Kali Yuga: War of Worlds

With recording taken care off, another window popped up.

"Paving the path for future generation — started."

"Hm." Nripathi nodded grimly, before leaving Shreya in the Archives to discover more of Shree Mahal.

"S-sir…" someone said softly, almost as if scared to even talk.

"Suraj, what brings you here?" Nripathi said, turning around.

"What should i do?" Suraj said, looking doubtful about his role.

"Uh…you are um…the builder, do the needful." Nripathi said, trying to escape before being pulled into defining Suraj's work for him.

Nripathi himself was not sure what Suraj should do.

There were no materials, no repairs, no blueprints, nothing.

"But materials sir?" Suraj asked, giving validity to the fear in Nripathi's mind.

"...we'll see. Try exploring. You might find something useful."

Nripathi walked off before Suraj could ask anything else.

Nripathi walked onto a large circular stone slab that had engravings on it. The moment he did so, a transparent golden wall rose around him. The engravings glowed and it started moving down.

It was the "elevator" of the palace. He reached the ground floor soon enough where the other members were moving around lazily.

Some were admiring the beauty of the wall, some rubbing their fingers on the white marble, to feel how real it was.

Nripathi saw their curiosity as he walked towards the main door. He looked above.

The stained glass that made the dome seemed so high, that it was next to impossible to make out the paintings on them.

The ground floor was like a large circular throne room surrounded with huge windows that gave a free pass to abundant sunlight.

The walls had large electric torches that would only prove necessary in the absence of the sun.

The main door was huge, big enough to let a giant pass through. It was made of a metal with engraving on it. The door swung open slowly as Nripathi approached it.

He reached outside and found himself standing on something like a large arched patio made completely of white marble. It was more like a pavilion attached to the palace.

There was a large flight of stairs that descended down in front of him and he took them.

It took some time, but he reached the foot of the stairs after about five minutes. There stood two ferocious looking huge marble lions.

"I am turning this flight of stairs into an elevator with the first chance I get." he thought. "No way, I am going to walk that many stairs to reach the entrance."

He started walking around the garden. It was a vast space full of green. The grass was trimmed and sported a beautiful soothing green colour. There was no stray branches or weeds that littered that space.

"Ah! Peace." he thought.

He kept on walking, away from the white towering structure, further into the garden while reminiscing about his wife, imagining what it would be to have a child.

He imagined his parents, smiling as they saw their grandchild, healthy and hearty, running around in this garden.

He was completely lost in thought when suddenly something crunched under his foot. He looked down.

"Twigs?" he thought. "Wait…!!!!"

There were large trees around him and bushes that covered everything in front. He was in a forest.

"Where am I? He said, looking around in panic. "WHERE THE FUCK AM I?"

There was no one around.

He heard something behind him. He turned around and saw a man run out of the bushes, carrying his child, shouting for help.

Nripathi froze. The man passed him without noticing him and disappeared among the bushes.

Then he heard a nasty growl that had anger mixed in it and a huge beast leaped out of the bushes and ran towards Nripathi.

Its eyes were black with small red dots that shone like a ruby.

"AAAHHH!!!". He unwittingly raised his hands, trying to summon the lightning he had previously called, in an attempt to stop the beast. The electricity flickered in his hands but the beast was faster.

It ran straight into Nripathi before he could do anything.

"HIIIIIEEEEK!" Nripathi screamed as he tightly shut his eyes. To his surprise, the beast passed through him. It was nothing more than an illusion.

When he realised it, he collapsed on the ground. His eyes were teary as he had thought that this would be his end.

"Huu…haa…huu…haa…what the fuck was that?"

Suddenly, a cool breeze started blowing and carried with it the mild and soothing scent of sandalwood paste filling the entire forest air. Oh what a delightful smell it was!

Along with it wafted in, the wild and intoxicating smell of fresh tuberose.

A man appeared from behind the bushes. He was dressed like a villager, wearing a short orange-yellow kurta and a tight white dhoti. In his hand was a long stick.

He was dark in complexion but the darkness had a strange silvery hue to it.

His eyes were like the petals of a very very big lotus. His brown pupils had a strange sweet intoxication about them. His lips were stretched in the most beautiful and serene smile Nripathi had ever seen.

His black, curly hair covered his nape shining like a silk cloth in the sunlight that streamed through the filter of the forest trees. He was barefoot.

His toes were shaped evenly and Nripathi could see the pinkish tone of the sole of his feet in between the toes. No man could have been this graceful.

"Who are you?" Nripathi asked, in awe of the man's presence.

The man kneeled down, meeting Nripathi's eyes at his level.

"Nripathi, don't be afraid, what you saw just now was but an event of the past." the man spoke. "It cannot affect you nor can you affect it. Hence its best to let go."

His voice was soft like a feather, melodious like the flute and sweet like the nectar in flowers. Nripathi continued to look at the man, completely robbed of his senses of speech.

"You have, on your shoulders, a weight that can only be lifted by you." the man continued. "The future is ragged and torn, fraught with one too many difficulties. You, who bears 'king' in your name, shall be the king with every fiber of your being."

Looking at Nripathi's confused state, the man smiled, as a parent would upon seeing their confused child.

"Worry not about the result of your work nor the future you are unaware of. Just fulfill your responsibility of paving the road towards the future and you shall succeed."

"4000 years hence, shall be the coming of a new dawn, an age of war, but also of peace. Prepare them O Nripathi, prepare them ...."

The sunlight started flooding Nripathi's vision and before long there was nothing he could see.

He blinked, unable to bear the brightness and opened his eyes to find himself laying on the neatly trimmed fresh grass of the garden.