CHAPTER 70 Two Shores, One Stream, and the Call of the Void
The sunset in Prakashgadh had always been wonderful, but today sunset was a little strange. When the last rays of the sun hit the water of the blue river, it seemed as if thousands of lamps had lit up together inside the water. But this light was not warm like gold. It was cold and hazy like brass. On the same old rooftop of the palace, from where the entire kingdom was visible, two shadows sat. One sharp like fire, the other cool like water.
Agni and Neer.
Weeks had passed since the war ended and peace was established. Agni was now completely healthy, although a small mark of the war still remained on his forehead. A deep, white scar shining on his copper skin. This mark reminded him of his bravery, and sometimes, also of the defeat he had not suffered, but his soul had. Neer, who was always calm, was sitting on a small stool looking at some old scriptures. His fingers were lightly slipping over the pages, as if feeling the words written on them.
Old memories and sweet sour banter
Neer, are you going to spend the whole day ruining your eyes in these rotten papers, Agni said, stroking his mustache. An old habit that had not gone away even after the war. In his hand was a bunch of grapes which he was eating with great relish. With every grape, a light sound came from his teeth, and juice sparkled on his fingers.
Neer replied without taking his eyes off the scripture, a faint smile on his lips. Agni, these are not rotten papers. This is the knowledge of our ancestors. In these are hidden secrets that can never be won with swords. And anyway, you only know how to shine swords and shout. Learn to sit in peace sometime. Just for a moment.
Agni laughed loudly. A laugh that echoed off the roof and far away. Peace. Peace is in the cremation ground, Neer. I am a warrior, I am fire. And fire never stays still. It either burns or goes out. He got up and came to Neer, his steps heavy and firm. He slapped Neer shoulder hard. A pat so strong in friendship that even pain feels sweet. Remember when we were young. You made a hole in Margdarshak kamandal and blamed me. Your innocent mischief.
A mischievous smile came on Neer lips, spreading to the corners of his eyes. He closed the scripture. Slowly, with respect. And looked at Agni. Yes, I remember. And you had to wash dishes in the kitchen for three days. Your face at that time was worth seeing. Exactly like burnt coal. Black from smoke, red from anger. And you used to scrub every utensil so hard as if it was an enemy.
Both laughed together. A laugh that was creating cramps in their stomachs, bringing water to their eyes. This was the same laugh that had gotten lost somewhere during the war of Veera Ghati, that had been suppressed in the terror of Andhak Void, that had died in the grief of Neer death. For a while, it seemed as if they had become those young princes again. Agni in whose eyes there was always a spark, and Neer whose calm spread coolness in the air. At that time there was no burden of any kingdom on them, no fear of any void, no weight of that responsibility which was now on their shoulders.
A Father Duty and Nirag Future
The laughter slowly quieted, like a melody that fades into soft tones. The direction of the conversation changed, naturally, turning toward that which always remained close to their hearts. In the field in front, Nirag was practicing with some soldiers. His agility and concentration were worth watching. Certainty in every strike, calculation in every defense. When the last rays of the sun fell on his sword, it became a shining line, like lightning descending from the sky.
He is learning very fast, Neer said with pride, a father sweet pride in his voice that is beyond words. There is no longer that old hesitation in his swordsmanship, no fear that his power might hurt someone. Now there is control in his strikes, restraint. He will become a great king, Agni. Better than us.
Moisture came in Agni eyes too. The moisture that is rare in fire people. He cleared his throat, as if swallowing emotions. He has suffered a lot, Neer. Losing his parents as a child, then becoming a slave of Andhak Void. Hurting with his own hands those he loved.
He took a deep breath, as if searching for an answer in the air. Sometimes at night, when I stand outside his chamber, I get scared. Scared that he might have broken inside. That the child we found on the riverbank might have lost his innocence forever.
Neer looked at Agni, and in his blue eyes was infinite compassion. But when I see him with you, Agni continued, when I see how you explain things to him, how you listen to every worry of his, how you remove every fear of his. I get peace. You have given him the love of a father that he needed most. That love which is not in words, but in gestures. That trust that never breaks.
Neer took a cold breath. A breath that left a faint line of fog in the air. We are both his fathers, Agni. You are his strength. The fire that will keep burning in him in crises, showing him the way. And I am his patience. The water that will control his fire, not let him burn. As long as we are together, as long as we are with him, no harm will come to Nirag. No darkness can swallow him.
First Sign of the Void
Suddenly, without any warning, the atmosphere changed. That golden evening, which until now seemed so peaceful, suddenly began to turn cold. A cold that reached from the skin to the bones. The sun was still hanging on the horizon, but its warmth was no longer there. Now that light was like a painter yellow. Beautiful, but lifeless.
A gust of wind came. But this was not an ordinary gust. It was bone chilling, and with it came a strange silence. A silence in which all the sounds of nature died. The chirping of birds stopped, the rustling of leaves stopped, even the distant flow of the river became silent.
The fire inside Agni, which had been calm until a moment ago, suddenly flared up. The redness in his eyes intensified, and faint smoke began to come from his breath. Neer. His voice had a cautious tremor. Did you feel something?
