The First Fighter

Om, Let me meditate on the Great Flame, Oh, God of Fire, grant me with Higher Intellect & let the radiant God of Fire illuminate my mind.

"You couldn't even protect the divine power in this Universe...! Because of your mistakes, it has gone into the unholy hands of that vengeful VritraRakshas...!" Lord Mahadev, the God of all the Gods, the divine destroyer, was angry at Karthik.

"But good lord, I was leading the army. All my warriors fought bravely...!" Karthik pleaded.

"Such warcraft and skills are of no proper use if the purpose is not utilized properly. Not more than a few centuries ago, the Universe was formed out of the manifestation of the Adishakti. The power of fire, essential for the expansion as well as for the creation of life forms all across the cosmos, was formed at that time." Lord Brahma, the creator of the Universe, spoke in a silent voice.

"And your father, The Great Lord Agni had done a tedious penance, and we had granted two boons to him. It was due to his unfortunate old age; the powers of the guardian were bestowed upon you." Lord Vishnu, the protector of the Universe, spoke.

"But you failed us...! That mighty demon VritraRakshas attacked the Agniloka and very easily stole the power of Fire, the only one which is important and which can easily create the other 4 elements of the cosmos...! You were sent along with the divine army, which housed some of the most famous warriors on earth. But because of you, we lost most of our greatest warriors who had always been fighting for the protection of this power. Those warriors whom we lost did their purpose of sacrificing themselves while protecting the weapon, but that was because of you...! As a leader, you had to be in front and lead the whole army yourself, but you failed miserably in it. You only instructed them to follow your orders. " Lord Mahadev’s anger kept on increasing.

"But they could have saved themselves, had they followed my orders. I had a very secured..."

"They did the right thing by not following you...! They knew what to do at that moment. They were very well trained under Lord Agni's leadership. But you proved yourself worthless in this main battle of Agniloka…! We are already bearing the unfortunate loss of most of our warriors, and we don't intend to do so again because of your immature and idiotic leadership which if continued to be bestowed upon you, shall be a major cause of concern for all of us...!” The entire Universe knew that whenever the God of the Gods got angry, it was always bad not just for the person, but for the bearer as well.

"You misused your powers, for your leadership was not up to the mark. So, therefore, we are banishing you from the heavens. You're no longer needed here, as this divine place is only for the true leaders and for the righteous persons...!"

"But dear lord, I was only trying to...." Karthik couldn't finish his sentence. In an instant, he felt himself being lifted up by a huge fireball with tremendous force, and everything was white for a few seconds.

Karthik could feel himself floating, being carried away somewhere.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him. He couldn't see what it was, but that figure emerged in the white light. Karthik saw it was a person wearing a black mask, looking like a warrior. Before Karthik could understand, the warrior-like guy kicked him hard and pushed him away.

The next instant, he vanished.

After the white light around him subsided, he saw he was in a totally different land. Looking around, he realized where he was.

The NetherRealm.

Pataal.

He had heard about this place in legends. And the reality was not that different. He had landed in a marsh green land, with beautiful, green trees and wonderful flowers. All the trees were too tall for him, with free-flowing birds, in variant colours. The sky was clear with minimal clouds, and a nice, cool breeze was blowing which carried scents of blooming flowers around. The NetherRealm was much more beautiful than heaven itself.

Karthik stood up and looked at his hands. All the signs and marks on his hands had gone. The signs symbolized all the powers he had.

But who was that masked man, who came out of nowhere and kicked me? Karthik thought.

Suddenly, he heard a huge humming sound. The sound kept getting louder, and then he saw a huge thing, fitted with moving rotors, slowly arising from behind the trees.

The Pushpak vimaan.

Hovering, it came above him and halted. With a deafening sound, the air was blowing too hard from all around. The vimaan looked like a small chariot, with wheels attached to it. Two huge wing-like things projected from its side, and this was where the moving rotors were attached to.

“Identify yourself…!” Someone screamed loudly.

“I…I am Karthik, the divine son of Lord AgniDev.” Karthik spoke in between the huge sound of the rotors.

“Don’t lie to us…! Identify yourself… and now, this is your last chance…!” Someone spoke from above the Vimaan.

“I’m not lying. I am Karthik, the son of AgniDev, the divine protector of….” Before Karthik could finish his sentence, a huge rope shot down from the Vimaan, and wrapped automatically around him, bounding his hands & legs. He tried to move, but the rope was powerfully bound to him, and the next instant, he was jerked upwards with powerful force.

In a few seconds, he landed inside the Vimaan. He saw two huge, tall men, possibly the guards of the Realm, with big hands almost the size of a lotus leaf. Their faces were covered with golden helmets, keeping only their eyes visible. Both of them were almost two times taller & heavier than Karthik.

“You are arrested for trespassing the Realm, by using a false identity. The Great King Mahiraavan will decide your fate…!” One of the guards spoke.

“I am not giving a false identity… I am the …” Karthik tried to speak, but one of the guards gagged him, and the rest of the words only came out as a mumble from his mouth.

While one of the guards stood watching him, the other guard was piloting the Vimaan. A few seconds later, the Vimaan moved, and took a sharp turn to the right, before soaring up higher in the air.

As the Vimaan moved at a rapid pace through the clouds, Karthik saw how beautiful the NetherRealm was. Tall, enchanting palaces & temples, greenery and lavish flowering trees, long wide roads lined with trees, huge big gardens with gold fountains, everything was luxurious and pleasing.

A few minutes later, the Vimaan descended into a huge garden.

“Get up, prisoner…! You will now be presented in front of the king…!” one of the guards said, in a loud, demonic voice.

Karthik looked around and saw a tall palace. With a hundred steps, the palace had golden doors & a huge golden dome, with tall golden windows & glasses painted with designs. Lined with 4 beautiful fountains on its periphery, the palace was surrounded by gardens and flowering trees.

Karthik was jerked out of the Vimaan. A group of soldiers, resembling in appearance the two who had arrested him, but wearing different dresses, pulled him out and took him to the main court.

The interiors of the court were another marvel to look at. Tall pillars clad in Gold, wonderful handmade paintings flanked the wall, everything was intricately detailed & all the architectural elements were fantastic.

King Mahiraavan was seated on a huge throne made of Gold & silver, clad with rare gems. Holding a huge Golden Mace in his right hand, he was discussing something with his courtiers when Karthik was dragged inside.

“Honour to the Great King. This man was found in the Royal gardens, trespassing our Realm.” One of the guards pointed to Karthik. Karthik tried to say something, but only mumbles came out of his mouth.

