The Boy Who Brings Peace
Ashura and the soldiers surrounding the infiltrators—Rudhra and his comrades—wobbled wildly as the ground shook beneath them. Some fell, while others dropped to their knees, struggling to steady themselves.
Devansh ran into the palace, swaying left and right as he pushed toward its center. Jeron rushed out of the building into the front courtyard, fearing it would collapse at any moment.
Rudhra knelt on the ground and looked around, his vision flickering across the chaos surrounding him. He grabbed the head of the closest Amirthya and pulled him close.
“I will create a distraction. Run to our apartments and gather all the Amirthyas. They must be in panic now. Tell them the island is going down. Take them to Hanuman Gate 1. I’ll meet you there. We’ll find a ship and escape.”
The man nodded.
Rudhra rose, scanning the battlefield once more. Then he broke away from the group and ran in a wide arc toward Ashura, circling his comrades.
The Ashura warriors staggered, barely holding their footing. One of them managed to raise his gun and shout, “Stop moving!”
Rudhra ignored him and kept running.
As he closed the distance, Ashura unleashed Urja from his core toward him.
Rudhra drove the tip of his sword into the ground, using it to propel himself upward. He soared forward, avoiding the outer edge of the Urja.
Ashura flinched and immediately drew his sword.
Rudhra smiled as their blades clashed.
“As I thought—you don’t want us dead,” Rudhra said, locking eyes with him.
“Now!” he shouted to his comrades.
They surged toward the palace gate, still struggling against the trembling earth.
The Ashura warriors surrounding them tried to regain balance. They holstered their guns and drew their swords, forming a defensive line.
Rudhra suddenly leapt over Ashura, landing behind him.
In response, Ashura unleashed a massive wave of Urja backward.
Rudhra smiled.
The blast hurled him away—along with the warriors blocking the Amirthyas’ path to the gate.
Without hesitation, the Amirthyas accelerated, racing through the opening Rudhra had created. They broke free of the circle and sprinted toward the apartments where their clan waited in panic.
Ashura roared in anger.
Rudhra reformed into his original body and rose to his feet.
The remaining Ashura warriors began rushing toward the gate to pursue the escaping Amirthyas, but the violently shaking ground slowed them.
“Stop!” Ashura commanded.
They froze mid-step.
“Capture him first. We’ll deal with them afterward.”
The warriors immediately turned toward Rudhra, forming into battle positions.
Despite the chaos, their movements grew more controlled, more deliberate—even as the earth continued to quake.
Rudhra looked at Ashura and his warriors and smiled.
“Bring it!” he shouted.
Over a hundred Ashura warriors charged toward him.
Ashura raised a hand, stopping the remaining warriors near him.
“Twenty of you—go into the palace. Find Devansh. Do whatever he tells you. We have four hours before the island sinks.”
He pointed toward the rest.
“The others—split into groups. Gather our clan families. Get them to Hanuman Gate 1 immediately. Disperse!”
The warriors broke formation and rushed to carry out his orders.
Ashura stopped one of the squad leaders.
“Pass the message to the harbour unit. Keep Noah ready.”
Rudhra sprinted toward the left flank of the Ashura formation as the warriors closed in.
They began to encircle him from the right.
The front-line unleashed Urja from their cores in unison.
Rudhra veered left and leapt high, evading the surge as it tore through the space he had just occupied. He descended toward the exposed flank.
Two warriors lunged at him.
He ducked under the first strike and let the second blade pass clean through his left arm—his sword steady in his right.
He landed behind them.
Dropping low, he spun with brutal force, his blade sweeping in a wide arc. Tendons snapped. Five warriors collapsed around him—including the two he had just passed.
His arm regenerated instantly.
Rudhra snatched a gun from one of the fallen warriors and turned toward the advancing line.
“Thank you, Yodhika,” he whispered.
He opened fire.
One after another, the Ashura warriors fell.
“So, this thing kills you too, huh?” he muttered, continuing to shoot.
“Do not fire back at him!” Ashura’s voice thundered from near the palace.
Several soldiers hesitated, loosening their grip on their holstered weapons—but continued advancing.
Rudhra smiled and kept firing.
After the sixth warrior dropped, the gun clicked empty.
He tossed it aside and charged forward through the gap he had created.
The nearest warrior reacted instantly, releasing a burst of Urja.
Rudhra moved with sharp precision. He grabbed a fallen body and dragged it up as a shield.
The blast struck.
He angled the corpse into the impact—the force flung the body to his left while propelling Rudhra to the right, straight toward another group of warriors.
Mid-air, he drove his sword through two of them and crashed down with their bodies beneath him.
Before he could rise, three warriors behind him plunged their swords into his back.
Rudhra’s eyes hardened.
With a savage sweep, he swung his blade backward—cutting through their throats.
They staggered, choking, as the ground trembled beneath them.
Rudhra rose slowly, their swords still embedded in his back.
The remaining warriors froze, teeth clenched, watching him.
Devansh emerged from the front entrance of the palace, Sabo following closely behind him. A dark expression clouded her face as they strode toward Ashura.
“Have you not captured Rudhra yet?” Devansh asked.
“Soon, my brother,” Ashura replied. “Capturing him alive is difficult. He trained with Yodhika afterall. But he will run out of energy soon.”
“Don’t,” Devansh said sharply. “Call off the attack.”
Ashura frowned. “What?”
“Take your warriors and secure the Amirthyas. We don’t have much time.”
Ashura hesitated. “What about Rudhra?”
“Sabo will handle him.”
