by Nihar Sharma
Doser wasn’t afraid of any shadows, it was the bravest horse, general got up and heaven army seemed little scared but Prince motivated them “Sooner we will break this door and destroy the world of savages and rotten”. The army cheered.
Torriyan had to do what he came for; he scared the last horse in the line and untied it from the line. That horse in fear ran away unnoticed. The general commanded “Pull”.
They had 999 horses and this was not going to be possible to break that door now, the king was watching from above with curiosity and the Dark Lord from his dream and smiled “Torriyan”. If they pulled the door with 999 horses, the all horses would die the black power of the door for its protection.
With the command, soldiers lashed on horses and they pulled that door, the door sounded crack sounds and all horses stopped before the door got broken. General and Prince couldn’t understand why they all stopped in middle.
Demosus with his army stepped back and held the line tight; they thought the door was broken but not yet.
The prince ran to his Doser and saw; it was bleeding from its nose. He looked at it with misted eyes and his heart was pounding hard. The heaven army looked stunned, what had gone wrong then a soldier came from back and reported to the general “Sir, one horse had been released from the line”. It shocked general, now it was clear why all the horses failed; the old magic had worked against them.
Other horses were also bleeding to death slowly. The general looked at prince and said “My lord, we failed. Other horses are bleeding too.”
The prince could not control his rage and yelled on the general “We have done what is to be done, but the door is still not broken.”
“The horses”… a soldier screamed the prince and general looked back; the one by one horse fell down on the ground dead. Doser looked at prince and fell dead on the ground too. The prince couldn’t control his emotions tight and yelled in pain.
Then a voice of laughter penetrated through his ears, army got prepared with spears and swords, a shadow appearing to be in human shape stood before the prince and smiled. The prince couldn’t understand what to do with that bastard, and he had no idea about this one. Who was he, a never heard of it, a complete mystery to him?
“Arrest him” the general commanded his army but he disappeared again in thin air.
Demosus and his army were waiting inside for Torriyan to come back. He came thru the same door’s hole. Demosus asked “My lord, what happened out there?” Torriyan smiled at him consoled him to return with army and sleep well, the battle was over.
The netherworld army cheered in joy, and all start marching back without Demosus’s command.
Torriyan again disappeared into the thin air and appeared before the prince; the angry prince captured him and took him to the heaven council to punish him.
Torriyan smiled and muttered “what a gift from son to father.”
DEATH EMBRACED THEM
Vikram managed to drag Aaditya out of the well and breathed heavily, Aaditya was totally exhausted and but there was no wounds on his body after brutally beaten by Rajat and his friends. Both stood shocked to see they had no single bruises on their bodies.
How could it be possible? Both had been into the well and came without any scars. The last thing they both remembered was screaming and breathe taking pain inside the well the junkyard.
“I knew it would happen” said Vikram in anger.
“He started the fight” Aaditya argued.
“Our lives, Have you gone mad? Look what happened, it could have taken our lives. Thank god we are alive” Vikram sighed and looked at his best friend and smiled “But the good news is, we are still fine, see there is no scars, bruises on our bodies” He calmed down Aaditya and both busted into a laughter.
Aaditya asked “what will we do now?”
He came closer to Aaditya and touched his face; “Aaditya, we are fine and safe” he smiled and added “let’s go home.”
“I don’t know maybe there was something inside the well” Aaditya looked at him “Let’s not trying this again” Vikram snorted.
Then promised to each other’s that neither they wouldn’t tell anyone about this nor they would look for vengeance and they left their homes.
Vikram found his parents were asleep so he didn’t disturb them, and he was exhausted so without dinner he went to his bed and slept. Where Aaditya was feeling little lighter and free. It was like he was tied up with something but this world looked like he was in prison. Vikram also was unable to sleep as he was feeling quarantined in his own house.
Someone suddenly knocked on the door and Vikram was awake, thought “who might be at this time”. Then he heard some voices whispering but it was too late by time he got there. His parents had rushed outside so he followed them.
A lot of people had gathered near the well. He couldn’t see anything because of people and there was very critical ambience. He could hear his mother’s cry and father’s screaming. Then Aaditya appeared. They both were shocked and had no idea what was going on there. Why those people had gathered and then Aaditya’s parents joined them. Priya and Ranjan broke into tears.
Vikram looked at Aaditya completely surprised and seemed like the ground had moved from beneath of their feet. Aaditya held his hand tighter, both were scared and in a cold wave shock. No idea why their parents were crying, few people were holding the rope in their hands, and pulling something out from that well.
Both stepped forward, Vikram first touched his mother but he could not touch her, same with Aaditya. A cold ran down their spines, their hearts became cold; they could not touch except they could see them.
Vikram and Aaditya tried to talk to them but none was listening to them. Those people and their own parents couldn’t see them, hear them.
“What is going on”? “They are not answering us. Nobody is talking to us and ignoring us like we never exist” Vikram screamed, Aaditya realized that they were no more in this world. He was also nervous and scared; he had never seen Vikram acting like this.