King Mahiraavan kept observing the prisoner.

Karthik kept mumbling loudly. Looking at his struggle, the King signaled one of the guards. Instantly, a guard removed his gag.

“I…. I…. I am the son of Agni Dev. My name is Karthik…”

“No…this cannot be. He was banished into hell eons ago, for losing the Power of Fire.” The King spoke in a silent, deep voice.

“Aeons ago? No… It just happened a few minutes ago…! They just kicked me out of Heaven into this Realm. While traveling…”

“This is false. You are not him. Identify yourself again before….”

“This is the truth. I am the same one who was banished not eons ago, but just a few moments ago. How can it be….”

“Silence….!” The King got up from his throne and screamed at Karthik while banging his Golden Mace hard on the floor. His voice was so loud, it reverberated across the entire court. The thudding sound of the Mace sent vibrations all around the palace, shattering all the glass items inside the court.

“The Great Lord AgniDev’s son was removed from his powers and was sent to hell, and this happened many eons ago when I myself was a small kid. No one knows where he went, or whether he is alive or not. Do not claim yourself for who he is…!” The King replied in a loud voice.

“Believe me, oh Great King. I was banished from the heavens not more than an hour ago. The Great God of the Gods, Lord Mahadev struck a fireball at me, and while I was being teleported somewhere, someone wearing a Red Mask and Red Amulets pushed me hard, & this is how I landed here.”

On hearing what he said, the King was astounded. He kept staring at Karthik for a few moments.

And then, he signaled his soldiers to take him away.

Before Karthik could speak, one of the guards gagged him and dragged him out of the court. He was taken into the basements below the Royal Palace. One of the guards cut the rope around him, and after removing his gag, he was pushed inside a narrow cell with only a single window high above the walls.

Surprised by all the recent happenings, Karthik sat down on a stone bench.

Why did the King say I was banished eons ago? What exactly happened between the time when Lord Mahadev pushed me away and when I landed here? 

Who was that man in Red Mask?

Brushing away all the thoughts, Karthik decided to close his eyes and meditate. He always sought blessings & guidance from his father, Lord AgniDev, whenever he faced a dilemma.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus, but his mind kept going haywire with all the unwanted thoughts inside it. He tried hard, but couldn’t get his mind back on track.

Suddenly, the gates of the cell opened, and two guards walked inside the cell.

“The King has summoned you…!”

Before Karthik could object, the two guards lifted him up and took him into the Royal chambers of the King. King Mahiraavan was seated on a golden chair.

“As you ordered, we have brought him here.” The two guards said & left.

The King stood up and came near Karthik. Like the soldiers, he was also taller than him, with a huge body & broad shoulders, bulging biceps, and strong forearms.

“You said that a man in Red Mask & Red Amulets pushed you while you were being teleported here?”

“Yes,” Karthik answered confidently.

The King kept looking at him with his blue eyes.

“Come here.” The King instructed him to follow him. Karthik followed the king into the neighboring chambers, next to his room. This chamber was filled with huge paintings on walls and intricately carved furniture. This was the King’s Meeting room. It was surrounded by huge arched windows, offering lush views of the city below.

The King took him to one corner of the room and pointed to a painting.

“Was the man looking like him?” The King pointed to one painting and asked.

Karthik looked at the painting and instantly recognized the Man.

“Yes….! This was the same Masked man who pushed me, while I was being Teleported somewhere into the cosmos…!” Karthik replied at once.

The King paused for a few moments before speaking up, “Legends say that centuries ago, when my father, the Great King Vishrava, who was ruling the NetherRealm, was about to fight with this Demon King VritraRakshas, a masked man in Red amulets appeared before him & told him the secret to protect the Kalpavriksh. This Masked Man gave his weapon to my father, using which he was able to defeat the evil Demon.”

“And this same Masked Man came and pushed me into this Realm. But why is everyone saying that I had gotten lost for a lot of time? I mean, you did say that I was banished eons ago, but for me, everything happened just a few hours ago. How could this be?”

“It could be possible because of Time Dilation. When the Great Lord Mahadev banished you from the heavens, you were about to come here, when this Masked Man pushed you, possibly in an alternate timeline, which is where you are standing now, in this Realm. You were supposed to land here eons ago, but this man pushed you into this timeline, making you land now in the present.”

Karthik was surprised by this answer.

Why could he have pushed him here?

“Since he has done it, there has to be some reason. Possibly you may soon find out about it. But right now, we must inform the Heavens about your presence here. You are the Divine son of AgniDev, and to keep you as a prisoner, we need to seek proper permission from the Three Holy Gods.” The King said.

“No….it won’t make any point now. I have to….”

Abruptly, the entire palace was filled with the sounds of Trumpets & drums.

Before Karthik could ask anything, a guard came running inside the King’s chambers.

“He has attacked again…our troops are ready…!”

“Take your positions fast. Inform the Red Army to get ready…! We need to pin him down…!”

As the guard left, the King took out his armor & sword.

“Who is going to attack?” Karthik asked.

“This same Demon VritraRakshas. After he got defeated in the war by my father, he did rigorous penance and took a boon from Lord Brahma. And as per his boon, he cannot be killed at any time of the day, whether it is Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or Night, not with any type of weapon, and not in the air, inside water and in space. He has become undefeatable, and now he has come to gain possession of the Kalpavriksh. Because he needs this to prepare the nectar and to give life to many demons.”

“But if he has taken this boon, how do we stop him?” Karthik asked.

“No one can stop him. We can only try and defend as much as we can.” Saying this, the King wore his armor and took his sword.

“Why are you going for the fight? You could lead your army from here…! You are the King…!”

King Mahiraavan smiled and said, “Before being a king, I am the leader of my army, and it’s my duty to lead them from the front. Because if I fail to do so, my army will go haywire, and no one will be leading them on the right path.” Saying this, the King left.

Karthik realized what the King was trying to say.

Since he was no longer a prisoner, he decided to go to the battlefield.

Coming out of the huge Palace, he saw the area outside was full of hustle. Soldiers wearing armours on their bodies were rapidly boarding the Pushpak Vimaan. Not just soldiers, but even the general public of the city were joining the war, which meant everyone vowed to protect their Realm & the Divine Tree from the hands of the Demon. Every soldier had a weapon with him or her. King Mahiraavan was leading the entire platoon, shouting instructions to everyone.

I never did that, anytime during the wars that I fought, Karthik thought.

Getting curious about the fight, he decided to board a flying Pushpak Vimaan. He was about to do so when he realized that they were only allowing people wearing armor on board. He quickly grabbed one armor and climbed atop a Pushpak Vimaan.

