Inside the shattered remains of the haunted house, the final battle had begun.

  Dust hung thick in the air. Broken pillars, cracked walls, and scorched stone surrounded Lioran like the ruins of a fallen kingdom.

  Across every surface—

  Walls.

  Ceiling.

  Floor.

  The Kroor’s face appeared.

  Its lips moved unnaturally.

  “I am Kuraan,” it said. “And this… is my domain.”

  Its voice echoed from everywhere at once.

  “My world.”

  Lioran stood in the center of it all, breathing slowly.

  “…This won’t be easy.”

  Suddenly, the structure of the house shifted again.

  The walls melted like clay.

  The floor rippled.

  The ceiling twisted.

  And from those surfaces—

  Skeletons emerged.

  Hundreds.

  Half-embedded in walls.

  Arms reaching out.

  Skulls staring blankly.

  Aishwarya froze.

  “…Those are real.”

  Sharin clenched his jaw.

  “These are the missing people…”

  Kuraan laughed softly.

  “These are my property,” it said. “I own them.”

  Its three eyes glowed crimson.

  “And soon… you will belong to me as well.”

  Lioran stepped forward—

  But suddenly—

  His leg froze.

  His body refused to move.

  His breath grew uneven.

  His heartbeat pounded violently in his ears.

  He remembered.

  The first Kroor.

  The humiliation.

  The helplessness.

  The way his body failed him.

  The way fear paralyzed him.

  His smile appeared—soft and hollow.

  Sharin blinked. “Why is he smiling?”

  Even Kuraan paused.

  Lioran placed a hand on his forehead.

  “…It’s happening again.”

  “That time too… my legs stopped responding.”

  His smile faded.

  His teeth clenched.

  “Am I still the same as before?”

  His voice trembled—then sharpened.

  “Am I not stronger than before?!”

  The air shifted.

  His golden Prā?a cloak ignited—

  But this wasn’t the same.

  It wasn’t just Eternal Prā?a.

  It was deeper.

  Denser.

  He clenched his fists.

  “Damn it… damn it… DAMN IT!”

  Cracks spread beneath his feet.

  “You idiot body!” he roared. “Stop shaking because of the past!”

  The ground shattered outward.

  A golden aura erupted from him violently.

  BOOOOOOOM—!!!

  It wasn’t just a cloak.

  It was pressure.

  Overwhelming pressure.

  The skeletons embedded in the walls began vibrating.

  The house trembled.

  “You are not the same as before,” Lioran growled.

  “You are stronger.”

  “You are stronger than before.”

  “And you will become even stronger!”

  His golden aura intensified, swirling like a raging solar storm.

  His Prā?a Vision activated automatically.

  The entire environment shifted in his perception.

  He could see the flow of energy.

  He could see distortions in space.

  He could see Kuraan’s presence hiding within solid matter.

  “You damn monster,” Lioran said coldly. “Listen carefully.”

  His aura expanded further.

  “You killed ordinary people.”

  “People with families.”

  “Someone’s son.”

  “Someone’s father.”

  “Someone’s sister.”

  His voice deepened.

  “You didn’t even leave their bones in peace.”

  The pressure from his aura alone caused the walls to fracture.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Aishwarya swallowed.

  “He’s furious…”

  Sharin nodded slowly.

  “No… he’s beyond furious.”

  Lioran punched the wall where Kuraan’s face appeared.

  CRACK—!!!

  The wall exploded.

  Sharin blinked.

  “He didn’t even use Prā?a!”

  Skanda narrowed his eyes.

  “No… he did.”

  “But not Eternal Prā?a.”

  Skanda’s expression darkened.

  “He used… Cosmic Prā?a.”

  Lioran had drawn Prā?a from the surrounding space itself.

  Unconsciously.

  Skanda’s mind raced.

  “That’s impossible.”

  “No one can use Cosmic Prā?a directly.”

  Unless—

  His thoughts flashed back.

  The first Kroor.

  The unknown power.

  The entire building consumed.

  “…Is it connected to that power?”

  “…Is it because he is Vaelion’s heir?”

