Where peace had now been established in Jedna, Satya and Shiva were running toward the village, avoiding the traps laid by Karan and fighting monsters. They had already sensed that something was very wrong. When they reached near the village, they were stunned. The battlefield outside the village was extremely quiet, but this silence alone was enough to frighten Shiva and Satya.
The battlefield was describing every event that had taken place there. Even though no bodies remained, the piles of bloodstones and the broken condition of the field and the forest told what had happened. Among them lay Ansh, Kavi, and Siya, drenched in blood. They were breathing deeply; otherwise it would have seemed like corpses were lying there. A short distance away, Gaurav was also lying unconscious on a stone rock.
Shiva ran toward them, his voice filled with worry."Are you three okay?"
They all looked at each other as if they wanted to say something, but then they saw Satya coming toward them. They hesitated and said, "Yes, we are fine."But where were you? Siya said, "Do you even know what all happened just now? The village was almost destroyed, it's thanks to those spi—"
Just then Ansh elbowed her. Siya handled the situation and said,"For some reason, we succeeded in becoming gods."
Feeling the change in their aura, Satya frowned. From Siya's words he understood and said,"Have the three of you become gods? I can feel something—your aura is stronger than before, more divine. But Gaurav, who is a low-level god, his aura should have been lighter than yours, then why do you feel like mid-level gods?"
Shiva knew why it was so, but he said,"Brother Satya, instead of paying attention to these things right now, we should focus somewhere else."
Ansh, Kavi, and Siya glanced sharply at each other and answered together,"Yes, right. This is not the time to talk about it. We must focus on helping the wounded."
Without saying anything further, they turned toward the survivors of the battle and began helping them. The result of the fight was devastating—many guild members had died, and even their bodies had been destroyed in that final strike which the three gods had unleashed together. Now only their weapons and armor remained, which showed their last sign, and the rest were severely injured.
Michael said to Shiva through telepathy,"Lord Shiva, I can see a curse on all these souls, which is perhaps caused by this evil structure. If you permit me, I can take them to the Spirit Realm. There they can start a new life. They will not have memories, but their souls will not wander and they will be saved from becoming undead."
Shiva understood. He nodded in agreement.
Then Siya and the rest of the villagers, who had not been injured because of her barrier, began helping the wounded. All the guild's healing potions, mana potions, and hunger potions were used. Rahul, who was the vessel of a goblin god, collected all the bloodstones with the help of his subspace bag.
In the beginning Siya, Ansh, Kavi, and Gaurav were very tired, but they were gods, so they recovered their energy quickly. Even though the battle had been won, the loss was immense—almost every house had lost someone. Those who were left were somehow hiding their pain and helping the others.
In the end, when everyone had been treated, after that Shiva, Siya, Ansh, Gaurav, and Satya gathered the remains of all the people. Memorial stones were made in their memory. The entire night passed in this work. In the morning all the villagers came to offer their tributes. Flowers were placed.
People wanted Gaurav to say something. With great difficulty he said,"I know that I was not able to stop all this, and so many people were martyred because of me. Therefore, I resign from the position of guild leader and appoint Maya as the new guild leader."
He was trying not to cry, but then a small boy, whose only father remained and whose mother had already passed away, came holding flowers in his hands and said,"Leader Gaurav, my father told me that when you were fighting, he was hit by a very dangerous attack that could have killed him, but you took that attack on yourself. That is why both your hands have become like this."
Crying, he said,"Uncle, thank you… otherwise how would I have lived? I would have died too."
Gaurav hugged him.The people who were somehow holding back their tears could no longer control themselves. Everyone was crying and supporting each other.
In the end, everyone returned to their homes, holding back their tears.
Ansh, Siya, and Kavi were all in Shiva's room. There was such silence that it pierced straight into Shiva's heart. Then Ansh was the first to break the silence.
"Shiva, who are you really? And why do these souls worship you like a god?"