With a jerk, the Vimaan rose up in the air. It flew low across the city with tremendous speed. Within minutes, it crossed the city and soon it entered a forest with tall trees. Crossing the forest, it flew above the battlefield, where both forces were fighting.

The view from above was terrifying.

The demon army, consisting of Orcs, alien-like creatures, and monsters having heights three times normal soldiers were fighting the average-height people of the NetherRealm. The soldiers of King Mahiraavan were also quite shorter in scale as compared to the demon army. Huge boulders, arrows, and fireballs were being hurled at one another on the battlefield.

The Pushpak Vimaan descended into the open ground. All the people jumped out and ran inside the battlefield, shouting slogans of ‘Jai Maa Kali,’ as King Mahiraavan was an ardent devotee of Kaali Mata.

“What is your war plan? How are you people attacking the Demon Army?” Karthik stopped a soldier and asked.

“There is no war plan. Everyone is attacking. We don’t have time for it.” The soldier said and disappeared on the battlefield.

Karthik had no weapon, but still, he decided to help. The moment he entered, 5 orcs from the demon army approached and attacked him. One of the orcs had a huge stone hammer with horns, which he flung towards Karthik, but he dodged it in a swift movement & threw a stone at the orc's head. Without waiting, he kicked the second Orc in the chest. Lifting the stone hammer, he flung it toward the other two orcs.

Using his hands, he moved away the demon soldiers from his path. He knew the King would definitely lose because there was no plan of attack. The Demon army very specifically knew whom to attack, and every one of them was following exactly that.

Karthik wanted to have a look at VritraRakshas, so he climbed a small hill in between the battlefield. Almost a few kilometers away, he saw the demon.

But he was not looking the way he had fought with him a few days ago, or, as per this timeline, eons ago.

He was looking totally different.

He was enormous in size, tall and blackish, appeared like a burnt hill, and was as lustrous as a bright array of clouds in the evening. The hair on the demon's body and his beard and mustache were the color of melted copper, and his eyes were piercing like the midday sun. With a blazing trident in his hand, he sent huge fireballs towards the innocent army of King Mahiraavan, who were only doing their duty of protecting the Divine tree.

Karthik looked around the battlefield. Many innocent men & women were slaughtered by the Demon Army. Men were beheaded, and eaten alive, and women were stripped naked. The orcs & monsters were licking the women’s naked bodies, and satisfying their lust. Teenage children were literally being lifted and thrown away, who were collected by the flying alien-like creatures, taking them as war prisoners. The King’s army was powerful, but they were of no match to the mighty Demon Army.

King Mahiravan had seven warriors. The entire Universe knew how good they were in warfare. Karthik saw each one of them slaying many demons in one go. But their bravery was getting loose in this fight.

Karthik was enraged at looking at all of this.

What is the fault of these innocent citizens? They are only trying to protect their Realm. They are only doing their duty. But what type of fight is this? The demons are slaying, raping, and eating all the innocent people. I had fought many wars, but none like this.

Being the son of AgniDev, he had all the qualities of Fire inside him. He was ferocious, angry, powerful, and destructive. Looking at the slaughter happening around him, Karthik started feeling angry.

Clenching his fists, he tried to invoke fire but realized his powers were gone. Without thinking for a moment, he ran down the hill in anger, straight towards VritraRakshas. Using his fists, he hit the orcs & monsters who came in his path.

Even without his powers, he was still quick and strong. With tremendous speed, he ran the entire battlefield straight toward the Rakshas & while running, he picked up two huge swords.

As he approached the Rakshas, his actual size came into view. He was much taller and bigger than he actually looked from far. But Karthik was not at all afraid of him or his size.

“Get away from them…! Let go of your greed, else you know what I can do to you…!” Karthik screamed amid the sounds on the battlefield, looking fiercely at the huge demon. He raised the two swords, ready to face & fight.

VritraRakshas immediately recognized the warrior standing in front of him.

“Hah….so you’re alive, the one with no knowledge of leading an army, or should I say, a timid so-called warrior banished from the heavens for giving me the power?” VritraRakshas made fun of Karthik.

“Don’t jump into the past, you fool….! I am here, standing in front of you and giving you a warning to stop all of this, or else face the consequences…!”

“What’s on your mind, shall I ask, if myself, the mightiest demon of all the demons, the one with an immortal boon from the Great Lord Mahadev, shall have thought of gaining access to the divine tree? Are you here to slay me, without your powers, the expelled son of AgniDev?” the demon again mocked him.

Without answering, Karthik raised his swords and charging straight towards the Demon, raised his swords & jumped on a set of boulders aiming straight towards his neck, but the Rakshas was equally quick. With a swift movement of his hand, he moved Karthik away from himself while he was airborne. The resultant impact made Karthik land several feet away on the ground, injuring him, but Karthik was not worried about it. Instead, he got up again and jumped as high as he can, while moving both swords in a circular direction.

This time, the demon tried to move away, but the rotating tip of the sharp sword took the cut. As Karthik landed on the demon’s shoulder, rather than standing there, he used the velocity to further jump away while still moving the swords. The tips sliced the skin on the demon’s shoulders and as Karthik landed behind him, he stabbed the demon multiple times on the back, creating multiple wounds.

The demon turned and laughed. Karthik observed the wounds getting healed automatically.

“Don’t you remember the boon?” The demon said as he fired multiple fireballs toward Karthik. He quickly dodged them, but one of them hit him straight on his legs, sending him airborne.

“You may have lost your powers, but I must say your mind is misdirected and you are worthless…!” The demon said as he continued firing multiple fireballs towards Karthik, while he was still airborne. The balls came with huge impounding force, crushing him with enormous force. He was thrown straight on the ground, and the impact made him lose grip of the swords.

Before he could get up, two monsters came and kicked the swords away from him. He had multiple injuries on his body, but rather than giving up, he still jumped and attacked the demon, but everything went in vain. The demon waved his huge hand & brushed away Karthik like a small worm. Karthik landed on the ground, but before he could get up, the demon kicked him hard. The resultant impact crushed his bones.

Karthik felt immense pain in many parts of his body, but he had no energy to get up. As his eyes closed, all he could hear was the demon laughing.

Slowly, Karthik opened his eyes.

Am I alive? Where am I?

He tried to get up, but the pain slashed like needles all over his body. He winced in pain.

“Sleep, for that is what you need at this time. Your body & mind, both of them need rest.” He heard someone say. With great difficulty, he moved his head and saw an old Sage, sitting next to a bonfire. He was inside a cave, for he felt a bit cold.

