nodded again and continued.

  ‘Everything I have told you so far… Sob! Sob! it all started because of this. After I died, I found out that… Sob! Sob! My younger brother… sob! he did not die by some mysterious accident. He was murdered! By the Fourth Elder. Sob! Sob! Devika… she was also killed by him. The Fourth Elder has killed many people within the Society. To bring his wife’s spirit back into her corpse, he used his Mystical Arts and discovered that he needed to perform a ritual. But to complete that ritual, he required a massive amount of materials… and for that… he began killing people.’

  “…”

  ‘At first, the Fourth Elder only killed Outer Members, because Inner Members were more important within the Society. But for his ritual, he needed one specific thing… the corpse of a girl whose Manipura (Solar Plexus) chakra was opened. However, it was extremely difficult to find such a girl among the Outer Members. So… so he devised this entire scheme to kill Devika… and place all the blame on me… He did all of this. And his wife’s spirit assisted him! His wife’s spirit can hear him and talk to him. But he can't see her. The Fourth Elder and his wife’s spirit together committed such murders for the past twenty years. He ruined not only my life and Devika’s, but also the lives of all my friends and companions. He did not even spare Master Jeet.’

  “…”

  ‘After death, I learned that Master Jeet died at Manish’s hands, after which Manish also killed himself. But that was not the truth. It was all part of the Fourth Elder’s plan. Master Jeet had already died long ago. His body was being controlled by a spirit, and that spirit later killed Manish as well.’

  Shivansh clenched his fists so tightly that his hands began to tremble. Pain and fury were clearly visible in his eyes. He stopped focusing on Sharv and began muttering to himself.

  ‘When I became a spirit, the first thing I did was hunt down and kill that spirit who had asked me for help that day, the one who later took over Master Jeet’s body and even killed Manish. I killed that bastard! But the fire within me did not extinguish. For so long, I suppressed my desire for revenge, because back then I had my life. I had my body, my friends, my Master… I had everything. But now… now I have nothing! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! So, I will not stay silent anymore. I will take revenge… I will hunt those motherfuckers! Send them to their deaths!! No matter what!!!’

  Sharv, Vijay, and Sharv’s Master simply stared at Shivansh. Vijay felt pity after hearing his story.

  Sharv’s Master, however, seemed unaffected, as if she had witnessed such tragedies many times before.

  It was difficult to tell what Sharv was thinking. His face was like a still river, calm. And his eyes, as always, emotionless.

  ‘So that Mythical spirit we saw yesterday… and, the one that earlier fought Shivansh today… that is the Fourth Elder’s wife’s spirit?’

  Sharv thought. After hearing Shivansh’s story, many things became clear.

  Yet one question still lingered. Earlier, when that Mythical spirit attacked him, how did Shivansh manage to defeat it and force it to flee?

  But an even bigger question remained…

  Should Sharv make him his spirit servant? Or not? After some careful consideration, he came to a conclusion.

  ‘No... I shouldn't.. It’s dangerous…Very dangerous...’

  First of all, Shivansh did not want revenge against a normal person. His target was an Elder of the Crimson Heaven Society, someone almost as powerful as Surendernath.

  And according to Shivansh’s story, the Fourth Elder had even schemed against Surendernath, completely deceiving him.

  Along with that he had methods to secretly kill the Death Hall Master of that time, Jeet. He did not seem like a foolish or brainless individual. Killing him would be extremely difficult.

  But that was not what made Sharv step back. The real reason was that the Fourth Elder could communicate with spirits!

  Even if he could only communicate with his wife, so what?

  His wife was a spirit, and at that, a Mythical spirit. If Sharv started interfering with them, then his entire plan regarding the Crimson Heaven Society would be ruined.

  Who knew what might happen while dealing with the Fourth Elder and his wife?

  If Sharv truly got involved, one thing was certain: his advantage of having spirit servants and opened third eye would be exposed. Even more they might even realize that he possessed both Lunar and Solar energies.

  Seeing spirits, communicating with them, having spirit servants, possessing both Lunar and Solar energy, knowing techniques like Samavesh, and having his third eye opened, even one of these would be enough for people to start hunting Sharv.

  If any one of these secret advantages were exposed right now, when he was still so weak, his entire life would be ruined beyond repair.

  Sharv was already weak, only a Third Rate Martial Artist. If people came to know that a Third Rate Martial Artist possessed all these abilities, it would obviously raise suspicion.

  Sharv would be hunted like a dog by the entire Society, or perhaps even by all the martial artists of the Indian Subcontinent.

  They would try to capture him, experiment on him, and torture him to force him to reveal the secrets behind these advantages.

  So for now, Sharv needed to stay away from people like the Fourth Elder, who were capable of communicating with spirits.

  Only then would he be able to safeguard his secrets while he was still weak. Once he became stronger, he could relax a little and eventually challenge people like the Fourth Elder.

  The very next moment, Sharv spoke to Vijay and his Master through voice transmission.

  - Making him a spirit servant will be extremely dangerous. But we also can't let him go just like that. Both of you be ready. We will attack together and capture him. Understood?

  From the other side, Vijay and Sharv’s Master responded.

  - Understood…

  - Yeah… Yeah...

  Shivansh had forced that Mythical spirit to retreat. They could not underestimate him. So they began preparing to capture him together.

  But just as they were thinking this, their attention shifted away from Shivansh for a single moment. At that instant, Shivansh swiftly moved his hands and formed a combination of hand seals.

  ‘?!’

  ‘I… I cannot move.’

  ‘Shit! We fell into his trap.’

  Vijay and Sharv’s Master spoke at the same time.

  The moment Shivansh completed that combination of seals(1), both Vijay’s and Sharv’s Master’s spirits froze in place like statues. They were sealed where they stood.

  And not only them. Sharv himself became motionless. His body remained standing exactly where it was.

  He was still alive, but he could not move his body at all. It was as if his soul had completely lost control over his body. As if his very spirit had been frozen.

  Feeling this, Sharv was inwardly very shocked, yet he could not let that shock appear on his face due to his stillness.

  ‘Humph! What did you think? That I would become a spirit servant so easily? Huh? Fool.’

  Shivansh said as he stood back on his feet again. His spirit body which seemed damaged back then, now started healing back.

  And Sharv, Vijay, and Sharv’s Master could only stand there, watching him.