Beneath the pale moonlight, the haunted house trembled violently.

  Cracks spread across its ancient walls like spiderwebs. The roof groaned. Windows shattered outward as if the structure itself were screaming.

  Inside—

  Skanda, Sharin, and Aishwarya carefully removed skeletons embedded within the walls.

  “Careful,” Skanda said softly. “They’ve suffered enough.”

  Sharin gently lifted a skull free from cracked cement.

  “Just wait a little longer,” he whispered. “We’ll give you the peace you deserve.”

  Aishwarya’s eyes kept drifting toward Lioran.

  At the center of the collapsing structure—

  Lioran had Kuraan’s face in his grip.

  His fingers pressed into the Kroor’s skull.

  Slowly.

  Crushing.

  Kuraan shrieked in pain.

  And with every scream—

  The house shook harder.

  “So you were the one keeping this place standing,” Lioran growled. “Which means if I kill you—”

  “The building collapsed.”

  Kuraan suddenly smiled.

  Lioran narrowed his eyes.

  “…Why are you smiling?”

  “You understand my power,” Kuraan whispered. “But not its extent.”

  The floor cracked open.

  “You didn’t notice,” Kuraan continued. “I never needed physical contact.”

  Before Lioran could react—

  BOOM—!!!

  A massive wall erupted between them.

  Kuraan slipped from his grasp instantly.

  “What—?!”

  A gigantic hand formed from the wall itself and grabbed Lioran midair.

  “LIORAN!” Aishwarya screamed.

  The hand tightened.

  Stone and bone fused together.

  It began crushing him.

  Lioran gritted his teeth.

  “So you can control the house without touching it…”

  “Yes,” Kuraan replied calmly. “And that’s not even my full power.”

  The entire building began shifting violently.

  Walls folded inward.

  Floors twisted vertically.

  “Get out of here!” Lioran shouted. “Take the skeletons and leave!”

  “What about you?!” Sharin yelled.

  “I’ll handle it!”

  Skanda made the decision instantly.

  “Move! Now!”

  Aishwarya grabbed Arpit’s hand.

  They rushed for the exit.

  Just before leaving—

  Skanda turned.

  “Lioran.”

  Lioran glanced back, still trapped.

  “Show him the result of your training.”

  Lioran smirked despite the crushing force.

  “…Yeah.”

  They escaped.

  And seconds later—

  The entire structure collapsed inward.

  Outside, under the moon—

  They turned back.

  And froze.

  The haunted house was… moving.

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  Its walls twisted unnaturally.

  Roof segments fused.

  Windows melted like wax.

  The entire building shifted and folded into a grotesque shape.

  Slowly—

  The house transformed into a gigantic humanoid figure.

  Its body made entirely of walls, pillars, floors, and bone.

  Windows became eyes.

  Doors became jagged teeth.

  It towered over everything.

  “What… is that?” Sharin whispered.

  “It merged with the structure,” Skanda said grimly. “It and the house are now one.”

  Aishwarya’s heart dropped.

  “Lioran…”

  “He’s inside it,” Skanda said. “No—he’s inside the Kroor itself.”

  The giant Kuraan took its first step.

  The ground shook violently.

  “It’s heading toward the village,” Aishwarya said.

  Skanda clenched his fist.

  “We have to stop it.”

  “How?!” Sharin shouted. “It’s massive!”

  Skanda was going to take out his mask—

  “If necessary… I’ll—”

  Suddenly—

  BOOOOOOM—!!!

  A golden shockwave exploded from within the giant’s torso.

  All of them staggered backward.

  “That Prā?a…!” Sharin gasped. “It’s Lioran!”

  The giant’s chest cracked open.

  A sphere of radiant gold burst outward violently.

  Stone and bone fragments scattered across the sky.

  Inside the sphere—

  Lioran floated.

  “DIVINARRIOR.”

  His voice echoed powerfully.

  “This technique creates a spherical Prā?a barrier infused with my light attribute.”

  The sphere dissolved.

  Lioran descended slowly.

  Aishwarya blinked.

  “That barrier looked like your Varshield, Senior.”

  Skanda smiled faintly.

  “Yeah but he didn't copy it. He modified it.”

  Lioran stood facing the colossal Kuraan.

  Skanda exhaled slowly.

  “In less than a year… you’ve grown beyond imagination.”

  He looked at Lioran with something close to awe.

  “Perhaps Master was right.”

  “You truly are Vaelion’s heir.”

  Lioran vanished.

  Reappeared midair.

  He hovered effortlessly.

  “What? He’s flying?” Sharin asked.

  “Not flying,” Aishwarya said. “His Prā?a Swift mastery has advanced.”

  “He’s stabilizing himself in air.”

  The giant Kroor roared.

  Walls reshaped into claws.

  It swung a building-sized arm.

  Lioran dodged effortlessly.

  He hovered above it, staring down.

  “My previous attacks didn’t work,” he muttered.

  “I need something different.”

  He stretched both hands forward.

  Golden Prā?a gathered between his palms.

  He compressed it.

  Harder.

  Denser.

  “More…”

  He pulled more Prā?a from his Core.

  Compressed it further.

  Veins bulged on his arms.

  The air around him distorted.

  “Not enough.”

  He closed his eyes.

  And unconsciously—

  He reached outward.

  Into the surrounding space.

  Cosmic Prā?a answered.

  It flowed toward him like invisible rivers.

  Skanda’s eyes widened.

  “He’s doing it again…”

  “He’s drawing from the environment.”

  The compressed sphere trembled violently.

  Lioran forced it smaller.

  Denser.

  Condensed beyond stability.

  The giant Kroor sensed danger.

  It launched massive debris toward him.

  He ignored it.

  The air screamed.

  The sphere now the size of a marble—

  But glowing brighter than the moon.

  Sweat dripped down his face.

  “Just… a little… more.”

  The energy screamed in his palms.

  If it lost control—

  It would explode.

  He inhaled deeply.

  “…That’s enough.”

  He opened his eyes.

  TO BE CONTINUED…