Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Trial of the Crimson Lotus Academy

Word of Arjun Vikramaditya's triumph rippled through the Vindhya valleys like monsoon thunder. The village elders, once dismissive, now whispered of destiny, but Arjun knew true glory lay beyond dusty tournaments. At dawn, a gilded peacock chariot descended from the skies, emblazoned with the insignia of the Crimson Lotus Academy—the premier martial hall of Bharatvarsha, where kshatriya scions forged their prana into divine weapons. A stern guru, robed in saffron, eyed Arjun's humble lathi. "The Vikramaditya whelp? Prove your worth, or return to your fields." �Arjun boarded without hesitation, the chariot soaring over mist-cloaked peaks toward the academy's floating bastion, suspended by ancient Vedic arrays amid eternal cherry blossoms. Crimson Lotuses bloomed eternally here, their petals channeling pure prana from the nine grahas. Upon arrival, he faced the entrance trial: the Karma Crucible, a blazing arena where aspirants battled illusory rakshasas conjured from participants' inner doubts. Elite disciples from clans like the Kauravs sneered—Duryodhan, their prodigy, had already claimed top honors with his blazing chakra disc.Arjun stepped into the crucible, the Kubera Cube humming warmly in his dantian. Fiery illusions assaulted him: snarling asuras mimicking his father's failures, his own frail meridians. Pain lanced through him as phantom claws raked his flesh. "Weak blood cannot claim dharma!" they roared. Drawing deep breaths, Arjun ignited the cube's gift—nascent Fire Sutra fused with Thunder Dharma. His lathi morphed into the embryonic Vel, glowing with violet arcs. "Vajra Petal Storm!" he bellowed, channeling the technique instinctively. Petal-like strikes erupted in a whirlwind, each infused with lotus-fire that shredded the illusions, their karmic ashes scattering like defeated foes.The arena fell silent as Arjun emerged unscathed, prana aura coiling like a Garuda in flight. Duryodhan's face twisted in rage. "Peasant luck! Face me in the sparring rings!" But the head guru, Sage Vishwamitra reborn in legend, nodded approval. "The cube's heir has arrived. Enter the halls, boy, and temper your spark into an inferno." Arjun was assigned basic quarters, but whispers followed him: envy from Kauravs, awe from underdogs.That night, meditating under starlit lotuses, Arjun felt the cube stir again. Visions unfolded—Garuda's wings granting speed beyond wind, Jatayu flames promising rebirth. Yet danger loomed; a shadowed figure from the Kaurav faction plotted sabotage, slipping poison into the prana springs. Arjun's path demanded ruthlessness now. The academy was no haven—it was the forge of legends, and he would hammer his destiny upon its anvil.As the moon crested, Arjun gripped his Vel, eyes sharp as karma's edge. The rise to Chakravarti had claimed its first true foe.