The revelation hit Ravi with the force of Arjun Singh's mace. Vasudev. The esteemed Royal Advisor, Chandani's own father, standing there coolly as his daughter was handed over to her enemies. The pieces clicked into place with horrifying precision – the ambush on their convoy that conveniently allowed Chandani to escape with a (now obviously) depleted amulet, Vasudev's convenient 'sacrifice', his perfect knowledge of her escape route to the Sunstone Monastery. It was all a meticulously crafted lie.
Chandani's scream was no longer one of fear, but of raw, unadulterated anguish. "Father! How could you?! Why?!" Her voice cracked, tears streaming down her face, mixing with the dirt and grime.
Vasudev's expression remained impassive, though Ravi's [Eyes of the Scrap God], now hyper-attuned to deceit, detected a flicker of something – pain? Regret? – deep within his eyes before it was ruthlessly suppressed. "Some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good, daughter. The Suryavanshi line must endure, even if it means… difficult choices."
"Difficult choices?!" Chandani shrieked, struggling against her captors. "You call betraying your king, your people, your own daughter a difficult choice? You call this enduring?!"
Devraj, a ruggedly handsome man with cruel eyes and a scar that bisected his lip into a permanent sneer, stepped forward from the watchtower, a smug smile playing on his lips. "Your father is a pragmatic man, girl. He understands the changing tides. Unlike your foolish former King Veerendra, who clung to outdated notions of honor while his kingdom crumbled."
He gestured to Vasudev. "Advisor Vasudev has pledged his loyalty to the true sovereign, King Mahipal. In return for his… cooperation, and your safe delivery, he has been promised a position of influence in the new order. And the Suryavanshi name will continue, under Mahipal's benevolent rule, of course."
Ravi felt a surge of disgust so potent it almost made him gag. This wasn't just betrayal; it was a sickening perversion of loyalty and fatherhood. He'd seen some lowlifes in Bhiwani, men who'd sell their own mothers for a bottle of cheap liquor, but this… this was a whole new level of scumbaggery, dressed up in silks and justifications of 'greater good'.
"Benevolent rule?" Ravi spat from his precarious perch on the cliff face, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, I've heard that one before. Usually right before the public floggings start." His sprained ankle throbbed, a dull counterpoint to the burning rage in his chest.
Devraj's gaze snapped to Ravi. "Ah, the anomaly. The Star-Fallen. Arjun, it seems our little rat has a habit of surviving. Perhaps you were too gentle with him in the cave?"
Arjun Singh grunted, his glowing eyes fixed on Ravi with renewed intensity. "He is slippery, Captain. But his luck is about to run out. The cliff is steep, and my arm is long." He hefted Bhairava's Tooth.
Ravi knew he was in a terrible position. Exposed, injured, and outnumbered. But seeing Chandani's heartbroken face, the utter desolation in her eyes, ignited something within him. He might be a trash picker, a nobody from another world, but he had a code. You didn't stand by while someone was so thoroughly, despicably betrayed.
"Vasudev!" Ravi yelled, his voice echoing across the river. "You call yourself a father? You're just another piece of refuse, worse than anything I've ever pulled from a dumpster! At least trash has the decency to be honest about what it is!"
Vasudev flinched visibly at Ravi's words, his carefully constructed composure cracking for a moment. Chandani stared at Ravi, a flicker of something unreadable in her tear-filled eyes – surprise? Gratitude?
Devraj chuckled. "Feisty, isn't he? Such spirit. A shame it will be extinguished so soon. Kill him, Arjun. Make it slow. The girl can watch."
Arjun Singh grinned, a truly terrifying sight. "With pleasure, Captain." He began to move along the rampart, looking for a clear angle to hurl his mace or send down a shower of rocks.
Ravi knew he had seconds. He couldn't fight his way out, not like this. He needed a distraction, a gambit, something utterly insane. His eyes darted to the Gandak River below – fast, murky, and deep. Then to the 'package' mentioned in the letter he'd stolen. 'Its properties are… persuasive.' What did that mean? Something potent, something Devraj was waiting for.
His gaze fell upon the sacks of grain and barrels in the storeroom he'd first entered. An idea, reckless and desperate, sparked in his mind. It was a long shot, a Bhiwani street-level gamble played on a grand, interdimensional stage.
"Hey, Devraj!" Ravi shouted, projecting his voice. "Before your oversized pet here turns me into cliff-paste, you might want to know what I found in your love letters!" He patted the bulge in his tunic where he'd stuffed the ledger and parchments.
Devraj's eyes narrowed. "What are you blabbering about, street filth?"
"Just a little note from your pal 'K'," Ravi taunted. "Something about a 'package' from the Shadowfen Mages? And 'neutralizing' the Sunstone Monastery? Sounds like Mahipal isn't just after the throne. He's playing with some seriously dark juju. Wonder what the other warlords who don't like shadow magic will think about that, eh?"
The effect was instantaneous. Devraj's smug expression faltered. Vasudev looked startled. Even Arjun Singh paused his advance. Ravi had struck a nerve. He could see the flicker of unease, the sudden calculation in Devraj's eyes. This 'K' and the Shadowfen Mages were clearly sensitive topics.
"You lie!" Devraj snarled, but there was a new edge of uncertainty in his voice. "You couldn't possibly know…"
"Oh, I know," Ravi said, bluffing hard, relying on the street smarts that had kept him alive for so long. "And I know that if word of Mahipal dealing with those cloak-and-dagger weirdos gets out, his 'benevolent rule' might have a few… rebellions on its hands. Maybe from some of his own allies." He let that sink in. "Now, here's the deal. You let Chandani go. Unharmed. And I'll 'misplace' this rather incriminating correspondence."
