Oh, she was talking about this kind of help. On a different note, what was I thinking while creating those animals? I have been thinking them to be Kundalini while creating them, not animals. I have been wanting them to float first of all, closer to me so I can modify them. That's why all they have been doing is floating. 

"Yes." Panna agreed with me. "Small clues actually go a long way. Don't you ever underestimate them."

"Thank you Ma'am!!!!!" I started running towards my spot with ideas flowing into my head. 

Think about what you want them to do while creating them. Make creatures living within the earth for better efficiency. I knew what I had to do now. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I came out of the cave soaking wet with my sweat as if I was suddenly caught under a rain shower.

The time after the lunch and now have been lonely, but full of determination and hard work. In a few words, it was my best effort. All this time, I have been holed up within the cave, drawing out kundalini and absorbing shakti continuously. I didn't expend my Prana for conversion and only used up a little whenever I felt hungry to get rid of that feeling. Today was the fifth day of coming to the Ashrama, and the day of Rakshak Vrata. Where we take a vow of protecting this Satya Marta from the invasion of Asuras who wants to conquer the Lokas above Patala(Underworld) for themselves. Why would they do that? Ofcourse, both the Asuras and Devatas have some conflicting self serving reason. I was just born on one side. But if I see someone coming to kill me, will I not defend myself? From Saiyan's warnings and the information that both our senior classes are arriving to protect us, it might be a large scale invasion. I can predict that much. What kind of enemies will be there? Will my idea even work? Where will the enemies even come from when we are surrounded by mountains on every side? We'll see when it's time I guess. After taking the Vrata, we will be provided with the Sanjeevani Amrita, which from the name seems to be some version of the elixir of life. I might get to know the specifics later on during the ritual itself.

I went to the pool to freshen up and drink some cool water and as expected there she was, looking at me. Today she had a braid that came down her right shoulder. Now that I looked carefully, she had some brown streaks over her pitch black hair giving it some highlight. I sat about 3 meters along the circumference of the pool away from her. 

"You are now able to hide your kundalini perfectly. Good job!" she started the conversation. 

I would be lying if I wasn't looking forward to this meeting up fiasco we have been engaging in. 

"Thanks to you." I said as I lied down with my legs still inside the water. I could feel little drops of water pecking at my face from the waterfall above. We stayed like that for more than ten minutes. The silence wasn't awkward at all. It felt right to just not make a sound right now.

Bird. Flap. Wings. Beak. Legs. Tail. I repeated in my mind as I kneaded my Kundalini to make a bird out of it. It shone bright red in the orange sunrise.

There was a hidden command there too, as it glided through the air and perched right beside her.

Somi stretched out her hand opening her palm allowing the bird to hop on. She scratched it under the beak twice and let it go with an upward motion with her hands. It was only after so many tries that I was able to create something that didn't have the properties of earth. The bird flew up against the waterfall and disappeared after all its energy got depleted. 

"Best of luck levelling up today." I said still looking up.

"Yeah."

We stayed like that for ten more minutes after which I got up and left the scene. Need to make sure I don't get any distractions during the whole ritual. I have no idea how long the invasion will last, so I need to clear everything in my system thoroughly. Not drinking water for one and a half days almost made me dehydrated. So much pain accompanied with my short toilet release. I should often go to the pool and drink some water from now on. I can't keep neglecting my body.

Freshening up, I somehow stumbled to my room to find a new set of clothes there for the ritual. Changing into them one by one we all went for breakfast. The whole team was back now. 

"What is the condition of you guys right now?" Anik asked before everybody.

S: "Pretty good."

Me: "Will be enough."

D: "Hopefully it'll be fine."

We had some Poha with eggs and chai for breakfast. The eggs shot up my Prana points really fast. I was also surprised that I wasn't as exhausted I used to be when my Prana points depleted sharply before.

After breakfast, we gathered infront of the huge Banyan tree where all the sages had gathered. I realised that I knew none of their names. I'll know once I start taking lessons I hope. There was a huge sacrificial fire at the middle. Various leaves, flowers, offerings, and utensils dotted the space around the fire. We sat in the same row and column formation, boys in the right and girls to the left, as denoted by the position of our dorms.

I heard hymns being chanted from the sages and the name of Agni Deva being repeated. Were they summoning....

The flames suddenly turned to a pillar of magma as a three meter humanoid being emerged from it. It was hard to even look at him. 

