The boy who fears fighting

Prologue – Clash in the Mist
A dark world cracked open.
Lightning painted the night, revealing two shadows locked in battle atop a mountain drenched in fog — Dhuma Parvat, the mountain of smoke.
One shadow’s eyes blazed a cold blue, his movements precise, divine.The other’s eyes were crimson red, and from his temples curved faint, horn-like markings that shimmered like molten fire.
When they collided, the ground rippled as if alive.A storm of energy spiraled from their clash — one side roaring with heat and chaos, the other pulsing with stillness and order.
> “So, you rise again,” the blue-eyed one said, his voice carrying the weight of millennia.“If the world refuses balance…” the red-eyed shadow growled, fire coiling around his fists, “then I will burn imbalance itself.”


Their fists met.Reality shattered.Flames tore through the fog as the mountain roared like a beast—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
A shrill alarm echoed through the void.The light vanished.The mist dissolved.
Sunlight crept through the curtains of a small, cluttered room.A hand shot out from under the blanket, slapping the alarm clock.
“Ugh… not again,” Kedar muttered, voice half-asleep.
He sat up slowly, messy black hair falling across his forehead, strands glinting reddish-brown under the morning light. His eyes, still heavy with sleep, shimmered faintly crimson — a remnant of something… otherworldly.
Though young, his physique was balanced — neither bulky nor thin, his body shaped from daily martial training. Not tall, not short — just enough to seem ordinary, though his presence never felt that way.
He stretched, yawned, and stared blankly at the ceiling.The image from his dream — those glowing eyes, that battle — burned in his mind.
> “What… was that?”


“KEDAR!” a woman’s voice thundered from below. “You stayed up again! You’ll miss the bus!”
Kedar flinched. “Coming, Maa!”
He jumped up, pulled on his school uniform, grabbed his half-eaten toast, and dashed out the door.

---
A Normal Day... Almost
The streets of Kailaspur buzzed with life. Vendors shouted, bikes honked, and the air smelled of monsoon rain and chai.
Kedar sprinted through the lane, brushing past the usual crowd of students.He reached his school gate just as the bell rang.
His best friend, Saanvi, waved from the stairs. “You’re late. Again.”
“Hey, at least I’m consistent,” Kedar said with a grin.
In class, he sat by the window, doodling absently on his notebook — flames, eyes, shadows. The same dream. Every night, clearer. Every time, stronger.

---
Kind but Powerless
Kedar was known for his kindness — and his bad luck.If someone got bullied, he defended them.If someone dropped their lunch, he shared his.If someone fought… he got punched.
“Why do you keep getting in their way?” Saanvi scolded as she dabbed antiseptic on a cut near his lip.Kedar smiled sheepishly. “Because if I don’t, no one will.”
Inside, though, fear still lingered. Fear of losing someone again.
Because he had already lost one person.

---
The Disappearance
His father had vanished three years ago.A researcher, exploring Dhuma Parvat, the mountain said to be “breathing smoke since the dawn of man.” He went to study the mysterious heat emissions rising from its core.
He never came back.
Since then, Kedar had nightmares. Flames. Shadows. Horns. Always the same vision.And always, the feeling that something was calling him.

---
The First Step to Courage
In an attempt to overcome his fear, Kedar joined Kalaripayattu classes under the guidance of Guru Vishrant, a disciplined yet compassionate teacher.
“Fear is not your enemy, Kedar,” Guru often said. “It is your shadow. Learn to walk with it, not against it.”
Kedar practiced day and night.His strikes were slow at first, but his spirit burned bright.Bit by bit, he began to change.

---
The Night of Awakening
That evening, as rain drizzled, Kedar was walking home. The streetlights flickered, and the world felt unusually quiet.
Then — a scream.
A girl, maybe twelve, was being dragged into a van by two masked men.Without hesitation, Kedar ran.
“Leave her alone!”
The taller man glared at him. “Scram, kid.”
But Kedar didn’t stop.He threw a punch — clumsy but sincere. The man caught it effortlessly and shoved him into a wall.
Blood ran down Kedar’s chin. His body trembled.
> I can’t lose again. Not this time. Not again.


Something inside him snapped open.
Heat surged through his veins, his vision blurred — and then cleared into burning red.Steam hissed from his skin, his hair fluttering as if caught in invisible wind.
The kidnappers froze.
Kedar’s hand clenched around a nearby metal pole — and shattered it with a single punch. The men barely had time to scream before being hurled into the van.
The girl trembled in shock as Kedar stood there, chest heaving, eyes glowing like embers.For a moment, he looked less like a boy and more like an awakened storm.
Then everything went dark.

---
The Hero’s Rest
When Kedar opened his eyes, the hospital ceiling stared back at him.Saanvi was asleep beside his bed. His mother sat quietly, holding his hand.
And at the door — his Guru Vishrant.
Next to him stood three unfamiliar faces — a confident boy with sharp eyes and a smirk (Anant), a calm, bespectacled teen holding a small device (Aryan), and a girl with tied hair and a fiery gaze (Shakti).
“You’re finally awake,” Guru said softly. “And it seems fate decided to introduce you to your new classmates.”
Kedar blinked. “New classmates?”
Guru nodded. “Transfer students. They’ll be joining your school tomorrow.”His tone was calm, but something in his eyes said otherwise.
As Guru turned to leave, his gaze fell on Kedar’s still faintly glowing eyes.
> “It has begun again… after so long,” he murmured under his breath.


Outside, thunder rolled faintly over the distant silhouette of Dhuma Parvat, shrouded in smoke.