Amara’s eyes followed the strange creature,”Is that the archon who banned all the gods from our world?”
“No, he was an archon of justice and balance. Zarazen is not,” Prahlada said. “She should have known better, but Parvati’s pride took the better of her.”

“What did the archon do?”

“Not much, he just gave her the means to kill a god,” Prahlada replied, nodding towards Zarazen who pulled out a moon shaped sword. The same one who Amara has seen in depictions of Kali.

“The Khadga of Kali?”

“Yes, it was created by the same archon who banned all the gods, to kill them if they ever dared to cause trouble in the human world again.”

“Then isn’t it a tool for good if it is made by the archon of balance.”

“Yes, though balance is a fickle thing, but in the hands of the Archon of taint…”

“He had done something with it.” Amara’s eyes went wide as she watched the scene turn to a battle field. Tripura was filled with clashing swords and bodies littered the ground.

Andhaka was fighting fiercly, cutting through his enemies like they were nothing. His enemies cut him but each time Andhaka’s blood fell onto the ground, a duplicate of him sprang forth. There were over a thousand of his duplicate by now, littering the battlefield.

Shiva, wearing his trishula, walked through the battlefield. Eyes searching for his wife. Amara knew, she felt it. He was there to stop the war. He had not wanted it. “Did Kali start this attack?”

“Yes, when Shiva had refused to attack Tripura, she had turned to Vishnu who for long had considered this place a threat to the balance. I had been sent here to try and bring balance with peaceful means but-“ Prahlada closed his eyes,”I failed.”

A shrilling scream echoed in the city, Eyes turned to a horrifying sight as Kalika cut through her enemies with the khadga. For each enemy falling, she seemed to go more and more mad. The eyes were glowing red, her tongue hang out, showing her iconic and terrifying stature.

“And Kalika lost herself in the battle,” Amara concluded, but Prahlada shook his head.

“No, it is the khadga. The souls of the gods she cuts down isn’t destroyed, but devoured by Zarazen. In return, the khadga becomes more and more corrupt which spreads to the wielder. Kalika is being tainted by the khadga.”

Shiva spotted his wife, his eyes going wide as he approached him. Laying down his weapons on the ground and raising his hands in surrender, trying to reach his wife.

“Father,” screamed a young man in a battle armor.

“Stay back Kartikeya,” Shiva shouted back, closing in on the maddening Kalika. “Lay down your weapon, my love. This isn’t you.”

The seconds went by, Kalika stared at the man with no recognition on her face and then in a flash she attacked. Shiva had no chance, his head had separated from his body before he could register what had happened.

Amara could feel the cut, the pain and the betrayal. She could feel hers, no Shivas soul being ripped to pieces devoured by a darkness who craved the god’s magic. A piece escaped though, a small piece floating away to heal what was left of the god. A piece that would eventually go to the mortal realm to be reborn.

Kalika lifted her husband’s head and drank blood from it, an escalated look crossed her face before tears of blood flowed from her eyes. The blood of her husband had awakened her, and what was left was only grief.

Andhaka stood up at the golden city, staring at the scene is horror. Another one was not afraid though, he was enraged. Kartikeya roared and threw himself onto his father’s bow, as he did a golden arrow was formed, sparking and sizzling as he aimed at Andhaka.

“Don’t!” Prahlada shouted, trying to get in between Kartikeya and the city, but the vision of Vishnu came down lifting Prahlada up and carried him of on a Garuda. The golden half-bird, half-man flew quickly away from the city while Prahlada shouted in despair as Kartikeya released his father’s weapon and in a flash of light, every creature in the city had turned to stone.

“What was that?” Amara stared, her eyes going wide as she realized what all the statues in the city was.

“A weapon created by Shiva. Back then it didn’t have a name, and Shiva never used it unless in desperate times. Later on, it came to be known as Tripurantaka after the destruction of Tripura.”

“So this is how the story ended,” Amara said as the scene turned to black.

“There is no end to this story. It continues on even today.” Prahlada lifted his hand and the scene turned to a lonely shape in the city. Prahlada standing still among the city of the no longer living. “I returned to the city, standing guard to ensure that the Asuras would never wake up again, knowing the retribution would set the world on fire.”

