Before Ragini could stand, something tightened around her wrist. Ravindra had summoned the strength to raise his hand, fixing his younger sister with a stern gaze.

“Ragini,” he asked, “why are you in your armor?”

She remained still, not attempting to pull free from his grip. “I can’t stay on this mountain,” she answered, “not while Father is out fighting, not after seeing you come back injured. We need fresh warriors, and you know it.” Her brother had always been the practical one, while she was the dreamer with her head in the clouds—dreams that had brought her to this moment.

“You are strong,” Ravindra acknowledged, though he still held her wrist. “But those beasts out there… They’re unlike anything anyone has ever faced, even Lord Rudra. No creature in the three realms compares to the denizens of the Primordial Ocean. They embody the fury of nature itself.”

“Then perhaps, if we survive this, we should strive never to wage wars that provoke their wrath,” Ragini retorted, her voice sharp and filled with resentment for the war. Closing her eyes, she sighed and bowed her head. “That was unfair. I apologize.”

Ravindra shook his head, his eyes filled with sorrow. “No, you’re right. The worlds are collapsing, shattering around us. I can feel it deep in the Earth and down into the Underworld. Can’t you?”

Ragini swallowed hard and nodded. “I feel it through the mountain. It’s like they’re tearing everything apart, and it won’t be long before Rudra has to awaken and end it. But I can’t let it come to that.”

The siblings stared at one another for a long moment, Ragini stalwart and Ravindra wavering.

"Must it be you?" Ravindra asked, his eyes pleading.

"I accepted my responsibilities when I chose to marry him, Ravi," Ragini replied with a soft smile. There had never been any regret in her heart. She rested her hand on his and gently freed her wrist from his grasp. Then, cupping his cheeks, she kissed his forehead. "Thank you for taking care of me all my life. I love you."

When she pulled back, Ravindra's expression twisted, his lips pressing into a thin line, his eyes narrowing to slits. When he spoke, it was with difficulty.

"Ragini," he said, "come back. After the battle, come back. For your husband, for Father... for me."

Ragini gave her brother a bright smile, forcing it to reach her eyes. "I'll try."

She rose to her feet and began to leave the courtyard when the steady drumbeat of belled anklets sounded behind her.

Suddenly, the sound stopped, and a pair of slender arms wrapped around her waist. A Godling child pressed their cheek against her side. Wispy silver hair shone in the light, gleaming bright against the darkness of Ragini’s armor.

"Shanti?" Ragini lifted her arm to see the bold child—the only one here who would dare approach the Lady of the Mountain like this.

"Why are you wearing your armor?" Shanti demanded.

"You can't be running around like this," Ragini scolded, placing a hand on Shanti's head. "Where is your mama?"

Shanti ignored the question and looked up at her with defiant green eyes. "You can't go fight. You'll get hurt!" she protested.

“No one leaves a battle untouched,” Ragini replied, keeping her voice gentle as she tried to move away. Shanti didn’t deserve her frustration today. “They need me.”

“But I need you more!” Shanti clung tighter, her face crumpling as she lowered her head. “Papa left, and he hasn’t come back yet. I don’t want you to go too.”

Ragini softened, kneeling to meet the Godling’s eyes. She held Shanti’s arms gently. “My father went to fight as well. But you know, both of them are strong kings, much stronger than you or me. Those beasts won’t stand a chance against them.”

Shanti sniffled. “But the monsters are strong too. Everyone says so. And all the soldiers are coming back hurt or dead. Papa's going to come back d-d-dead!” She burst into tears.

“Oh, Shanti, no, none of that.” Ragini wrapped the girl in her arms, sighing. Over Shanti’s shoulder, she saw a familiar Goddess hurrying through the crowd, her eyes filled with worry until she caught sight of Ragini and Shanti. Ragini offered her a polite nod.

The Goddess relaxed, approaching with a composed stride. “Lady Ragini,” she greeted, her voice taut. Everyone spoke like this now, with their fates hanging in the balance. But when it came to this Goddess, it was more polite than usual. “I’m sorry for this,” the Goddess continued, touching Shanti’s back. “Shanti, you can’t hold onto Lady Ragini like this.”