Neer stood up. The fluidity in his body was the same as before a war. His blue eyes, which had been so calm until now, became deep and serious. The depth of the ocean in which a storm was rising. He raised his right hand in the air, palm open, as if touching the air.
The wind, Neer said softly, but every letter of his words was clear. There is no life in the air. This is not just cold. This is the smell of the void. An emptiness that swallows everything.
Just then, the beautiful red rose in an earthen pot kept in the corner of the roof suddenly turned black. It was not like withering slowly. It was a moment event. In one moment the flower color faded, in the next it turned black, in the third it turned to ash and scattered. As if some invisible power had sucked all its color, all its vitality, all its existence from within. The soil of the pot also now looked black and barren.
Agni breaths became fast. His fists clenched, and faint flames began to come from his hands. An involuntary reaction. He turned and looked at Nirag. The soldiers practicing in the field had also stopped, confusion and fear on their faces. Nirag had dropped his sword on the ground. He had placed his hand near his heart, fingers digging into his chest, as if in sharp pain. His face had turned pale, and his eyes were closed.
Nirag, Agni shouted, and ran downward. His steps were so fast that marks of his shoes were left on the stones of the roof.
Neer was behind him, but his speed was different. A fluid, flowing speed with no hurry, only certainty.
When they reached Nirag, he was kneeling on the ground. Soldiers stood around, but no one moved forward. In fear, or in respect. Agni held Nirag shoulders. My son, what happened.
Nirag opened his eyes.
And in that moment, Agni saw that Nirag pupils had turned completely black for a moment. A blackness in which there was no light, no life. Exactly like Andhak Void. In that moment, Nirag face looked like a stranger. A stranger with no emotion, no identity.
But the next moment, as if a cloud had moved away from the sun, that blackness went away. Nirag eyes became normal again. Left eye red, right eye blue. But there was a fear in them, a confusion.
What happened, my son, Neer asked softly, holding Nirag and lifting him. Neer touch was cold, but had a stability that was calming Nirag trembling body.
Nirag was panting, his breaths short and irregular. I felt. As if someone was calling me. From far away. Very far away. Not a voice, a feeling. A very deep darkness, an emptiness.
He closed his eyes, as if trying to remember. It was saying. The place is empty. It has become empty. It must be filled. It must be filled. And then. I felt as if I was falling into that emptiness. Everything. My memories, my emotions, my existence. Everything was being pulled into it.
Agni and Neer looked at each other. The same fear was in their minds that they had been trying to suppress for weeks, months. After the death of Andhak Void, that dark part of the universe, which they called the void, was now empty. And nature does not like emptiness. It wants balance. And now that void was calling someone to fill itself. Someone who could fill its emptiness, balance it.
The Feeling of Sacrifice
That night, there was silence in the palace of Prakashgadh. A deep, heavy silence that was spread in every corridor, every chamber. Agni and Neer sat in their old place, the same rooftop where they had started their evening today. But this time there was no joke between them, no laughter. Only a seriousness floating in the air.
The moon was shining in the sky, but today it too was hazy. It seemed as if some invisible power was absorbing its moonlight too.
Neer, Agni asked in a low voice, a softness in his voice that is heard only in deep pain. Do you think. That we will have to go. Into that void. To fill it.
Neer looked at the moon, but his gaze was beyond it. Into that infinite sky where stars were dying and new ones being born. The balance of the universe demands sacrifice, my friend, he said, his voice flowing like a calm river. The cycle of creation and destruction. It never stops. If no one goes to fill the void, it will come out to fill itself. It will swallow this world. It will take Nirag too. And Anvay, Akshansh, Vedika, all our children, all our people. It will take everything.
Agni hit his fist on the ground. So hard that a crack appeared in the stone slab. Why, his voice had an animal like pain. We have shed so much blood, lost our own. Dharaaya and Vayansh, Prakash and Sheetal. Do we still have to leave everything. Do we have to go. Do we have to leave this peace, this love, this life.
Neer held Agni hand. His touch was cold like ice this time. A cold that gives not pain, but peace. This is our destiny, Agni. We are not just Agni and Neer. We are Agneer. We are not just warriors, we are the elements of this world. Fire and water. And if the elements have to return to their place to save life, we must not step back. This is our final duty. Our final war.
Agni lowered his head. A tear fell from his eyes. Hot, burning tear. And it fell on Neer hand. That tear was hot, but Neer coolness absorbed it, like earth absorbs a drop of rain.
Together, Agni asked, his voice sounding like a child. Scared, uncertain.
Together, Neer replied, and this time there was an unshakeable certainty in his voice. Always. Just as fire and water are always together, so are we. If we have to go, together. If we have to fight, together. If. If we have to leave, then also together.
Somewhere in that corner of the universe where the void was crying in its emptiness, a call was echoing. That call was echoing in the winds, in the stars, in the stream of time. And slowly, very slowly, that call was calling their names.
Agneer.
Agneer.
Come.
Come and fill.
Agneer next journey was about to begin. A journey from which no one returns. A journey that would take them into that void of the universe, where there is no time, no space, no life, no death. Only emptiness.
And to fill that emptiness, they would have to give everything.
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