It was a beautiful morning. Birds chirped as they danced and bathed in the water puddles created by Sharv by the lake. The whole forest was now awake, and the light roar of a sleepy tiger could be heard, but the birds stayed uninterrupted. The clear water was now filled with fish fighting to eat the figs Sharv had thrown in it.
But the man himself, Sharv, was in the lake, bathing, letting his body float in the water while just keeping his face out. The fresh morning breeze was creating waves in the lake and cooling him. While he enjoyed his bath, another man, who looked like a teenager, Kant, was running at his full speed to reach the lake.
"Sharv, Marshal Jay is back!" he shouted as he closed in.
"This early in the morning?"
"Yeah, in our organization, the exact time of departure and arrival is never revealed, even if only a few people know," Kant explained, panting as he lay down on the shore.
"Why are you panting so much?" Sharv asked, swimming towards the shore.
"Unlike you, some people can't fly. I have to run ten miles to reach here."
"But that shouldn't be a problem. After all, you are a Chakra master," Sharv countered as he went behind the big Banyan tree.
"I am not a superhuman like you," Kant said, sitting up.
"Just give me a few seconds," Sharv said and literally, in under a minute, he came out changed into a purple-blue dhoti.
"Let's go," Sharv started walking as he said this.
"Brother, can you please fly me back?" Kant pleaded.
Sharv looked at his dirt-filled clothes and said, "Why not?" He put a hand on Kant's shoulder and enveloped him in his PRĀNÀ. He picked him up, a thin PRĀNÀ thread connecting them, and then gave him three dips in the lake water, leaving Kant gasping for air. He then flew away, tagging Kant along.
"You… this is harassment. You are taking advantage of a weak man!" Kant shouted once he calmed down.
"What nonsense are you talking about? It's basic hygiene. Your clothes were too dirty," Sharv spoke flatly, without letting any emotion into his voice. But if one could see, a faint smile seeped onto his lips. It really was funny.
"At least you could have warned me," Kant said, shaking his hair.
Sharv just kept flying, and in under three minutes, they were at the Ebony clearing. As usual, Kant completed the ritual, and they entered the base. This time, the guards were as wary of him as before. Manoj again led them to the same hall.
"So this Sharv really caused havoc, you say," a deep, stern voice could be heard from the entrance of the hall.
"If you believe me, Marshal, he shook them to their core," answered Suvan with a hearty laugh. "Losing two commanders and fifty knights is a shocker for a border city like Swarnaa. If they died to just one young lad, then oh boy, it is troublesome."
As they were talking, Sharv entered the hall along with Kant and Manoj. Unlike before, there was a man well over six feet sitting on the main sofa. He had curly brown hair and a little scar on his right eyebrow, which gave an impression of fashionable eyebrows.
"Hello Kant, hope you are recuperating just fine," the man spoke.
"Thank you, Marshal. I am already completely healed, thanks to Sharv here. I just need to get used to my new limbs," Kant sneakily praised Sharv.
"Yes, Sharv," Marshal Jay now addressed, "Hello and welcome to our base. I heard many things about you from Suvan here, obviously all great."
"Good to hear that I am appreciated."
The man nodded at Sharv's answer. "You see, I also heard that you promised to save Kant's brother. As it stands, I was also trying to get some help for the same cause, but on a wider scale. Unfortunately, the help was denied due to the busy schedule of the org." There was no visible emotion on Jay's face, only a faint smile.
"I didn't come here to ask for help because, as it stands," Sharv's ember eyes shimmered with determination and self-belief, "I can fulfill the promise I made, ALONE." He spoke, his voice dropping an octave.
"No, no, don't misunderstand me," Marshal Jay corrected himself. "Not you, but we need your help. Many of our brethren are in Swarnaa city jail too, and we don't have the power needed to save them. I have an offer for you."
"Continue, I am all ears," Sharv said solemnly when Jay took a pause.
"I offer you a place in our org, if you help save them. I know you don't have any affiliation and you want to travel the world. So you won't be obliged to do anything that you don't want. We will give you a pass which will let you access our every facility in the Kingdom, depending on your power level. I don't think you need anything else that we can give, but our intel might also be helpful to you," Marshal Jay put forth his offer with a big smile.
"Well, that doesn't help me anyway, except maybe the intel," Sharv pondered, which vanished Jay's smile. "But whatever. I need some ground practice so I will save them, and maybe your bases will be helpful as a good hiding spot. I'll take the offer," Sharv concluded.
" Right … a hiding spot," Marshal Jay murmured with a wry smile on his face. He was on an emotional rollercoaster. 'He doesn't need our facilities. Training grounds, cultivation grounds, techniques, no, nothing. And he will use our base as a hiding spot, which I am not denying, but it still sounds bad.' Sharv, who didn't even consider that such facilities might exist, was as nonchalant as ever.
"Okay then, the deal is done," Marshal Jay finally said with a smile, coming out of his reverie. "Now let's discuss the plan. How will we save the prisoners?" He looked towards Suvan and gestured for him to call the intel guys. But before anybody else moved or spoke something, Sharv struck again, "Well, I have a plan."
"You do? Then let us in."
Sharv looked at both their faces, seriousness almost palpable on his own face. "It is a simple but effective plan. I break in… or should I say, walk into the jail and bring them out."
Suvan and Jay looked at each other with bewildered expressions. A 'you see what I told you' expression was written on Suvan's face, while Jay was simply surprised.
"That's it? The complete plan? You'll walk in and stroll out with them? Just like that?" Jay finally questioned in a low voice.
"No," Sharv spoke, which got everybody's attention to finally hear the complete plan. Then Sharv added, with one hand on his chin, "I'll need all their photos… a map of the jail… a general overview of people that might try to stop me, and also a map of the city to locate the jail itself."
Now the situation got out of hand. A hearty, rumbling laugh from Suvan reverberated throughout the entire hall, while Jay first looked at Sharv, then laughing Suvan. Then he turned to look at Kant who was sweating profusely, even without being a part of the conversation and then everybody else with a bewildered and confused look.
" Are you serious?"