“Kalika gave birth-“

“Gave birth?”

“Yes, she was pregnant during the battle,” Prahlada lowered his hand, and the scene showed the visuals of a relief. Kalika was drinking her husbands blood, the child in her stomach transformed into a monster. “After she gave birth to the first Rakshasa, Ravana. After his birth Kalika once again took the shake of Parvati as all her bad karma had been transferred to her son Ravana who had to carry her sins. Ravana would not be able to sustain himself on anything other than human flesh as all other food turn to ash in his mouth. Vishnu showed pity on the creature and spared him. Ravana later became the King of Lanka and the ancestor of all the king of all Rakshasa.”

“So Rakshasa more than one Rakshasa was born.”

“Yes, when ever a Deva turned into an Asura, they sought a human to carry their child. The child would be forced to carry the karma of their parent, turning them into a Rakshasa if they ever would turn to evil.”

“And what does this have to do with me?” Amara asked, as the room faded away showing the room she was in before. Silas was sleeping on the ground, not noticing the new presence in the room.

“I don’t think it is a coincidence that the reincarnation of Shiva has returned to the city,” Prahlada said. “Not when Andhaka has resurrected after so many years.”

“How did that happened?”

“I’m not sure, it was like something summoned him. He is lurking in the shadows. Guiding something or someone to the khadga. Be careful, not even the devas could truly defeat him. He still stands as king of Tripura and he knows this city like he knows himself,” Prahlada started to walk away. “And someone is following you. I have been trying to see this person but whoever they are, they are protected by foreign gods. They might be benign but it is hard to know their intention as they are hiding in the shadows.”

“Will you help me?” asked Amara, watching Prahlada’s back stiffened as he came to a halt.

“All I ever wanted to do was help, both my cousin and you. I have always failed. If you need me, I will come, but I think-“ He turned around, giving her a mournful smile,”that you will do far better without me in this fight. Get the artifact, it cannot be laid in the hands of mortals. It is yours by right.”

Prahlada turned once more around and this time walked back into the deadly silence of the ancient city.

*****

  Watching the faint light from the oil lamp, slowly fading into black, Amara peered over at Silas who finally stirred awake. His eyes were only dazed for a second before he was fully alert, watching their surroundings before settling on her.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice husky like he had spent the night inhaling dust.

“No, but thank you for asking,” Amara replied, her voice thick like she was about to cry again but she held it back, swallowing the painful lump in the throat. She refuse to look him in the eyes, instead watching the oil lamp. “We will soon have no light.”

“I can make a torch. It won’t be as good, but it will be decent,” Silas replied, getting up to ensure that they still would have light. “We need to move.”

“I know, there is someone else in here searching for the artifact. We will need to reach the artifact before them,” Amara said, getting up. Her entire body felt numb, and all she wanted was to go back to sleep but she forced herself to move. She could not break down here, not now.

Silas didn’t stop what he was doing, but peered up at her,”How do you know that?”

“Prahlada, the boy I kept seeing, visited me. He told me that I needed to keep the artifact out of the other person’s hands.”

That stopped Silas in his tracks, he slowly turned to Amara. Eyes watching her carefully, like he was afraid she would explode. “Why you?”

Amara let out a unamused laughter, “Apparently, I’m the reincarnation of Shiva, or at least a part of him. Whatever part wasn’t destroyed by Kali in this cursed place. The artifact, the Khadga of Kali has the ability to kill gods, but it make the wielder go mad.”

“Not something a human should wield then,” Silas muttered.

“Your employer-“ Amara watched as Silas tensed, her words fading away. No, she could see this was subject he was not willing to discuss. Amara had a strong feeling that when the time came, she would have to fight him for the artifacts.

Finally, litting the torch up, the path ahead was illuminated. Shadows danced on the walls of the enormous room, filled with golden reliefs and a gate guarded by two asuras. This was the gate the mount of Shiva, the bull Nandi, had guarded. Both Amara and Silas had assumed that the right path was through those gates.

Not waiting any longer, they packed all that were necessary and went on ahead. Readying themselves for whatever lies beyond.