Devraj laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "You're in no position to make deals, boy! You're trapped!"
"Am I?" Ravi grinned, a wild, almost maniacal glint in his eyes. He shifted his weight, his good leg tensed. "Or am I just about to cause you a massive, grain-covered, ale-soaked headache that will make Arjun's little rockslide look like a picnic?"
He glanced pointedly towards the watchtower storeroom. Devraj followed his gaze, a flicker of understanding, then alarm, dawning on his face. The acrid chemical scent Ravi had noticed earlier…
"You wouldn't dare!" Devraj hissed. "Those are my winter supplies! And that… that's highly unstable blasting powder from the northern mines!"
Ravi's grin widened. Blasting powder. Knew it smelled familiar. "Unstable, you say? Perfect for a little impromptu fireworks display, don't you think? A real bang to celebrate your new alliance." He gave a theatrical shrug. "Of course, if a stray spark were to, say, ignite those sacks of flour next to it… well, dust explosions are a bitch, aren't they?"
The color drained from Devraj's face. He knew Ravi wasn't bluffing about the potential devastation. A fire, a dust explosion in that confined space, could cripple his operations, destroy his supplies, and make the watchtower untenable.
Chandani stared at Ravi, her mouth agape. Even Vasudev looked shocked by the sheer audacity of the threat.
"You're insane!" Devraj spat.
"Probably!" Ravi agreed cheerfully. "But I'm an insane guy who has nothing left to lose and a real knack for making a mess. So, what's it going to be, Captain? The girl, or your cozy little hideout and a whole lot of paperwork explaining to Mahipal how you let one 'Star-Fallen anomaly' turn your strategic river crossing into a smoldering crater?"
The tension was a palpable thing, thick enough to choke on. Arjun Singh looked to Devraj for orders, his mace still raised, but hesitation now evident in his stance. The other raiders were watching, their earlier confidence shaken.
Devraj's face was a mask of fury and calculation. He was caught. Ravi's threat was credible, the consequences dire. But letting Chandani go…
"Father…" Chandani whispered, her gaze locking with Vasudev's. There was no plea in her voice, only a chilling emptiness.
Vasudev looked away, unable to meet her eyes. He spoke, his voice low and strained. "Devraj… perhaps a temporary tactical retreat? The boy is clearly unhinged. We can retrieve the girl later. The monastery is still our primary objective."
Devraj shot Vasudev a look of utter contempt. "You cowardly old fool. This is your mess." But he saw the logic. The contents of that letter, if revealed, could be catastrophic for Mahipal's carefully constructed alliances.
He glared at Ravi, his eyes promising retribution. "Alright, anomaly. You win this round. Release the girl," he barked at his men.
The two raiders holding Chandani reluctantly let her go. She stumbled, looking dazed, her eyes fixed on Ravi with an expression he couldn't quite decipher.
"Now, the letters," Devraj demanded.
Ravi smirked. "Not so fast. First, Chandani gets across the river. Safe and sound. Then, I'll consider 'misplacing' your dirty laundry. And just so we're clear," his voice hardened, "if I see so much as a stray arrow heading her way, or if your pet gorilla here even thinks about taking a swing, this whole place goes up like Diwali came early. Got it?"
Devraj's jaw clenched so hard Ravi thought his teeth might crack. "Get her across," he snarled to his men.
Chandani, moving as if in a dream, was guided to the riverbank. She looked back once, at her father, then at Ravi, before stepping into the shallows and beginning her perilous crossing.
Ravi watched her, his senses on high alert, his hand subtly reaching for a sharp piece of rock, ready to create a spark if Devraj tried anything. The silence was broken only by the rushing water and Chandani's ragged breaths.
It felt like an eternity, but finally, she reached the other side, collapsing onto the bank, safe.
"Alright, Devraj," Ravi called out, his voice strained from the effort and the pain in his ankle. "Your turn."
He pulled out the ledger and the incriminating parchment. For a moment, he considered actually destroying them. But a deeper, more cunning instinct, the instinct of a survivor who knew the value of leverage, took over.
With a flick of his wrist, he didn't throw them into the river, nor did he burn them. Instead, he tossed them high into the air, towards the densest part of the watchtower's crumbling upper structure, where they fluttered and disappeared into the shadows and ivy.
"Consider them 'misplaced'," Ravi said with a cheeky grin. "Maybe you'll find them when you're rebuilding. Or maybe the rats will use them for bedding. Who knows?"
Devraj roared in frustration. "You tricked me!"
"Just keeping you on your toes, Captain," Ravi said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a princess to escort and a serious grudge to nurse against fathers who suck."
Without another word, he pushed off from the cliff face, not trying for a controlled descent, but a desperate, tumbling fall towards the raging Gandak River below. He hit the cold water with a shocking impact, the current immediately grabbing him, pulling him under.
He heard Arjun Singh's enraged bellow and the thud of his mace hitting the cliff where Ravi had been. Arrows sliced into the water around him. But Ravi was already being swept downstream, fighting to keep his head above water, the stolen knowledge of Mahipal's conspiracy a burning coal in his mind, and the image of Chandani's betrayed face seared into his memory.
He had survived. He had saved Chandani, for now. But he had made powerful enemies and stumbled into a plot far bigger and deadlier than he could have imagined. The trash picker from Bhiwani was now a fugitive, a reluctant hero, and a walking, talking liability to some very dangerous people.
As the current carried him away from the watchtower, one thought echoed in his mind: Vasudev would pay. And somehow, Ravi would make sure this 'K' and the Shadowfen Mages knew that messing with a Star-Fallen anomaly from Bhiwani was the biggest mistake they'd ever made. The game was far from over; it had just become infinitely more personal.