From the survivor to the vanisher

Druva believed that knowledge alone wasn't enough. "An alchemist must have a strong body as well as a sharp mind," he declared one morning. He handed Aditya a heavy sack filled with stones. "Carry this to the river and back. Twice."

At first, Aditya struggled. The weight of the sack was oppressive, and his legs felt like they would give out with every step. But he gritted his teeth and pushed forward. By the time he returned, his muscles burned, and his breath came in ragged gasps. Druva merely nodded. "Good. Tomorrow, you'll do it faster."

The physical training became part of his daily routine. Druva's methods were unorthodox—he made Aditya climb trees to collect rare fruits, sprint through the forest to retrieve herbs before sundown, and even practice dodging thrown objects to improve his reflexes.

As his body grew stronger, so did his confidence. He began to move with purpose, his steps more deliberate. The once timid survivor now carried himself with a quiet resolve.

In the evenings, Aditya combined his physical training with his studies. He experimented with simple alchemical recipes, creating salves to soothe his aching muscles and small doses of harmless poisons to test his growing resilience. Druva observed his progress with a mix of sternness and approval, occasionally offering cryptic advice.

"Remember, boy," Druva said one night, "the world is full of predators. To survive, you must become one—or learn how to outsmart them."

Aditya took these words to heart. Each day, he trained harder, studied longer, and listened more intently. Slowly, he began to see himself not just as a survivor, but as someone with the potential to shape his own destiny.