Then the whole place was over taken by screaming and weeping. They had pulled out the dead bodies, Vikram’s and Aaditya’s parents rushed to their bodies and hugged them tight, and they were totally broken to see their children’s dead bodies.
Vikram sat on the ground next to his own dead body but Aaditya was with Vikram and kept his hand on his shoulder. He realized that they had lost their lives and now they were ghosts. They had witnessed their own death, and their own bodies were on the ground before them, their parents had broken into pieces and they were watching helplessly.
They looked at each other’s and promised they wouldn’t let Rajat go unpunished.
HEAVEN & TORRIYAN
Heaven had lost the battle under the Prince’s leadership and direction, and it would hamper him in future being a new king.
The failure had made a home in his heart and was lost in grief of his horse’s death, Doser. He lost him because of Torriyan and he would not spare him, the pain of seeing him alive kept hurting him all the way back to heaven, he wanted to slay him but he was bound by rules and command of his father.
Torriyan was brought to the King’s court. He had to be delivered alive to the royal court for his sins to be judged and punished. The oldest enemies would meet again face to face. The lost battle had cost thousand precious horses and morale of the army.
The Dark Lord could feel his absence but time was Torriyan’s to play with gods. He was bound to certain limitations but Torriyan was not.
The king chuckled hard in the council to see Torriyan in chains. “Welcome to my world my friend.” Torriyan smiled back at king. “Take and welcome him with our gratitude to great Torriyan”.
The prince ordered his guards to put him behind the bars; Torriyan smirked at his command and followed the guards to the prison.
The general asked “My Lord, how can you put a shadow behind the bars?” The prince had no answers to the general but he patted on his shoulder and replie
d with a smile which didn’t reach to his eyes “We captured him”.
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The King wanted to visit Torriyan in the prison. He wanted to talk to him and make him feel that he was no any godly soul who could do whatever he wished to. This was the heaven and here king’s rule implied on all.
“After a long time” Torriyan smiled “five thousand years”.
The king smiled back and replied with harsh answer “you are always a dog and you know what in heaven we keep dogs behind the bars.”
“I burnt you into ashes once and again I will do the same” the king added.
“Yet I am here” Torriyan made a sarcasm reminding king’s failure.
“I have a special arrangement for you” King smiled at him and turned and commanded his guards “keep this dog near the burning sun” and the king left and guards followed his order.
Nothing could burn a shadow, born from fire itself. King forgot this fact because his arrogant mind and old animosity had clouded the fact he used to know. His bar was kept hanged near the burning sun; the iron used in that bar was from the core of the comet so those bars could endure the sun’s mightiest power. The iron rods started turning into red, and Torriyan was standing in the middle of the bar. The king busted out in great laughter seemed like he was having some kind relief in his heart and comfort over his wound called animosity. They left Torriyan there to be burnt before any trials in court.
Torriyan kept staring at the sun with his big wide opened eyes without blinking. Seemed like he wanted to see his real father who had given him birth out of fire, the origination of fire was from the sun god. He never had a chance to thank him but it was really very close and the best time to show his gratitude. He folded his hands and started chanting the slokas for sun god.
The guards had checked after a while and found he was alive so they informed the king, he was so furious to know that he was alive and now he would stand for a trial in the court. So next day morning they summoned the shadow.
The prince especially initiated to bring the prisoner to the court, and the general with prince walked to the court room.
Torriyan in chains started moving to the royal court of heavens with the prince and the general who was very loyal to prince. What kind of punishment they would sentence him when the mighty sun couldn’t burn him. The general was worried about the security of heaven and their king due to fear of fear of someone who was their prisoner but his stories and accomplishments used to fear all so general didn’t want to take any chances, so he tightened the security of the chambers, council and personal security to king and prince.
The guards of heaven door opened the giant door; Torriyan looked at the size of the door. The first question crossed in his mind why that giant door was built for. He wanted to touch the door but the guard from his behind hit him with the hilt of sword and pushed him forward.
The king, sitting in the throne smiled. He was happy to see his old enemy in chains. Soldiers hailed the king and all council members stood up and hailed their king, Torriyan was forced to bend on his knees.
An old man in white loincloth and golden bar in his hand opened a letter and started reading, “The man who is standing here in his grace’s court is charged with deception, murder and betrayal to his and all’s king” and looked at him with narrowed eyes and continued “Do you accept all these?”.
“The king to all!” Torriyan commented sarcastically and laughed out loudly in that court. The general looked at his one of his guards and waved his hand to make him quite. He hit Torriyan with that spear on the ground to make him quite. He grinned at guard but a smile on guard’s face seemed like he was not afraid of that so called monster in chains.
