Satya stood before the 7-Star Gate, its ominous light casting long shadows across the arena. His heart raced, but there was no hesitation in his movements. This was the moment. The gate would open, and beyond it lay untold dangers. Vaidehi and Yug stood by his side, ready to face whatever awaited them, but Satya couldn't shake the lingering thought that this was different. They had all faced battles together, but this time… something felt heavier. The weight of responsibility gnawed at him as he thought of Vaidehi, the bond they shared growing stronger with each passing moment.
As the gate rumbled open, a cold wind rushed through the air. The familiar yet unsettling sight of the dual gate unfolded before them. Satya's mind flashed back to their previous encounter with such gates. The memories were filled with both triumph and defeat. He knew what was coming, but he was ready. This time, he would not fail.
But as the gate parted, revealing two separate paths, Satya's heart skipped a beat. Vaidehi and Yug were separated from him once again. The familiar chill of worry swept over him, but he quickly pushed it aside. He knew they were strong. Vaidehi had been training tirelessly, and Yug's guidance had sharpened their skills. They were capable, more than capable. He had to trust them to handle whatever trials lay ahead.
"Stay safe," he whispered under his breath as he turned to face the path before him.
The ground trembled as Satya walked forward, his mind clear. The path was long and winding, and he could already hear the echoes of countless soldiers waiting for him. His eyes hardened with determination. This would be no ordinary battle, but that didn't matter. He had grown stronger, had embraced his true power. He was not the same man who had walked into the Inferno Guild; he was a force in his own right, ready to face whatever challenge lay ahead.
The first wave hit him like a tide, hundreds of soldiers charging toward him from all sides. Satya smirked, his posture relaxed, his Garuda flame form igniting in response. He had fought battles of this scale before, and each time, he had become more efficient, more deadly. With a flick of his wrist, the air shimmered, and his fire lanced out, incinerating the first row of soldiers before they even had a chance to react.
"Is that all?" Satya muttered, his voice laced with arrogance, as he charged forward.
The soldiers tried to swarm him, but he danced between them with ease, his movements a blur of calculated precision. Each step was a strike, each breath a weapon. Fire and flame swirled around him, scorching everything in their path. The soldiers fell, one by one, their numbers dwindling, their hope fading. Satya's eyes blazed as he reached the front lines, each soldier falling to his will.
By the time he had taken down the first 4,000 to 5,000, the path ahead began to clear. Sweat dotted his brow, but he felt no fatigue. His resolve was stronger than ever. He was nearing the gatekeeper's domain, where the real challenge awaited him.
As he approached the looming gate, the air shifted. He could feel it—something was different. Two figures stood before him, blocking his way. The first gatekeeper was a hulking beast, his form massive, his body composed of thick, armor-like skin. But what set him apart were his seven hearts and seven brains, each pulsing with a strange rhythm. His very existence seemed a contradiction, an impossibility. He was unpredictable, a mind that could calculate and strategize in ways Satya had never encountered before.
Satya's eyes narrowed as he assessed the beast. He couldn't fight him the same way he had fought the others. This was a battle of precision, of strategy. To defeat him, he had to destroy all seven of his hearts and seven of his brains—simultaneously. Any misstep, any delay, and Satya would be at a disadvantage. But this was the game of gods—this was what he was born for.
Before he could act, the second gatekeeper revealed herself—a woman unlike anything Satya had ever seen. She was tall and imposing, her body covered in flowing robes that seemed to shimmer and shift with every movement. What truly set her apart were her eight eyes and eight hands. Each hand held a different weapon, each eye gleamed with a different power. Her aura radiated power, an energy that vibrated through the very air. She wasn't just strong; she was an expert in illusion magic, an art that could deceive and manipulate reality itself.
Satya's pulse quickened. This woman was unlike anything he had ever encountered, more powerful than Ashi, more dangerous than any opponent he had faced.
The two gatekeepers stood before him like gods of war, each with their own unique set of abilities. He had to defeat them both, but Satya wasn't afraid. He had faced the impossible before, and each time, he had risen stronger. But this… this would require everything he had.
With a steadying breath, Satya stepped forward, his Garuda flame swirling around him like a tempest. He had no time to waste. This was a battle to the death. And Satya was ready to fight.
The first gatekeeper moved, his enormous form charging with lightning speed. Satya reacted instantly, his body a blur as he dodged the beast's swings. He needed to stay agile—his speed and precision were his only advantage against this creature's unpredictable nature.
The second gatekeeper, the woman, raised her hands, and in a flash, illusions erupted around Satya, distorting his senses, creating false images of herself and her surroundings. The world twisted and turned, the lines between reality and illusion blurring. But Satya was no stranger to deception. He closed his eyes for a moment, relying on his instincts rather than his eyes.
