The silence of the night was deceptive.
While Ashvaal rested under the watchful glow of the moon, the true heartbeat of the realm echoed not in the bustling streets but deep beneath the southern cliffs — in a land untouched by time, wrapped in secrets, and now pulsing once again with ancient power.
The Amavasya Caverns.
A place forgotten by most. Feared by those who remembered.
Scene: The Departure
Shaurya stood at the front gate of the inner citadel, wearing the deep maroon Rajya Yodha battle robes — woven from mithril-thread and blessed by both mantra and mana. His trident, Vijayabaan, glowed faintly on his back.
At his side stood the elite task force:
Senapati Rudra Pratap – clad in armor carved with protective runes, carrying a warhammer etched with Narasimha's face.
Nandini – robed in stealth gear, equipped with enchanted scrolls and her twin blades Shivranjani and Kokil.
Swami Anirdeshananda – wrapped in ochre robes, wielding the spiritual staff Dharmagni, and a scroll of purification sutras.
Garudavanshi Rakul – tall, bronze-skinned, with wings tattooed across his arms that glowed when he chanted.
Garudavanshi Reva – agile, quiet, and deadly — a master of ranged energy weaponry and illusion breaking.
The people watched in silence as the group entered a floating chariot, powered by solar crystals and directed by Nandini's mana pulses.
Shaurya turned briefly and declared:
"Three nights. That's all we need. If we don't return, then the throne is to be kept untouched until the gods themselves speak."
And they vanished into the south.
Scene: The Entrance to the Amavasya Caverns
At the edge of the Blackstone Cliffs, a jagged rift gaped in the earth — like the earth itself had been wounded.
Thick air, dry as bone dust. The air held no scent, no memory, only void.
Swami Anirdeshananda began chanting:
"Om Amavasyai Namah, Dvāra Rakshakānām Prakaṭatām."
A faint glow outlined the cave entrance.
[System Alert – Adhipatya System]
✅ Quest Activated: The Mirror's Maw
❗ Objective: Enter the forbidden zone. Survive. Retrieve the Heart of the Gate.
Estimated Risk: ❌❌❌❌❌
Additional Note: Memory fragments may manifest. Mind defense required.
Shaurya exhaled.
"Let's walk where gods feared to tread."
Scene: Inside the Cavern
The tunnel descended in spirals, walls glistening with blue luminescence. Echoes of their footsteps returned late — delayed, as if traveling through more than stone.
Symbols began to glow. Not Vedic. Not demonic. Something... older.
Nandini: "These runes predate even the Lankaan script."
Rudra: "That means we're not the first to walk here."
Reva: "But we may be the last to return."
They pressed on.
Suddenly, the tunnel widened into a massive hollow dome — miles wide. At the center stood a circular black stone gate — massive, cracked, humming with energy.
Floating in front of it were statues. No — not statues. Bodies, frozen in time, suspended in air.
Men. Women. Children. Warriors. Sages. All locked in a perfect moment of terror.
Swami Anirdeshananda (voice heavy): "These are echoes. Souls caught by the gate's resonance. They came seeking power... and became memory."
System Alert:
⚠️ Mental Resistance Check: Passed.
✅ Shaurya resists false memory field.
The others stumbled briefly. Rakul clutched his head. Reva dropped to one knee.
Nandini (straining): "Maharaj… there's a presence in the gate. It's... calling to you."
Shaurya: "Then I shall answer."
Scene: The Mirror Guardian Appears
As Shaurya stepped toward the gate, a shimmer of heat and mist twisted into form — a silver figure, faceless, shaped like a human but utterly featureless. It was the Mirror Warden — a projection of divine technology.
Its voice was many at once. Male. Female. None.
Mirror Warden: "Why do you seek the Eye of the Gate?"
Shaurya: "To build a world. To prepare it. To shield it from the chaos beyond."
Mirror Warden: "Only those who know truth may shape it."
The mirror behind it flared — and Shaurya was pulled forward violently.
Scene: Shaurya's Inner Trial
He stood in a dreamscape — his old world. Streets he had walked. People he had ignored. Faces he had failed. Voices he had silenced.
He saw his own past life — not as Shiwang, not as emperor — but as a boy, lost, angry, broken.
A shadow stepped forward. It wore his face. But its eyes burned red.
Shadow Shaurya: "You want to build? You couldn't even save yourself."
Shaurya (calmly): "That's why I must build now."
Shadow: "You'll fail again."
Shaurya: "Maybe. But I won't stop."
The trident Vijayabaan appeared in his hand, its flame pure.
He struck the shadow. It shattered.
Scene: The Gate Awakens
Outside, the others were surrounded by mirage-like creatures — reflections of their own doubts.
But as Shaurya stepped back through the mirror's veil, energy exploded outward.
The Mirror Warden knelt.
Mirror Warden: "You have faced yourself. You are worthy."
System Alert:
🔱 Artifact Acquired: Hridaya Darpan – The Mirror Heart
Allows projection of defense across territory
Stores memory imprints
Keys to Multiversal Seals (Fragment 1/7)
As the gate dimmed, the frozen figures slowly dissolved into light, freed at last.
Scene: Return to Ashvaal
The party returned two days later.
The people of Ashvaal lit lamps across every street. Priests chanted. Children sang. A day was declared:
"Antardrishti Mahotsav – The Festival of Inner Vision."
Shaurya placed the Hridaya Darpan inside the Mandir Sanctum, where it pulsed gently, safeguarding all.
In his chamber that night, he wrote his own words into a new scroll:
"One cannot build an eternal kingdom without first defeating the wars within."
To be continued....