Slowly, he began to feel his body. He could feel the bandages applied all over his wounds.

“Where am I? How did I come here?” He asked the old sage.

“You were lying injured on the battlefield. VritraRakshas had dominated entirely over you, and your failure was prominent because, without your powers, you are a mortal being.” The sage answered.

“You know who I am?” Surprised, Karthik asked with great effort, trying to avoid the pain.

“Of course, the Divine Son of AgniDev. For displaying ridiculous efforts of your leadership some eons ago, you were removed from the heavens and sent here. And again, your arrogance and inappropriate actions brought you only defeat.”

“But what could I have done, Maharishi? He was slaying innocent people, slaughtering women who were only protecting their Realm and the Divine Tree from going into the wrong hands.”

“The Divine One, your efforts couldn’t save the tree from going into the hands of that demon. You did your duty as a war front warrior, but that was not because you saw the evil deeds of the Demon army during the war. Your attack on the Rakshas was only to quench your hunger for revenge on him, to remove your anger on the mighty powerful demon is what forced you to go ahead with your unrequired actions, and that’s what made you bear the consequences.” The Sage explained in a very silent and deep voice.

“But I had no choice…! As a commander, as a leader, how could I let anything of this type happen to those people who were only trying to protect their Realm?”

The old sage smiled. It was the most pleasant smile Karthik had ever seen.

"Then should I ask, why didn't you fight with the demons of his army? Why didn't you stop them from torturing the innocent ones of this realm? You knew that the attack was not planned by King Mahiraavan. You could have led the attack from the forefront, and with this act, you could have stopped the onslaught, not totally but a small part of it. Since your good self didn't take the initiative to do it, this clearly meant what was on your mind, the divine son of AgniDev."

Karthik realized what the old sage said was true. It was only his revenge and his act of vengeance that had caused this to happen.

He could feel the pain in all of his bones, for now, the healing powers inside his body did not exist.

"So what should I do? I have no idea what or how should I proceed." Karthik questioned the old man.

The Sage smiled again.

"Let your mind rest. You will soon find the right path yourself." Saying this, the old man closed his eyes and went into deep meditation.

The next day, Karthik woke up after a long, sleep.

The sage had gone into the forest, to collect food and drinks for the day.

As he sat up, his mind was full of thoughts of yesterday.

After the sage came back, Karthik asked him, "But what should we fight for? The tree is already under the possession of the demon. Now, he can control everything and everyone else."

"No one knows this, but the Kalpavriksh carries a secret. Even if you are under its control, there is a holy ritual, wherein you will have to please the tree to obey and grant what you wish for. The best offering is the divine Periwinkle flowers of the Parijatak tree in Bhoghvatika. The tree will only make your wish come true if it finds that the wish is for the betterment of this cosmos." The old sage answered while keeping all the woods and water in one corner.

"So that means, I have some time."

"Of course, but from my knowledge, I cannot say how much."

"What would you suggest?"

On hearing his answer, the sage smiled.

"Every living being in this Universe has been possessive about some other thing, the thing which he doesn't intend to lose at any cost, for that will disturb his own conscience. In a similar way, the demon whom you are about to fight with, does have some weakness. "

"And, what can it be, dear Gurudev?" Karthik had now realized that the old sage was no ordinary person.

"Interpret upon it by yourself, great warrior, for everything is present in the Human Mind. The divine being, the only being from whose thoughts is this Universe being manifested and continuously growing, has already given all the solutions in the Brain. You just have to seek it, and you will be blessed with the findings." Saying this, Gurudev closed his eyes.

Karthik sat down and meditated for some time.

What could be his weakness? I

He closed his eyes and focussed.

For a few minutes, he thought of nothing.

Slowly, his mind cooled down, and all the thoughts of hatred, revenge, and vengeance, went away.

He stayed in this state for a while, not thinking about anything.

He slowly opened his eyes, only to see Gurudev still deep in meditation. Coming out of the cave, with most of his body still in pain, he came and stood, watching the nature around him.

The cave was on a mountaintop, with the backdrop of the cities below. Even though everything appeared silent, there was a lot of turmoil going on in various parts of the city. Many of the demon’s soldiers were capturing cities & towns of the Realm.

"Did you find out what you were seeking?" Gurudev came and asked him.

Karthik didn't reply to anything.

In the next few days, slowly Karthik started healing. The wounds on his body did heal, but somehow his mind was still disturbed.

"Calm your mind, for that is the biggest weapon one can yield, and using that, you can defeat anyone and anything in this Universe," Gurudev answered him when he asked about it.

After a few days, Karthik was healed. With medicinal herbs for his body and continuous meditation for his mind, he was now physically and mentally fit, ready to take on anything.

"Bless me, O Gurudev, for the path that I am leading, may not be the right one, but that's the only way I could stop the demon." Karthik sought blessings from the person who had trained him so much.

"Yashasvi Bhav. And could be your next step, for may I ask?"

"I'll follow my gut feelings; my mind clearly knows what is right in a way. My aim Gurudev isn't to defeat the demon or to kill him, but to stop him from getting the divine tree, for that can be the most important thing with which can think of some way to stop him. Whether or not, I'll manage to kill him, it’s not essential, however, I would rather hammer his weaknesses, which will ultimately break him down, compelling him to make mistakes, because he would always want to save the things he intends to do so. "

"It means you have learned the true meaning of a warrior."

"I am still learning. Pranaam. Accept my greetings."

"May you be successful in what you seek and in what you do." Gurudev blessed him.

Karthik started to meet King Mahiraavan. After horse riding for 2 full days, he finally reached the huge palace of the king.

Disguised as a traveler, he managed to sweep inside. The entire palace was guarded by The demon soldiers. Not a single mortal soldier was present. All of them were either converted or imprisoned inside cells.

Hiding behind the pillars and other areas, he finally reached the royal chambers of the king, the same chamber where he had summoned him to meet a few days ago. It was night-time, and all of them had retired into their chambers.

"But I cannot help you in any way...!! The demon has Kalpavriksh, and sooner or later, he will get it under his control. Once that happens, he will control the whole universe." The King was unable to help him in any way.

"I know he has only taken the tree, but it will require a lot of rituals and penance to actually let the divine tree grant your wishes, for it knows the right thing whenever demand is put forth. We still have time before the tree actually comes under the control of the demon. In the meantime, I ask you to help me. Rather than directly attacking him, we will attack and win all of the cities that he has captured till now."

"But I don't have any army left...! Besides, how will this ever help?"

