The battlefield was unrecognizable.
**Ruined.**
Shattered ground, torn apart by the clash of monstrous auras. The storm overhead refused to calm, as if mourning the destruction that had unfolded. The **rain poured heavily**, drenching the bodies of the warriors who still remained.
Yet now—there was **no battle.**
No more screams.
No more raw chaos.
Just **Vinay's laughter.**
It echoed through the endless sky—**a broken, maddened sound.**
He clutched his sides, his body trembling, his golden aura flickering weakly around him. His voice cracked, turning into painful sobs in between laughter. **He had lost it.**
Ryan Jim stood in silence, watching.
Manav stood still, his expression unreadable.
The battlefield felt **empty.**
Except for them.
Vinay staggered forward, his hair sticking to his rain-soaked face. His eyes were **wild.**
**"You… You're a MONSTER!"** Vinay shouted at Manav, his voice full of rage and grief. **"You gave the order! My great-grandfather died because of YOU!"**
Manav's face remained **emotionless.**
Vinay clenched his fists. His entire body trembled.
**"You—You stood at the top, like some GOD!"** Vinay screamed, his voice breaking. **"You never fought him yourself! You sent your commanders! You DESTROYED him without even lifting a finger!"**
His breathing became ragged. **His chest heaved.**
His tears mixed with the rain.
**"And you don't even CARE?!"**
Silence.
Vinay's lips trembled. He had thrown **everything** into that accusation.
Yet—**Manav remained unmoved.**
Vinay let out another cracked, hollow laugh.
**"You… You won't even defend yourself?"**
Manav tilted his head slightly. His voice was **calm.**
**"Do you need me to?"**
Vinay flinched.
The words cut deeper than any wound.
Manav took a step forward. **Vinay instinctively stepped back.**
A man who had fought gods—**afraid.**
Manav's gaze bore into him like an abyss.
**"You were never looking for the truth, Vinay,"** Manav said. **"You were looking for an excuse."**
The rain grew heavier.
Vinay's entire body **froze.**
**"What…?"**
Manav continued, his voice unwavering.
**"You wanted me to be the villain. You needed me to be the villain. Because if I wasn't… then all of this destruction… was for NOTHING."**
The battlefield **felt colder.**
Vinay's lips trembled. His hands curled into fists, shaking.
**"Shut up…"**
But Manav didn't.
**"If I had killed your great-grandfather myself, would that have changed anything?"**
Vinay's eyes widened.
**"If I had fought him one-on-one, would that have made his death 'honorable'?"**
Vinay's breath hitched.
**"If I had spared him, would you have thanked me?"**
Vinay clenched his jaw, shaking his head.
**"Shut up…"**
**"No, you wouldn't have."**
Manav's voice was like ice.
**"Because this was never about justice."**
Silence.
Thunder rumbled above.
Vinay felt like he was **suffocating.**
His mind screamed at him to **fight back.**
But—**he couldn't.**
Because… deep down, he knew.
**Manav was right.**
Vinay **broke.**
**"THEN WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?!"** he roared, his voice shattering with agony. **"WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO, MANAV?!"**
He dropped to his knees, slamming his fists into the shattered ground.
**"I LIVED MY WHOLE LIFE THINKING I HAD TO AVENGE HIM!"**
He screamed into the rain.
**"IF NOT THAT, THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THIS?!"**
His voice cracked into sobs. **Raw. Shaking.**
Ryan Jim stepped forward.
His expression **softened.**
For the first time, **he saw Vinay not as an enemy… but as a person.**
A person who had been broken before the battle had even begun.
**"It's over, Vinay,"** Ryan Jim said softly. **"Just stop."**
Vinay's body shook.
Ryan's words cut through the storm.
Vinay wanted to argue.
Wanted to scream.
But the weight of **everything** crashed onto his shoulders.
He felt like a drowning man.
**And he could no longer fight the waves.
For a long moment, there was **only the rain.**
Then, Manav spoke.
**"You're afraid of Rudra, aren't you?"**
Vinay flinched.
His bloodshot eyes snapped to Manav.
His lips parted, but **no words came.**
He wanted to deny it.
But—he couldn't.
His throat **closed up.**
He had fought through **hatred.**
Through **pain.**
Through **loss.**
But the one thing he had never admitted—
**Was that he was afraid.**
Afraid of the one **above him.**
Afraid of **Rudra.**
Vinay's body trembled violently. His breathing became shallow.
For the first time—**he felt small.**
Manav sighed.
His gaze turned to the sky.
Then, he spoke.
A single verse.
One that cut through the storm like a blade.
**"कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।"**
Vinay's breath hitched.
Manav continued.
**"मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥"**
The battlefield was silent.
Ryan Jim listened carefully.
The rain poured heavily, yet the words **rang through the heavens.**
Manav's voice remained **calm.**
**"You have the right to perform your duty, but never to the fruits of your actions. Never be attached to the results—nor to inaction."**
Vinay's fingers dug into the mud.
His breathing was ragged.
Manav's words **ripped through his very soul.**
Everything **he had believed in—**
Everything **he had fought for—**
Had **meant nothing.**
And for the first time…
Vinay **let go.**
His shoulders slumped.
His golden aura **vanished.**
He let out one last broken **laugh.**
Then, he closed his eyes.
The storm continued.
The rain did not stop.
And the battlefield **stood still.**