Ashura glanced at Sabo, noticing the darkness in her eyes, then looked back at Devansh. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
After a brief pause, Ashura turned toward his warriors. “Stop the attack! Fall back to the front gate!”
The warriors immediately stopped their movements.
Rudhra, breathing heavily, watched them withdraw. He pulled his blade free from a fallen warrior’s neck, then yanked out the swords embedded in his back and abdomen. His wounds began healing almost instantly.
As the battlefield cleared, Devansh turned to Sabo.
“Go. Get him.”
Sabo hesitated for a fraction of a second before drawing her sword.
You’ll pay for this, Adhwa, she thought.
You really think so? a voice replied, chuckling within her mind.
She stepped forward.
“Surrender, Rudhra,” she called out. “Let your clan survive. The island does not have much time.”
“We will survive this.” Rudhra replied.
He lunged.
Sabo moved with minimal effort, deflecting his strike and dropping low. As his arm swung above her, she drove her blade upward through his elbow.
Rudhra cried out as his sword fell from his grasp.
In one swift motion, she twisted the blade and drove it forward—straight through his chest—forcing him to the ground.
Pinned beneath her sword, Rudhra struggled.
“Please… surrender,” Sabo whispered, her voice trembling. “I’m begging you.”
“Never!” he roared.
Sabo suddenly flinched.
She leapt aside just as a massive blast of energy struck Rudhra.
Devansh and Sabo turned toward the palace.
Yodhika stood there, fury blazing in her eyes, a baby in her arms.
“Move away from him,” she shouted, “or die!”
Rudhra rose, his body already restoring itself.
“So, you’re here,” Devansh said coldly. “I thought you fled after killing your mother.”
Yodhika didn’t respond. She unleashed a wave of Urja toward them and sprinted to Rudhra.
Devansh countered the blast with one of his own.
Yodhika reached Rudhra.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
Rudhra pulled her into a tight embrace, tears filling his eyes. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
“Not so tight,” she said softly, smiling. “You’ll hurt him.”
Rudhra looked down at the baby, his expression breaking between joy and grief.
“A boy?” he whispered, smiling with teary eyes, gently taking the child. “He’s so small…”
Behind them, Devansh began gathering Urja.
Sabo raised a hand. “Stop. Let them have a moment.”
Devansh turned, irritation flashing across his face. “Are you giving me a command?”
Sabo slowly looked at him.
Something in her expression made him stop.
Silence fell.
“I want you to name him,” Yodhika said gently.
Rudhra closed his eyes, holding the baby close.
“When I look at him… all the chaos disappears,” he said softly. “There’s only clarity. Peace.”
He opened his eyes.
“Aarav. Do you like it?”
Yodhika smiled. “I love it.”
She turned toward Devansh and Sabo. “Hold him tight. I’ll finish this.”
“No,” Rudhra said quickly. “You’ve just given birth. You must be tired”
Yodhika smirked and lightly struck his head. “And who do you think you’re talking to?”
She handed the baby over to him.
Rudhra smiled, “okay, finish it fast, I will wait.”
He gave the sword to Yodhika taking the baby from her. She took the sword from his hand and turned towards Sabo.
“I don’t know why you chose them, Sabo,” she said, advancing. “But you will regret it.”
Sabo raised her blade. “You weren’t supposed to be here.”
The ground trembled as Yodhika unleashed a surge of Urja.
Cracks tore through the earth.
Sabo leapt just as the ground split beneath her.
Yodhika shot upward and struck.
Steel clashed.
The fight was swift and brutal.
Sabo twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding a fatal strike, but Yodhika’s blade sliced across her shoulder.
They hit the ground.
Sabo wiped the blood and rose.
Nearby, Devansh began moving toward Rudhra.
Without turning, Yodhika pointed her sword backward.
“Don’t move,” she said coldly. “You’re next… father.”
Devansh stopped, smirking.
“You ignorant child.”
Sabo charged again.
The clash intensified—strike, counter, blast.
Then suddenly—
Yodhika dropped to one knee.
Her breathing faltered.
Rudhra rushed toward her. “Yodhika!”
Sabo seized the moment and lunged.
Her blade drove forward—
—and pierced through a body.
Yodhika froze.
Rudhra stood before her, the sword buried in his chest, holding the baby high above the strike.
“You’re not healed yet,” he said softly.
“Take him,” he urged. “Now.”
Yodhika hesitated.
“Now!” he shouted.
She flinched, taking the baby.
Sabo pulled her blade free and swung again.
Rudhra caught another sword and blocked.
“Go to Hanuman Gate 1,” he said, forcing Sabo back. “Join the others. I’ll follow.”
“No!” Yodhika cried. “I won’t leave you!”
“Think!” Rudhra snapped. “If you die, he dies. They need me alive—I’ll survive. Go!”
Their blades clashed again.
“And if we don’t meet…” Rudhra continued, his voice softening, “live a peaceful life. For him.”
Sabo broke through his defense.
Her blade plunged into his gut.
Yodhika stood frozen.
Then she closed her eyes.
Took a breath.
And ran.
As she fled, something slipped from the cloth around the baby.
A folded note.
She opened it while running.
If the harbour is not safe, go to the place where we had our first date. From there, run straight to the shore. I’ve hidden a canoe.
I wanted to tell you so many things… but time is not on our side.
If I don’t make it—
I love you.
All I ever wanted was a quiet life with you and our child… somewhere the world could never reach us.
Now you must live that life for us.
Thank you… for giving my life meaning.
(To be continued)
Karun G Nath 
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