The battlefield receded.
Not physically—but in relevance.
Thousands of warriors stood frozen as Karna and Arjuna faced one another, bows raised, eyes locked. Dust hung unmoving in the air, as if even the earth refused to intrude.
This was no longer a battle.
It was a meeting that had been postponed for lifetimes.
---
Karna released the first arrow.
Not as challenge.
As acknowledgment.
It split the air cleanly, precise and measured.
Arjuna's arrow met it mid-flight.
The impact cracked like thunder.
Neither man flinched.
Krishna watched without speaking.
Guidance now would cheapen what must be earned.
---
They moved.
Chariots circled.
Feet shifted.
Arrows flew in disciplined succession.
Not chaos.
Not fury.
Skill answering skill.
Each strike was calculated.
Each defense exact.
The system observed in rare silence.
—
[Event Classification: Mythic Convergence]
[Interference: Forbidden]
—
Karna's arrows came like inevitability—unrelenting, heavy with intent. Arjuna countered with speed and adaptability, angles changing, rhythm shifting.
Observers could barely track the exchange.
Bhima clenched his fists. "They're not trying to overpower each other."
Krishna nodded. "They are testing whose truth bends."
---
Karna drew again.
"Tell me," he called, voice steady even as arrows flew, "do you fight for victory—or for release?"
Arjuna deflected and answered without hesitation.
"I fight so this ends."
Karna smiled faintly.
"So do I."
---
An arrow grazed Arjuna's shoulder.
Another cut Karna's armor.
Blood touched the ground.
The earth did not recoil.
It accepted.
Rudra felt it.
"This is clean," he said quietly.
Anaya watched, hands clasped. "Then let it be."
---
The duel intensified.
Weapons clashed.
Divine astras flared—but restrained, controlled.
Neither man reached for annihilation.
Not yet.
Because both knew—
If they did, meaning would die first.
---
Karna faltered for half a breath.
Arjuna noticed.
Not weakness.
Weight.
"You're carrying something," Arjuna said.
Karna laughed softly. "A lifetime."
Then his eyes sharpened.
"And this is where I set it down."
He invoked an astra.
The air screamed.
Arjuna answered in kind.
The collision tore the sky open—light folding, sound collapsing inward.
For a heartbeat—
Nothing existed.
Then—
Both stood.
Breathing.
Wounded.
Unyielding.
---
Duryodhana watched from afar.
Tears burned his eyes.
Not for Karna.
For himself.
Because he finally understood—
This was never his war to win.
---
Rudra straightened slightly.
"The next exchange," he said, "will decide not who lives—but what is remembered."
The system did not argue.
—
[Resolution Phase: Initiated]
—
Karna lowered his bow—just an inch.
"Arjuna," he said, voice calm, "whatever happens next—know this."
Arjuna waited.
"I chose this end."
Arjuna nodded.
"So did I."
They raised their bows again.
The world leaned forward.
Because when two truths collide honestly—
Only one remains.
And it is never the one that shouted first.
-- chapter 63 ended --