The Hum
Dr. Chaithra pressed her fingers hard against the handle of her chair, tense. She took a few deep, silent breaths as she looked around the large meeting room in the basement of the palace.
The attendees included Ashura, with his five squad leaders standing at a distance behind him, Sabo, Yodhika, and Adhrivan.
Chaithra flipped open her notepad, revising what Devansh would expect from her as a response. Yodhika sat with her eyes closed, lost in thought. Ashura remained still and stern.
Adhrivan’s face looked slightly dull. His eyes kept drifting between Yodhika and Ashura. Sitting beside him, Sabo watched him quietly.
The large doors opened.
Devansh entered, and everyone immediately rose from their seats. He walked to the head of the table, sat down, and signalled for everyone to sit. They followed suit.
“So,” Devansh said without wasting time, “give me your updates.”
Ashura spoke first.
“Like you predicted, since the breakdown in the North, global power has truly shifted. But because we focused our movements there with this in mind, we’ve positioned ourselves safely from the U.S. perspective. Their high-ranking officers trust us. Once you give the go-sign, we can make our first move.”
Devansh nodded. “Good. And where are we on Noah?” he asked, turning toward Chaithra.
She responded, trembling slightly. “We… are almost done, sir. It will be ready by the end of this month. Testing will be completed in three months.”
Devansh looked at her doubtfully. “Didn’t you say seventy days earlier?”
Chaithra froze. She adjusted her glasses with shaking fingers.
“Yes, sir. But we’ll be out at sea for at least six months without seeing a port. With that many people on board, I wanted to conduct a few more rounds of testing.”
Devansh stared at her for a long moment. Chaithra lowered her gaze.
Then Devansh turned toward Yodhika.
“Your training will be done in three months. Have you completed the tasks I gave you?”
Yodhika’s face twitched.
“I’ll be fighting him for an extra five months, Father. After our move, we won’t be getting a confident Amirthya, right? I want to make full use of it. It’ll help in my future battles.”
Devansh thought for a moment. Yodhika’s shoulders tightened.
“Okay,” he said finally, “but don’t go overboard.”
He then turned toward Adhrivan.
“How is your learning going?”
“I’ve memorized the architecture, functioning, and prerequisites of Wamon and Urja-Gharbha from Chaithra, Father,” Adhrivan replied in a firm voice. “I’ve also understood where and how to acquire the parts from Uncle Ashura.”
“Good,” Devansh said. “You need to learn every bit of our plan. If something happens to me and Ashura, you’ll be the one to take it forward. Always remember that.”
Devansh’s face twitched.
“I take it as an honour, Father,” Adhrivan said, then continued, “And Sabo has been training me in battle tactics. My final test will be in three months.”
Devansh turned his gaze toward Sabo.
She nodded.
“Make sure you pass that test,” Devansh said to Adhrivan.
Then he looked back at Sabo.
“After that, you’ll be fully involved in supporting Ashura and Chaithra, correct?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
“Work faster, keeping the deadline in mind,” Devansh said, addressing everyone. “But make sure there are no slip-ups.”
He rose from his seat and exited the room, signalling the end of the meeting. One by one, the others followed.
Rudhra wore a white T-shirt, a windbreaker, and sweatpants—the replacements he had received from the palace the previous day. He strapped his sword into its sheath across his back and walked toward the door.
He glanced at the key bunch on the table, checking whether his parents had taken the spare key. Satisfied, he stepped out, locked the door behind him, and left the apartment at six fifteen in the evening.
He walked out of the building, passed through the market, and continued toward the meeting point Yodhika had mentioned. Slowly, the noise of the crowd and the town faded away.
A figure wearing an unusual dress appeared in the distance as he drew closer.
Rudhra frowned, squinting to see better.
His face turned to shock.
It was Yodhika.
She was wearing a black bodycon cocktail minidress—something he had never seen her wear before. She stood there with her arms folded.
He walked toward her.
“W… what are you wearing?” he asked, confused.
“Nothing. It was just a gift from Uncle Ashura,” she replied. Then her tone sharpened. “But why are you in your combat dress?”
“I… thought we’d be discussing our plans,” he said, pausing. “Why are we here?”
Yodhika sighed.
“I wanted some time with just us—outside the palace. A small break from all the mess we’re in.”
Rudhra’s face slowly relaxed.
“Oh.” He hesitated. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“Yeah. You don’t?”
He stayed silent for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay. Let’s take a break from all that.”
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
“So… what do you want to do?”
Yodhika smiled.
“Come with me.”
She grabbed Rudhra’s hand and pulled him toward the forest.
He sighed and followed.
As they walked deeper, Rudhra’s face grew tense. After crossing what felt like their tenth tree, they entered a small clearing—free of trees and covered in low shrubs. A lantern burned softly at its center, and a futon was spread beside it.
A tremor ran through Rudhra’s body.
“W… why did you bring me here, Yodhika?” he asked.
“No reason,” she said, a wicked smile spreading across her face. “Just to talk.”
Rudhra swallowed hard.
Yodhika sat down on the futon.
“Remove your sword. Keep it aside and sit,” she said, releasing his hand.
Rudhra unsheathed the sword, placed it a few feet away, and stood there hesitating.
“I said sit here,” she repeated, firmer this time.
He immediately sat down beside her on the futon.
She placed her hand over his palm.
