A blazing red light, erupting from the shattered stone, pierced the sky, traversing the entire cosmos until it arrived at an unknown realm. There stood a colossal fortress, exactly like the one Kakraj had entered.
The entire fortress trembled violently.
Both sentinels felt the deep tremor.
When they saw the scarlet light strike the highest spire of the citadel, fear gripped their hearts.
They knew: It had happened—the very thing that should never have occurred.
When Virat emerged from the cave, he saw the midnight moon.
As far as his gaze could reach, a sheet of snow covered the entire land. He began to shiver from the cold and looked up at the sky again.
He wondered why there was so much light despite it being night; it felt as if the sun had risen and its light was pouring down.
The cave was located high up on the mountain. He decided to walk down the path.
He stood on a trail that spiraled around the mountain both leading up and winding down. Virat chose to descend.
As he rounded the mountain to the other side, he was stunned. He saw the ground cracking and fire erupting from the earth several miles away.
The heat on this side of the mountain was intense. So much so that there were no trees or plants; only the scorched, burning ground.
He quickly returned to the first side, where the scene was one of bitter cold. The trees and vegetation were all encased in ice.
As he descended the mountain, he realized that if he went towards the fire, he would surely be incinerated. And if he headed towards the snow, he would certainly freeze.
The cold was severe, but not so extreme that it couldn't be endured, yet the fire was so intense that survival was impossible.
Therefore, he concluded that freezing was better than being burnt to ashes.
He continued his descent and headed towards the cold, snowy region.
As Virat was leaving, a smoky, violet-colored fire appeared. Two eyes within the flames watched him depart.
With a sinister grin, the fire started following Virat.
By the time he reached the heart of the dense jungle, hunger had begun to gnaw at him. His instincts took over, driving him to search for anything edible. Deep within the thicket, he stumbled upon a grove of fruit-bearing trees, but something was deeply unsettling about them.
A single tree bore a chaotic variety of fruits, each different from the next. There was a fruit that resembled a pomegranate, yet it wasn't one—it was a deep, midnight black. The apples and cherries were the same: unnervingly dark.
When he managed to knock an apple down from the massive tree, he realized these were no ordinary fruits. The apple was five times its natural size, looming as large as a coconut. Despite his hesitation, his hunger was relentless. He reached out to pick it up.
Just as his hand grazed the fruit, an arrow whistled through the air, thudding directly into the apple. With a burst of agility, Virat leapt back ten paces. He scanned the perimeter, searching for the hidden archer, but the woods remained still.
Then, a voice pierced the silence. "Stay away from our fruit, Fire-Eater."
The voice was thin and high-pitched, like that of a child. Virat tracked the sound, his ears twitching at the slightest rustle. His eyes locked onto a thick tree trunk. "Found you," he muttered.
Suddenly, a shadow bolted from behind the tree. Virat didn't hesitate. He drew an arrow from that apple and loosed it at the fluttering hem of the fleeing figure's coat. His aim was perfect. The arrow pinned the fabric to a tree, halting the shadow in its tracks.
Virat reached the shadow in a few quick strides.
There, pinned by his arrow, was a diminutive creature—a dwarf dressed in deep navy-blue clothes. His skin was strikingly pale, almost white, which made his piercing blue eyes stand out even more. He had long, pointed ears and a prominent, elongated nose that gave him a sharp, inquisitive look.
When Virat approached him, he was taken aback. Standing there was a dwarf—barely two feet tall and looking quite young.
"Release me, Agni Bhakshak!" the dwarf shrieked at Virat in a thin, shrill voice.
Agni Bhakshak? What on earth is that? Virat wondered.
"Why exactly did you attack me?" Virat asked.
"Because you're a thief! You were stealing our fruit!" the dwarf snapped.
"I'm no thief," Virat replied calmly.
"You are!" the dwarf screamed back.
