Rudra did not interrupt them.That was the first thing that had changed.
Where once his mind would have rushed ahead… now it stayed.Held. Steady. Just as he had learned under Ganesha… to notice without chasing… and under Kartikeya… to hold that focus together.
His breath did not wander.His thoughts did not scatter.They came… and passed… without leaving a trace.
And when he finally spoke, it was not to prove he understood…But because something within him had aligned enough to ask.
"Devi…" his voice was quiet, but clear,"If Shi burns what is untrue… and Va carries what remains…Then where do I stand between them?"
The question did not disturb the silence… it completed it.
Devi Jyoti looked at him… not at his face, but as if she could see where the question had risen from.
"You do not stand between them," she said softly.Her hand moved, and the flame near her responded… not higher, not lower… just alive.
"You are what is being revealed."
Her gaze shifted to his chest… the base of his neck, where something unseen had long been waiting.
"Shi is not outside you, Rudra.It is the fire that has always been there… waiting for you to stop feeding what is false."
For a moment… nothing happened.
Then… warmth.
Not on his skin… deeper.
A point at the base of his throat… where breath turns inward… began to glow.
Not sudden. Not violent.Like an ember remembering it was once a flame.
And from that point… a form began to take shape.
A lotus… faint… unfolding not outward, but inward…and at its centre… a small crystal of ember… dim, but steady.
It did not burn him.
It recognised him.
Before the moment could settle, Devi Ashok Sundari stepped into it… her presence not interrupting but completing.
"And Va…" she said, her voice moving like the very breath within him,"Is not something you receive… it is something you already are… but do not yet trust."
Rudra's breath shifted… not deeper… no longer… just… noticed.
"You try to control it," she continued, almost gently amused,"As if breath belongs to you."
A soft wind passed… and this time, he did not resist it.
"Let it move," she said,"And you will see… it was never yours to hold."
And slowly… his lungs responded.
Not expanding with force…but opening… like space remembering itself.
Each inhale no longer felt taken…each exhale no longer felt given.
They simply… were.
And within that rhythm… something changed.
The breath was no longer just air.
It became a movement itself.
Rudra did not realise when his eyes had closed.
Or when the world around him had softened into something distant.
As Rudra continues to learn about Fire and Wind, about SHI and VA
the flame and wind starts to enter and change his whole being, his self-started to take the characteristic of flame that destroys as well as that let the new form of life be born a new and wind that carries the embers of that flame to the place where it is needed and became the fuel that make him also become something better, something new and something grand.
Rudra doesn't know, but the ember crystal that was resting between the lotus was glowing and turning on its axis. The ember crystal that embodies the flame of Shiva and destruction, it started to help Rudra actively understand the flame of SHI, and so it became easier for Rudra to learn about it.
At the same time, the lungs of his, as he breathes in and exhales out, started to develop the rhythm of the wind and breath of VA, and he started to lean toward wind and breath too at the same time, thus his whole being started to evolve better and lean toward fire and wind perfectly.
At the same time, after fire and wind became part of his self, the mark on his forehead, the tri-coloured leaves started to embody the flame and wind.
The green leaf became part wind, and the main stalk and smaller stalk of leaves became the embodiment of earth itself, grounded and base. And the ember leaf became part flame and fire itself.
It glows for a few moments, but due to the still absence of water and flow, it backs down and hums with a whisper as if saying I'm waiting for the water to awaken.
And Rudra himself entered deep meditation and started to re-listen to the teachings of Devi Jyoti and Devi Ashok Sundari.
He focused on SHI and VA and FIRE and WIND and started to combine the teaching as they were meant to be and started to listen to the hum of SHIVA and entered into a trance.
Just like that for the whole left time, Rudra stayed in a meditative stance and lost himself in the world of Fire and Wind, of SHI and VA and Shiva and Shakti,
At the same time, Devi Ashok Sundari and Devi Jyoti continued to guide Rudra and steer his way toward the right way, systematically and with the gentle touch of the teacher.
He didn't know that as he was focused on his meditation, the weapon in the fire tornado started to hum more and faster as if it couldn't wait to unite with its other self.