The guard hit him again. Torriyan didn’t flinch for a while but it made king happier for a moment. He looked back with his raged red eyes which scared that guard and he stepped back. He got up on his feet and looked around with his fiery red eyes, the council members got scared and the king stood up and before he could utter. Torriyan shouted at the king “I have my king, the one and only Dark Lord”. An old man announced “This is absolutely nefarious, he is embarrassing our king in front of us and we are quite. He should be dead by stones”
The king screamed “Silence, I want to hear him. Please continue before you meet your destiny. And I promise you nobody today onwards will rise against me” the king uttered and looked at his eyes.
Torriyan laughed out loudly and his laughter echoed on the walls of the heaven council “Nobody can kill me even gods. Folks, I am here because I wanted to be.” Then he disappeared and all started whispering and muttering in fear. The guard who hit twice Torriyan was dead on the ground and nobody could see this happened. The old man saw the guard’s dead body fled from the council in fear and hit with a pillar and fell down dead on the ground.
The guards had surrounded king and the prince for their protections, and other guards had started searching for him. The only god who was sitting calm and quite in black cloak named Yamraj, he wanted to see the Torriyan and here he had witnessed his capacity and power with his own eyes so the stories were true about him so far.
Then there was a statement on the top of the gate “Your reign ends.”
The general commanded to close the all gates of heaven and search every single chamber. The guards started searching for him, then they heard a voice coming from king’s chamber and they all rushed to there and on the top of the door of the chamber “The scion is born and he will be the real king of whole universe” a statement written.
DIRECTIONLESS
They were stunned and frozen when had seen themselves dead. Villagers just fished their bodies out and they were standing hapless and helpless except but watching their parents crying over their deaths.
“We came out alive, didn’t we?” Vikram asked in broken voice filled with deep sorrow and fear, tears in eyes. But Aaditya had nothing to say, he was also going through the same.
Aaditya sighed long and looked up in the sky and replied his friend “How does it matter now? Everything ended. We are now gone.”
“I was the only son and hope to my parents. Their dreams died with me.” Vikram scoffed and broke into tears. Aaditya had given his shoulder for moral support. Vikram used to stand with him same when they was alive.
Now a puzzle started, when they had died so what was left for them to stay back in this world. The whole world was now colorless for them, they could see something which they had never seen while alive, and they could hear various sounds from far away.
Nature had placed its dice and Vikram and Aaditya became the puppets in the hands of destiny. After death their souls were rejected to leave this world and until they would have their vengeance. Their souls would be redeemed when they would have their justice.
Villagers had taken their corpses to their houses and started arranging for rituals. Tears dried in their eyes but Vikram’s mother and Priya were relentlessly crying for their sons. Soon they would have to leave this world and never could see their parents and siblings.
They were watching their dead bodies burning on pyre. Vikram thought to scream and let others know that he was here with them but would it be just a trial in vain. Their voices, touches had become nothing but meaningless, no living human being could see and touch them, talk to them or feel them again. No future or no present were restored for them, it was only a justice they ought to seek and redeem themselves and were stuck in between two worlds.
He could never touch her, feel and love her. Yes, Sheetal had crossed Vikram’s mind and he wanted to see her last time before he bid adieu from this earth. But he couldn’t cross the line, as they had a boundary between them, ghosts can never meet their beloved ones. Nature has her own norms. Aaditya saw his friend in that pain, he was happy with Sheetal and suddenly a monster had destroyed their lives. He grinned in anger and took an oath to finish what Rajat had started….
THE ADJUSTMENT AGENCIES
“The wor
ld we know is one where we belong as long as we are alive and other worlds embrace us depending on our good and bad deeds after death; we call these places heaven and hell respectively. The masters of both worlds have their power based in souls. The human world is the balance between these two worlds.
The balance is maintained by adjustment agencies and responsible for balance in heaven and hell too. The masters will reign in their respective worlds and the status of their power depends on their stock of souls. Heaven is bound for human souls only because they pray and worship gods. As long as human beings pray, the gods in heaven will continue to remain powerful. But few human souls travel to hell for their course of punishments and return to their creator but few never can make it but keeping records of them is little tricky, isn’t it?” Yamraj smiled and Chitragupta was writing on his notebook. “Chitragupta” Yamraj called him gently, “oh, yes my lord” Chitragupta agreed with his lord.
Yamraj smirked and continued “There is a dark magic, after the deaths of animals their souls cannot travel to heaven as they cannot pray and their souls are not considered to be used souls of human beings. Here where the master of hell, the dark lord found the secret and asked for animal souls too in the truce between gods and devils. That is why the dark lord is invincible, he has more souls but the human world keeps gods in more powerful over them”.
Chitragupta asked “My lord, you said used souls. What exactly that meant”
Yamraj breathed in “See every human has a soul but if it commits tad sin it goes to heaven but it is being sent to animal and insect world for serving his final duties to the universe. We need balance right” Yamraj smiled.
“The agent of souls is the only one who can delegate the power, souls cannot roam around in human world without any purpose otherwise the balance will not be possible to maintain, disturbed souls will not bring any harmony to the human world. The agent of souls has to answer to the council members of the Adjustment Agency run by you, the master of death, in order to make peace and strike a balance between the two worlds” Chitragupta added.
