The Ultimate Divine Force

"Om, Namah Shivaya! Om, Namah Shivaya! Om, Namah Shivaya! Om, Namah Shivaya! " Adithyanath, the Mangala empire king had been engrossed in deep meditation inside the Shiva temple. The glittering aura of the divine energy seemed to have stirred his soul. Nothing inside the temple or the outside noise could disrupt his powerful concentration on the diety.

Being an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, he always sought the Lord's blessings before performing any task. Everybody felt safe and protected under his valiant rule. He always put the welfare of people first which earned him a lot of praise. He had a wife named Banumati and a sixteen-year-old son Maheshwar. Keshavnath and Loknath were his younger brothers who were married to Akileshwari and Anasooya respectively. Keshavnath had a strong desire to ascend the throne but he knew it wouldn't be possible as long as Adithyanath and his son are alive. He always racked up his brains to come up with a plan to get rid of them. On other hand, Loknath was very polite and respectful towards the king and especially the courtiers hailed his demeanour.

Adithyanath came out of the consecrated temple only to see the people cheering him. He bowed his head in respect and the people reciprocated the same. The love and popularity he deservedly enjoyed in the empire were on another level altogether. 

The clouds made way for the sun to manifest its aura while the birds perked on the branches of the tree to enjoy their morning conversations. The stubborn wind blew across the kingdom augmenting its control over the place while the people feasted on the morning breakfast to gain sufficient power to start the day. Adithyanath's minister, Virupaksha, looked perturbed upon reading the letter which was sent by their neighbour king, Virata, the Triloka warrior. He handed over the letter to the king. The King scrolled his eyeballs from top to bottom and realized that the war was imminent and the onus was on him to spearhead the attack. He gestured to his minister to make necessary arrangements to kick start the war since there was no other option. The soldiers, ammunition, and animals formed an integral part of the war. Would the king excel in his endeavour to defeat his neighbours or will he lose the battle thereby losing his empire? No one wanted to see the Mangala empire crumble because it had a vast history behind it and had never been usurped by its enemies. Now the neighbours had turned into enemies and they are on a desperate mission to usurp the Mangala empire. Keshavnath felt the war was the right opportunity for him to resort to some devious means to get rid of the king. 

The inevitable war began against the backdrop of a large number of soldiers and animals. Soldiers from both sides fought gallantly with the sole intention to win the war for their sides. The bloodbath materialized in the battleground as both sides fought tooth and nail to win the ugly war. Adithyanath looked unstoppable in his endeavour to wipe out the Virata empire while his brothers also gave a tough fight against the enemies. The behemoth elephants stomped on soldiers; the swing of the sword slicing the neck of warriors, and horses running helter-skelter, this was an insane war embedded with courage and brutality. Now the tussle between the kings was inevitable. Adithyanath was accompanied by his brother Loknath whereas Virata was flanked by his brothers. They decided to jump out of their horses and involve themselves in physical combat. They dragged themselves off the battleground into a deserted area. They put on a classic fight by exhibiting their incredible combat skills and the Mangala empire king was too hot to handle. He managed to brave the storm by pulverizing his enemies but what awaited him next was unthinkable. A sword from behind entered his spine and protruded out in the front to compel him to eject blood out of his mouth. His eyes widened in disbelief when he spun back unable to usher in the betrayal. The same brother who deeply respected him and cheered him had just turned rogue donning a wicked smile on his face. Adithyanath fell as his knees buckled under pressure. The clear image of his brother who had a smirk on his face blurred out as he closed his eyes and breathed his last. Loknath looked around to see if someone had witnessed his treacherous act but there was no one around which made him laugh like a psychopath.

"Let me shed some crocodile tears to my beloved brother. I am very happy to miss you. I always desired to be the face of the Mangala empire but you came in my way and paid a hefty price," he said. "I don't give a damn about brotherhood and I pretended to be a nice guy to earn respect from everyone so that I could silently murder you and silently earn your place."

The Mangala empire triumphed over the Virata empire but at the expense of their well-respected king, Adithyanath. Loknath materialized in front of the palace latching on to the dead body of his brother which sent shivers down the spine of people. Banumati and Maheshwar looked inconsolable following the king's death. No one had predicted the tragic loss of the most valuable person in the Mangala empire. In the eyes of the people, Loknath was still a hero but the reality was shrouded.

" I will perform the final rituals of my dear brother with a heavy heart. He fought like a warrior on the battleground but in the end, the enemies stabbed him from behind. Unable to see the brutal death of my brother, I turned bonkers and massacred the enemies. I would like to dedicate this victory to my late brother. His heroics and his virtuosity will forever be etched in our memory. Let his divine soul rest in peace. We will have to strengthen our souls and continue the engagements of the kingdom," Loknath said.

"According to the rules made by our ancestors, when the current king dies and at that time if his son crosses the age of eighteen then he will earn the right to be the king's successor," the minister proclaimed.

Maheshwar had turned eighteen and everybody gave their nod to see the teenager ascend the throne.

Loknath who was pretending to be in a sad mood was taken aback upon hearing those shocking words and sulked from inside. Since he had a good image in the empire, he thought he would be made the king but the sudden turn of events enraged him to the core. His next target was Maheshwar and Banumati who were now impediments in his path to occupy the royal throne. To continue to maintain a good image he had to accept the minister's verdict with a fake smile. Even his wife Anasooya sulked because she wanted to be the main queen of the palace. He and his wife had conspired to eliminate the king before the war itself so that they could get promoted as the king and the queen thereby enjoying the luxuries offered by the palace. Being privy to the treacherous murder, she cajoled her husband to snub out the lives of Maheshwar and Banumati. 