"The demon is very protective about all of his cities. Once we acquire his cities, he will slowly start getting weak, because he is generating his army by converting innocent people into orcs and demons by terrorizing people. If we are able to break this chain, he won't have any army for his help. And for this, I require your help. Give me 7 of your most powerful warriors, who have always helped you win all the wars. With their help, I can win all of the lost cities. I had seen them fighting in the war of....... ..... I need them to stop this demon. "

"Take an army of 700 of the best men that I have. Because, if you want to defend the......"

"It's better to have the help of 7 lions, rather than being defended by 700 sheep," Karthik said.

King Mahiraavan agreed and gave him seven of his best warriors, whose names were: Nidheesh, Antak, Amaresh, Kumar, Ishan, Pavan, and Nirruti.

"We are on a very dangerous mission. There are chances we may not survive after fighting the mighty demon. We are just mortals, unlike him. I am not doing this because I am seeking vengeance on him. I am doing this because I don't want the divine tree to be gone into the wrong hands. The demon wants this tree so that he will wish to have control of all the seven levels of Pataal. Together, we will do all that we can to stop the evil demon from laying his hands on the holy tree...!" Karthik assembled all of them and have an exhilarating speech.

"Great warrior, we have time till the tree fully comes under the control of the demon," Antak said.

"That’s right, and we shall utilize the time to get the demon down...!" Pavan banged his Scythe on the ground and said.

"Har Har Mahadev...! Har har Mahadev...!!" All of them screamed in unison and rode their horses.

First, they attacked the land of Mainaka, situated on a holy mountain, which was captured by the demon. Displaying a wonderful act of valor, all 8 of them fought with a huge army of more than 10,000 monsters and powerful orcs.

The army of 8 proceeded toward the city of Gyangunj.

Slowly, within a few days, except the capital of the VritraRakshas, every city was under the influence of Karthik and his seven warriors. The news soon went into the ears of the demon King, VritraRakshas. He was busy with the rituals for the tree when all this news came to him.

"And what was the guardian army doing all this time, should I ask? For what purpose were all the officials placed there if not for protecting and guarding what was already acquired?" The Demon king blasted in his court.

"But emperor, you were indulged in the penance for the tree. How could anyone of us dare to disturb you?" One of the officials said.

"What is the job of all you so-called great warriors if I, as the supreme emperor, am forced to do all your work? What is the type of force that I have who cannot even fight 7 mortal warriors? " The Demon Emperor was furious over his defeat, "Gather all the army. Call upon the army of the dead. No one can fight them, and they are the only ones who can easily stop those seven warriors."

"Even though we have won most of the capitals, winning this city is far from a possibility for us. Because this is the most heavily guarded city in the entire Realm." Pavan said as all of them sat down to discuss the strategy for stopping the mighty demon king.

"But how do we stop the divine tree from going into the control of the demon?" Kumar asked.

"Ain't we judging our own way of fighting? Ain't we being untruthful to ourselves by doing this? What's the use of all the power we have if we can't fight and win over a meager demon?" Antak questioned, with pride in his voice.

"What you say is right, brethren, for our fighting skills have improved a lot. But understand the valor and power of the demon. He is unruly much bigger and much more powerful than us, and we mortals cannot fight the mighty evil demon merely with weapons."

"So how do we defeat him?" Ishan asked.

All the other warriors were discussing the attack, but Karthik was thinking something totally different.

"Guys, I have a wild idea. When I was banished from the heavens and when I was pushed down here, for me, it was just a few minutes, but in reality, it was eons. By the time I landed in this Realm, a few more eons had passed. This means, that. If. I can travel from present to future in a few minutes.... "

"You can also travel from present to past in a few minutes," Nidheesh answered.

"Exactly, but how?" Kumar questioned, who was still listening.

"I'll plead to the tree. Remember, this tree has been granting wishes for all the gods." Karthik instantly had an answer.

"But no mortal has ever prayed to the tree. And you're a mortal now." Ishan reminded him.

"I know that, but let's take a chance. Let's see what happens if we pray to the tree. I'll get myself to travel a few days back in the battle where I got injured. For me, defeating this demon is always important."

"But how will you stop the fight? What will you do by traveling in the past?" Kumar asked him.

"The best that I can do, is to warn the King about this potential attack. In this way, he would prepare, plan and have a strategy to stop the demon." Karthik replied with a clear picture.

"But what if the king is still not able to stop him? And moreover, the tree is heavily guarded by his soldiers." Kumar questioned.

"Let's only focus on what we want. Let us assume that everything will go as per our plan. Today, after the sun sets, we'll quietly sneak in, and pray in front of the tree." Karthik said.

As planned, that night, after the whole city slept, Karthik along with his warriors, slowly approached the hill where the tree was placed.

"There it is," Ishan said, pointing at the tree

Kalpavriksh was atop a mountain, with nice gardens surrounding it, and even from this distance, it looked beautiful. With golden and silver colored branches, perched with beautiful leaves, it had various colored flowers blooming all over its branches. Even from this distance, it looked huge, with a big stem that rose atop from the base.

As assumed, the entire complex was guarded by huge demonic soldiers.

"It is difficult to move towards the tree with all these around," Kumar said.

"I have a plan," Karthik said & explained his idea to all of them.

To create a distraction, three of them attacked the soldiers from one side, and the other three from the other side. A huge fight emerged, and taking advantage of the distraction, Karthik sneaked inside the Garden complex & quickly crossed all of them, directly approaching the tree.

As he came nearer, a sweet smell filled his nose, and he realized it was coming from the flowers blooming on the tree's branches. It was enormous in size, and much taller than it looked from afar.

Karthik quickly went and sat in front of the tree. Folding his hands, he closed his eyes & prayed:

"Oh great tree, it is known to all that you emerged out during the Samudra Manthan that happened between the devas & the daanavas. Since the start of this Universe, you grant wishes to whoever who comes to you. I don't know how capable I am to sit in front of you. Even though being a banished son of Agni, I know that I shouldn't ask for it, but I need to go back in time before the war in which I was injured started, so that I can alert the great King Mahiraavan of the war that will happen, and he can subsequently be aware of the dangers that he had to face."

After finishing the prayer, Karthik waited, but nothing happened.

He was about to get up when suddenly, he heard a gentle voice speak in his head:

"Use the portal that will be formed behind the tree and travel back in time. Give this weapon to the desired person."

The voice stopped.

Karthik opened his eyes and saw a huge Golden Mace, similar to the one in the hands of King Mahiraavan, kept next to him.

Whom am I supposed to give this? 

