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The wind howled as Apsara stood in the center of her friends, the red glow of the crystal pulsing in her hand, matching the ominous hue of the sky above. The air was heavy with an ancient tension, the silence before a storm, and the weight of their decision pressed on her like an anvil. Every breath felt like a thunderclap, every heartbeat a ticking clock counting down to a future they could no longer afford to let unfold.
This was their moment.
"Once we begin," Apsara whispered, her voice low, "there's no turning back. If we succeed, we kill Kali in his childhood, before he becomes the tyrant he is now. If we fail, we risk everything... even our lives."
Her companions-immortal warriors of legend, all bound to this cause by centuries of loss-exchanged tense glances. They understood the stakes.
Chang Jiayi, the last dragon of the Shuohan River Clan, stood to Apsara's left, her long black hair flowing in the wind, her hands steady, ready to embrace whatever came next. "We've faced worse," she said, her voice filled with the kind of steely determination that only centuries of battle could forge. "We're ready."
Vasuda Karthikan, the son of Kali's own general, nodded gravely. His father's loyalty to Kali had torn their family apart, but Vasuda had made his choice long ago.
Maya, his cousin and daughter of the other general, Vikoka, tightened her grip on her sword, her sharp eyes betraying no fear.
Yohan Nagamani, the son of the dragon king Vasuki, stood by silently, his presence a heavy reminder of the Nagas' tragic downfall under Kali's reign.
Together, they stood in a circle, hands clasped around the ancient crystal that had the power to tear apart the fabric of time itself. Apsara's heart beat faster as the ritual began. The crystal flared to life with a deep, pulsing red light, casting sharp shadows that danced around them like specters. The air crackled with magic-raw, ancient, dangerous.
Apsara's voice was steady but low as she began the mantra. Her words were ancient, older than any of them, spoken in a tongue that hadn't been heard for millennia. Each syllable was a thread pulling at the very fabric of reality, bending time and space to their will.
But as she spoke, a chill swept over the circle. The winds howled louder, and the red light of the crystal turned blinding, like a beacon in the storm. The ground trembled beneath their feet, as if the very world itself was waking up to what they were attempting.
Apsara felt it-a sharp, jarring sensation like something scraping against her soul. Something wasn't right.
"Quickly," she urged, the words of the incantation becoming desperate. "We must hurry. If we don't-"
The red light from the crystal intensified, blinding them all. The air hummed with power, then, suddenly, it cracked with an otherworldly shriek-a deafening wail that made Apsara's bones rattle. She felt it-a presence, dark and overwhelming-filling the space around them, suffocating everything.
"Kali!" she gasped, realising the truth too late.
Kali had sensed their ritual.
Before anyone could react, the ground beneath their feet shattered. A pulse of pure, destructive energy ripped through the air, and a wave of black, fiery magic surged from the very sky. Apsara's vision blurred as a scream of pure rage echoed through the storm.
From the distance, they could see him-Kali. His form was enormous, his eyes glowing with fiery wrath, his power so immense that the world itself seemed to buckle under his fury.
"You think you can defy me?!" Kali's voice thundered, shaking the heavens themselves. His magic tore through the air, unraveling the very fabric of the spell. "You cannot escape fate. You cannot escape me."
Apsara's heart stopped as the black magic wrapped around them like a tightening noose. The crystal in her hand flared one final time, but it was overwhelmed, its light snuffed out by the crushing darkness Kali had summoned.
The world around them twisted, distorting, shattering like fragile glass. The red light flickered violently, swirling into a vortex of chaos. Apsara screamed out, but her voice was lost in the roar of Kali's wrath. She felt herself being pulled-dragged-into a void.
Then, everything went black.
---
to be continued
YOU ARE READING
Liars, Deaths, Scales & The Sword Of Lanka
Historical Fiction"You can never alter time, no matter what change you make, what's done is done! There is no changing what has occured, Apsara" He said to the broken lady, who was on the black marble floor. "You thought, you could change the fate of the time....not...
