[Do You Wish To Upgrade?]

Sakshi and Avinash looked at each other and then nodded towards Saksham. Saksham also didn't hesitate and pressed [Yes] in the pop-up window. Soon after that, Avinash and Sakshi felt something trying to enter their minds. It was a tiny tinge of a foreign power. It was pretty weak for them. If they wanted, they could easily destroy that and stop it from invading their heads but they knew that it was what Saksham was trying to show them, so they let it enter their minds. But as soon as they let it enter their minds, they suddenly felt as if everything disappeared and nothingness covered their visions.

____________

10 Minutes Later

Avinash was the first one to open his eyes in disbelief and slight panic, and Sakshi opened hers soon after. After opening theirs, they found that they were covered in a cold sweat. But they didn't care about it at all and looked towards the mysterious-looking figure sitting in front of them. They were both speechless for a while. They wanted to ask many questions but they knew that Asura was just as clueless as them about what they saw. Not just them, every single person in the world couldn't answer their questions because what they saw was beyond any absurd things they had ever seen.

After a brief silence, Avinash regained his composure and asked, "Is this all you saw that day?"

Saksham replied, "That's it. That's all I saw. If I had seen any more of that, I would have fainted straight after regaining consciousness. That alone had severely depleted my mental strength. Fortunately, there was not more of that vision."

Avinash nodded lightly and the room once again fell into a dignified atmosphere. Sakshi also kept her silence as she was still shocked by what she saw. Saksham also kept his silence. Before long, Saksham heard Avinash lightly mutter, "Madame Irina, what did you mean? Why did you let me keep that boulder? …What should I do now..?"

Saksham was also really confused regarding this matter. He was pretty amazed that a person was able to see so far into the future. The ability to see into the future was really amazing. But at this time, Avinash sighed and said, "The boulder you need will be given to you. Maybe you are the one Madame Irina told me about. Although I can give you the boulder, you have to promise me one thing."

'Sure enough, it's not for free,' Saksham thought.

But the next sentence made Saksham surprised.

"Please help us save our country!"

Saksham looked at Avinash in surprise for a while before shook his head and laughed a little. He opened his mouth and said in his usual hoarse voice filled with awe-inspiring vigor, "If my home is being invaded by some alien bugs, I don't think I will be sitting and doing nothing about it. I would have helped IOEA even if you hadn't asked. This is my home too, and I am also a son of this country!"

Avinash and Sakshi heard this and they smiled heartily as they heard this. They didn't know how Asura would have reacted to their request. But, hearing what he said just now, they were very surprised and happy. They had gained another powerful ally in this fight. This thought made them feel a little relieved for the future.

Saksham nodded lightly and stood up. He said, "Can you help me deliver this boulder to an address?"

Sakshi also stood up and smiled, "Of course, it can be. Just tell us the address and it will be delivered in half an hour."

Saksham told her the address of a newly bought abandoned factory bought by Rhytham. After noting the address, Sakshi said, "Alright, I will take this to the relevant department and you will have your boulder delivered to the address soon."

With that, Sakshi took her leave from the room, leaving only Avinash and Saksham behind. Saksham looked at Avinash, and Avinash looked back at Saksham. But for this brief moment, Saksham felt as if Avinash was looking directly at his face. And his next sentence made Saksham confirm his suspicions, "You…are really young to carry such burden. I am sorry."

Saksham looked at Avinash, whose face had deep guilt, and tiredness written on it. He felt as if Avinash had grown 10 years older at that moment. He couldn't believe what he saw on just a simple face. The vicissitude-filled face looked rather haggard at this moment. Avinash spoke once again, "I am the strongest person in the whole country, but I am still not strong enough to protect it. If I could, I would rather die than let the young hope of our country take a part in this. But, I am helpless at this point. I am not…strong enough. I can't protect everyone that I thought I could. I am…really sorry youngster."

By the end of Avinash's speech, Saksham felt as if his eyes were getting a little wet. He hurriedly controlled his emotions and didn't let more tears from coming. In fact, only Saksham knew how much pressure he felt from all this. He had been a normal person a few months ago. And in the span of few months, he has killed humans, fought monsters while on the verge of dying, and seen visions of godly beings. And from the beginning, he had always been telling himself that "It's fine", "things will be alright", "Just a little more". But in the end, he knew that he was on the verge of exploding too. Only through sheer will and the love for his family and Anitha had kept him going till now. And he couldn't share any of that with anyone he knew. The only thing he could do was to endure it all himself and silently protect his loved ones.

But after listening to Avinash's sincere apology, Saksham felt as if there was finally someone who could understand him. This thought made Saksham tear up suddenly. He hurriedly turned around so that Avinash couldn't see his face. Saksham quickly wiped the tear from the corner of his eyes when he suddenly felt a big hand on his shoulder. It was Avinash's hand. He said, "Madame Irina once told me that the person destined with the boulder is the key to the future. When she said that, I thought that the person would be a really strong person. And from what I have seen, you are really strong, child. Even stronger than me. I have always fought alone in my entire life and that has led me to lose many things and people."

"And that's when I realized that I could have done much more if I had the help of someone, but it was too late by then. And although I can't take all the pressure on your back, I, along with the entire IOEA can help you share it. We will help you at any time possible. Just remember, you are not alone in this. We all are with you."

Hearing this, Saksham forgot to change his voice, and said in a trembling voice, "Thank you. I will remember that!"

Avinash lightly patted Saksham's shoulder and said, "Alright, you can go now. You have to figure out what to do with that boulder."

Saksham nodded lightly and left through the door. As he left the door, Saksham smiled lightly. He felt as if a heavy burden was lifted off his chest all of a sudden. He hadn't realized how bad it was affecting him till now. After a long time in a while, Saksham felt relieved. He understood that he has gotten himself a reliable 'teammate' today.

____________________

In an abandoned factory

Saksham stood silently in front of the boulder placed in front of him. He had been waiting for this day to come. Today, that day has finally come. He can finally upgrade his powers. He was in desperate need of that at this point. As he placed his right hand on the huge boulder, a small window popped up in his vision.

[Upgrade Requirement Met. Do you wish to upgrade?]

Saksham pressed [Yes] and suddenly, Saksham saw the whole boulder disintegrate in front of his eyes, turning into tiny light particles. Those tiny light particles floated up in the air in a group, dancing up and down and revolved around Saksham as if a group of lively fireflies greeting Saksham. Saksham saw this scene, mesmerized when suddenly, they rushed straight towards the center of Saksham's eyebrows. After that, Saksham felt darkness surround him as he lost control of his body.