  Lioran walked forward calmly.

  “Senior,” he said without looking back. “Please retrieve the skeletons.”

  “At least let them rest in peace.”

  “…Of course.” Skanda said.

  “Let’s go,” he said to Aishwarya and Sharin.

  Sharin paused.

  “Lioran.”

  Lioran glanced back.

  “Make him pay.”

  Lioran nodded once.

  “Yeah.”

  They moved away, collecting the remains.

  Kuraan’s faces reappeared everywhere.

  “You think you can stop me?” it mocked.

  “After you die, I’ll kill your friends.”

  Lioran’s aura flared brighter.

  “You will never touch them.”

  He leapt forward.

  “PRā?A FIST!”

  He smashed through another wall-face.

  Destroyed.

  Another appeared.

  “You can’t even touch me,” Kuraan laughed.

  Lioran hurled Prā?a spheres.

  Destroyed dozens of manifestations.

  But more appeared instantly.

  He growled.

  “PRā?A COLLARGE!”

  The golden sphere expanded violently.

  BOOOOOOOM—!!!

  The entire interior structure collapsed.

  Everything shattered.

  Yet—

  Kuraan’s face returned again.

  Everywhere.

  Lioran exhaled sharply.

  “No matter how much I destroy… it keeps regenerating.”

  “I need to find the real body.”

  Suddenly—

  SHRRRK—!!!

  Kuraan burst from the ground behind him.

  Claws slashed.

  Lioran twisted—but his arm was cut.

  Blood dripped.

  Kuraan grinned.

  Then melted into the ground again.

  “What?!” Lioran muttered.

  The floor beneath him shot upward.

  The ceiling descended violently.

  He was about to be crushed.

  “PRā?A SWIFT!”

  He vanished.

  The structures collided behind him.

  KRAAAASH—!!!

  He landed heavily.

  Kuraan emerged from the wall this time.

  Its grin widened.

  “I see it now,” Lioran muttered.

  “It controls solid matter.”

  “It can phase through it.”

  “Manipulate it.”

  “That’s how it expanded the room.”

  “That’s how it trapped us.”

  Pillars erupted toward him again.

  He destroyed one with a punch.

  Dodged another.

  “But it’s not omnipotent.”

  “It must hide its real body inside matter, but how do I find it?”

  Suddenly He got an idea.

  He clenched his fist.

  Golden light condensed unnaturally around it.

  “Golden… Burst.”

  He punched the wall.

  The first impact shattered the surface.

  But the second impact—

  Travelled.

  Like a shockwave.

  Through walls.

  Through floors.

  Through structure.

  Through the entire house.

  Then—

  A scream.

  Kuraan burst from the wall violently.

  Blood dripping from its mouth.

  Its body torn.

  Its three eyes wide in disbelief.

  “How…?”

  Lioran stepped forward.

  “Finally, You crawled out.”

  His aura surged even stronger now.

  The golden energy around him flickered with faint streaks of something darker.

  Something ancient.

  The ground beneath him began to melt under the pressure.

  Kuraan growled.

  “You… you are not normal.”

  Lioran’s eyes glowed.

  “No.”

  “I’m not.”

  He vanished.

  Reappeared in front of Kuraan.

  Punch.

  BOOM—!!!

  Kuraan flew backward, crashing through layers of broken structure.

  Before it could recover—

  Lioran was already there.

  Kick.

  CRACK—!!!

  Another impact.

  Kuraan tried to sink into the wall—

  But Lioran grabbed its face.

  His Prā?a surged through his hand.

  The wall behind them shattered.

  “You don’t get to run anymore.”

  Kuraan shrieked.

  The entire house began collapsing.

  Walls twisting wildly.

  Floor splitting apart.

  The structure was losing control.

  Its domain was destabilizing.

  Kuraan’s three eyes flickered in fear.

  “For the first time…”

  It whispered.

  “I feel…”

  “…pressure.”

  Lioran’s aura flared brighter than ever.

  The golden energy roared around him like a storm of suns.

  TO BE CONTINUED…