The God King Ananda shifted his focus to the ring of fire created by his ally. “Shall we continue?” he asked, raising his sword and shield. “After all, it’s only by vanquishing these beasts that we can repair the rift we’ve caused.”

“There’s no guarantee that returning them all to the Great Ocean will restore the realms,” Venkata replied skeptically. At Ananda’s pointed gaze, he buttressed his pessimism with, “But we can’t just sit back and wait for the realms to end.”

“So we fight,” Ragini declared decisively. “Lower the shield, Father. We have work to do.”

The Demon King Venkata waved his sword, and the flames extinguished.

Instantly, the trio was surrounded by Primordial Beasts.

Ragini spotted a creature resembling a mass of gnarled trees twisted into a four-legged beast with a tortoise-like head. Its dark, abyssal eyes locked onto the Lady of the Mountain. Roaring, the beast charged at her, its back lined with jagged, leafless branches like rows of shark teeth.

Steadying herself, Ragini notched an arrow. The tip glowed with a small white and blue flame. A smile tugged at her lips as the thrill of combat coursed through her. Perhaps it wasn’t very lady-like, but Ragini embraced the contradiction of the grim pleasure of a battle.

The arrow flew true, striking the wooden turtle beast between the eyes. It erupted in a dazzling display of blue and green fire that quickly consumed the creature. Like the other wooden monsters before it, the Primordial Beast dissolved into shimmering ash, returning to the Primordial Ocean.

On either side of her, the two kings cut through the relentless tide of beasts. For a time, the Primordial Beasts emerged from the ground faster than they could be dispatched. It seemed inevitable that they would be overwhelmed soon.

But the tides were changing with Ragini joining the battle.

When she noticed the horde thinning on the battlefield, Ragini allowed herself a cautious hope. They were pushing the beasts back to the Great Ocean that was outside the dimensions of the three realms.

As long as Rudra remained in meditation, his shield would protect Mount Kaashil. Everyone taking refuge there would survive. They would endure this calamity. She just had to help end this.

Letting out a war cry, Ragini channeled her hope into her weary limbs. The soldiers echoed her shout, boosting their morale dramatically. For the first time, it seemed like they might reach the end of this war.

Suddenly, the ground gave way.

What started as an unnoticed rumble escalated into a violent quake. Massive fissures tore open the surface, radiating from the heart of the battlefield, directly beneath the feet of the two kings and Ragini.

“Get away from the center!”

Ragini recognized King Ananda’s voice and, spotting her father, dashed toward him, fleeing the widening chasm.

The earthquake persisted as the swampy waters flooding the plains poured into the expanding abyss of darkness and heat. Steam billowed into the air as the floodwaters and chilled rain vanished into the void.

What struck Ragini as most bizarre wasn’t the ground's sudden collapse but the fact that the Primordial Beasts did not flee as the soldiers did. As the chasm grew to the size of a mountain’s footprint, the beasts nearest to the fissure tumbled in without resistance.

When the shaking stopped, the remaining beasts charged toward the ravine, ignoring Ragini and the kings, and hurled themselves into the pit.

Ragini’s anxiety mounted as she watched, her stomach churning. Her racing heart had nothing to do with the battle now; something was deeply wrong.

As the last elemental creatures leaped into the pit, silence enveloped the battlefield for the first time in months. The skies above slowed their boiling fury. The rain ceased. Though lightning and thunder had faded, the atmosphere remained thick and oppressive.

It felt as if the entire world, all three realms, was holding its breath.

Steeling herself, Ragini advanced toward the ravine but felt a strong grip on her elbow restraining her. She glared over her shoulder and faltered when she saw the alarm in her father’s eyes.

His gaze was filled with uncertainty—and fear?

Ragini stepped back, gripping her bow tightly as her gaze fixed on the ravine.

Everyone on the field, everyone on the mountain, everyone in the three realms sensed it first: a faint disturbance, a mere quiver. But that subtle feeling quickly transformed into a grinding, cracking noise.

The sound crescendoed into a nauseating roar. The droning grew louder, reverberating through every being's bones.

Something was terribly wrong.

Everyone felt instinctively that the core of the mortal realm, the heart of their existence, had started to move unnaturally.