The question tore through the quiet. Everyone's eyes fixed on Shiva. He realized that the time to avoid it was over, yet he hesitated.
Finally he spoke, his voice heavy with the burden of the truth hidden within."I cannot tell you. If I told you who I really am, everything would change. Maybe you would hate me and our friendship might break."
The others looked at one another—confused, but respecting his decision. Shiva's silence deepened the mystery around him. They understood that forces were working here far beyond their understanding.
After some tense silence, Ansh spoke again,"Do you not consider us your friends? If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to save so many people. The truth is, we wouldn't even be here right now. At least you can tell us who those beings were who called themselves spirits."
Shiva looked at him. Ansh's words hung heavily in the air. After a while he said,"Alright, I will tell you. The truth is, I myself do not know who I am. But when I first regained consciousness, I was trapped in a strange dimension for a long time. I wandered endlessly until I met these beings. They made me their god."
He told half the truth. Ansh understood that something was being hidden.
"If you don't want to tell us everything, that's fine," Ansh said, "but remember, we are your friends. Whenever you need us, we will stand with you."
Silence again filled the room, which Siya broke."By the way, thank you for giving us these wonderful spirits. One more thing—how many spirits do you have?"
Shiva shrugged."I honestly don't know."
Then Kavi asked,"Where do they live? Can you show us?"
Before Shiva could say anything, Michael appeared. This time he was visible to everyone. Behind him were six pairs of wings and on his head was a golden halo, showing his divinity.
He said,"You can show them. But since the spirits have made you their king, we live within your consciousness. If you want to bring your friends there, you will have to hold their hands and take them inside your mind."
Following Michael's guidance, Shiva extended his hand toward his friends, and together they entered a vast, golden realm—Shiva's consciousness.
Astonished, Ansh said,"Being here, I feel more powerful than ever before."
As they moved forward, countless spirits began to appear. They led them toward a grand palace, where the leaders of the spirits were waiting. Saras, the spirit of knowledge, stood beside Shiva.
She said,"And they wish to introduce themselves to you."
Then one by one, the spirits stepped forward.
Vishal, a tall and mysterious figure, came forward."I am Vishal, the symbol of the unknown and the infinite. I stand at the boundary where understanding ends—the vastness between light and darkness."
Kshitij stepped ahead, his form like the balance of light and shadow."I am Kshitij, the union of light and darkness, the boundary between what is seen and what is unseen. I watch worlds meet and separate."
Smiling with a gentle glow, Chandra came forward."I am Chandra, the spirit of the moon. I am peace in the darkness, the soft light that guides the way at night."
Tanveer, whose aura was bright and mysterious, bowed slightly."I am Tanveer, the luminous one. My light pierces the darkness and reveals what is hidden."
From the other side, the group of light began their introduction, led by Prakash."I am Prakash, the spirit of light, the essence that removes darkness and gives life to all."
Divya, beautiful and otherworldly, stepped forward."I am Divya, divine light—the ray of hope in heaven, the one who shows the way to the lost."
Aarav, calm and composed, bowed respectfully."I am Aarav, the spirit of peace. My light brings comfort, reminding that even after the most terrible storm, calm arrives."
One after another, the spirits representing knowledge, power, earth, fire, air, water, ice, nature, and thunder continued to come forward. Each spirit told their name and declared their power, and their energy made the entire place come alive.
When the spirit of thunder, Indra, finished his introduction, Saras looked toward Shiva and his companions. All these leaders possessed immense power and unwavering loyalty toward Shiva. Standing beside him, Saras said,"We are always with you."
Seeing this incredible sight, Kavi, Ansh, and Siya were speechless. It was impossible for them to understand the depth of Shiva's power. Kavi asked Saras,"How many spirits are there?"
Saras smiled and said,"As many as you can imagine."
As soon as Saras said this, a memory suddenly flashed in Shiva's mind like lightning—something extremely important, hidden deep within his consciousness, now about to resurface.
Then one by one, the spirits continued stepping forward