"Karthik, whatever you are doing, hurry up. VritraRakshas is sending more demons to stop us...!" Antak screamed from behind. Karthik turned & saw a huge fleet of soldiers approaching in his direction.

VritraRakshas came to know of his plans.

Quickly, Karthik got up and ran toward the rear end of the tree. To distract the incoming soldiers, he quickly picked up a fallen Red Mask and Red amulets. Wearing the Mask around his face & amulets in his hands, he ran towards the back of the tree.

As was told to him, he saw a huge circular glowing sphere, behind the huge stem of the tree.

"Hurry Up Karthik...! Run fast, we will cover you...!" Nidheesh screamed from behind as more soldiers attacked them.

Carrying the Golden Mace in his hands, Karthik jumped inside the portal.

The next moment, he felt himself floating around in a huge glowing sphere. In an instant, he landed in a green forest.

Where am I?

This certainly didn't look like the battleground where he was injured. There was a strange silence here.

Abruptly he heard the Warcry of someone. He turned and saw a huge guy, wearing battle armor, but his face clearly visible, running towards the other end of the forest.

Karthik recognized him at once.

He was the Great King Vishrava, the honorable father and ruler of -

Wait.

He was ruling this Realm many eons ago, much before Karthik could anticipate.

That means, am I in the past? Am I in some other war? But how is this possible? I was supposed to go where the battle was happening.

As the soldiers ran past him, The Great King Vishrava glanced at Karthik & stopped. He eyed the fellow standing in front of him. The Great King was tall, huge in size, and had penetrating eyes, just like his son, King Mahiraavan.

“Who are you?” The Great King asked.

And then, Karthik, the divine son of AgniDev, realized that it was Him who had given this Mace to the Great King Vishrava. It was he who had started this timeline. He never knew what had happened in the Real Timeline, but now, he knew that he was special, for the Gods had selected him to change the course of time in the past.

Someone Really Special, to whom the Gods, through the medium of the Tree, had sent him back here.

“It’s not important who I am, but I am here to give you this. Use this Mace to fight the demon King VritraRakshas, and remember, attack his weakness. Use your warrior mind and play with his mindset. Protect the Kalpavriksh, as every living being, whether human, God, or demon, does have a weakness. And that is how you can defeat him.”

Before Karthik could tell him about the penance that the demon had done & achieved his powers, the Great King asked, “Brother, is this your weapon, your Mace that you are giving me? I ask this because this Mace fits perfectly in your hand. It was as if this was made for you.”

Before Karthik could say anything, a huge fireball came around him, and he was lifted into the air. While he was anticipating the conversation that happened, suddenly he saw someone draped in half-warrior clothes approaching from the other end.

Who’s inside the fireball?

Fearing it to be the Demon’s soldiers, Karthik pushed him away with full force.

And now, he realized that it was Him who had pushed himself away, possibly while floating in the equilibrium, to another timeline, the time he came from.

The next instant, he was back near the tree, exactly from where he had started.

“Why didn’t you go where you were told to?” Ishan asked him, as he kicked away two monsters.

“I traveled and just came back,” Karthik said, still in a trance.

“What? How is it possible? You just went through some glowing thing, and the next instant, you jumped out. Did you ever go back in time?” Ishan asked again.

“Yes, and I did make a huge change in the timeline.”

“What change? We are still fighting these idiots…!” Ishan said, as he further pushed away some soldiers.

Somehow, the seven warriors along with Karthik escaped the fight and met King Mahiraavan. He was surprised at all of this and realized all this had happened for a reason.

“It means that you are special. The Three Great Gods knew that you were capable of winning this war, and that’s the reason they appointed you for this. I am ready to support you. Whatever is left of my mighty army and the people after the battle of Brahmavarta, we will all help you to attack that VritraRakshas, and together, we shall kill him….! You will lead all of us in this war…!” Saying this, the Great King VritraRakshas bowed down in front of Karthik. The seven warriors followed the Great King and bowed down in honor of Karthik, their new leader.

That night, Karthik called up an immediate meeting with all the ministers of Great King Mahiraavan.

“We are always ready to attack the demon, Great Leader, for he was the one who destroyed our families…! Tell us your strategy for the war. We will all follow your orders….!”

“OK. Now listen carefully. According to what I know, VritraRakshas is going to attack the city of Bhoghvatika, the city where the periwinkle tree exists. This is the only tree in all three lokas whose flowers are used as an offering to the Divine Kalpavriksh tree. And these have to be offered during the Spring Time itself. He will have to cross the huge island of Plaksadvip which is surrounded by water on all sides.” Karthik explained the scenarios and then explained his strategy and the warcraft to all the ministers, including the 7 warriors. Everybody agreed to his ideas and started their preparations for the next day.

That night, Karthik folded his hands and went into deep meditation. He remembered his father, the mighty lord AgniDev and sought his blessings:

” Dear father, tomorrow, at the onset of dawn, we are going to attack the evil demon VritraRakshas and his army. I did not stand up to my expectations of protecting the Power of Fire. I did not stand up to my leadership qualities in the important battle that was fought, and I did lose all of my Powers, but I will save the Divine Tree from falling into the hands of the Demon, and I will do that with whatever weapons and army that I have, even if I have to lay down my life while trying to do it. Bless me, oh god of Fire & Lightning, for let me save the tree and this Entire Universe from going into the wrong hands.”

High up in the Devlok, the old lord AgniDev heard his son’s prayers.

“Yashasvi Bhav.” The Lord blessed him and wished him success in the war.

The next day, at the onset of Dawn, the mighty Demon VritraRakshas and his entire army of Orcs, alien-like animals & monsters started towards the city of Bhoghvatika.

As the army reached the center of the huge island of Plaksadvip, in a dense forest, suddenly VritraRakshas felt something. And before he could guess it, a huge array of thousands of razor-sharp arrows rained down from the sky.

“Ambush…! Attack…!” The Demon screamed, and before his army could get ready, another array of arrows rained down, killing multiple soldiers from his army. In an instant, soldiers led by King Mahiraavan attacked from two sides. Rather than approaching the enemy, all of them had bows & arrows made of metal, which could travel far-off distances. The army fired rays of arrows at the Black Army, who were totally unarmed. Monsters tried to defend, but the arrows kept on coming from both sides. Mahiravaan’s army was stationed on another small island next to the forest, separated by water.

VritraRakshas ordered the Orcs, huge in size with metal armor, to attack the archers. Thousands of orcs charged in both directions and started running towards the archers. Within seconds, they kicked away & crushed multiple archers.