“So,” she asked with a smile, “are you relaxed?”
Rudhra stayed silent for a moment.
“Honestly… I’m terrified.”
Her expression turned serious.
“Why?”
“I’ve never seen you like this,” he said quietly. “Or rather… I never thought I would, not in a million years.”
“You don’t like it?”
“No—no,” he said quickly. “You look…”
“I look what?”
He hesitated.
“You look… beautiful.”
The smile returned to Yodhika’s face.
“Thank you.”
Rudhra smiled back.
“After we escape from here,” she asked, “what do you plan to do?”
“I haven’t thought about it,” he replied. “Right now, I’m only thinking about saving the Amirthyas. I’ll think about the future afterward.”
Her face dulled slightly.
“Okay,” she said softly. “We’ll think about it later.”
She paused, then asked, “Do you really know why I brought you here?”
Rudhra looked at her, puzzled.
“No.”
She fell silent.
“You said yesterday you’d show me something,” Rudhra said. “What is it?”
Yodhika smiled again.
“Well… I wanted to take a step further in our relationship. Or whatever it is we have.”
“Further how?” he asked, completely unassuming.
“You idiot,” Yodhika said—and suddenly leaned forward and kissed Rudhra on the lips.
Rudhra jerked back instinctively at first, startled by the suddenness of it. His breath caught in his throat. But the warmth of Yodhika’s lips lingered, steady and sure, and after a heartbeat’s hesitation, he leaned back into the kiss.
Their breathing quickened.
Rudhra could feel his pulse racing—not just in his chest, but everywhere. Yodhika’s hand slid to his shoulder, firm yet gentle, grounding him. The world beyond the clearing seemed to dissolve—the war, the palace, the plans—until there was only the soft glow of the lantern and the warmth between them.
Without breaking the kiss, Yodhika’s fingers worked at his windbreaker, easing it off his shoulders. The gesture was unhurried, deliberate, as if she were giving him time to pull away if he wished.
He didn’t.
Her hand brushed against his side, and he inhaled sharply. When she lifted the hem of his T-shirt halfway, Rudhra finally pulled back, breathless, a nervous laugh escaping him as he quickly removed the shirt and innerwear himself, fumbling in his haste.
Yodhika smiled at him—not teasing, but reassuring.
Rudhra placed a hand on her shoulder, his touch tentative now, reverent. Slowly, carefully, he slid her dress down. The lantern light caught her face, softer than he had ever seen it—unguarded, vulnerable, real.
They kissed again, deeper this time, and their bodies naturally leaned closer, drawn together as if by gravity itself. The futon brushed against Rudhra’s legs, and moments later they were lowering themselves onto it, the world narrowing even further.
Yodhika shifted above him, her movements confident yet unforced. She pressed gentle kisses along his cheek, then his jaw, lingering at his neck. Rudhra closed his eyes, his hands curling slightly into the fabric beneath him as his breath hitched.
For the first time in a long while, the fear inside him eased.
Here, in the quiet of the forest, beneath the lantern’s steady flame, the war could wait—if only for a little while.
At that moment, a unique set of vibrations rippled through space—a billion times faster than light. They traveled through universes without interruption, leaving nothing disturbed in their wake. In a fraction of a second, the waves reached the universe containing the Milky Way. Covering parsecs almost instantly, they entered Earth’s atmosphere.
A serene, resonant humming filled the planet.
In the palace corridors, Devansh froze mid-step. His face paled. The familiar voices of his aides and the Pranvars were gone, replaced by the humming. He stared, motionless, unable to comprehend what he was hearing.
Below, in the lab beneath the Prayer Home, Chaithra stood rooted to the floor. Her initial shock slowly gave way to curiosity, her mind racing to understand the anomaly.
Far away, in West Germany, a small room echoed with the anguished cries of a child—Sabo’s brother.
“MASTER, WHAT DID I DO WRONG? PLEASE STOP TORTURING ME!” he screamed, tears streaming down his face.
Nearby, in space, a figure hovered a few kilometers from the sun. His body burned and reformed at immense speed, energy flickering around him. He twisted his head, puzzled. What just happened, son? he thought, as the child’s cry reverberated through his mind.
In Times Square, years earlier, long before the streets would see modern billboards and neon lights, a woman in her forties stood apart from the bustling crowd. Confetti twirled in the sunlight as a sailor swept a nurse into his arms, pressing a jubilant kiss to her lips. A photographer crouched nearby, capturing the moment.
The woman said nothing. Her eyes lingered on the scene as if it belonged to someone else. Her body trembled slightly, and the child’s cry echoed in her mind. Thara, pick me up at Times Square. I’ll be there in a minute.
A calm, urgent voice responded in her thoughts. Sure, hon.
In Avantaveera, Sabo trembled in her chair. What happened, Adhwa? she thought, shaken, as the same desperate cry pierced her consciousness.
The child’s voice thundered in their minds: MASTER, PLEASE, STOP!
Apart from these four, every other being on Earth heard only the serene humming, which lasted for a full minute.
And then there were two more who heard nothing at all. In a small forest clearing in Avantaveera, they lay together on a futon. Their bodies glistened with sweat under the lantern light. Smiles of quiet contentment rested on their faces as they remained entirely lost in the moment, oblivious to the cosmic vibrations rippling across the universe.
(To be continued)
Karun G Nath 
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