Ragini placed her hands over Dinan's. The warmth of her palms calmed his trembling. “If I don’t go,” she said gently, “I will neglect my highest duty.”

This was Dinan’s role: to guard the mountain’s gate and obey His Lord. Ragini couldn’t fault him for fulfilling his duty. And she knew that he would not fault her for hers.

Dinan sniffed and nodded. He lowered his head to her hands and pressed them to his closed eyelids. The faintest touch of his tears were evident on the long dark lashes that brushed against the back of her hands. After a deep breath, he straightened, though his brow remained furrowed.

“My Lady,” he began, his voice pleading, but he struggled to continue.

Ragini squeezed his hands before releasing them. Dinan didn’t need to say more; his hesitation mirrored that of everyone else. “I will try,” she promised.

With resignation and affection in his eyes, Dinan took his mace and stepped aside.

The Lady of the Mountain squared her shoulders and walked out from beneath the intertwined trees.

Behind her, Mount Kaashil’s air remained clear, still, and silent. The forest held its breath, every leaf motionless. Rudra’s shield allowed sunlight to filter through, but beyond it, shadows and storms cloaked the realms.

As Ragini crossed the shield, Rudra’s energy enveloped her. Despite the urgency, she paused to let it envelop her. His magic radiated warmth, compassion, and beauty, compelling her to close her eyes and linger. The thought of leaving this behind, possibly forever, weighed heavily on her heart.

If there were a moment to turn back, it would be now. As Lady of the Mountain, she had the right to stay and protect the refugees. No one would blame her for not doing enough.

Yet, her father was out there. The Underworld’s soldiers were out there. Her role as a Princess of Demons didn’t end with her marriage.

Ragini opened her eyes and stepped out of the shield, immediately drenched by freezing rain. Lightning streaked across the sky in blinding arcs, followed by thunderous booms. The forest around her swayed violently beneath a roiling black sky.

Setting her jaw, Ragini brushed a few strands of hair from her face, and a gray metal helmet materialized, fitting securely around her head.

The boiling clouds above glowed before a bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, splitting it down the middle and igniting the branches. Flames flared toward the Heavens, briefly sparking with white and blue embers. The rain quickly extinguished the flames, leaving smoldering black charcoal and steam in its wake. Chaos reigned across the three realms with these storms.

Ragini firmly planted her feet and summoned her power. Energy sparked just beneath her skin, filling her from head to toe. Her eyes glowed molten red as she focused on the path leading her out of the forest. Time was of the essence.

One moment, she was there; the next, she wasn’t. Moving faster than the wind and nearly as fast as thought, Ragini emerged from beneath the forest at the base of the mountain.

Before her stretched rolling hills, once lush and green with rivers and tall grass, now transformed into a flooded, gray swampland.

A spray of water marked her path to the battlefield. The clash of celestial and demonic weapons against the elemental forms of the Primordial creatures reached her ears before the sight of soldiers and beasts. Amid the relentless drone of rain, the clash of steel and the roar of beasts—unlike any life in the three realms—thundered across the plains.

Then she saw them: great, lumbering creatures towering at the height of several humans. Primordial beasts, formed from fire, water, earth, plant life, magma, and air, took shape according to their elemental nature.

Giant, leafy monsters on four limbs resembling tree trunks roamed the battlefield, their heads crowned with sharp branches. Beasts of air whirled through the fight as cyclones of cloud and blades of wind, while gleaming arrows shattered against the stone hides of boulder-like beasts.

The swampy battlefield lay strewn with heaps of bodies—gods, demons, spirits, mortals, and creatures of all kinds. Despite the torrential rain, the stench of death permeated the air.

Ragini halted at the edge of this grim scene, her heart breaking at the sight of such devastation. In the cracks left by her grief, a fierce rage surged to fill the void.

She could not blame the Primordial creatures for acting according to their nature. Mythical even to the celestials, they emerged from the Primordial Ocean only to punish those who disturbed the universe itself. Their purpose was cosmic retribution, an elemental justice beyond mortal comprehension.

