Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable
Chapter 137 - 135: You Shouldn’t Have Done It... Now She Knows...
(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
Guys I hope you put more comments and power stones... Which will encourage me...
Guys I need a little help with choosing a next character template.
As For Lord Narashima it would increase slowly as the story progress.
For A template based on one of the avatar of Lord Shiva.
Well I would put a seed in this volume. But it will manifest little later into the story.
I would like to this time choose a local deities.
--> Give me all the names you know. I would do research on them. Or you could share their story a little and their power and what they authority over.
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The others didn’t answer after they heard the stunned words of the old man.
Because they were asking themselves the same question.
Then one of the figures smiled.
Not maliciously. Not kindly.
Simply smiled.
"...."
"...."
"...."
The sight sent chills through every practitioner present.
The oldest practitioner suddenly shouted.
"Protect yourselves!"
That finally broke the paralysis.
The five immediately sprang into action.
Years of training took over.
One pulled a pouch from his robes and scattered blessed ash around himself.
Another began rapidly chanting protective mantras.
A third drew symbols in the soil with trembling fingers.
The oldest practitioner closed his eyes and recited a powerful warding invocation.
The air around them shimmered faintly.
Protective barriers began forming.
Tantra symbols glowed.
Charms activated as they succeeded.
The familiar comfort of ritual finally steadied their nerves.
The chants grew louder.
More focused. More desperate.
They understood something that was if they loose their focus they might loose their life.
One by one, layers of protection surrounded them.
Against spirits.
Against curses.
Against possession.
Against illusions.
Against the dead.
Anything that might be threatening them.
The five gathered together in the center of their hastily prepared defenses.
Breathing heavily.
Sweat dripping down their faces despite the cold night.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Then they looked up.
The figures were still there.
Watching. Waiting.
Silent.
"...."
"...."
"...."
And beyond them, somewhere deeper in the darkness of the forest...
The faint sound of chains echoed once more.
Ching...
Ching...
Ching...
This time, it sounded closer than ever.
The protective barriers shimmered around the five practitioners.
Purple symbols floated in the air.
Sacred ash glowed faintly upon the ground.
The mantras they had chanted continued to hum softly around them like invisible walls.
For the first time since the nightmare had begun, the practitioners felt a small measure of confidence return.
Whatever these things were, they could no longer simply walk up to them.
The eldest practitioner took a slow breath and stepped forward.
The figure of his daughter stood only a few feet away.
A girl frozen in time.
The same age she had been when she died.
The same long hair.
The same bright eyes.
The same face he had mourned for years.
Had this happened a month ago, he might have broken down.
Tonight, however, fear had given way to suspicion.
His voice rang through the clearing.
"Who are you?"
The figure remained silent.
"...."
His eyes narrowed.
"My daughter is dead."
The words came out harder than he intended.
"You are not her."
The other practitioners watched closely.
The elder continued.
"How do you know her face?"
"How do you know her voice?"
"And why are you wearing her form?"
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the girl chuckled. A familiar chuckle in his memory.
-Chuckle!
One that made the elder’s heart tighten despite himself.
Slowly, she raised a finger and reached toward him.
The moment it touched the protective barrier, a sheet of purple energy appeared between them.
The barrier crackled.
-Crack! -Crack!
The girl’s finger stopped.
For a few seconds, neither moved.
Then...
A strange sound echoed through the forest.
-Creeeak.
The girl’s finger twisted slightly.
The sound resembled a rusty screw being turned inside old wood.
Several practitioners immediately felt chills run down their spines.
The movement looked wrong.
Not painful. Not natural.
Just wrong and uneasy.
The girl’s smile slowly widened.
"Father..."
The elder’s face hardened.
"Do not call me that."
But she ignored him.
Her eyes remained fixed on his.
Eyes that looked exactly like his daughter’s.
"You shouldn’t have done it."
The elder frowned hearing her words.
’Done what?’
