The decree did not create peace.
It created panic.
Across Bharata-varsha, kings woke to the same realization: the old methods no longer worked. Bribes lost their silence. Assassinations lost their deniability. Even prayers felt heavier, as if the gods themselves were listening more carefully.
Messengers rode hard from capital to capital.
Emergency councils were summoned.
Old alliances were questioned.
Ancient grudges resurfaced—this time without masks.
The system observed mass recalibration.
—
[Political Stability: Degrading]
[Hidden Operations: High Failure Probability]
—
In Magadha, King Jarasandha slammed his fist against the stone table.
"So this Rudra declares law above kings?" he roared. "I will not bow to an unseen judge!"
His ministers exchanged nervous glances.
"Then test him," one suggested carefully. "Quietly."
Jarasandha smiled.
"That was always the plan."
---
In the Pandava camp, the mood was conflicted.
Yudhishthira sat cross-legged, eyes closed, as if weighing the decree against his soul.
"He did not promise us victory," Yudhishthira said. "Only fairness."
Arjuna frowned. "Fairness enforced by absolute power."
Bhima grinned. "I like him already."
Draupadi, silent until now, spoke sharply.
"He did not stop the war," she said. "He stopped cowardice. Do not confuse the two."
Krishna listened, amused.
"He is doing what even the gods hesitate to do," Krishna said. "Removing ambiguity."
That silenced them.
---
Jarasandha's test began at night.
A small band.
No banners.
Orders spoken only once.
The target was a village supplying Pandava grain routes—not to destroy it, but to poison the wells and leave before dawn.
No blood.
No witnesses.
Perfect deniability.
The system reacted instantly.
—
[Decree Violation Detected]
[Classification: Indirect Harm to Noncombatants]
—
Before the first vial could be poured, the ground hardened beneath the soldiers' feet.
They froze.
Not restrained.
Not bound.
Simply… unable to continue.
A pressure settled over the village like an invisible dome.
Rudra did not appear.
He did not need to.
The well sealed itself.
The poison evaporated.
The soldiers' shadows stretched unnaturally long—etching their intent into the earth itself.
The system finalized judgment.
—
[Collective Complicity Marked]
[Return Probability: Zero]
—
At dawn, the soldiers were found alive.
Kneeling.
Unable to explain how they had arrived miles away—at the gates of Magadha's capital.
Jarasandha stared at them in horror.
"What did you see?" he demanded.
One soldier whispered, shaking.
"Nothing."
That frightened Jarasandha more than visions ever could.
---
In Hastinapura, Vidura received reports from every border.
"They are testing the limits," he told Bhishma.
Bhishma nodded slowly.
"And learning," he said, "that limits are no longer suggestions."
Duryodhana listened in silence.
For once, he had no retort.
---
In Aryavarta, Devika approached Rudra.
"They will keep trying," she said.
Rudra nodded. "Until they learn."
Anaya tugged his sleeve.
"Bhai," she asked, "are you angry with them?"
Rudra knelt beside her.
"No," he said softly. "Anger clouds judgment."
"Then why does the world feel scared?"
Rudra looked toward the horizon.
"Because fear is what remains when lies are taken away."
The system closed the sequence.
—
[Global Compliance Trend: Rising]
[Resistance: Consolidating]
—
War was no longer inevitable.
But it was becoming honest.
And that terrified kings far more than prophecy ever had.
-- chapter 34 ended --