Suddenly, a conch was blown and Nidheesh, Antak & Ishan attacked from the other two sides with their respective armies. Rather than attacking with swords, they too had bows & arrows, but the tip of their arrows was ignited with fire. Without warning, all of them fired their arrows in the direction of orcs at once.

And then the orcs realized that the liquid surrounding the island was not water, but had oil mixed in it, which instantly started burning. All the Orcs who were knee-deep inside the water started scorching in fire, and the metal armor couldn’t protect them.

As the demon army defended the attack, suddenly a huge fleet of swordsmen, led by Karthik, attacked from all sides. Kumar, Amaresh, Pavan & Nirruti followed him, slaying down soldiers from the Black army.

Each of the seven warriors was skilled in individual weapons. Together, they started slicing away orcs & monsters from the Black Army. Karthik and Mahiraavan targeted VritraRakshas, who already had taken his stance for the fight.

“Your presence is of no use here, you timid mortal…! Just because you easily established a win in all the Cities of this Realm captured by me doesn’t make you a warrior…for your past is as bad as is your present…!” VritraRakshas said as he attacked Karthik with an array of fireballs.

“I am here to stop you from capturing the tree…! And to do it, you have to fight me…!” Karthik screamed as he defended all the fireballs fired at him. King Mahiraavan used his powerful mace and fought with the demon, while Karthik had two sharp swords, which he was using for attacking.

The demon was two times taller than both of them and equally stronger, but nothing seemed to matter to them. Mahiraavan hit his mace hard on the demon’s head while he was sending fireballs toward Karthik, but the demon dodged it and banged his hand hard on the ground, sending vibrations in all directions. The ground shattered, sending Karthik & Mahiraavan both off balance. The demon took this opportunity and jumped high up in the air toward Karthik while raising both his hands. He was about to smash Karthik’s head when Mahiraavan threw his Mace towards the Demon, which caught him off balance and hit him hard on his head. The demon fell down, and Karthik seized this opportunity. Bellowing loudly, he jumped and pierced his swords straight into the Demon’s eyes.

In the next second, both eyes grew back.

“Thought you can kill me with that meager weapon, the banished son of AgniDev…!” the demon burst out in laughter. Mahiraavan lifted his Mace and hit him straight in his legs, and before the Demon could dodge, the King hit him in his stomach, but nothing happened. Even though the King’s mace was one of the heaviest weapons on earth, which could easily crush a mortal’s bones in a single blow, it was absolutely ineffective on the demon.

“I have read in the legends that this weapon can create Lightning, but it won’t happen in my hands, because I am a mortal. Only the Divine Son of a God could yield lightning through this, but this weapon will only do it if it wishes to.” King Mahiraavan told Karthik.

“But how do we stop him?” Karthik said as the Demon ignored both of them and went in the direction of Bhoghvatika.

“Let's keep trying, as that is the best we can do.” King Mahiraavan said. Both of them ran in the direction of VritraRakshas, with the intention of stopping him.

“Stay away from this, both you mortals, for you will never know the true meaning of being powerful…!” The demon said as he moved his powerful hand in their direction. Karthik saw it & dodged, but his hand hit Mahiraavan straight on his neck with tremendous force. The huge impact sent the mortal King airborne. Before he could recover, the demon quickly turned and kicked the king in his chest, while he was still airborne. In anger, he quickly moved his hand towards Karthik, but he moved away.

“This is the result when the most powerful Asur in the Universe is stopped by foolish & powerless mortals…!” VritraRakshas said as he proceeded ahead, without even looking back.

Karthik threw his weapons and ran toward the badly injured King.

“Your Majesty…!” Karthik said as he lifted the King. His neck was badly bruised, paralyzing him from one side, and his entire abdomen and chest were filled with wounds. His metal armor was crushed in multiple places, and he was finding it difficult to move his body.

“Your Majesty, are you OK?”

“I…I don’t…think …so….” King Mahiraavan said with great difficulty, “My….time has…come…”

“No…No…..You cannot…”

King Mahiraavan stopped Karthik from speaking & said, “You have the power. Take my weapon and use it. Remember that you are the son of a God, and the Divine Power of lightning will come to you at the right time.” Saying this, the King collapsed.

Karthik got angry and lifting the Huge mace, he ran behind the demon.

“I won’t let you reach the tree…!” Saying this, with tremendous speed, he rammed the front part of the mace straight into the demon’s back. His bones crushed making an enormous sound, and without giving him time to recover, Karthik sprang up and hit the mace in the demon’s head. While still airborne, he hit the mace straight into the demon’s chest, sending him down on the ground. Before Karthik could hit, the demon sent a fireball toward him, which hit Karthik straight on his face. The impact caught Karthik unattended, and he was tossed up in the air. Before he could land on the ground, the demon lifted a huge boulder and threw it toward Karthik.

With that impact, Karthik landed hard on the ground, his mace flung away from him. The demon sprinted and kicked him away with full force. The resultant force sent Karthik high up in the air, and he landed head-first on the ground.

“I had informed you of the power I behold and had told you to stay away, but still you pondered in between with the mortal mind of yours, so bear the consequences….!” VritraRakshas bellowed in anger and again kicked Karthik away.

Nidheesh, Antak, Kumar, and the others saw Karthik landing in the water. Both their leaders were dead. Seeing this, all the orcs, alien-like creatures, and monsters from the army joyfully screamed their victory in unison.

“Entrap all of them who are alive. Make them a part of our army, and those who don’t listen, kill them.” VritraRakshas instructed his ministers.

The seven warriors had no option but to watch the loss of their army.

High up in the Devlok, Lord AgniDev was arguing with the three Great Gods.

“He has proved himself now, he fought for the well-being of this Universe, he gave his life for protecting all the living beings in this Universe…! What more do you want?”

“He did his part and sacrificed himself.” Lord Mahadev said.

“And what about the tree, you want that to go in his hands? Who will protect us? You clearly know the consequences if it goes into the wrong hands…!”

“We know that, and the demon will be stopped….”

“How? Who will stop him?”

All three gods were silent. No one knew the answer.

Finally, Lord AgniDev spoke up, “I had been given two boons after the rigorous penance I did. We all know I had used only one boon. There is a second one still remaining.”

“What do you want?” Lord Brahma asked.

Cheering their Demon King’s name, the entire Black army crossed the lake and entered the Bhoghvatika. Only a handful of soldiers and the seven warriors from King Mahiraavan’s army were left, and they were being taken as prisoners.

VritraRakshas was delighted, for he knew that offering these flowers to Kalpavriksh will force the tree to listen to his wishes.