As the time started to pass, the moment arrived when the lecture time allotted to both Devis was ending. So, they set the fire and wind to rest.
The flames behind and in the palm of Devi Jyoti calmed down, and similarly, the wind and tornado in the palm of Devi Ashok Sundari and behind her also started to calm down.
They both clapped, and with the clap, Rudra came out of his trance-like state.
And as Devi Ashok Sundari was going to give encouragement to Rudra and tell him, he did better a sound came from her behind. Hearing this, both Ashok Sundari and Jyoti sighed.
"So, my child, shall we go? What do you want to eat? Tell me if you have anything that you desire right now, for lunch." Said Mata Parvati, who arrived with a scent of roses, Jasmeen and marigolds.
Rudra shifted his focus from Devi Ashok Sundari and Devi Jyoti and looked at Mata Parvati.
He stood up, joined his hands and gave a bow. At the same time, Devi Ashok Sundari and Devi Jyoti turned back and also gave a graceful bow and said together,
"Good afternoon, mother" "How are you? / How are you doing?"
Similarly, Rudra also wished good afternoon to Mata Parvati.
"Hmm... Good afternoon, kids, so are you done? It is time to come together for lunch. So, I'm here to pick you up." Mata Parvati gave Rudra once over and nodded to Devi Ashok Sundari and Devi Jyoti.
"Oh, by the way, everyone is already there, and I was waiting for you to come, but it seems you guys were so deep in lecture that you almost got late. So, here I am."
They looked at Jyoti and Ashok and raised their eyebrows and gave a frown.
"What, already there? I could understand brother Vinayak, but even others, especially Skanda too?" Devi Ashok Sundari shows her shock and,
Beside her, Devi Jyoti pit hand on her shoulder and when Ashok Sundari looked behind, she gave a slight shake of her head, and she said,
"Mother, don't worry, we already woke him up from his meditation and were going to arrive shortly, and so it's okay." Then she looked at Rudra and turned towards him and gave him a nod,
"Rudra, it was amazing, your focus and your desire to learn. But we will finish today's lecture here. As you can see, it is time to eat food, so let's go."
"Yes, thank you, teachers." Rudra gave a deep bow and then turned to look at Mata Parvati, who was looking at him with a motherly smile.
"Good, child. I can already see how quickly and deeply you're learning. But now… It's time for lunch. Come."
With that, Mata Parvati raised her right hand. A gentle wave… and the space around them began to soften.
The altar-like surroundings blurred at the edges, as though the world itself had loosened its hold.
Forms melted into motion, motion into streaks of light… until all that remained was a swift, flowing haze.
And then, just as suddenly, the movement stilled.
The blur settled… reshaping itself into something vast, serene, and timeless,
The abode of Mahadev and Mata Parvati.
Within the abode, they arrived at the dining area.
At the table, seated calmly, was Ganesha—already enjoying the modaks lovingly prepared by Mata Parvati. Behind him stood Mushak, ever attentive, sharing in the moment with quiet contentment.
Nearby, Devi Manasa offered Rudra a gentle smile. Yet beneath that softness, there was a clear eagerness in her eyes… a quiet anticipation, as though she already awaited her turn to guide him, following Devi Narmada.
Devi Narmada, too, acknowledged the moment—nodding to Ashok Sundari and Jyoti, and then smiling at Rudra. There was a knowing in her expression. She could sense it… Rudra's being itself was leaning toward balance, toward flow… ready for what she would soon offer.
At the head of the table sat Mahadev—elbow resting upon the surface, fingers interlocked, chin placed lightly upon them. Still… observant… as if watching not just the moment, but what it was becoming.
Kartikeya leaned back with quiet authority, eyes closed, presence unwavering. Then, slowly, one eye opened. A brief sideward glance toward Rudra… a slight lift of his brow. No words—yet it carried approval. The lessons were taking root. Behind him, Mayur stood in composed grace, mirroring that same silent strength.
Devi Aranyani sat with a warm, cheerful expression… a grounded joy that needed no reason. Beside her, Mata Ganga held a calm, motherly presence—soft, steady, like a river that knows its path.