The clash between Satya and the two gatekeepers was nothing short of legendary. The arena around them seemed to dissolve as if the very fabric of reality was bending under the weight of their battle.
Satya's Garuda flame flickered around him, a swirling tempest of heat and fury. His mind was sharp, every movement calculated, every breath synchronized with the pulse of battle.
The first gatekeeper, the monstrous beast with seven hearts and seven brains, moved with an unnatural fluidity. Each swing of its arm sent shockwaves through the ground, sending cracks spider-webbing through the earth. Satya dodged one of the massive fists, rolling beneath the behemoth's form with the agility of a serpent. His body was a blur, a flickering shadow as he closed in on the beast.
"I need to destroy all seven at once," Satya thought, his eyes scanning the creature's body for weak points. His Garuda flame crackled around his fists, ready to strike. He needed precision, and he needed to act fast.
The first heart sat directly in the creature's chest, pulsing like a massive, crimson organ. Satya knew he couldn't focus on just one—it would regenerate too quickly. He had to destroy them all in one go.
But the gatekeeper wasn't an easy target. Each of its seven brains seemed to predict Satya's every move, countering him with terrifying accuracy. Whenever he swung a punch, the beast would block it with uncanny precision, its body shifting and adapting like a well-oiled machine. It was like fighting against a living puzzle, one that kept shifting with every strike.
Satya ducked beneath another massive swing, his flames igniting as he summoned a wave of heat to push the beast back. The momentary distance gave him enough time to move. With lightning speed, he dashed forward, using the terrain to his advantage, leaping off a boulder to gain a higher vantage point.
From above, he saw it—there were thin lines, faint seams, where the creature's hearts were housed, almost like weak points embedded into its armor-like skin. If he could target them all at once, he might stand a chance.
But as he lunged toward the beast's chest, the first brain—the one located near its head—shifted, and the creature's enormous, clawed hand swatted him aside like an insect. Satya grunted as his body slammed into the ground, his flames flickering briefly before reigniting in defiance.
This wasn't going to be easy. The creature's minds worked as one, its unpredictable nature making it almost impossible to anticipate. Satya knew that brute force wouldn't be enough; he had to outsmart this thing.
Meanwhile, the second gatekeeper—an entirely different challenge—moved with terrifying grace. The woman, with her eight eyes and eight hands, was a master of illusion magic. Every time Satya looked in her direction, she vanished and reappeared in another spot, her hands weaving intricate sigils in the air. At first, the illusions were subtle, just slight shifts in the air, but soon, they became overwhelming.
Her eight eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, and suddenly, the battlefield was filled with a hundred versions of her. Each one was as real as the next, each casting spells that twisted the very world around Satya.
"Focus," Satya muttered to himself, trying to clear his mind of the chaos. His vision swirled with illusions: some of the gatekeeper's versions were charging at him with spells, while others taunted him from the shadows. It was hard to discern which was real and which was fake.
The woman's eyes flickered as she cast another spell, and in an instant, the entire arena seemed to collapse. The ground beneath Satya's feet shifted like liquid, pulling him into an abyss of darkness. His senses went haywire as the air thickened, turning into a suffocating miasma. His Garuda flame fought against the overwhelming pressure, struggling to maintain its form.
But Satya wasn't one to fall easily. He clenched his fists and forced his mind into clarity. His power surged as he began to channel his energy into his senses, breaking through the illusions.
Each of the eight hands she wielded was a weapon in itself—one conjured fire, another summoned ice, one created blades of pure light, and others wielded dark energies, each more deadly than the last. But Satya knew this: the true threat wasn't the magic itself, but the constant shifting of reality.
With a roar, Satya broke free from the illusions. He focused on the woman's center, where the true essence of her power lay. Her eyes. Her gaze was what fueled the illusion. If he could break through the illusions and take away her ability to control her surroundings, he would have a chance to strike.
In one fluid motion, Satya raised his hands and summoned a surge of Garuda flame so intense that it burned the very air around him. The heat radiated in waves, the flames taking the shape of wings as they swept through the battlefield, dispelling the illusions one by one. His flames turned into a vortex, sucking the light from the air and extinguishing the false versions of the gatekeeper.
But just as he thought he had her cornered, the woman's form shifted again. Eight eyes blinked at him in unison, and her hands moved in a complex pattern, drawing symbols in the air.
Satya's heart skipped a beat.
The world around him warped once more. He felt as if he was falling, plummeting through an endless void of darkness. But this time, the illusion wasn't just visual. He could feel it—his very body felt like it was being torn apart.