Before he could ask, screams suddenly erupted around the clearing.
The other practitioners staggered backward.
Some nearly dropped their ritual implements.
Because the figures surrounding them had begun speaking as well.
A dead wife stared at her husband.
A murdered traveler looked at the man who had sacrificed him years ago.
A dead friend stood beside a tree.
One by one, their mouths opened.
And they all said the same thing.
"You shouldn’t have done it."
The words came from every direction.
Different voices.
Different ages.
Different people.
Yet somehow they all spoke with the same tone.
The same certainty.
The same disappointment.
"You shouldn’t have done it."
"You shouldn’t have done it."
"You shouldn’t have done it."
The forest became filled with those words.
The practitioners exchanged nervous glances.
The youngest among them swallowed hard.
"What are they talking about?"
"No idea."
Another voice spoke.
"You shouldn’t have buried them."
The practitioners froze all of them were trying to make sense of what they shouldn’t have done.
The elder’s eyes widened slightly.
Then another figure spoke.
"You shouldn’t have brought them here."
A third.
"You shouldn’t have touched this land."
The words hit them like cold water.
The youngest practitioner immediately looked toward the elder.
The elder remained silent.
"...."
His mind was racing.
The tantra dolls.
They were talking about the dolls.
A cold feeling settled in his stomach.
The figures had not appeared randomly.
They were responding to something specific.
Something they had done.
The daughter stepped closer to the barrier.
The purple shield flared brightly.
Yet she showed no concern.
Instead, she smiled sadly.
Not angrily. Not hatefully.
Sadly.
And somehow that was worse.
"You shouldn’t have done it, Father."
The elder stared at her.
Then finally asked the question on everyone’s mind.
"What happens now?"
For the first time, the smile vanished from her face.
The entire forest seemed to grow quieter.
Even the wind stopped.
The girl’s eyes slowly shifted past him.
Toward the direction of Trivenivrata.
When she spoke again, her voice sounded different.
Older. Deeper.
As though countless voices were speaking at once.
"Now..."
The chains echoed somewhere in the darkness.
Ching.
Ching.
Ching.
"...she knows."
Every practitioner felt their blood run cold.
"Who knows?"
One of them whispered.
No answer came.
The figures merely continued staring at them.
Watching.
Waiting.
And somewhere beyond the trees, hidden within the darkness of the forest, something unseen began moving closer.
The elder’s patience finally snapped.
For too long, these apparitions had spoken in riddles.
For too long, they had stood there staring at them with those familiar faces.
His voice thundered through the forest.
"Then tell me!"
The protective barrier around him flared violently.
"What shouldn’t I have done?"
His eyes locked onto the figure of his daughter.
"Why are you all here?"
"Why are there so many spirits in this forest?"
"Why can none of us sense you?"
His breathing had become heavy.
"Why does this place contain so many restless dead?"
The forest fell silent.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
His daughter simply stared at him.
For several moments, she said nothing.
Then slowly...
Her expression changed.
The sadness vanished.
The disappointment vanished.
She lowered her head.
Her long hair slipped forward, covering her face completely.
And then she laughed.
At first it was soft. A quiet chuckle.
Almost harmless.
Then it grew louder. And louder. And louder.
"-HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The sound echoed through the trees.
Several practitioners felt goosebumps rise on their arms.
Because the laughter wasn’t normal.
It sounded broken.
Like someone laughing while remembering a terrible pain.
The elder’s face darkened.
Suddenly, his daughter’s voice emerged from behind the curtain of hair.
"You really don’t remember?"
The laughter continued.
"You killed me, Father."
The words struck like lightning.
The elder froze remembering the event.
Every practitioner turned toward him.
His daughter slowly raised her head.
Tears ran down her cheeks.
Yet she was smiling. A horrifying smile.
"I loved someone."
Her voice trembled.
"A man from outside the tribe."
The elder’s face paled.
Old memories surfaced.
