Chapter 12:
Shell Burst
Tatva- The Awakening of Elements
The night burned red.
Where the Lobster King had fallen, the sea itself split open — releasing steam and crimson light that danced like fire through the storm. The colossal shell cracked apart, scattering molten shards across the coast. From within rose a new form: humanoid, armored, radiant with raw, violent power.
Karkotaka, reborn.
His body was sleek now, plates of dark coral and magma woven into muscle. His claws had shrunk into long, blade-like talons, and a single fin-like crest glowed at his back, trailing energy waves that twisted the rain.
Every step he took boiled the sand beneath his feet.The once monstrous Lobster King had become something almost divine — a Prana Beast Ascendant.
---
The Weight of Power
Kedar staggered backward, shielding his eyes.Even the air felt heavier. His Fire Prana sputtered, the heat around him being absorbed by the creature’s aura.
> “This… pressure,” he muttered, struggling to breathe.
Anant’s chakras dimmed.
> “It’s like he’s consuming the Prana around him.”
Shakti clenched her glaive.
> “Then we stop letting him control the field.”
Karkotaka raised his hand — the sea behind him rose upward as if obeying his will. Water hung suspended in midair, hundreds of tons of it forming a circular wall around the battlefield.
A voice like grinding coral filled their minds.
> “This shall be your tomb — the Abyssal Arena.”
With a gesture, the water collapsed inward — not as a wave, but as pressure.Kedar and his friends barely held their footing as gravity itself warped.
Aryan’s voice crackled through the comms.
> “The force field’s back online! I’m reading massive Prana output — it’s sealing the entire coast in a kinetic dome!”
> “Then we can’t run,” Anant said.“We don’t run,” Kedar replied. His flames reignited, weaker than before — but steady. “We end this here.”
---
The Abyssal Duel
Karkotaka blurred forward — his new form was impossibly fast.He appeared before Shakti in an instant, claws slashing downward.
She barely blocked, the impact shattering her weapon’s aura and throwing her into the sand.Anant countered, spinning both chakras, but Karkotaka caught one mid-spin with his bare hand — crushing it.
> “You have courage,” Karkotaka hissed, “but no future.”
Anant gritted his teeth. “We’ll make our own.”He slammed his second chakra into the ground, forming a binding seal of golden threads that wrapped around the creature’s legs.
Kedar charged through the smoke, flames bursting from his palms.
> “Agni Rush!”
He struck Karkotaka square in the chest — but the impact barely moved the creature.
Karkotaka smiled, almost human now.
> “Not bad. But tell me, child of flame… how does it feel to face your own extinction?”
Before Kedar could react, the monster’s claw swiped across his chest — the strike sent him flying through a rock pillar, armor shattering.
Blood mixed with rain as Kedar struggled to rise.
---
Aryan’s Return
On the cliff, Aryan slammed his console shut. The readings were chaotic — his suit was holding by sheer willpower.
> “Force field density… 73%. I can still breach it from the inside.”
He tore a glowing crystal from the wrecked generator beside him and jammed it into his chest plate.
> “Manual override: Overdrive Core — full sync.”
The suit blazed with blue light, his eyes reflecting pure energy.
> “All right, Karkotaka… round two.”
He sprinted down the cliff, jet boosters flaring. Landing beside the battlefield, he activated his Twin Arc Blades, the edges vibrating with Prana resonance.
> “Sorry to crash your date with doom,” Aryan shouted, slashing into one of Karkotaka’s legs. “But I missed the fireworks.”
The blade actually cut through — sparks and ichor burst out.Karkotaka turned his gaze to him, momentarily distracted.
> “You again,” the creature rumbled. “The machine child.”“Upgrade version,” Aryan smirked. “Now with sharper sarcasm.”
---
Hope Rekindled
The distraction gave Kedar a breath to rise.He wiped blood from his lip, eyes blazing. “He’s focused on Aryan. Anant, now!”
Anant nodded, channeling his last reserves of energy. His chakras hummed — the shattered one reconstructed itself in golden light.
> “Chakra Sutra: Twin Celestial Wheels!”
He launched both — one circled Karkotaka’s right arm, the other his left. They glowed like suns, binding him mid-motion.
Aryan took the cue, slamming both blades into the creature’s chest.Electric arcs danced across the wound — the smell of ozone filled the air.