"Don't worry, I'll protect the place. May my fire be your strength. And let it burn away all your enemies. I bless this Ashrama with my divine flames. Let none be able to cross it with the intention of harming the precious Guardians." Agni Deva blessed us. His whole body was on fire, red hair floated above him as if the flames of a fiery volcano. His eyes shone with the vigor of a hundred suns. I closed my eyes fearing I might go blind. A fiery divine wall erupted in a 2 kilometer radius around the Banyan tree. It made sure to put every facility within its boundaries. Cracks formed in the space all around us, along the perimeter of the flame barrier. Seniors walked in with various weapons that were burning with the energy of different shades of Kundalini. It was EPIC. Damn, I can't wait to get one year older to make an entrance like that.

"We are short on time. Let's complete the ritual first!" The head sage with knotted beard announced. "Sanjeevani Amrita is an artificial elixir we have created using the Amrita as a base and the Sanjeevani Mantra as a catalyst. While pure Amrita is not compatible with mortals, this has been gifted by the Gods in return for a vow of protecting the upper Lokas from the vicious Asuras. Be pure in your intentions and feel the blessings of the Gods. As soon as you're done with the ritual, make sure to return to the dorms and not interfere with your seniors. You are not ready yet, despite what you wish to believe."

I felt a bit irritated at the blatant biasness that was unfolding in front of me. The seven chosen were somewhere in the crowd of seniors, farming exp, while we are supposed to sit back at our dormitories quietly. I triggered the command that prompted my exp farmers to start making their move. I also wasted no time and started kneading my kundalini following my muscle memory that I have trained for hundreds, no, thousands of times in the last two days. I need just a hit, for it to give me enough. As the ritual started, students got up and moved towards the fire. They were given a three leaved stalk dipped in ghee which was to be offered to the fire. Their fingers imitated the pose you do when creating a shadow deer.

Suddenly, the whole ground below us trembled with a disastrous earthquake as if something was forcing it's way out. Huge four meter to five meter humanoid life forms appeared at the tops of the mountains. There were some ten to fifteen meter giants among them too. They carried metallic rods glowing with a bluish and blackish hue Their skin glowed like the awakened students who didn't know how to cloak their energy but with an intensity multiplied by a hundred times. The frightening pressure they released from all around us gave me the same feeling as sitting on that Shakti Rekha brimming with energy. It was so suffocating that many of the students started gasping for breaths or vomiting. 

"Continue. Don't get distracted." The sages shouted with a bold voice. "Your seniors will protect you, believe in them." 

"How long do you think you can continue these practices? Ashwatthama???" A loud voice boomed somewhere from the north. There was a huge 40 meter red skinned guy standing at the top of one of the peaks. To be honest I was just giving a rough estimate. If he looked that big from this far away, he might actually be much larger.

"You imprison us in that barren wasteland leaving us to die, while you enjoy the riches of Swarga. And you rob these young children of their innocence by making them prison guards. I will destroy everything you deceptive Gods stand for." The huge giant's voice kept booming, sending tremors within our ribcages. His bass was turned up to the max.

"Enough of your deceptive words Ahara. A glutton such as you is only meant for destruction. Don't even think about stepping into the sacred Lokas. Stay where you are meant to be. You who swallowed even your own kin to satisfy your hunger is by no means qualified to perceive the beauties of the upper Lokas. Begone, unholy Demon!!" A voice appeared from inside the Banyan tree as if it was the one who was cursing the Danava.I snickered for a second remembering the meme of the guy holding a crucifix. But as a weird red binding filled with ancient Akshara(symbols) appeared around the eyes of Ahara, I shivered. To see a high level curse attacking such a massive enemy out of nowhere disturbed me greatly. If mere words contained so much power, how can I even defend myself against it? The Danava fell from a huge height being unable to perceive its surroundings as it went blind, throwing us a few centimetres up into the air with a massive shockwave as soon as it made an impact. The other Asuras, which is a collective term used for representing most of the Patala Loka beings, started running down the mountains as if defying gravity itself. I was surprised at the fact that most of us stayed calm under the circumstances. The mountain slopes filled up with innumerable massive beings, hurtling towards the barrier at break neck speed, leaving not a speck of snow or greenery on it. Wherever I looked, colorful humanoids, Nagas, mutated bulls, elephants and various other monstrous predators, huge giants, all started trampling everything on their way towards us. The ground rumbled continuously unable to withstand their thunderous steps. It was finally my time.

"Come out, my cute little farmers." I commanded.