Why he is so loud? He thought
The little man was fumbling with his tiny hands, trying to pry away the arrow pinned to his clothes. Virat let out a chuckle and reached down to unhook the arrow. The moment he was free, the dwarf scrambled away with surprising speed, ducking behind a tree. From the shadows, he glared at Virat with pure fury.
"There's no need to be afraid," Virat called out.
"I am not afraid!" the dwarf retorted in that same squeaky, piercing voice.
As they were speaking, a thunderous roar suddenly ripped through the air. It wasn't the roar of an ordinary animal; it was something far more primal and terrifying.
Upon hearing it, Choga began to tremble violently. "Run, Choga, or you're dead!" he muttered to himself. The roar was clearly a sound he knew only too well.
Virat watched as Choga bolted. Seeing the little man run with such desperation sparked a flicker of worry in Virat. What kind of creature could make a sound like that? he wondered.
He didn't have to wait long for an answer.
A monstrous bear emerged from the trees—but this was no ordinary beast. It was a titan, a creature of colossal proportions. Even Virat was stunned.
"How could a monster that massive," Virat whispered to himself, "approach so silently without making a sound?"
The creature was gargantuan; to him, Virat was likely nothing more than a bug. Virat tilted his head all the way back just to meet the monster's gaze."
Monster possessed a massive, bipedal ursine physique with broad, powerful shoulders and an incredibly thick chest. He stood slightly hunched, radiating a sense of looming power.
His fur was a deep, fiery red, marked with black stripes that resembled those of a tiger. In contrast, his chest and underside were covered in a blend of light blue and grey skin and fur.
Sharp, jagged formations of ice crystals sprouted from his hands and forearms, emitting a faint, eerie glow. These translucent white crystals extended far beyond his claws, creating a lethal, natural offensive weapon. Similar icy daggers protruded from his shoulders and ran all the way down his spine.
His small, pitch-black eyes burned with primal fury as a low, menacing growl rumbled from his throat.
Virat shouted—and as if on cue, the humongous beast reacted.
It swung its massive claws. Virat was quick, narrowly dodging the direct strike, but he couldn't escape the sheer force of the impact. The ground shattered; snow exploded into the air, and trees were uprooted like toothpicks. The shockwave sent Virat tumbling, bruised and battered.
The monster's piercing eyes locked onto him instantly, and it lunged again. Panicking, Virat scrambled for his dagger, but his hands found nothing but cold snow. He looked up in terror at the ursine beast. Those jagged, stone-white claws were descending like a death sentence. As the monster's massive shadow swallowed him whole, Virat realized there was no escape."
It was the moment he felt death's cold grip tightening. But then, the beast's shadow froze. Virat watched, breathless, as the monster turned to solid ice before his eyes. The crunch of footsteps drew near. His eyes fell upon a pair of blue boots, and slowly, Virat looked up.
Before him stood a woman—breathtakingly beautiful and ethereal. She wore a light blue saree, draped elegantly to reveal her shoulder and the curve of her midriff. Wrapped around her pale waist was a delicate chain of sharp, blue crystals that emitted a soft, otherworldly glow.
She wore a sleeveless white blouse adorned with intricate blue embroidery. Around her neck hung a golden-red necklace, centered by a dark, midnight-blue gemstone. Her eyes were a piercing deep blue, contrasting sharply with her long, Black brown hair, which was tied back with a simple red cloth.
She had a sharp nose and pointed ears."
She wore strands of Rudraksha beads around her neck, wrists, and ankles, lending her an air of ancient divinity. On her right upper arm, an amulet was fastened, embedded with a single, prominent Rudraksha seed.
She held a long, double-headed spear, its twin tips adorned with small, glowing crimson stones. The spear floated effortlessly, hovering just above the ground and reaching the height of her head.
Her smile was mesmerizing, sweet enough to melt anyone's heart. She stepped slowly toward Virat, her movements graceful. Reaching out, she gently brushed her hand against his face and whispered a soft incantation.
