The mountains slept uneasily.
After the night of shadows, even the wind seemed afraid to rise.
Ganesh and Aneet stood before the palace gates, silent, both sensing the same thing.
"He will not send illusions again," Ganesh said quietly. "What comes next will be real."
Aneet nodded. "He wants pain to teach what fear could not."
Ganesh clenched his fists. "Then we stand closer than ever."
Far away, in the heart of the asura realms, Tarakasura stood before a dark altar, flames of corrupted energy rising around him.
"Their fire steadies. Their light endures," he growled. "So now I will carve into the world they love."
He raised his hand, and a vision formed — Ganga's river, glowing as it flowed through the valley.
"That river shields them," Tarakasura said. "Let it scream."
He thrust his power forward.
Across realms, dark currents surged toward Ganga's sacred flow.
In the palace valley, the river suddenly convulsed.
The waters darkened, churning violently, as if seized by unseen hands.
Ganga rose at once in luminous form, her face tightening in pain.
"Something grips my flow," she cried. "A poison… not of water, but of will!"
Himavan rushed to the riverbank. "Ganga! What is it?"
"I do not know," she said, struggling. "But it burns… even my essence!"
Ganesh and Aneet ran to the river's edge.
Ganesh raised his hands, sacred fire flaring as he tried to shield the waters.
Aneet spread her light, stabilizing the flow.
But the dark force pressed harder, dragging at Ganga's river as if trying to tear her spirit apart.
Ganesh felt his heart pound. "He is attacking her directly."
Aneet's eyes widened. "He wants to wound what holds this valley together."
🔥 Ganesh pushed more energy into the river.
The fire met the dark current, but the force did not fade — it only twisted, slipping past like a serpent.
"It's not something I can burn," Ganesh said through clenched teeth. "It feeds on resistance."
Aneet focused, her light flowing into the waters, trying to calm the turmoil.
But the poison of will spread, darkening more of the river.
Ganga cried out, her luminous form flickering.
"It hurts…" she whispered. "Like my flow is being torn from itself."
Ganesh's fire surged dangerously high.
"Aneet, I can't—" he began.
She grabbed his arm. "Do not let fire lead. Remember what you touched."
Ganesh closed his eyes, breath shaking.
Then he sank inward.
Beyond flame.
Beyond light.
Toward that silent space beneath everything.
For a breath, he touched Nothingness again.
And from that place, he did not push.
He released.
Ganesh opened his eyes and lowered his hands.
The sacred fire faded into calm presence.
The dark current faltered.
Without resistance to feed on, it began to weaken.
Aneet felt it and immediately spread her stabilizing light through the waters, guiding them back into gentle flow.
Slowly… the darkness receded.
Ganga collapsed to her knees on the riverbank, her luminous form trembling.
The river brightened again, returning to its sacred glow.
Himavan rushed to her side. "Ganga! Are you hurt?"
She nodded weakly. "I am… shaken. But alive."
Maina had come running with Parvati in her arms.
The child looked toward the river, eyes wide.
Parvati lifted her tiny hand.
A soft warmth spread over Ganga, like sunlight after rain.
Ganga gasped as strength flowed back into her form.
"She heals me…" Ganga whispered in awe.
Parvati gurgled softly, the warmth fading once Ganga steadied.
Maina held her close, tears in her eyes. "Even as a child… she gives."
Ganesh felt his chest tighten. "He nearly took her from us."
Aneet nodded, her face pale. "This was his warning."
Far away, Tarakasura felt the failure like a blade.
"They saved her," a dark seer whispered. "Even the river resisted."
Tarakasura roared, dark fire exploding around him.
"They deny me again!" he thundered.
He clenched his fists, eyes blazing with fury.
"So be it. If wounding their world is not enough… I will shatter it."
His voice dropped, cold and final.
"I will bring the storm myself."
That night, the valley was quiet again, but the quiet was heavy.
Ganesh sat beside the river, watching its gentle glow.
"I felt it today," he said softly to Aneet, who sat beside him. "That silence again. It did not fight. It simply… was."
Aneet nodded. "And in not fighting, it won."
Ganesh looked at his hands. "If I walk too far into it one day… will I come back?"
Aneet met his gaze firmly. "You will. Because I will call you back."
Ganesh smiled faintly. "Then I am not afraid."
Behind them, Himavan stood guard, Maina holding Parvati close.
Ganga flowed gently once more, humming softly.
But all of them knew:
This had been no mere attack.
It was the first true wound.
And it meant only one thing.
🔥 Tarakasura was done with games.
🌪️ The storm was coming in full.