Suddenly, there was a huge flash of lightning. And what followed was a terrible, deafening sound of thunder. The entire Black army stopped in their tracks since this was the first time they had seen lightning & heard thunder. The flashes kept on coming, and the thunderous sound kept getting louder, piercing the eardrums of all the monsters and orcs, who were not used to sounds.

VritraRakshas turned and saw the lightning coming somewhere from within the lake. There was another flash, and the next instant, someone rose from the lake, dressed in Gold armor, holding a huge Golden colored Mace in his hands.

It was Karthik.

The son of Lord AgniDev.

At once, all seven warriors screamed with joy.

“Har Har Mahadev…. Har Har Mahadev…!” the seven warriors rejoiced. With lightning speed, Karthik dashed toward the black army, sending flashes of lightning. He was shining like a big ball of fire, and was moving so fast; it was impossible for anyone to stop him. Within seconds, the entire Black army was engulfed in flames.

Karthik landed in front of the Seven Warriors.

“We know that many innocent people had participated in the army. Treat the ones who are alive. This demon is now in my hands.”

“But brother, how will you kill him?” Ishan questioned, knowing about the powers of the Demon.

Karthik just smiled and flew straight toward the demon, who was desperately trying to save his army.

Without giving him a chance to attack, Karthik sent huge thunderbolts straight toward the Demon. The deafening sounds of thunder were so loud, every mortal present on the island shielded his ears. VritraRakshas defended every lightning bolt easily.

“You think the powers bestowed upon you are much higher than mine, you mortal? Those are of no use to you, for they cannot kill me in any way…!” VritraRakshas laughed at Karthik.

“Don’t you remember your boon? It clearly says that you cannot be killed at any time during the day or night, at any place on earth or water, and by no weapon in this Universe. But there is something that you don’t know.” Saying this, Karthik continued to send Thunderbolts towards the demon. Each thunderbolt suddenly reduced the air pressure around, and the result was it caused the air to burst, creating a deafening sound. Karthik kept sending thunderbolts, which created huge explosive sounds. At first, the demon defended himself, however, the increasing wavelengths of the sound waves slowly started hammering his body. As per his boon, only the injuries caused by any weapon could be healed, but the sound was no weapon.

Also, the Rakshas observed that it was dusk, no day or no night, and he was standing at the edge of the lake, not in water or land.

“Did you see where your powers lacked? You only asked for powers, but failed to ask for a thoughtful mind…!” Karthik said as he kept sending thunderbolts.

Slowly, the demon’s skin started tearing apart due to the energy of the sound. His bones started cracking, his organs started failing. As the sound waves due to the air bursting around kept on coming, VritraRakshas tried to flee, but his bones cracked, and he fell on the marsh, slippery land in between the lake shore and the water.

As soon as Karthik realized the demon had fallen, he attacked him with his mace. Quickly, he hit him at multiple locations across his body. Even though mace was a weapon, the demon’s body had gone pretty weak, and his boons could no longer heal him. Karthik continued to hit crushing blows of mace on the demon’s head & chest, without letting him get up.

Finally, the demon collapsed. His entire black army was reduced to flames. Karthik flew high up in the air & gathering all the power, sent a huge bolt of lightning towards the already injured demon, who couldn’t sustain the blow. His whole skin was charred and turned black in an instant.

Karthik flew down and stood next to the dying demon.

“I realize my mistake, dear son of Lord AgniDev.” Folding his hands, the demon prayed.

“You should have realized that Good always wins over Evil. Light always wins over Darkness. You could have used your powers for the betterment of the Universe, but you choose the wrong path instead. That’s what has cost you your life.” Karthik answered.

“I have realized my mistake, dear Lord. Before I lay down my life, I give you the Power of Fire, and I hereby plead that whatever is offered into the fire will be consumed by it and will go upwards to the gods, to the sky and heavens. Let Fire be an integral part of all the holy rituals conducted anywhere in this Universe. Let it be a symbol of prosperity, wealth, and long, fruitful life to all the mortals in this Universe. Let it be associated with light and serve as a path of knowledge toward the righteous things. Let Fire be a symbol of purity and strength so that all the mortals can burn their ego, enmity, greed, lust, hatred, and lies in it, which will purify their hearts & mind & lead them to the path of enlightenment. Let Fire be a mode of transfer of energies from the Spiritual mind to the mental mind, and let it be a mode of energy transfer and a carrier of positivity across any point in the Universe.”

“Tathastu,” Karthik said.

The demon smiled weakly and closed his eyes. Immediately, Karthik felt a sudden energy burst inside his body. He now had the Power of Fire, the most divine weapon in the entire Universe.

Karthik folded his hands and prayed to the death Demon. Instantly, the demon’s body was on fire.

The seven warriors came running to their leader.

“So you got your powers back, Gurudev,” Nirruti said.

“He calls us the seven warriors, but he is the first warrior, The First Fighter.”

All seven of them bowed down to their leader.

Karthik was then called upon in Devlok, where he was appreciated for the work he did. He also appealed to them to make Makardhwaja, his son, as the ruler of the NetherRealm, to which the gods agreed. When asked by Lord Brahma for a boon, he requested that he, along with the 7 warriors be allotted the protectors of 8 different directions of the Universe.

His wish was granted.

Nidheesh was granted as the God of Fortune and was made the Guardian of the North or the Uttar Direction.

Antak was granted as the God of Justice & Death and was made the Guardian of the South or the Dakshin Direction.

Amaresh was crowned the King of all Gods and was made the Guardian of the East or the Purva Direction.

Kumar was crowned as the God of Seas, Oceans & Rains and was made the Guardian of the West or the Paschim Direction.

Ishaan was crowned the God of Birth and was made the Guardian of the Northeast or Ishanya Direction.

Pavan was crowned the God of Air and was made the Guardian of the North-west or Vayavya Direction.

Nirruti was crowned as the God of Sorrow & Decay and was made the Guardian of the Southwest or the Nairṛtya Direction.

And lastly, Karthik was given the Power of Fire and was made the Guardian of the Southeast or the Agneya Direction.

Later on, AgniDev met his son, after many eons.

“So you finally found the right path.” He asked Karthik.

“Yes. When my father is always there to guide me in the right direction. Even though you had disguised yourself as an old man, I still knew it was you.”

“I came there as an old sage because I knew you had greatness within yourself. A true warrior is not known by how many battles he won but by how good a leader he was.”

Today, even after so many centuries, it is said that the 8 guardians still protect the Universe from all the negative powers.

THE END