This was their punishment for the failure to find peace and cultivate compassion across the three realms. Her rage, therefore, was a desperate and helpless one. None knew if they could survive the cosmic tidal waves, but to lay down and die was not an option.

The air around Ragini grew hot, shimmering as she plunged into the midst of battle. Magic swirled around her arms, conjuring an elegant bow of gold and red, strung with gleaming silver thread. A gem-encrusted quiver appeared on her back, filled with red-plumed arrows.

Without slowing, Ragini nocked an arrow and aimed at the nearest beast—a creature of lava and rock that scorched soldiers and the earth alike, its form wreathed in plumes of steam. It had thick limbs like a gorilla but a reptile-like head with a massive maw filled with needle-like, white-hot teeth.

Ragini called upon the essence of the oceans and the moon, then fixed her gaze on the beast’s head and released her arrow.

It struck true, piercing the side of the monster’s head. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a brilliant flash, the lava blackened, and the beast’s form churned to a halt. Small cracks appeared on its surface, and ice-like spikes erupted from within. Moments later, the creature disintegrated into ash and charred stone.

The soldiers fighting the lava beast turned to see Ragini, and their stunned silence erupted into cheers.

“Princess!”

“Our Princess is here!” they shouted.

“Lady Ragini! We’re saved!”

She gave them a curt nod as she nocked arrow after arrow. Using the elements of each beast against them, Ragini showcased her mastery of the elemental arts.

She unleashed bolts of lightning on water creatures, froze tornadoes of wind beasts, used water to douse fires, and wielded fire to bring down colossal wooden beasts. She identified and exploited their most potent weaknesses, and with each beast she vanquished, her energy surged and spread across the battlefield.

Weary soldiers felt a wave of renewed strength. Drooping bows and tired sword arms rose once more to battle. Eyes that had barely stayed open now sharpened with regained focus. And voices that had fallen to a murmur rose in a chorus of war cries.

Ragini cut through a significant portion of the Primordial beasts, making her way to the heart of the battlefield where the creatures gathered in force. At the center, two shining figures fought back to back, wielding celestial weapons of unmatched brilliance.

A soldier in gold and white armor with golden hair and another in charcoal gray armor with flowing black hair fought with curved swords and round shields. Their attacks combined in a flurry of magical strikes against the beasts. They looked like two brothers-in-arms who had fought side by side their entire lives… rather than kings on opposite sides of a now abandoned war.

Their movements were nearly imperceptible even to Ragini. Their blades, shimmering with precisely controlled elements, sliced through the converging beasts. Her heart swelled with pride, and she swiftly dispatched a trio of stone and fire beasts to clear her path to the center.

“Father!” She called out as the dark-haired soldier felled his beast.

The soldier swung his sword, creating a blazing ring of fire around them, momentarily keeping the beasts at bay. He then turned to face Ragini.

“Ragini.” His voice, though stern under his helmet, held a softness in his dark red eyes that his daughter recognized.

She greeted him with a bright smile. “Ravi returned to the mountain,” she said. “I’ve come in his place.”

The golden-haired soldier approached and nodded at Ragini. “Princess—ah, forgive me, Lady Ragini.”

She returned his bow. “King Ananda.”

Her father stepped forward. “Who did you leave in charge at the mountain?”

“Venkata,” the God King Ananda interjected, casting a wary glance at the Demon King.

Ragini sighed and maintained her calm. “Queen Chandika and Princess Shanti are protecting everyone there.” No amount of calamity seemed to deter her father’s scolding.

Ananda’s expression softened. He glanced at the barrier Venkata had erected before fixing Ragini with an intense gaze. “How are they?”

“Eager to see you when this is over,” Ragini said gently. “Shanti wanted to join the fight.”

Ananda chuckled briefly. “That’s my girl.” His eyes, filled with emotion yet restrained by a soldier’s resolve, met hers. “Thank you, Lady Ragini. I’m grateful for your arrival.”

“Do not act recklessly,” Venkata advised, disregarding Ananda’s dismissive shake of his head.

Ragini resisted smiling. She was familiar with how her father expressed worry and love. “Yes, Your Majesty,” she replied solemnly.