> “NOW, KEDAR!”
Kedar roared, thrusting both hands forward.Flames erupted — red, gold, and white. The power burst through his limits, forming a spiral of concentrated Fire Prana that tore through the storm.
> “Agni Vajra!”
The beam hit dead center — engulfing Karkotaka in blinding light.
The explosion thundered across the sea, shattering the Abyssal Arena’s walls.
For a moment, silence. The force field above flickered.
Aryan collapsed to one knee, systems sparking.Anant fell back, breathing hard. Shakti stood trembling, glaive flickering out.
Smoke filled the coast.
---
The Monster Unbroken
Then, a slow, deliberate sound —Clack.Clack.Clack.
From the smoke, Karkotaka stepped forward.
His chest smoked from the impact, one arm half-destroyed — yet he stood tall.Wounded, but smiling.
> “Remarkable,” he said softly. “You burn brighter than I expected.”
He flexed his claw, energy reforming his lost armor piece by piece.
> “But now, your fire fades.”
A crimson light spread from his chest, seeping into the ground and water — his aura feeding off the battlefield itself.
Aryan looked up in horror. “He’s absorbing ambient Prana to heal! We’re out of time!”
---
The Whisper of the Deep
Amid the chaos, Kedar heard something faint — a whisper under the roar of rain.A voice, deep and ancient.
> “Child of fire..awaken not yet… but remember the flame of your blood.”
His body trembled.
> “Who’s there…?”
The voice vanished. The heat in his veins pulsed stronger — not from rage, but from something older.
Kedar gritted his teeth, focusing. He didn’t understand the voice, but it filled him with impossible strength — enough to stand again.
He looked at his friends — exhausted, broken, but unyielding.
> “We don’t stop here.”
Anant smirked. “Still got one last hit?”Shakti nodded weakly. “Make it burn.”Aryan raised his blade. “Let’s end this monster.”
The four of them stood against the towering shadow of Karkotaka, the storm raging behind them — the flame, the mind, the will, and the machine.
And as the rain turned red under lightning’s glare, the Lobster King spread his arms wide, laughing.
> “Then come, warriors. Show me your true despair.”
The final phase of the battle had begun.
To be continued.....
Where the Lobster King had fallen, the sea itself split open — releasing steam and crimson light that danced like fire through the storm. The colossal shell cracked apart, scattering molten shards across the coast. From within rose a new form: humanoid, armored, radiant with raw, violent power.
Karkotaka, reborn.
His body was sleek now, plates of dark coral and magma woven into muscle. His claws had shrunk into long, blade-like talons, and a single fin-like crest glowed at his back, trailing energy waves that twisted the rain.
Every step he took boiled the sand beneath his feet.The once monstrous Lobster King had become something almost divine — a Prana Beast Ascendant.
---
The Weight of Power
Kedar staggered backward, shielding his eyes.Even the air felt heavier. His Fire Prana sputtered, the heat around him being absorbed by the creature’s aura.
> “This… pressure,” he muttered, struggling to breathe.
Anant’s chakras dimmed.
> “It’s like he’s consuming the Prana around him.”
Shakti clenched her glaive.
> “Then we stop letting him control the field.”
Karkotaka raised his hand — the sea behind him rose upward as if obeying his will. Water hung suspended in midair, hundreds of tons of it forming a circular wall around the battlefield.
A voice like grinding coral filled their minds.
> “This shall be your tomb — the Abyssal Arena.”
With a gesture, the water collapsed inward — not as a wave, but as pressure.Kedar and his friends barely held their footing as gravity itself warped.
Aryan’s voice crackled through the comms.
> “The force field’s back online! I’m reading massive Prana output — it’s sealing the entire coast in a kinetic dome!”
> “Then we can’t run,” Anant said.“We don’t run,” Kedar replied. His flames reignited, weaker than before — but steady. “We end this here.”
---
The Abyssal Duel
Karkotaka blurred forward — his new form was impossibly fast.He appeared before Shakti in an instant, claws slashing downward.
She barely blocked, the impact shattering her weapon’s aura and throwing her into the sand.Anant countered, spinning both chakras, but Karkotaka caught one mid-spin with his bare hand — crushing it.
> “You have courage,” Karkotaka hissed, “but no future.”
