The old Baba's words hung in the air like a shroud. Betal. The name itself tasted of ancient sorrow and restless vengeance. The old man's tale of Raghav and Neelima—a story of pure love twisted into a five-hundred-year curse by betrayal and societal cruelty—had carved a hollow ache in my chest. It was a dark mirror, reflecting a tragedy of trust broken, not so different from the destiny forcing my hand against Neer.
Neer, now almost fully recovered, listened with a grim intensity I'd rarely seen in him. The usual mockery was gone, replaced by a simmering anger at the injustice. When the Baba finished, his voice trembling with the weight of the centuries-old memory, Neer was the first to speak, his voice firm with resolve.
"Such cruelty... What was his fault, Baba? Why did society do this injustice to him?" he asked, his knuckles white where he gripped the edge of the old man's rickety table.
"Who knows, son... only the one above knows..." the Baba whispered, his eyes distant.
Neer stood, his gaze meeting mine. In it, I saw not just determination, but a shared understanding. We were both trapped by stories written by others. "Now both of us will give him liberation, Baba. We will perform his last rites. He will not wander anymore."
The old man's head snapped up, terror returning to his eyes. "Wait! You are heading towards death! Don't go near that tree!"
Neer's smile was thin, a mere ghost of his usual bravado. "Whatever happens, Baba... we have to go there."
We left the hut, the setting sun casting long, skeletal shadows from the village huts. The path to the oldest banyan tree was one the villagers had clearly avoided for generations; the way was overgrown, the air growing colder with every step, the cheerful sounds of the village fading into an oppressive silence.
And then we saw it.
The tree was a leviathan, its aerial roots forming a cage of gnarled wood, a miniature forest of sorrow. And there, hanging upside down from the thickest branch, was the Betal. Its blue skin was like faded twilight, its eyes were pools of congealed blood, and a grotesque crown sat askew on its head. It didn't move. It didn't attack. It just stared at us, its lips curling into a slow, unnerving smile.
Then, it flipped upright in the air with an unnatural grace, its laughter a dry, rasping sound that scraped against the soul.
"Good… So my food has come to me by itself today. I know who you two are…"
Neer stepped forward, his sword held ready. "If you know everything, then you must also know how much you have tormented the villagers. And you must also know that we have come to end you. We know all about you—and today we will give you liberation."
"Liberation?" The Betal's laugh echoed, a sound of genuine, bitter amusement. "You will give me liberation, Neer? When you yourself don't know who you are? Are you the one… who you truly are?"
It was aiming for confusion, trying to shatter his focus as the demon on the mountain had. But Neer stood his ground. "I know you want to confuse me with your words, but I am not going to get entangled in your talk."
The Betal's bloody gaze slid from Neer to me, its smile widening. "Alright… then will Agni get entangled?"
A cold dread trickled down my spine. "Neer...?" I said, turning to where he had stood just a moment before.
He was gone.
The space beside me was empty. The clearing was silent save for the Betal's rasping breath.
"Neer!?" I shouted, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Where is Agni? Where have you taken him, Betal!? What new illusion have you created?"
The Betal chuckled, a low, rattling sound. "Wait-wait, Neer… You jumped straight to a fight, even knowing that the two of you cannot defeat me. My illusions, my powers are many times greater than yours. And you surely know that I am a Betal—free from the bonds of time! I have nothing to hide—not the past, not the future, nor the present."
Its words were a trap, but the fear for Agni was a snare around my heart. "Alright… Then tell me, what is your desire? What do I have to do… to free Agni from your captivity?"
The Betal floated closer, its form seeming to drink the fading light. "Ah! I haven't played with anyone for hundreds of years. I haven't found a warrior like you—one who can look me in the eye and talk." It leaned in, its bloody eyes inches from mine. "Just answer three questions… and take Agni away. Tell me… can you give the answers?"
My grip tightened on my sword. I would burn this entire forest down if it meant getting Agni back. "Yes, to save Agni, I can answer not just three—but a hundred questions."
"Three will suffice," it hissed. "But if even one answer is wrong—then what is lost… will be lost forever."
It began its twisted game, its voice slithering into my mind.
"Question the first: What is that truth… that feels like a lie? What is that thing which sounds like a lie the first time you hear it… but if it is not accepted, the whole life becomes a lie?"
I thought of Agni. Of the prophecy. Of the bond between us that felt both impossibly true and too terrifying to believe. "The truth is that… which we do not wish to hear," I said, my voice steady. "The answer is—Love. When someone says—'I love you', we consider it a lie the first time… whether it is true or false. But if it is not accepted, the greatest truth of life is lost."
The Betal's smile flickered, a hint of surprise in its bloody eyes. "Very good… You said correctly. But two questions remain…"
"Question the second: Do you know yourself, Neer? If you are asked to look into a mirror—and the face that appears in it is not yours, would you be able to know who you are?"