The woman's voice echoed around him, her tone calm and cold. "You think you've escaped, but nothing you do will ever be enough. This is my domain, and in my domain, you will never win."
But Satya's mind was made up. He would never give up. Not now. Not when everything depended on him.
"Then I'll burn this domain down," he whispered, and with that, his Garuda flame flared brighter, hotter, and more intense than ever before.
He focused every ounce of his power into one singular strike, the energy coalescing into a massive, radiant explosion of flame. The darkness around him shattered, and the illusions dissipated like smoke in the wind.
The real gatekeeper was finally exposed, standing before him, her hands raised to defend herself. Satya's eyes burned with fury, and in a single, explosive moment, he launched himself at her.
"Now… it's over."
The woman's eyes widened, but before she could react, Satya closed the distance in an instant. His Garuda flame surged around him, forming a powerful, radiant spear of fire that extended from his outstretched arm. She raised one of her eight hands to deflect the attack, but the sheer heat and force of the blow overwhelmed her, sending her skidding back through the air.
But she was far from done. Her eight eyes flared, and in that moment, an overwhelming surge of magic filled the air. The ground beneath them cracked and warped, and every single one of her hands flickered as she conjured more illusions—some attacking, some defending, and some attempting to disorient Satya.
Satya felt the shift, but his instincts, honed through countless battles, screamed at him to remain focused. He concentrated on the woman's eyes—the source of her power—and with a roar, he let loose a surge of Garuda flame so intense it seemed to consume everything in its path.
The flames engulfed the illusions in mere moments, burning them to ash. The woman's defenses crumbled under the onslaught, but just as Satya thought he had her cornered, she vanished in a flash of light, reappearing high above him, hovering in the air.
"Do you really think you can defeat me?" she taunted, her voice echoing around the battlefield. The air around her shimmered with magic as she raised all eight of her hands in unison. Each hand glowed with a different power: fire, ice, lightning, shadows, and more. She was preparing for her final assault.
Satya's eyes narrowed, his pulse quickening. She was strong—stronger than any opponent he had faced so far. But Satya was no stranger to impossible odds. The battle with this gatekeeper was not just about power; it was about endurance, precision, and timing. He had to outsmart her—just like he had with the seven-hearted gatekeeper.
His mind raced, calculating the best way to approach her. If she was going to use her magic to overwhelm him, then he needed to break her focus. He couldn't afford to allow her to manipulate the battlefield with her illusions and elemental attacks. His Garuda flame flickered around him as he drew in a deep breath, focusing his mind.
In an instant, Satya darted forward, his movements so fast that the air itself seemed to ripple in his wake. As he closed in on the woman, he feinted left, then right, dodging a barrage of magical attacks. But it was the sudden change in direction—when he moved upward and caught her off guard—that gave him the opening he needed. His hands glowed with a blinding light as he channeled his energy into a single, concentrated blast of fire.
The attack struck her square in the chest, and for a moment, everything stood still. The air crackled with tension, and Satya's heart skipped a beat as he saw her form flicker, her body momentarily flickering like an illusion.
But then, just as quickly, she solidified again, her eight eyes blazing with fury.
"You cannot defeat me with brute force alone," she hissed, her voice laced with a venomous edge. "I am the gatekeeper of illusion. And you... you are nothing more than a flame to be snuffed out."
Her hands shot forward, each one unleashing a devastating spell that ricocheted off the walls of the arena, creating explosions that shook the very ground. But Satya had already anticipated this. His body surged with power as he summoned his Garuda flame, creating a protective shield of pure fire that absorbed and redirected the attacks.
"Then let me show you the true strength of a flame that can never be extinguished," Satya said, his voice steady despite the chaos around him.
In that moment, he leaped into the air, summoning all his power into one final strike. His Garuda flame flared around him like a burning phoenix, each feather a blazing symbol of his resolve. His eyes glowed with intensity as he rocketed toward the gatekeeper, his body moving faster than ever before.
The woman's hands reached out, attempting to conjure another illusion, but Satya was already upon her. He struck with all his might, channeling every ounce of his power into a devastating blow aimed directly at her chest.
For a moment, time seemed to slow. The ground beneath them cracked as the force of the impact reverberated through the arena. The woman's expression shifted—shock, disbelief, and fear—before she was engulfed in the explosion of Garuda flame.
The entire battlefield shook as the flames consumed her, and when the fire cleared, there was nothing left of the gatekeeper but ash and scorched earth.
Satya hovered in the air, breathing heavily, his body covered in burns from the intensity of the battle. But the fight wasn't over—not yet.
His mind shifted to the other gatekeeper. The one with seven hearts and seven brains. He couldn't afford to waste any more time. He had to finish this.
