Chapter 22:
The Palace of Shattered Minds
Tatva- The Awakening of Elements
The ruin around Kedar shifted with a sinister intelligence, as though the palace itself were breathing.Each step he took echoed with whispers, not carried by sound but pressed directly against his skull. Voices of fear, doubt, and regret — all crafted to pierce the heart.
He had learned to see through a few cracks of Mayan’s illusions, but now the cursed prince’s power deepened. This was no longer a test of strength.It was a test of his mind.
---
The Endless Corridor
Kedar walked through a hallway that stretched endlessly into darkness.Each wall was lined with mirrors — not ordinary glass, but shimmering black surfaces that warped his reflection.
With every step, Kedar saw himself differently.
First, he was the same boy who failed to protect Sagarur.
Then, he was a frightened child, unable to stand.
Then, he was a corpse, lying broken and defeated.
His hands shook. His Fire Prana flared instinctively, illuminating the shadows — but it did nothing to stop them.
A voice whispered from all sides:
> “Look at yourself. Look what you are… what you will become.”
Kedar’s chest tightened. His breath came fast.Every mirror reached for him. Every reflection tried to pull him in.
He gritted his teeth.
> “I am not you,” he shouted.“I am me.”
The mirrors cracked. One by one. The reflections screamed and melted into darkness, leaving the corridor empty again.
---
A Distorted Memory
The hallway bent, and the ceiling collapsed, revealing a courtyard — a scene from Kedar’s past training in Sagarur.Only, the place was wrong.
The trees were charred black.
The rivers boiled with fire.
His friends’ faces were distorted, twisted in silent screams.
He saw Anant and Shakti — or thought he did — calling for help.Kedar ran toward them, but as he reached, they dissolved into shadows.Every step forward intensified the illusion, making the heat of the Fire Prana burn against him, not from him.
Mayan’s voice slithered in:
> “Do you see, Fire Bringer? Even your strength can’t save them — not here, not anywhere.”
Kedar’s hands trembled. He stumbled.Every instinct told him to strike, but no physical attack could reach this world.He realized — this was a war of perception. A war of mind.
---
Shapeshifting Horrors
From the courtyard emerged forms — twisting, writhing, neither animal nor human.At first, they looked like wolves, then serpents, then shadows of himself, mocking his every action.Some attacked physically, clawing at him with pain that felt real.Others attacked mentally, invading his thoughts, planting doubt and fear.
He fought them as best he could, using Fire Prana to push away the tangible illusions, but the mental attacks cut deeper than any strike.
> “Your flame cannot touch truth.” Mayan whispered.“Only I can reveal it to you — or destroy you trying.”
Kedar dropped to one knee. His vision blurred.For the first time, he felt true fear.
---
Hints of the Past
Amidst the chaos, Kedar caught fleeting fragments — visions of the cursed prince’s life:
A luxurious palace that grew cold and empty.
A boy ignored by his father, trying to play in a world that would not forgive him.
Rituals of blood and shadow, a pact with a dark power that promised fulfillment but delivered despair.
Each fragment was brief — glimpsed in flickers — but enough to hint at a tragic, twisted humanity beneath Mayan’s monstrous form.
Kedar’s mind struggled to differentiate between illusion and memory, and he realized:
> “This is how he became what he is… a prisoner of his own mind, and now he wants me trapped too.”
---
The First Awakening of Discernment
He stumbled backward into a wide hall. Mirrors lined every wall.All the illusions converged at once — faces, screams, fires, shadows.
But then, deep inside, a new spark awakened.A tiny, steady flame of clarity, separate from Fire Prana, burning quietly in his mind.
Kedar focused. Breathed. Grounded himself.
Slowly — almost painfully — he began to discern what was real and what was false.A shadow lunged — but he saw the telltale distortion at its edges.A voice cried for help — but its tone was hollow, impossible.
He could now see the cracks in Mayan’s illusions.
The palace still pulsed with danger.But Kedar had taken his first real step toward mastery.
---
The Final Whisper
From the center of the hall, Mayan’s voice rang out:
> “Interesting… you can see through some of it. But this is only the beginning, Fire Bringer.”
A shadow moved at the far end of the hall — for a heartbeat, it looked like the prince himself.Then it twisted into a terrifying form, barely human, barely shadow.
Kedar squared his stance, Fire Prana flaring red.
> “I will not fall for illusions. Not now. Not ever.”