Then came the roar—so deafening that the pressure wave toppled the soldiers who had approached the ravine.

Ragini anchored her feet, but the force of the air pushed her back. She felt her father’s hand steadying her. She glanced over her shoulder, finding solace in King Venkata's unwavering presence. No matter the chaos, he stood as firm as Mount Kaashil in her eyes.

Scalding air surged from the massive rift, followed by torrents of magma. The water around the chasm boiled upon contact with the spreading lava, forcing the armies of the Heavens and the Underworld to retreat.

King Ananda raised his shield, casting a spell that enveloped the chasm in a golden dome. At first, the dome contained the lava, protecting their soldiers. However, whether due to his exhaustion or the increasing volume of molten rock, the shield faltered, flickering and allowing some lava to seep through.

Noticing this, King Venkata lifted his own shield and reinforced Ananda’s spell. The golden dome blazed brighter, successfully containing the lava flow. Ananda glanced at Venkata, offering a small, grateful smile.

Ragini watched them with a small smile. Her father had once told her that he and King Ananda had been childhood friends.

As sons of High Demons and Gods, Venkata and Ananda were sent to Mount Kaashil to study under Rudra. They quickly became close friends and amiable rivals. However, once they matured and left the mountain, the reality of their positions became clear. Ascending to the thrones of their respective realms erected a barrier that their friendship could not surmount.

Each king believed he could prevent the Heavens and the Underworld from descending into war. In the end, though, they failed. They could not sway the will of those in power. What had once felt like a profound friendship now wore the guise of a bitter enmity.

Venkata and Ananda were no longer simply themselves. They became Demon King Venkata and God King Ananda. Assuming the mantle of kingship meant sacrificing their personal identities. They became both more extraordinary and more insignificant than their truest selves.

Ragini’s heart had ached when she and her brother Ravi learned this story. It served as a cautionary tale about the perils of high office. The higher the position and the more righteous the leader, the more they would be subjected to their people—and to the world.

She hoped, witnessing the two kings unite on this battlefield, that this new alliance would end the need for further conflict. Look at the devastation it had wrought.

The golden shield remained steadfast as the fiery eruption from the chasm subsided.

In its place emerged a massive claw of blackened stone. Glowing veins of pulsing red magma coursed around the rock plates, creating a constantly shifting landscape on the monstrous talons.

The claw, larger than ten Primordial Beasts, rose silently into the air. It paused for a moment before crashing down at the ravine's edge, splashing lava against the golden shield and shaking the ground.

The shockwave reverberated through the battlefield and surged toward the mountain.

With farsighted magic, Dinan observed the scene. His grip tightened on his mace as the pressure wave from the colossal claw sped toward him.

It struck Rudra’s shield, which stubbornly repelled the worst effects of the wave. Yet the earth continued to quake beneath everyone's feet on the mountain.

Dinan forced himself to breathe and found he was trembling. If the very planet crumbled beneath them, what would happen to the mountain? Lord Rudra was formidable, but even he had limits, didn’t he? Doubt crept at the edges of his usually stalwart belief.

A second claw emerged from the abyss and joined its counterpart at the ravine's edge. Each talon, tipped with long, crystalline nails, dug deeply into the earth. Faceted like uncut diamonds, they glimmered with an eerie light.

The shockwave from this claw fractured the kings' golden shield.

Venkata gritted his teeth. “Ananda!” he called. “The soldiers must retreat. This… this creature exceeds their capabilities.”

Ananda nodded. He raised his sword, which projected a brilliant red beam into the sky. The soldiers looked up at the beam, feeling a surge of doubt. Retreat? The Kings were commanding them to withdraw? What about this beast? They could not abandon the fight. Fear be damned.

King Venkata noticed their hesitation and growled. He amplified his voice, making it reverberate across the battlefield. “All soldiers to the mountain! Retreat! Now!”

The soldiers flinched and began to withdraw.

“Is this beyond our ability?” Ananda asked his former friend softly.

“Perhaps not, but…” Venkata paused, glancing at Ragini.

“I’m not leaving,” she said, anticipating his concern. “I can help. What’s your plan?”