The final grains of sand were slipping through the hourglass. Only one single hour remained before Rudra's physical vessel would completely dissolve into gray ash under the curse of the Suka Position.
Deep in the sacred mountains, Team 3—Uma, Aarini, and Mouni—were frantically searching for the final component: the Golden Asta Mudra. The ancient wards were complex, and despair was setting in.
Suddenly, the space in front of them warped. Stepping out of the shadows was Dev, Rudra's own brother! Without saying a single word, Dev extended his hand, holding the glowing, divine Golden Asta Mudra, and handed it directly to the shocked wives.
"Dev...?" Uma gasped. "How did you find this? How did you know we were here?"
Dev gave a calm, mysterious look. "Master Madhu sent word to me. Take it and run. Our brother is out of time."
With no time to lose, Team 3 split the wind, rushing back to Gota Village. They burst into the chamber with literally minutes to spare. Shanthi's team with the Jala Kone flower and Ananya's team with the Bhuta Hala poison had just arrived.
Master Madhu wasted not a single breath. "Line them up, now!"
With precise, high-tier alchemy, Madhu took all three legendary components—the liquid core of the flower, the dark essence of the hell-poison, and the Golden Asta Mudra—and placed them directly onto Rudra's decaying chest.
FLASH!!!
A blinding, cataclysmic wave of pure gold and crimson energy erupted from Rudra's sternum, completely burning away the gray decay. The Suka Position was shattered! Not only was he healed, but the cosmic stabilization matrix triggered. The chaotic energy within Rudra violently snapped down, perfectly aligning with the Red Line! His five elemental beasts locked into place. He had officially mastered his god-tier power.
As Rudra slowly stood up, feeling the immense, controlled weight of his Sovereign power, the front door of the house creaked open. A powerful, heavily armored warrior stepped into the room, radiating an unmistakable, ancient aura.
Master Madhu's eyes widened in profound shock. "Rutu Raj...? Is it really you?!"
The man smiled sharply, crossing his arms. "It's me, Master Madhu. Long time no see."
Rudra stepped forward, his crimson eyes narrowing as he looked at the stranger. "Who is this guy? Why does he feel so familiar?"
"Rudra," Madhu spoke, her voice trembling slightly. "Meet Rutu Raj. He is your brother."
"My brother?!" Rudra exclaimed, completely confused. "How many brothers do I have? What is going on with our bloodline?!"
Rutu Raj laughed, walking up to a large wooden table. "Sit down, little brother. It's time you learned the massive truth about the Sovereign Throne. Let's start from the very beginning—with our Great-Great-Grandpa Rudra and Great-Great-Grandma Isha."
The room fell dead silent as Rutu Raj dropped the ultimate family lineage bomb:
"Our Great-Great-Grandparents were both high-tier, pure-blood Demons," Rutu Raj explained. "They married and had one powerful child: our Grandpa Prasad, who was also a pure demon. Now, Grandpa Prasad had three separate marriages that split our entire clan into three divine factions."
Rutu Raj drew lines on the dusty table:
The First Marriage (Demon Lineage): "Grandpa Prasad first married your Grandmother, Bhindu. They had a child named Maruma. And under Maruma's lineage, the core brothers were born: You (Rudra), Dev, Phanindra, Ravan, and Subash. You guys belong to the primary demon bloodline."
The Second Marriage (Goddess Lineage): "Next, Grandpa Prasad married Goddess Mukti. They had two children: Shivaji and Sukakana. Shivaji's children are Sai, Jaswanth, Pravalika, Jai Ram, and Abhi Ram. Sukakana's children are Isha, Sruthi, Radha, and Kamal."
The Third Marriage (Human Lineage): "Finally, Grandpa Prasad married a human woman named Sanjana. They had a son named Ganesh. And Ganesh... is my father. That makes me, Rutu Raj, your brother from the human-hybrid branch. Do you understand our massive family tree now?"
Rudra stared at the table, his mind completely reeling from the sheer scale of his family's cosmic connections. "I understand the lineage... but what is the matter, Rutu Raj? Why have you come out of hiding right now?"
Rutu Raj's face instantly turned dead serious, his warrior instincts flaring. "I didn't come here just for a family reunion, Rudra. I came to deliver critical wartime intelligence. The supreme commander of the Mokura Clan is moving. There is a specific high-tier demon you need to eliminate immediately. You must kill him, absorb his demon power, and add it to your Sovereign Throne if you want to survive the final days."
Rutu Raj turned toward the door, his cape swirling. "My mission is done. The rest is up to you, brother. I'm leaving now."
In a flash of spatial distortion, Rutu Raj vanished into the wind, leaving Rudra standing there with a fully controlled power meter, a completely cleared mind, and a war to win