MaheedharTalluri
On the eve of Onam, Krittika finds a glowing footprint outside her window-enormous, warm, and vanishing as if absorbed into her skin. It's the first crack in a life sealed by silence since her father vanished five years ago in the forests of Kerala.
But the past is not what it seemed.
Drawn by a dream of gods and ancestors, Krittika discovers her bloodline traces back to Mahabali, the Asura king banished by Vamana, the dwarf avatar of Vishnu. Her destiny is inked not just in legend, but in stars-born under the same constellation, the same planetary hour, as the king who once ruled all three worlds.
When an ancient map leads her into the heart of the forest, accompanied by her loyal friends Vaidehi and Neeraj, they uncover a hidden door-a gate to Sutala, the netherworld realm of the Asuras. But the gate isn't just myth. It's waking. And only Krittika can close it.
Because the land of Kerala was never just land.
It was a lid.
And now, something beneath is stirring.