This was a deeper cut. It was asking about the power I had unleashed, the voice that had spoken through me to the Water God. Who was I, truly? I pushed the doubt aside. "I know that who I am… is a blend of many faces. But above all this, there is an 'I'— Neer… who never wavers from his duty and actions. I know who I am— because I am connected to the one… whom I know…" I did not say his name, but the Betal understood. My connection to Agni, however fraught, was my anchor.
The Betal nodded slowly. "Alright… I am convinced. But the next question… is the most difficult."
It floated even closer, its voice dropping to a whisper that seemed to come from inside my own skull.
"Question the third: What is the greatest illusion of this world? The one that everyone believes to be true… or the one, which never even existed for them?"
I closed my eyes. I thought of Raghav, believing in Neelima's love. I thought of Agni, believing in the inevitability of his destiny. I thought of myself, believing I could outrun the strange power inside me.
And I knew the answer.
"Time… and Forever," I said, the words leaving me with a sigh. "This is the greatest illusion. We all think we have a lot of time. We think that those we love, will always remain with us. But the truth is that… nothing lasts 'forever'. Not our love, not our hatred, not our loved ones. Yet… we do not accept this truth—and remain trapped in the illusion of 'forever'. This is our greatest sorrow."
For a long moment, the Betal was silent. The oppressive weight in the air lessened.
"Very good…" it finally whispered, its voice losing its malevolent edge, becoming almost… human. "Agni is lying unconscious behind this tree. Go and wake him up. However… this is not the end of the test, Neer… This is just the beginning."
I didn't wait. I rushed behind the massive trunk and found Agni on the ground, his chest rising and falling steadily. I shook his shoulder. "Agni! Wake up!"
His eyes snapped open, but they were wild, unfocused. In a flash, he was on his feet, his sword in his hand, its point aimed at my heart.
"Agni! What are you doing? Why are you attacking me?" I yelled, parrying his first, furious blow.
The Betal's voice echoed around us, laced with a final, malicious glee. "This is the real test for you two, Neer. Now let's see—who wins… and who loses."
Agni's face was a mask of rage I had only seen in my worst nightmares. "But I do! I will take your life!"
We fought. It was the duel from the mountain peak all over again, but this time, there was no Gurudev to send a vision, no Dharaya to build a wall. It was just him and me, and the Betal's poison in his mind. He was stronger, faster, driven by a madness I couldn't break.
I blocked and dodged, my arms aching with the force of his blows. "Agni! Stop! It's me!"
He wouldn't listen. He saw a monster. I saw my best friend trying to kill me.
Finally, with a desperate cry, I knocked his sword from his hand. It clattered to the forest floor. He stood before me, unarmed, panting, his eyes still burning with that alien hatred.
I threw my own sword down. The metallic clang was a final, definitive sound.
"If you must kill me, then take it," I said, my voice quiet but clear. "I offer my life to you. But I cannot slay you."
I knelt before him, my head bowed, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. I heard his ragged breath, felt the heat of his body as he stood over me. This was it. The end of our story, not in a storm-swept ruin, but in a cursed grove, a pawn in a dead man's game.
I braced for the blow.
"Stop, Agni!"
The Betal's voice was not a taunt this time. It was a command that shattered the illusion.
I looked up. Agni was blinking, his sword held loosely in his hand, his expression shifting from rage to dawning, horrified confusion. He looked from the sword to me, kneeling at his feet.
"Neer…?" he whispered, his voice cracking. "What is all this…?"
The Betal's form seemed to soften, the bloody light in its eyes dimming. "Neer… You understood the depth of all three of my questions. You chose truth. You chose your duty. You made your sacrifice… and chose Agni's life. In the last 500 years, no one had ever given up anything for anyone else. You… made me believe in love, friendship, and truth once again."
Its gaze encompassed us both. "I knew everything too… About you as well. Who you are, Neer… You yourself do not know. And Agni does not know either. But now… I have attained liberation. But remember—the time to come will bring your next test. Never become separated from your karma and your soul…"
"What test? What do you mean?" I demanded, getting to my feet.
"I cannot tell. Just listen to your conscience. And for my liberation… perform my Pind Daan and last rites. This is my final wish…"
A sigh of profound relief seemed to pass through the ancient banyan tree. The Betal's form dissolved, not into nothingness, but into a soft, golden light that rose upwards before gently fading. At the same moment, with a great, groaning creak, the five-hundred-year-old tree split down the middle and fell, its long captivity ended.
Agni and I stood amidst the wreckage, the silence now peaceful, the curse lifted. We were free. But the Betal's final warning echoed in the newfound quiet, a promise of a storm yet to come.
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Cliffhanger: The chapter ends with the Betal liberated, but its cryptic warning about a coming "next test" and the mystery of Neer's true identity hangs over them, ensuring their journey is far from over.