Anasooya injected poison into the food which was served to Banumati and Maheshwar. Her modus operandi to kill them worked to perfection as the mother and son couldn't cope with the squirming poison inside their stomach. Anasooya peeked through the window to derive sadistic pleasure to see the mother and son squirming in pain unable to even utter a word. Maheshwar who was supposed to ascend the throne the very next day, unfortunately, couldn't even start his stint.

"I couldn't grapple with the death of my brother and now to see my nephew and sister-in-law die as this causes me enormous pain. Whoever is responsible for this must not be spared at any cost. Someone is trying to destroy the Mangala empire and I will not let them succeed in their evil plan. I will rule the kingdom and ensure the safety and protection of every individual in my empire." Loknath curiously waited for his courtier's approval.

His joy knew bounds when the courtiers agreed to see him as their new flag bearer. Anasooya secretly jumped into Banumati's room and draped her diamond necklaces around her neck and smiled in front of the mirror. The husband-wife duo had brought their master plan into action and it just fell in place. They were waiting for the moment to become king and queen and once they officially ascend the throne then they can remove their camouflage and flaunt their true colours.

"With effective from tomorrow, Loknath and Anasooya will officially become the king and queen respectively," The official pronouncement was made by the minister. Keshavnath, who was a silent spectator all this while decided to try his luck. He was the only one who witnessed Loknath killing his brother and also had seen in his very own eyes, Anasooya poisoning the food. He decided to confront his elder brother before the latter would officially be pronounced as the new Mangala empire king. When the new would-be king and queen were having a happy conversation in a secluded place, he gave a visit.

"Would you love to listen to the gripping tale which would spin your head?" he asked.

"What is that?" Loknath looked surprised.

"I saw a gentleman who had earned a lot of praise from the people doing something which doesn't suit him. Congratulations! You finished the onerous task with relative ease."

"Don't beat around the bush. Come to the point?" Anasooya gritted her teeth.

"You killed Adithyanath by stabbing him from behind and you think no one had witnessed the murder and you can easily get away with it," he said staring at his brother.

The shocked countenance of Loknath embedded with jittery was a testament to his growing fear.

"And your wife poisoned the food of Maheshwar and Banumati. Imagine your plight if I reveal this secret in front of everyone. You will have nowhere to hide."

"What is your expectation?" Loknath asked.

"I always dreamt of being the king so you have to sacrifice that post for me and Anasooya should make way for my wife," he demanded.

"We will give you a royal post and ensure that you live a luxurious life. Please do not steal this coveted post from me," Loknath said.

"You don't have any other option. Yes, can save you from tomorrow's pain and no will force you to drown in the ocean of pain."

Loknath couldn't spiral words out of his mouth as he stood like an electrocuted robot but Keshavnath's joy was short-lived. Like a skilful murderer, Anasooya had quietly stabbed Keshavnath from behind. The blood oozed out of his body and he fell thud on the ground covered in a pool of blood.

"How dare he demand us to vacate the throne?" she licked the blood from the swords and stomped on the dead body's chest.

Her cruel mind chalked out a plan to bid adieu to Keshavnath's wife as well. Subsequently, the demon-minded woman barged into the room wherein Akileshwari was found sleeping, she silently slit her throat to testify to herself that she had no iota compassion or humanity left. 

It seemed like the entire empire was confused and perturbed amidst the silent killing spree which happened behind the scenes. The aftermath of the murders had made the people fear-ridden. There were no celebrations though to invite the new king and queen who silently promised to create hell in the lives of people. It was just a matter of time before the beautiful Mangala empire turned into a gruesome dynasty. The newly appointed king who had enough of playing the nice figure role changed into his evil character. He ordered all men to submit half of their well-earned money into his pocket or else he would behead them. Anasooya demanded every woman to surrender their jewellery to her or else they would be made bald and one of their legs would be chopped off.

"No one can ever defeat me not even God," Loknath proclaimed.

Humanity had become neutralized and inhumanity not only reigned supreme but also looked insurmountable. This ruthless couple had resorted to the most heinous way to accumulate wealth and luxury. They not only misused power but also snatched the happiness of the people who were treated as God by Adithyanath. Loknath ordered his soldiers to demolish his brother's statue and construct his laughing statue in its place. He also went beyond the limits by instructing his men to remove the Shiva temple. He had amassed enough bad karma. When his men tried to demolish Adithyanath's statue which was located next to the Shiva temple, something unprecedented materialized. A huge storm of wind swept them away in a second and a divine light spun out of nowhere. His men ran helter-skelter. Unbelievable events happened in the Mangala empire. The divine light grew in size and transformed into Lord Shiva. Can you believe it? Shiva himself decided to visit the Mangala empire thanks to the good karma accumulated by his devotee, the late Adithyanath. The Almighty was here to teach a lesson to the barbaric couple who were disseminating inhumanity in the divine place. The unbelievable size of Lord Shiva brought the much-needed smiles back on people's faces as they prostrated before the divine force.

"Om, Namah Shivaya! Om, Namah Shivaya! Om, Namah Shivaya! Om, Namah Shivaya!" The divine chants rose to crescendo to render goosebumps. Incredible scenes unfolded. Shiva performed Tandava which was mesmerizing to behold. The pure divine energy reverberated across the empire. Anasooya and Loknath were in shock the moment they saw Lord Shiva. Their arrogance and brutality had lost traction and they looked like cowards with nowhere to hide. They had no option to escape as Lord Shiva ended their menace in the kingdom with his power. He then stood with peace and happiness oozing through his face. People performed pooja with devotion and many cried unable to control their excitement upon seeing the Lord himself. The evil energy no longer controlled the kingdom and the divine energy ruled the Mangala empire. The story ends with Adithyanath enjoying his stay in Brahma Loka and Loknath and Anasooya suffering in hell.