CHAPTER 61 The Tear of Penance and the Return of the Void
The morning over Nabhgadh did not come with the sound of victory. It came with the silence of bleeding wounds. The rays of the sun were trying to pierce through the heavy curtains of smoke, as if they too were hesitating to step into this ruined heaven. The air was heavy, carrying only the sharp smell of burnt flesh, gunpowder, and broken dreams. Ash particles were dancing among the scattered stones, as if mourning the final farewell of a glorious history.
In the exact center of the field, where just moments ago cosmic powers had clashed, Acharya Agni body lay still. His body looked like the last flicker of a dying candle. The movement of his chest was so faint that it seemed time had trapped his breaths in its grip. The Five Element Weapon had not only erased the existence of Andhak Void, but it had also drained Agni life force, like a fierce fire drinking all the water of a thirsty earth.
Acharya, open your eyes. You cannot leave us like this. Akshansh voice came from a broken throat, like sand shifting in a dry desert. He was holding Agni lifeless hands in his. His fingers were cold as ice, turning blue.
Vedika knelt beside Agni. A golden light flowed continuously from her palms, but it shattered like glass as soon as it touched Agni skin. There was a hollow defeat in her eyes, a void she had never felt before. His body has turned to stone from the strike of the void, Akshansh. The fire within him has gone quiet. He is not returning.
Just then, near a pile of debris, there was a faint movement.
Nirag eyelids fluttered.
When his eyes opened, there was no terrible black ocean that wanted to swallow everything. Now his eyes were clear. Brown. And wet with tears. Exactly as they were in childhood. He blinked once, then again. The sky above was hazy, but clear. Then his gaze slowly moved downward, where destruction was spread all around.
As soon as his consciousness touched the present, a terrible cyclone of memories rose inside him. Learning to walk holding Agni strong hand. Sleeping fearlessly with his head on his broad chest. Hearing heroic stories in his heavy, loving voice. And then. That terrible scene. That black smoke. That distorted scream. And that bloodstained sword that he himself had raised against his own Tauji with his own hands.
No. No. Nirag scream echoed off the walls of Nabhgadh and returned. He put all his strength into trying to get up. His feet were sinking into the dust and sand, his body trembling as if caught in a frozen storm. Tauji.
He ran like a madman. Falling, crawling, stumbling against stones.
Akshansh drew his sword with lightning speed. The glowing blade was at Nirag neck. Stop right there. Have you not had enough. Look. See what you have done to them. Is there anything left that you want to take.
Nirag fell to his knees right there. He did not care about Akshansh sword. He put his forehead in the dust at Agni feet. Kill me, Akshansh. Cut my throat. Erase my existence. But save them. My Tauji. Save him. What have I done. I struck the hands that held me when I fell. I hurt the heart that had only love for me.
His crying was like the final groan of a wounded animal. Raw. Primal. Without any hiding. His tears were turning the dust of the ground into mud.
In that silence, Varunya slowly walked closer. With every step, a thin, transparent layer of ice formed on the ground. Her face was calm like a marble statue, eyes blue and completely devoid of emotions. She came and stood right behind Nirag. A silent, mysterious shadow. She looked at neither Nirag nor Akshansh.
Just then Margdarshak Vishrayan stepped forward. His presence brought a strange stillness in that violent atmosphere. Get up, Nirag. The time for grief is over. Agni breaths are now on the edge of that void from where the path of life ends. Only that energy can pull them back which has lived that void and defeated it.
Nirag looked at his hands. Trembling. Full of wounds. Can I save them, he asked. Can my impure touch give them life.
The price may be your life, Nirag. You will give a part of your life to him, and what you will lose in return, no one knows, Margdarshak voice was grave.
Nirag did not blink for a moment. He crawled to Agni lifeless body. He put his cold, stiff hands on his forehead. Tauji, come back. Punish me. Imprison me for life. Abandon me. But open your eyes. Do not make me an orphan, Tauji.
Varunya stepped forward. She did not support Nirag, nor did she try to calm him. She just put her cold hands on Agni heart. No words came out, no wrinkle appeared on her face. A thin stream of blue icy light came from her palms. And that light began to flow through Nirag body into Agni.
It was as if a burning lamp was giving its last drop of oil to another extinguished lamp. Nirag face began to turn pale. His lips turned blue and his breaths became unsteady. His entire life force, his accumulated penance, his blood. Everything was being sacrificed to fill Agni void. But his eyes never left Agni face.
Tauji. Just once. His whisper reached Agni ears as a faint wave of air.
Thump.
Suddenly, a strong vibration came from Agni chest. A movement behind his closed eyes. He took a long, deep, painful breath. As if a drowning man was surfacing and gasping for air. His fingers, which had been lifeless until now, curled slightly. And he firmly held the trembling palm of Nirag lying on the ground.
Agni eyelids fluttered. Slowly his eyes opened. Initially blurry, but consciousness was returning.
Ni. Nirag, his voice was slow, like a snake crawling on dry sand.
Tauji, Nirag pressed his hand to his face and burst into tears. These tears were warm, with no deception, just guilt and love.
Agni gathered his remaining strength and with trembling hands stroked Nirag disheveled hair. That touch was a silent forgiveness, a shock, and that unbreakable bond that had returned even from the grasp of time.
Varunya silently withdrew her hands. She neither smiled nor sighed with relief. Without a word, she quietly slipped to one side, once again the same mysterious puzzle that no one could solve.
Agni slowly took support and tried to get up and touched Margdarshak feet. Margdarshak placed his hand on his head. Then one by one. Akshansh, Anvay, Aksh, Kalpit, and Vedika. Everyone touched Margdarshak feet. A faint smile appeared on Margdarshak face. He touched everyone. May you all prosper. You have not defeated darkness. You have defeated your own fear.
Just then Nirag wiped his tears and looked around. Amid the joy of victory, his eyes suddenly became empty. A question that had been suppressed in the noise of war until now.
Tauji. Nirag voice suddenly trembled. His eyes began searching for his father, Neer. Pitashree. Where are they? Why are they not visible here.
As soon as this question was thrown into the air, a heavy, terrifying silence fell over the field. Akshansh eyes dropped to the ground. Anvay turned his face away. Tears filled Vedika eyes again.
Agni looked at Margdarshak with trembling eyes. The same question was in his eyes, the same incompleteness. Margdarshak did not say anything. He just turned his gaze toward the pile of debris of the main wall of the palace, standing like a high mound.
The question in Nirag eyes now began to burn like a terrible fire. Tauji, tell me. Where is Pitashree?
The victory of Nabhgadh now seemed incomplete. A king had returned, but had a father ended?
© 2026 Aaryaveda All rights reserved Do not copy or repost without permission