Thanks to the absolute, latent vitality of the Potnuri bloodline, Rudra's shattered arm and broken leg rapidly mended, the cosmic bone-knitting process leaving his body stronger than before. Standing up from his bed, full of determination to find his hidden lineage, Rudra stepped outside the estate to begin his journey.
Suddenly, the entire world shifted.
The bright sunlight completely vanished. Across the entire planet Earth, the sky instantly turned pitch black, swallowing every ray of light. Before anyone could process the panic, the darkness bled into a horrifying, suffocating crimson. The entire sky looked like an open ocean of fresh blood.
Rudra stopped in his tracks, completely shocked. Feeling a massive shift in the global magical pressure, he instantly activated his high-tier telepathy link, reaching across space to connect with the wise sovereign, King Vidura.
'King Vidura, do you see this? What is happening to the world?' Rudra questioned, his mind-voice sharp.
Across the telepathic wavelength, Vidura's voice sounded incredibly heavy and grim. 'I understand the situation, Rudra. Do not panic. What we are witnessing... it is the legendary Demon Sky. The ancient seals binding the dark realms to Earth have cracked. I am already moving forces to stabilize the human cities. Do what you must, Rudra. Good luck.'
'Understood. Okay, bye,' Rudra cut the telepathic link, his face completely serious.
As he turned back toward the courtyard, one of his nine wives, Aadhya, ran toward him, her face pale as she looked up at the bleeding atmosphere. "Rudra! Come quick! Why has the entire sky turned so terrifyingly red?!"
Rudra looked at her, his red eyes reflecting the sky. "Vidura calls it the Demon Sky. What do you know about it, Aadhya?"
Aadhya gripped her robes, tapping into her deep knowledge of ancient lore. "It is an apocalyptic omen from ancient India, Rudra. Eons ago, when the dark forces launched a total war to exterminate the human race, the sky turned exactly like this right before the demons breached our reality. The Demon Sky acts as a cosmic portal."
Rudra's eyes narrowed. "How is that even possible now? The seals were supposed to hold."
"The barrier is bleeding, but it hasn't fully shattered yet," Aadhya explained urgently, checking the celestial alignment. "The actual demon vanguard will take exactly 7 days to fully pass through the portal and launch their attack. Rudra... we only have 7 days. You desperately need to train your five elemental beasts before they get here!"
Rudra clenched his fists, the pressure of a global war and his own lack of high-speed training weighing heavily on his shoulders. He needed to unlock the Ground Bull, the Wolf, the Vulture, and his other hidden beasts within a week.
But just as he was about to map out his training arc, a chilling, unbelievably powerful aura locked onto his spine. Space itself seemed to ripple with absolute dominance.
From the quiet shadows directly behind Rudra, a cool, arrogant, and melodic voice echoed through the courtyard.
"Still as pathetic as ever... my
weak brother."Hearing the cold, mocking words echo from directly behind him, Rudra violently spun around, his blood-red eyes scanning the courtyard.
There was absolutely no one there. The space was completely empty.
BAM!
Before his sensory perception could even register a localized air shift, a devastating, unseen punch landed flush on Rudra's jaw. The sheer kinetic force of the impact rattled his skull, sending him stumbling back three paces.
"Who are you?!" Rudra demanded, wiping a streak of crimson blood from his lip.
CRASH!
Instead of an answer, a second, even more brutal punch buried itself deep into Rudra's stomach. The wind was instantly knocked clean out of his lungs, dropping the heavy King of the Shadow Throne to his knees. Rudra clutched his midsection, his teeth gritted in sheer disbelief. These punches are landing so incredibly hard... how is an invisible opponent generating this much physical mass?
"Show yourself! WHO ARE YOU?!" Rudra roared into the empty air.
Slowly, the light molecules in front of him began to bend and warp. The distortion faded, revealing a figure standing tall in a dark, high-tier tactical cloak. His facial features were unbelievably sharp, elegant, and divine—surpassing even Dev's legendary looks.
The man looked down at the bleeding sovereign with a razor-sharp smirk. "I am your fifth brother, Rudra."
Rudra forced himself up onto his feet, staring at his newly revealed sibling in absolute shock. "If you are my brother... why the hell are you hitting me like that?!"
Before the mystery brother could answer, Keerthi—one of Rudra's nine wives—stepped out into the courtyard, her eyes wide with recognition as she recalled ancient intelligence files. She gasped, pointing at the handsome newcomer. "Wait... a master of complete invisibility and unrivaled espionage... You are the legendary Ghost Spy, Codename: 00007, right?!"
The fifth brother shifted his gaze to Keerthi, his smirk widening slightly as he adjusted his tactical collar. "Yes, I am. Is there a problem with that?"
Rudra adjusted his posture, the initial anger fading into intense curiosity. "Codename 00007... What is your actual name, brother?"
"My name is Phanindra," the man replied, his voice calm but vibrating with immense authority. "And as your wife correctly pointed out, I am the greatest spy in our family bloodline."
Phanindra reached into his cloak and pulled out a gleaming, ancient metallic chain adorned with complex lineage runes. The energy radiating from it felt warm and strangely familiar to Rudra. Phanindra tossed it across the space, and Rudra caught it firmly in his left hand.
"Mom and Dad told me to find you and give this chain to you," Phanindra stated flatly, his expression turning serious as he looked up at the bleeding, crimson Demon Sky. "They knew the apocalypse was bleeding through. I have fulfilled my duty. Now, I am leaving to begin my own elite preparations. Take that chain, get your training done, and unlock those beasts, Rudra. We don't have time to waste."
With a sudden shimmer of cosmic distortion, Phanindra's body completely dissolved back into the shadows, leaving behind nothing but the faint scent of ozone.
Rudra stared at the empty space, then looked down at the heavy family chain resting in his palm. His eyes flared with a renewed, unyielding crimson fire. The greatest spy had delivered his message. It
was time to train.