Instantly, a shimmering pink and blue light surged from her touch, washing over Virat's entire body. In the blink of an eye, his wounds vanished, leaving no trace behind.
She helped Virat to his feet, her eyes scanning him from head to toe with intense curiosity. After a long silence, she spoke.
"You aren't from around here, are you?"
I have come from a very long way off," Virat replied.
"I am Nilambari, the guardian of these woods," she said.
A guardian, Virat thought. He looked at her and said, "My name is Virat, and I..." He trailed off, catching himself before he revealed too much. Shifting his story, he added, "I come from a distant land, far beyond those mountains."
"I see," Nilambari murmured.
Wait a minute, she said.
What happened virat asked.
"Look at you," she said softly. "You are barely clothed for this cold." She began to chant a mantra, and as the words left her lips, heavy, warm garments materialized, wrapping themselves around Virat's shivering body.
Suddenly, the sound of cracking ice echoed through the air as the fallen beast began to stir. "We must leave," she urged. "Follow me."
"Wait," Virat interrupted. "I need to find my dagger first."
Nilambari gestured with her hand, using her magic to summon the weapon. The dagger rose from the snow and flew toward her, but the moment it reached her hand, she winced
the metal burned her skin. Virat watched in shock.
"It seems this blade is bound by a spell," she noted, her eyes narrowing. "Only you can touch it."
"Here, take it," she said, carefully passing the dagger to Virat.
Virat took the dagger, but there was no joy in his expression. His eyes lingered on the ground behind them, as if something precious had been left behind in the snow. Despite his hesitation, he turned and followed in Nilambari's footsteps.
She led him through the dense thicket until they reached a clearing. There, standing tall and majestic, was a tree that shimmered like a thousand diamonds, its bark and leaves glowing with a brilliant, crystalline light.
As a leaf drifted slowly down from the tree, Virat reached out, trying to catch it in his palm. But the moment his skin brushed against it, the leaf dissolved, melting away like a single drop of water.
A cave-like opening was carved directly into the trunk of the massive tree. As he and Nilambari stepped into its mouth, a colossal shadow swept over them from above.
Virat looked up, startled, but Nilambari didn't miss a beat. "Come inside," she said calmly, "you're safe here."
She pushed aside the thick, hanging vines and tangled branches to clear a path. Virat followed closely behind her, disappearing into the heart of the tree.
On the far side of this world, where nothing but fire existed, a young woman sat meditating within a blazing temple. She was engulfed in flames; the air around her blazed, and even the clothes upon her body were being consumed by the flames.
Everything was burning. The earth glowed a deep, molten red.
"The glowing ground heaved, spitting sparks into the air with every breath of heat."
Fire was everywhere—it coiled through her hair, clung to her ears, and flowed over her arms like water. Beside her stood a trident, the only thing untouched by the heat. This was a land where, by the sun's grace—or perhaps its curse—the fire never died.
It was then that a two-faced demon spotted her. He, too, was a creature of flame, possessing four arms and legs. At the sight of the meditating woman, hunger dripped from his maws. He lunged toward her, intent on devouring her, but as he came within two paces, he was instantaneously incinerated by a flash of blue fire.
Suddenly, the trident devoured the very flames that were consuming the maiden.
As she opened her eyes, she looked like a goddess incarnate. She was draped in garments woven from shimmering fire—a saffron-colored sari, a bindi upon her forehead, and a necklace of two-faced Rudraksha beads around her neck. Her skin glowed like burnished gold, her eyes were tinged with a faint crimson hue, and her lips were a deep, vivid red. Around her ankles, she wore anklets crafted from Rudraksha.
She looked toward the sun, gripped her trident, and whispered, "It seems he has arrived."
With those words, she raised the trident with both hands. A pillar of fire descended from the heavens, and in the next heartbeat, both the maiden and her trident vanished.