Ragini smiled. “Your mama is right.” She pulled back, gently wiping the child’s tears. “Stay with her and wait for us, okay?”

Shanti hiccuped and shook her head. “I’ll go too,” she insisted, “I know how to fight.”

This was not true. Gods and Demons grew slower than any other being in the three realms. Shanti was a century old, though she appeared to be a child of seven or eight. She would not be old enough to study or train in the civil and martial arts until she was five hundred or so, well into her adolescence.

She was a long way from starting her lessons in Rudra’s ashram, the spiritual hermitage where he taught spiritual, practical, and martial disciplines. Godlings, young Demons, Nature spirits, and even gifted Mortals—if they gained entry to the school—learned leadership and purpose under Rudra, the Timeless One. Many other ashrams held restrictions on lineage or race, but Rudra was the only teacher who accepted disciples based solely on their potential.

“I know you can fight, Shanti,” Ragini said patiently. “That’s why I have an important mission for you.” She didn’t want to discourage the child.

Shanti blinked in surprise. A mission! If Lady Ragini was asking something of her, it had to be crucial.

The Godling always believed Ragini was equal to Lord Rudra, even though she was a Demon. Demons were not supposed to be Divine, she had been taught. But through her eyes, she saw Ragini shine with the same light that radiated from Rudra. When they stood side by side, it seemed the realms were perfectly balanced, with them at its center.

Seeing that she had Shanti’s attention, Ragini put on a serious face. “While I’m away, I need someone to watch over everyone here. Someone to protect Mount Kaashil. Can you do that for me, Shanti?”

Shanti’s brow furrowed, and she stood taller. “I can do that.”

“Good girl.” Ragini gave her a bright smile. “I trust you.”

After a few affectionate pats on the girl’s head, Ragini turned to Shanti’s mother, folding her hands in a respectful greeting. “Queen Chandika.”

Chandika returned a faint smile. She had been one of the most outspoken voices against Ragini’s marriage to Lord Rudra. But what did that matter now that the worlds were ending? “We will both look after everyone on the mountain,” she promised. “Bring them all back, Lady Ragini. Please.”

Ragini bowed her head. “I will try.”

**

“Dinan!” Ragini called out as she neared the mountain's entrance.

Instead of a gate, two colossal trees stood sentinel on either side of a wide road—the only paved path to the mountain, stretching all the way to the grand staircase. Their branches arched overhead, intertwining so completely it was impossible to tell where one tree ended and the other began.

A massive warrior stood in the center of the road, gripping a large, bronze-colored mace, its spiked end resting between his feet. His back was to her, broad and bare, with a cascade of wild black hair spilling over his shoulders. At the sound of her voice, something stirred beneath the dark locks. Two long, white bovine ears, each adorned with a thick golden earring, flicked up in surprise.

The warrior whirled to face her, and Ragini smiled at the sight of his great white horns, curving out from his temples in graceful crescents. Delicate red patterns decorated them, and gold embossing gleamed in the light. A long black line of charcoal stretched between his dark brows and up his forehead. When he saw Ragini in her armor, his already fair complexion paled, and his deep, gentle eyes widened.

He quickly tucked his mace into the crook of his arm and pressed his hands together in greeting. “My Lady. Why are you here?” His soft dark eyes widened upon seeing her armor.

“I mean to join the battle.” Ragini gestured past the Bull Spirit to the forest path leading away from the mountain.

Dinan hesitated, shifting to block her way. “My Lady, I… I was ordered by Our Lord not to let you pass if you intended to fight.”

Ragini bristled, and the air around her shimmered with heat, like a mirage. “My husband’s command may bind you, Dinan, but not me,” she warned.

The giant warrior shrank back from her intensity, his ears retreating into his hair. “But, My Lady…”

“My brother has returned injured,” she continued, her voice softening, the heat dissipating. “I fear only my father and the God King possess any real strength on the front lines. I cannot sit idle. If you step aside, it will be because I order it, and you will not have disobeyed the Lord of the Mountain.”

Dinan shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “I would never defy you, My Lady. But I beg you, as Lord Rudra’s most humble servant, do not go. Please… do not.”