Memories he had buried long ago.
Memories he had justified.
Memories he had convinced himself were necessary.
"You called it shame."
"You called it dishonor."
The smile widened into something chilling.
"So you tied me down."
The other practitioners felt their stomachs turn.
"You used me."
The forest became deathly quiet.
"As an offering."
"As a sacrifice."
The elder took an unconscious step backward.
"...."
His daughter looked directly into his eyes.
"You killed me."
The words echoed through the clearing.
Then all the spirits around them began laughing.
Not loudly. Not wildly.
Just enough to make the forest feel wrong.
Very wrong.
And then—
Ching.
The chain sound returned.
Closer than ever before.
The laughter stopped instantly.
Every spirit fell silent.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Every head turned toward the darkness.
The practitioners felt it too.
Something was coming.
Something the spirits themselves were making way for.
Ching.
Ching.
Ching.
The sound grew louder.
Nearer.
The spirits standing between the trees slowly stepped aside.
One by one.
Creating a path through the forest.
Nobody commanded them.
Nobody spoke.
Yet every spirit moved.
As if paying respect.
Or perhaps making way for something far greater.
The practitioners followed their gaze.
A shadow stretched across the ground.
At first it looked distorted by the firelight.
Then it grew larger. And larger.
The elder’s eyes widened.
"...."
The shadow was not human.
The outline showed a massive face.
A long snout.
Two enormous tusks.
The shape of a boar.
The chain sounds continued.
Ching.
Ching.
Ching.
The figure emerged from the darkness.
For a brief moment, they saw what appeared to be the silhouette of a woman walking toward them.
Then the firelight illuminated the figure fully.
And all five practitioners felt their blood run cold.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Standing before them was no woman.
Nor was it merely a beast.
It was a monstrous wild boar.
Far larger than any boar that should exist.
Its body stood nearly as tall as a war elephant’s shoulder.
Black bristling fur covered its massive frame.
Its tusks gleamed like polished ivory.
Its eyes glowed with an unnatural yellow radiance.
Ancient.
Wise.
Terrifying.
Chains adorned all four of its legs.
Not prison chains.
Jewelry.
The kind worn with purpose.
Each step caused them to ring softly.
Ching.
Ching.
Around its neck hung ornaments.
Its ears bore decorations.
Even its snout carried a golden nose ornament.
Every piece resembled the adornments of royalty.
Not decoration for vanity.
Decoration for reverence.
As though someone had once worshipped it.
Or still did.
The spirits surrounding the clearing lowered their heads.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Every single one.
Even the apparition of the elder’s daughter.
The practitioners immediately sensed something.
Not spiritual energy. Not demonic energy.
Not ghostly energy.
Something else. Something older.
Something deeper.
Something that made every instinct inside them scream danger.
The youngest practitioner felt his knees weaken.
One of the others unconsciously took a step backward.
The elder himself found it difficult to breathe.
Because for the first time in decades...
For the first time since he had begun studying tantra...
For the first time since he had learned to command spirits...
He felt small. Very small.
The giant boar stopped at the edge of the clearing.
Its glowing eyes slowly swept across the five practitioners.
One by one.
No hatred. No anger.
No excitement. Merely observation.
And somehow that made it worse.
The forest itself seemed to bow around its presence.
The trees grew still. The wind ceased.
Even the fire appeared calmer.
Then the creature exhaled.
-Hissss!
A cloud of mist escaped its nostrils.
And every practitioner suddenly understood one thing.
Whatever stood before them...
It was not here because they had summoned it.
It had been here long before they arrived.
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(Author note:)
I hope you guys give me your opinion and idea’s.
-->
New Template:
But it will manifest little later into the story.
I would like to this time choose a local deities.
--> Give me all the names you know. I would do research on them. Or you could share their story a little and their power and what they authority over.
Don’t forget to review guys...
Guys I have a new fic which named: Karuppan: King of Openings.