Stillness and then the faint ebb and flow of the water in the spring. Svetavastra could feel the wave of energy passing from the spring water to her. The memory she was in became clearer and more focused.
The sky was a crimson shade and below her were vast stretches of barren land filled with hordes of demons. At a distance from her hovering in the sky was Raktabija, the demon lord, his red eyes glowing with menace and fascination.
In her hands was the divine sword, pulsing with cosmic energy and she wore the radiant armour of the gods.
“You are being manipulated by them, God of War,” said Raktabija. “Why don’t you join me and we shall rule this world and all the worlds there are!”
“Desist Raktabija,” she said to the demon lord. “Give up with futile attempts and return to the Underworld. This world does not belong to you.”
“Why are you so stubborn, God of War,” said Raktabija. “Why can’t this world belong to me?”
“You seek to oppress, your powers cause devastation, innocent people suffer endlessly,” she said patiently. “Do we need more reasons?”
“Is that what those armchair gods sitting high above in Swarga-loka are letting you believe?” said Raktabija. “We are only claiming what should be rightfully ours. Why should Bhu-loka only be for the gods to descend? We demons can ascend to Bhu-loka as well!”
Raktabija then directed his demon army to attack her. The demon army charged towards her, scimitars raised, claws outstretched and fangs bared.
With one swift motion, Atisha, swung the divine sword, its blade cut through the air with a cosmic hum. The ground beneath her trembled, and the sword released a shockwave of radiant energy. The first wave of demons disintegrated instantly, their forms turning to ash and their screams echoing into the void.
But the demons were relentless. For every fallen creature, two more took their place. They circled her below on the ground and attacked her from all directions. Atisha spun, her sword carved arcs of starlight through the demonic flesh, each strike devastatingly clean and calculated.
From his perch, Raktabija watched with a twisted smile. His voice boomed over the battlefield, laced with dark temptation.
“You do not know the whole truth, God of War. They keep you in the dark,” Raktabija taunted, his laughter reverberating through the skies. “I have seen what they fear, and it is not me.”
Atisha doesn’t respond. His words struck something deep within her, as though they resonated with an old wound she couldn’t quite recall. She clenched her sword tighter. Her focus remained on the horde. Her sword ignited, and she leapt into the air, landing in the center of the densest group of demons. A blinding explosion of cosmic energy erupted from her landing, reducing hundreds of demons to nothing but dust.
Raktabija signalled his commanders, and the demon army began to shift tactics. The demon army became invisible and started to throw arrows, spears and swords at Atisha in the sky. She formed a sphere of cosmic energy as a defence shield and all the weapons fell to the ground in an instant. But the attacks on her grew in intensity.
“Stop this while you can Raktabija,” said Atisha. “I will not hesitate to wipe out your entire army.”
“Have I gained the powers of the world just to meekly listen to you, God of War?” said Raktabija. “I have suffered willingly for a thousand years so that I would fear no one and be beneath no god or demon in this world.”
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Invisible spears and arrows from all directions clanged uselessly against the glowing sphere of energy she had formed around herself. But the attacks came faster, harder. She could feel the force behind each blow reverberating through her shield. Her body tensed as she sent another wave of cosmic energy rippling outward, sweeping the ground clean of the demon horde once more. But they kept coming, relentless.
“This is not a question of your superiority or inferiority,” said Atisha. “But the safety of this world and safety of the beings that live in it. Your path is filled with endless trail of destruction and devastation, what right does it give you to wreak such havoc on this Bhu-loka?”
Atisha swung her sword in arcs in all directions and the invisible demons fell by the cosmic waves. They became visible before turning to dust. For a moment they was silence.
Raktabija sighed.
“Useless demons,” he muttered as he summoned his scimitar in his right hand.
“Looks like I have to fight you myself, God of War. No worries, I hope not to disappoint your divinity.”
He swung his scimitar with arrogance, expecting to overwhelm Atisha
Atisha parried his blow, her divine sword ringing with power as sparks flew from the clash.
Raktabiha lunged forward in the air with a mighty swing, aiming to cleave Atisha in two. She sidestepped his attack, her blade flashing in the light as it cuts into his side, spilling his blood.
Raktabija laughed as he saw his blood.
“God of War, do you not know?” He couldn’t stop laughing. “Blood is my power, my endless source of might - I rise in every drop that is spilled. Hahahahaha!”
Raktabija’s clones rose from the blood on the battlefield, surrounding Atisha, all wielding scimitars and preparing to strike.
“You are blinded by your rage and ambition Raktabija,” said Atisha.
Atisha multiplied herself and each of her clones wielding the divine sword, cut through Raktabija’s duplicates with precision.
“You are blinded by your sense of duty as well, God of War,” said Raktabija. “You should wake up and seek the truth.”
“What truth?” asked Atisha. “The only thing that matters right now is that you stop this destruction you have started here on Bhu-loka!”
“Pfft! I have bested several gods, you will follow suit shortly,” said Raktabija and in anger, he swung his scimitar wildly trying to break free from the encirclement caused by the clones of Atisha.
Atisha’s forms closed the circle, pushing him and his clones inward, forming a barrier of divine light that trapped him.
“You cannot hold me! I will tear through this, as I have torn through all who dared stand against me! The gods will bow to my might!” shouted Raktabija.
He swung his scimitar to attack and break free but the light of Atisha’s sword grew stronger, and the earth trembled beneath them as she channelled more energy into her strikes.
“Enough! Time to reflect on what it means to hold such power,” said Atisha calmly.
The light from her divine sword intensified, forcing Raktabija’s clones to merge back into him, while the ground beneath him began to crack and shift. Atisha thrust her sword forward, sending a final surge of divine light into the ground, creating a portal to the underworld as it opened beneath Raktabija.
“Nooooooooo!” shouted Raktabija as he fell into the portal.
Raktabija’s final scream echoed through the battlefield, the ground trembling beneath her, Atisha’s grip on her sword faltered for a moment. The cosmic energy that surged through her connected to something deep, something long buried within. A sharp pulse of energy rippled through her chest, pulling her backward—no, pulling her inward.
Suddenly, the battlefield faded. Shadows deepened around her, and she was somewhere else—somewhere she had been before but could not fully remember. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light, revealing the silhouette of a man standing with his back to her. He stood tall, his posture regal, with a crown that shimmered faintly. The silk robes wrapped around him fluttered gently. There was an undeniable authority in the way he stood, his presence as vast as the skies, and yet his face remained hidden in shadow.
“Some things are beyond even the gods,” the figure said, his voice cold and resolute, as though he had uttered such words many times before. “No need to kill him, just send him back to the underworld so that he doesn’t return to Bhu-loka,”
But Raktabija’s words echoed in her mind, gnawing at something buried deep within her. She tried to shake it off, but his voice lingered. For the briefest moment, a flicker of doubt stirred in her heart. What truth did she not know?
The memory shattered abruptly as Svetavastra’s eyes snapped open in the water. She gasped, but her lungs filled with nothing but icy liquid. Her vision blurred as she thrashed in the water, trying to reach the surface, but the bottomless lake seemed to drag her deeper. Panic seized her as the weight of the water pressed down, cold and unyielding. Air bubbles escaped her lips, rising slowly to the top.