Anant gritted his teeth. “We’ll make our own.”He slammed his second chakra into the ground, forming a binding seal of golden threads that wrapped around the creature’s legs.
Kedar charged through the smoke, flames bursting from his palms.
> “Agni Rush!”
He struck Karkotaka square in the chest — but the impact barely moved the creature.
Karkotaka smiled, almost human now.
> “Not bad. But tell me, child of flame… how does it feel to face your own extinction?”
Before Kedar could react, the monster’s claw swiped across his chest — the strike sent him flying through a rock pillar, armor shattering.
Blood mixed with rain as Kedar struggled to rise.
---
Aryan’s Return
On the cliff, Aryan slammed his console shut. The readings were chaotic — his suit was holding by sheer willpower.
> “Force field density… 73%. I can still breach it from the inside.”
He tore a glowing crystal from the wrecked generator beside him and jammed it into his chest plate.
> “Manual override: Overdrive Core — full sync.”
The suit blazed with blue light, his eyes reflecting pure energy.
> “All right, Karkotaka… round two.”
He sprinted down the cliff, jet boosters flaring. Landing beside the battlefield, he activated his Twin Arc Blades, the edges vibrating with Prana resonance.
> “Sorry to crash your date with doom,” Aryan shouted, slashing into one of Karkotaka’s legs. “But I missed the fireworks.”
The blade actually cut through — sparks and ichor burst out.Karkotaka turned his gaze to him, momentarily distracted.
> “You again,” the creature rumbled. “The machine child.”“Upgrade version,” Aryan smirked. “Now with sharper sarcasm.”
---
Hope Rekindled
The distraction gave Kedar a breath to rise.He wiped blood from his lip, eyes blazing. “He’s focused on Aryan. Anant, now!”
Anant nodded, channeling his last reserves of energy. His chakras hummed — the shattered one reconstructed itself in golden light.
> “Chakra Sutra: Twin Celestial Wheels!”
He launched both — one circled Karkotaka’s right arm, the other his left. They glowed like suns, binding him mid-motion.
Aryan took the cue, slamming both blades into the creature’s chest.Electric arcs danced across the wound — the smell of ozone filled the air.
> “NOW, KEDAR!”
Kedar roared, thrusting both hands forward.Flames erupted — red, gold, and white. The power burst through his limits, forming a spiral of concentrated Fire Prana that tore through the storm.
> “Agni Vajra!”
The beam hit dead center — engulfing Karkotaka in blinding light.
The explosion thundered across the sea, shattering the Abyssal Arena’s walls.
For a moment, silence. The force field above flickered.
Aryan collapsed to one knee, systems sparking.Anant fell back, breathing hard. Shakti stood trembling, glaive flickering out.
Smoke filled the coast.
---
The Monster Unbroken
Then, a slow, deliberate sound —Clack.Clack.Clack.
From the smoke, Karkotaka stepped forward.
His chest smoked from the impact, one arm half-destroyed — yet he stood tall.Wounded, but smiling.
> “Remarkable,” he said softly. “You burn brighter than I expected.”
He flexed his claw, energy reforming his lost armor piece by piece.
> “But now, your fire fades.”
A crimson light spread from his chest, seeping into the ground and water — his aura feeding off the battlefield itself.
Aryan looked up in horror. “He’s absorbing ambient Prana to heal! We’re out of time!”
---
The Whisper of the Deep
Amid the chaos, Kedar heard something faint — a whisper under the roar of rain.A voice, deep and ancient.
> “Child of fire..awaken not yet… but remember the flame of your blood.”
His body trembled.
> “Who’s there…?”
The voice vanished. The heat in his veins pulsed stronger — not from rage, but from something older.
Kedar gritted his teeth, focusing. He didn’t understand the voice, but it filled him with impossible strength — enough to stand again.
He looked at his friends — exhausted, broken, but unyielding.
> “We don’t stop here.”
Anant smirked. “Still got one last hit?”Shakti nodded weakly. “Make it burn.”Aryan raised his blade. “Let’s end this monster.”
The four of them stood against the towering shadow of Karkotaka, the storm raging behind them — the flame, the mind, the will, and the machine.
And as the rain turned red under lightning’s glare, the Lobster King spread his arms wide, laughing.
> “Then come, warriors. Show me your true despair.”
The final phase of the battle had begun.
To be continued.....
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