With a flick of his wrist, Satya summoned his Garuda flame again, his resolve hardening like steel. He could feel the intensity of the battle ahead, but now, more than ever, he was ready. The trials he had faced had prepared him for this moment. He would defeat this monstrous gatekeeper, and he would break through this dual gate.
The creature's monstrous form loomed in front of him, its eyes glowing with a mix of malice and intelligence. Satya could feel its multiple brains calculating his every move, anticipating his strikes.
But Satya had learned to adapt. To think ahead. He wasn't the same Satya who had entered this gate. He was stronger, faster, and more determined than ever before.
He raised his arms, channeling his Garuda flame into a concentrated beam, aimed directly at the beast's chest. He knew that if he could destroy all seven of its hearts and brains simultaneously, he would end this fight once and for all.
And then, with a battle cry, Satya unleashed everything he had.
The world shook as the beam of flame pierced through the air, heading straight for the gatekeeper.
It was time to end this.
Satya's Garuda Flame surged, his Divine Vessel form glowing with deep amber and sky-blue runes. He needed time, strategy, and absolute precision.
"Seven brains. Seven hearts. One mistake, and I'm dead," Satya muttered.
The beast growled, charging like a monstrous fusion of man and animal. Its limbs jerked in conflicting rhythms—one arm swinging, one blocking, one grabbing air, one weaving unpredictable patterns. It was like fighting a hydra controlled by seven warlords.
But Satya's eyes narrowed.
He entered Ashta-Samadhi, a state where time felt slower and his perception split into eight streams—an evolved form of battle meditation he learned from Agneyi during the Guild trials.
He mapped the location of each brain and heart, tracking their pulse timing, using his flame to illuminate the blood flow. Then he triggered his ultimate technique:
"Garuda Chakra: Sevenfold Execution!"
He summoned seven chakrams made from pure Garuda Flame, each linked to his soul. They hovered like phoenix feathers, each glowing with a different mantra. Then—
BOOM.
He split himself into seven mirror clones—each one dashing to a brain and heart at the exact millisecond.
The beast roared in confusion, seven minds trying to adapt, but they were too late.
All seven chakrams spun and sliced with divine precision.
"NOW!"
A synchronized explosion erupted inside the monster—seven hearts burst into flame, seven brains fried with divine energy.
The gatekeeper collapsed, releasing a guttural, beastly scream as its chaotic mind was silenced forever. The air shimmered with divine echoes.
Satya breathed heavily, but his eyes immediately turned to the second gatekeeper.
The Illusion Sorceress with Eight Eyes and Eight Arms
She stood hovering above the shattered ground, calm, untouched. A smirk on her lips, eight arms swirling with fire, water, lightning, time, shadow, light, wind, and illusion magic—each orbiting her like a deadly dance.
"You're impressive… but predictable," she whispered. Her voice echoed in Satya's head like a dream.
Suddenly—the world split.
He was falling. Or flying? Or drowning?
He saw his mother crying, Vaidehi burning, Yug dying, Agneya abandoning him, Oorja shattering...
Illusions.
Satya clenched his teeth. The illusion magic was far beyond what Ashi ever used. It didn't just show fear—it manipulated emotion, pulling real memories and distorting them.
But Satya smiled.
"I see. You use eight senses, but forgot one thing…"
His hand glowed—he activated Oorja's Insight, a blessing that allowed him to hear the truth in magic. One by one, the illusions shattered.
The sorceress frowned, for the first time.
Satya floated toward her like a divine storm.
"Let me show you my answer, Eight-Handed One."
He activated his Garuda Form: Vajra-Asura Mode — lightning-infused wings, thunder beneath his feet, with a third eye glowing on his forehead.(This power he learned from vayunanda)
He chanted:
"Trinetra Vidyut Astra – Ashtrayana!"
A massive bow formed in his hand, and eight arrows made of pure anti-magic flame took form, each targeting one of her arms.
She cast her eight spells in retaliation—pure chaos: time freeze, flame dragon, tsunami strike, shadow blades, and more.
But Satya didn't flinch.
"Let's end this."
He released all eight arrows in reverse time-sequence—the illusion spells reacted too late.
The moment the eighth arrow pierced her forehead, her illusions shattered like broken glass.
She gasped. "Impossible… I… I had no weakness…"
Satya walked past her as she slowly dissolved into golden dust. "You were strong. But not stronger than my will."
The twin gatekeepers had fallen. The path forward opened—glowing in divine light.
But Satya didn't celebrate.
He looked back toward the still-separated realms, worry flickering in his eyes.
"Vaidehi. Yug. Stay alive. I'm coming."
The dual gate rumbled. Something even deeper stirred in the next chamber.
And Satya stepped forward once more.