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Chapter 28 - Chosen by Death

After Virat suddenly disappeared into that pale blue moonlight, seeing Anyaa crying, Ayaan and Pankaj try to calm her down and give her water. Even while drinking water, she continues to cry. Stroking her head, Ayaan says with tears in his eyes, "Anyaa, Virat will come back. When he sees how his dear sister has made herself suffer by crying so much, imagine how much pain he will feel; is that what you want?" Pankaj thinks to himself, "Will Virat really come back? He must...!"

After some time, Anyaa falls asleep due to exhaustion from crying. Once she is asleep, Ayaan whispers to Pankaj, "We cannot stay here anymore. After Shiv's death, all the powerful people will be after us." Looking at Anyaa and taking a long breath, Pankaj looks at Ayaan and says, "You're right, we must return now. Virat has trusted us to keep his sister safe."

It is 4:00 AM. Fog has spread everywhere, making it impossible to see anything clearly, and a light cold breeze is blowing. Pankaj and Ayaan wake Anyaa, "Anyaa... Anyaa... wake up..." Rubbing her eyes, which have turned red from crying, Anyaa says in a tired voice, "Virat Bhaiya... what happened, Vir..." she stops, looks around, and says while crying, "Where is he? Where is my Virat Bhaiya?" Seeing her cry again, Ayaan sits beside Anyaa, wipes her tears, and says in a calm voice, "Virat will surely come back. He is bound by the hope of millions of people."

Pankaj looks at Ayaan, "Ayaan, we must hurry. In a few hours, everyone will know that Shiv has been killed... and they will come after us first." Ayaan gives Anyaa water, washes her face, and they go to the roof. They stand Anyaa in the middle of a circle made by their hands and together they chant, "Primal Teleportation." A green light surrounds the three of them; the speed of the air around them intensifies due to its power, and they disappear with that green light.

**A FEW HOURS LATER.....**

It is 10:00 AM. A light cold wind is blowing. The fog has cleared slightly; a faint sun is visible in the sky, but its heat does not reach the ground. A troop of soldiers sets out from the palace for Virat's house, commanded by Mahaveer Mahendra. The Royal Army reaches Virat's house; the house is covered in fog and the garden grass is slightly damp. From the outside, everything looks normal to them. They enter the house and see the destruction of the room near the stairs. Seeing that room, everyone is left wondering how such a massive battle took place without them noticing anything. Mahaveer enters the room alone; ice is still frozen inside. As soon as Mahaveer enters, he senses a very powerful energy. That energy was so powerful that for a moment, even Mahaveer is startled.

After feeling that energy, a smile appears on Mahaveer's face. He says laughing, "I... I knew it was you I was waiting for... finally, my little warrior friend's prophecy has come true..." While he is thinking, soldiers of the Royal Army also enter the room. When they see the condition of the room, their eyes remain wide open in shock. Some soldiers enter the crater formed during the fight. Going a bit deeper, they find 'Raiyo' fallen on a rock, blood flowing from his chest, and a sharp part of the rock piercing through his back out of his stomach. Two soldiers bring him out of the crater, and the other four soldiers start going deeper into the pit.

The soldiers reach the depth of the crater where they find Shiv's dead body. The left side of Shiv's face is missing; there are only some hanging pieces of flesh with flies buzzing over them. Seeing Shiv's condition, the soldiers are horrified. They bring Shiv's body up. When Mahaveer sees both of them, there is a sense of relief on his face; his face carries a smile full of satisfaction. Covering both bodies with white cloth, they are taken to the palace.

Raiyo's body is handed over to his family. His funeral is conducted with full honors. The King announces that Raiyo's family will receive his salary for life, and when his son turns 16, he will be appointed to his father's post in the Royal Army. On the other side, Shiv's body, covered in a white shroud, lies in the middle of the palace. A woman comes running and crying, placing her head on Shiv's dead body and crying loudly, "My son... Shiv, get up, see your mother has come to meet you... get up son... won't you talk to your mother... Shiv..." She continues to speak. Behind her, Rajendra Thakur (Shiv's father), with tears in his eyes, tries to quiet his wife, "Kavita... compose yourself... Shi..." he stops while speaking; he cannot even talk, tears just keep flowing, and no sound comes from his mouth.

Then the King of Udaipur arrives with tears in his eyes. He approaches Kavita, "Sister, forgive me... I could not protect my nephew..." taking a long breath and sitting beside Kavita to hug her, he says, "It is my promise, whoever did this... I will give them a punishment worse than death." But Kavita continues to cry. To see Shiv's face, Kavita removes the white cloth which has turned red due to the blood. Seeing half of his face, Kavita screams and falls unconscious.

On the other side, after disappearing in that blue moonlight, when Virat opens his eyes, he has reached back to where it all began—'The World of Souls'. A red moon in the sky, black shadows floating in the air, and dried leaves of peepal trees on the paths filled with blood. Ruined houses on both sides of the road and heaps of human bones. Seeing all this, Virat thinks to himself, "This... this... is the same place from where I escaped. I thought everything was over, but no, everything hasn't even started yet." He continues to walk while thinking. Then he reaches a crossroads; that old man is still there, wearing white clothes stained with blood, with long white hair and beard, and his fingernails and toenails are long and blackened because of human flesh stuck in them.

Virat stops upon seeing him and thinks, "Met this crazy old man again, but there is no need to fear, Virat, you have become powerful now." He walks toward the old man smiling. Upon seeing Virat, the old man says laughing, "I knew you would come back. Last time, I wasn't able to welcome you properly." Saying this, he falls to his knees. Virat does not understand anything. The old man says loudly, "Welcome, 'King of the Underworld', we have been waiting for you for ages, but finally, you have arrived." All the souls come out of the ruins; there is a smile on their faces and tears in their eyes reflecting their pain. Virat doesn't understand and says in a heavy voice, "You have some misunderstanding, I am no King." The old man stands up and says in a calm voice, "You are our King, you have been chosen by the 'God of Death' himself." All the souls surround Virat. Virat screams in anger with a heavy voice, "What are you talking about? I don't understand anything! My sister, my friends are waiting for me."

The old man steps back with tears in his eyes and says, "And what about us? We, too—this 'Underworld' has been waiting for its King for countless centuries." Pointing toward the souls surrounding Virat and wiping his tears, the old man says in a heavy voice full of pain, "Can you say this while looking into their eyes? Is your heart strong enough to snatch the smiles from their faces? By snatching away their ray of hope, can you push them back into the darkness of this hell?" Virat looks at all those souls; seeing the smiles on their faces and their eyes looking at him with hope filled with tears, Virat cannot say anything. He takes a long breath and lowers his head. He thinks to himself, "Forgive me, but if I leave them and go back, their last hope will also be gone. I cannot leave them back in this darkness, in a place worse than hell.... I am sorry my dear friends and innocent sister." All the souls start laughing and dancing with joy.

Then, piercing through the sound of laughter, a loud sound of crying comes from behind, calling out to Virat, "Virat.... you came... I was so scared.... but I am happy that you came to save me." Virat finds the voice familiar. He turns around and sees Rishabh crying and running toward him. Seeing him, a smile appears on Virat's face. He says laughing, "Rishabh... how did you come here? I thought we would never meet again." Rishabh, crying, hugs Virat.

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