And with that, the palace shifted again — forming a maze of shadows and mirrors, each corridor leading deeper into Mayan’s twisted mind.
To be continued.......
He had learned to see through a few cracks of Mayan’s illusions, but now the cursed prince’s power deepened. This was no longer a test of strength.It was a test of his mind.
---
The Endless Corridor
Kedar walked through a hallway that stretched endlessly into darkness.Each wall was lined with mirrors — not ordinary glass, but shimmering black surfaces that warped his reflection.
With every step, Kedar saw himself differently.
First, he was the same boy who failed to protect Sagarur.
Then, he was a frightened child, unable to stand.
Then, he was a corpse, lying broken and defeated.
His hands shook. His Fire Prana flared instinctively, illuminating the shadows — but it did nothing to stop them.
A voice whispered from all sides:
> “Look at yourself. Look what you are… what you will become.”
Kedar’s chest tightened. His breath came fast.Every mirror reached for him. Every reflection tried to pull him in.
He gritted his teeth.
> “I am not you,” he shouted.“I am me.”
The mirrors cracked. One by one. The reflections screamed and melted into darkness, leaving the corridor empty again.
---
A Distorted Memory
The hallway bent, and the ceiling collapsed, revealing a courtyard — a scene from Kedar’s past training in Sagarur.Only, the place was wrong.
The trees were charred black.
The rivers boiled with fire.
His friends’ faces were distorted, twisted in silent screams.
He saw Anant and Shakti — or thought he did — calling for help.Kedar ran toward them, but as he reached, they dissolved into shadows.Every step forward intensified the illusion, making the heat of the Fire Prana burn against him, not from him.
Mayan’s voice slithered in:
> “Do you see, Fire Bringer? Even your strength can’t save them — not here, not anywhere.”
Kedar’s hands trembled. He stumbled.Every instinct told him to strike, but no physical attack could reach this world.He realized — this was a war of perception. A war of mind.
---
Shapeshifting Horrors
From the courtyard emerged forms — twisting, writhing, neither animal nor human.At first, they looked like wolves, then serpents, then shadows of himself, mocking his every action.Some attacked physically, clawing at him with pain that felt real.Others attacked mentally, invading his thoughts, planting doubt and fear.
He fought them as best he could, using Fire Prana to push away the tangible illusions, but the mental attacks cut deeper than any strike.
> “Your flame cannot touch truth.” Mayan whispered.“Only I can reveal it to you — or destroy you trying.”
Kedar dropped to one knee. His vision blurred.For the first time, he felt true fear.
---
Hints of the Past
Amidst the chaos, Kedar caught fleeting fragments — visions of the cursed prince’s life:
A luxurious palace that grew cold and empty.
A boy ignored by his father, trying to play in a world that would not forgive him.
Rituals of blood and shadow, a pact with a dark power that promised fulfillment but delivered despair.
Each fragment was brief — glimpsed in flickers — but enough to hint at a tragic, twisted humanity beneath Mayan’s monstrous form.
Kedar’s mind struggled to differentiate between illusion and memory, and he realized:
> “This is how he became what he is… a prisoner of his own mind, and now he wants me trapped too.”
---
The First Awakening of Discernment
He stumbled backward into a wide hall. Mirrors lined every wall.All the illusions converged at once — faces, screams, fires, shadows.
But then, deep inside, a new spark awakened.A tiny, steady flame of clarity, separate from Fire Prana, burning quietly in his mind.
Kedar focused. Breathed. Grounded himself.
Slowly — almost painfully — he began to discern what was real and what was false.A shadow lunged — but he saw the telltale distortion at its edges.A voice cried for help — but its tone was hollow, impossible.
He could now see the cracks in Mayan’s illusions.
The palace still pulsed with danger.But Kedar had taken his first real step toward mastery.
---
The Final Whisper
From the center of the hall, Mayan’s voice rang out:
> “Interesting… you can see through some of it. But this is only the beginning, Fire Bringer.”
A shadow moved at the far end of the hall — for a heartbeat, it looked like the prince himself.Then it twisted into a terrifying form, barely human, barely shadow.
Kedar squared his stance, Fire Prana flaring red.
> “I will not fall for illusions. Not now. Not ever.”
And with that, the palace shifted again — forming a maze of shadows and mirrors, each corridor leading deeper into Mayan’s twisted mind.
To be continued.......
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