The forest was deceptively quiet, the thick canopy blotting out most of the sunlight. Veer and his team moved cautiously, every step muffled by the damp earth.
Suddenly, a faint, metallic scraping noise echoed through the trees.
Veer's instincts flared. "Priya! Chitra!" he barked, snapping his head toward his wives. "Run!"
Before anyone could ask questions, the ground beneath them convulsed. The very earth groaned as the massive mountains in front of them began to shift, rising up into the sky. Rocks cascaded down like lethal rain. It wasn't a mountain range at all—it was a colossal, sentient demon, its rocky hide pulsing with dark, ancient malice.
Veer raised his hands, channeling his energy to strike, but a cold realization hit him. His powers, which had brought down countless foes, felt like mere sparks against this absolute titan. His energy bounced off the demon's stone armor uselessly.
The entity roared, raising a massive, mountain-sized fist to crush the six of them into dust.
"Run! All of you, get out of here now!" Veer roared, bracing himself to take the brunt of the blow to buy them time.
"No, Brother! I'm not leaving you!" Viraj shouted back, refusing to abandon Veer to certain death.
The colossal fist descended, casting a shadow of absolute doom over the team. But right before impact, a flash of blinding light cut through the dim forest.
SCHLIT!
A clean, impossibly sharp line formed across the titan's massive body. For a fraction of a second, everything went still. Then, with a deafening crash, the mountain-sized demon was cleanly severed into perfect, bleeding pieces of stone and flesh, collapsing into a heap of rubble.
Standing atop the remains of the dead demon was a lone man, his blade humming with terrifying authority. He didn't look at Veer's team. Instead, he glared down at the severed head of the behemoth.
"Who dared to kill my weapon?" the man muttered, his voice dripping with venom. His eyes slowly shifted toward the six survivors, his aura flaring with murderous intent as he prepared to strike them down next.
Veer stood his ground, his hand on his weapon, sensing the overwhelming gap in their strength. "Who are you?" Veer demanded, his voice steady despite the pressure. "How do you know me?"
The mysterious swordsman paused, lowering his blade just an inch, a cryptic smirk playing on his lips.
"You'll get your answers," the man replied coldly, turning his back to them. "But only after you survive long enough to rea
ch that place."The mysterious swordsman vanished into the thick fog, leaving Veer and his team standing among the colossal remains of the shattered mountain demon. Before they could even process his cryptic words, a harsh, grating sound echoed from above.
A jet-black crow landed on a gnarled branch right above them, its beady eyes locked onto the group. Suddenly, its beak moved, and a raspy, human-like voice came out, whispering dark secrets about the forest.
Instantly on high alert, Chitra and Priya drew their swords in unison, the steel catching the dim light of the canopy. They stepped in front of Veer, ready to slice the ominous bird to pieces.
"Wait," Veer commanded, raising his hand to stop his wives. He stared deeply into the crow's eyes, realizing the divine energy radiating from it. "Shani Dev? What are you doing here? Father told me you were sent to find the black sheep leaking secrets within our kingdom."
The crow's body blurred, expanding and shifting until the majestic, stern figure of Shani Dev stood before them in human form. His aura was heavy, filled with the weight of cosmic justice. He looked at Veer and sighed, ready to lay out everything he had discovered.
Viraj stepped forward, his eyes widening as he connected the dots. "Wait... the traitor, the black sheep... is it a 'she'?"
Shani Dev nodded grimly. "Yes. But how did you know that, Viraj?"
"It was just a suspicion based on the court's recent movements," Viraj replied, his face darkening. He then turned to Shani Dev with urgency. "But Shani Dev, why didn't you inform Father about this sooner? Why keep it to yourself?"
"I tried to contact King Rudra," Shani Dev explained, holding up a mysterious, glowing ring. "I found this ring as a clue at the betrayal site. But the moment I tried to establish a telepathic connection with your father's mind, something blocked me. My telepathy failed completely. Instead of Rudra's consciousness, all I could see was a massive, chaotic swarm of spirits. The static was so intense, it forced me to disconnect immediately."
The team exchanged worried glances. If King Rudra was unreachable, they were truly on their own.
Shani Dev looked around the suffocating woods. "We are trapped. This place isn't just a forest—it's a trap controlled by a monstrous entity named Soka. We are currently locked inside the 'Doom of Forest' domain. If we want to break this barrier, connect with your father, and return to the real world, we have no choice. We must find and k
ill Soka."