Reincarnated with the Country System-Chapter 326 – The Star

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The incense smoke curled upward in pale spirals, dissolving into the high shadowed ceiling of the inner temple.

Emperor Yadav knelt before the great stone idol, eyes closed, palms pressed together. Oil lamps flickered around him, their flames steady despite the evening draft that crept through the carved lattice windows. The low hum of sacred chants vibrated through the chamber like a second heartbeat.

A guard approached quietly and knelt at the edge of the marble floor.

"My lord," he said carefully, "a monk has arrived. He claims to have come from the Golden Mountains."

Yadav did not open his eyes.

"Give him alms and send him away," he replied, voice calm, steady.

The guard hesitated. "My lord... he insists on seeing you."

Yadav paused only briefly before resuming his prayer.

"Very well. Take him to the guest chamber."

Time passed.

The temple bells rang softly as Yadav completed his final offering. He rose, adjusted the folds of his dark ceremonial robes, and stepped out of the sanctum.

In Indiana’s faith, monks were revered beyond nobles and generals. They were men who abandoned wealth and family, who burned their lives away in austerity and devotion.

When Yadav entered the guest chamber, the air felt strangely still.

The monk sat cross-legged on a woven mat.

He was ancient—skin like dry parchment, beard tangled and unkempt, hair spilling past his shoulders in gray waves. His robes were worn and stained from travel. Yet his back was straight, his presence composed.

Yadav stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"May peace be upon you."

The old man’s eyes opened. They were clearer than they should have been.

"Peace upon you, child."

"If you do not mind," Yadav continued respectfully, "may I ask the reason for your visit?"

The monk’s thin lips curved faintly.

"I come by the command of the Stars. They stand with you. They desire your victory. I have come to show you the path."

Yadav studied him carefully.

"Your words honor me. But forgive my caution. Recently, deceivers have multiplied. How may I trust you?"

The monk chuckled softly.

"Child, your caution is wise."

He extended his hand.

Blue light gathered in his palm.

Before Yadav could react, the light surged forward.

A force struck him in the chest—silent, immense. The world lurched. He heard the heavy thud of a body collapsing.

"MY LORD!"

Guards drew their weapons in an instant.

Yadav blinked—

—and saw his own body lying on the floor.

For a heartbeat, he could not comprehend it.

He stood upright, yet his body was crumpled at the monk’s feet.

Cold clarity spread through him.

"What have you done?" one of the guards shouted.

"Do not be alarmed," the monk said calmly. "I have merely separated his soul from his body."

Yadav stared at his own face—pale, unmoving.

The monk made a second gesture.

The blue light flashed again.

The world snapped back.

Yadav staggered forward, gasping as breath returned to his lungs. His knees almost buckled. He grabbed a nearby pillar to steady himself, hands trembling as he examined his arms, his chest.

Whole. Intact.

The guards looked between him and the monk in disbelief.

"Child," the old man said gently, "I have worshiped Mahadev for a hundred years to attain such power."

Yadav drew in a long breath, then bowed deeply.

"Forgive my doubt. I believe you now. If the Stars have sent you, then I will listen."

The monk smiled faintly beneath the shadow of his hood.

"Good. Your enemy is no ordinary man. Even the Stars cannot fully foresee his path."

Yadav’s gaze sharpened slightly at that.

"But that does not mean hope is lost," the monk continued. "There remains a way. You must perform a grand ritual to align yourself fully with the celestial will."

"A ritual?" Yadav asked.

"Yes."

The monk’s voice lowered.

"But first, accept this. A blessing from the Stars."

From within his robes, he produced something small and round—an orb-like fruit, faintly luminous, its surface shimmering like liquid glass.

He extended it toward the Emperor.

Yadav hesitated only a moment before taking it.

If the Stars truly stood with him, he could not reject their favor.

He raised the orb to his lips and swallowed.

The reaction was immediate.

He choked.

"What—what is—"

Heat ignited inside his chest.

His veins burned as if molten iron flowed through them. He staggered back, clutching at his throat. The guards rushed forward, but a violent surge of energy forced them away.

A crimson aura erupted from his body.

The lamps flickered wildly. Shadows stretched across the walls.

Yadav fell to one knee, gasping, eyes wide as something ancient and feral clawed its way through his blood.

The monk did not move.

He only watched.

And beneath his hood, he smiled.

♦♦♦

Far from the capital—

Deep beneath stone and root—

A cavern lay hidden within the mountains.

Torches burned with a dark violet flame, casting unnatural light against jagged walls. The air was thick with iron and rot.

Figures in black robes sat in a wide circle, chanting in low, rhythmic tones. Their voices merged into a single pulse that vibrated through the cavern.

Between them was a great circle carved into the stone.

Symbols had been etched with obsessive precision—sigils and spirals painted in drying blood. Lines intersected in impossible geometry.

At the center lay a body.

Mummified.

Its skin drawn tight against bone, wrapped in ancient linen stained brown with age. The corpse sat upright, head tilted forward as if in eternal slumber.

A single robed figure stood before it.

He held a basin filled with fresh blood and pieces of raw flesh.

One by one, he cast the offerings over the corpse.

The chanting intensified.

The cavern trembled.

The blood within the circle began to glow.

The air grew heavy—thick enough to choke.

The corpse’s fingers twitched.

No one stopped chanting.

The body jerked violently.

Its head snapped upright.

A cracking sound echoed as stiff joints forced themselves into motion.

The robed figure lifted both arms and shouted the final incantation.

The mummified corpse convulsed.

The symbols flared crimson.

A pulse of dark energy exploded outward, extinguishing several torches. Those that remained burned black.

Slowly—

The corpse inhaled.

A dry, rasping sound.

Then its hollow eye sockets ignited with a deep, unnatural red.