Chapter 146: Chapter 144: Goddess Mahakali Arrives... Pleads Don’t Quench Rage...

(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...

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The moment the pillar finished forming, the temperature changed.

Earlier the clearing had been freezing.

Now—Heat. Intense heat.

The stone began glowing.

Dark red at first. Then brighter. And brighter.

Like iron inside a divine forge.

The air distorted around it.

Several practitioners were forced to shield their eyes.

Sweat immediately formed across their foreheads.

The ground beneath the pillar began cracking.

Yet while the humans trembled in fear... The gathered spirits reacted differently.

They became excited. Wildly excited.

Laughter erupted from among them.

Not human laughter.

The laughter of ghosts.

The laughter of beings from dark.

Several spirits began dancing.

Others spun in circles.

Some threw back their heads and screamed joyfully into the night.

Long hair flew wildly around them.

Their movements became frenzied as their began rolling their heads as their loose hair was dancing with them along with their head rotation.

Unrestrained.

Primitive.

Ancient.

The sounds they produced were enough to make ordinary men collapse from terror.

The noise grew louder.

And louder. And louder.

Until the entire forest seemed alive.

Every spirit. Every wandering soul. Every night creature.

Celebrating. Welcoming. Awaiting.

Then—The pillar cracked.

-Crack!

A single fracture appeared.

Then another. Then another.

The glowing red stone rapidly filled with countless cracks.

Light poured from within.

Blinding. Immense. Ancient.

The pressure released by that light alone forced many practitioners to their knees.

Several vomited blood.

Others collapsed unconscious.

The remaining clan leaders desperately tried maintaining their composure.

Yet even they found themselves shaking uncontrollably.

Their instincts screamed at them.

Not to fight. Not to run.

To bow to the one.

Because whatever was emerging from that pillar was beyond them.

Beyond their rituals.

Beyond their understanding.

The cracks spread further.

Then—

-BOOOOOOM!

The entire pillar exploded.

A shockwave swept through the clearing.

Trees bent.

Branches snapped.

The fog rolled outward.

Dust scattered in every direction.

-FWOOOOSH!!!

For several moments nobody could see anything.

Then the dust slowly settled.

And the figure standing within became visible.

The entire forest fell silent.

"...."

"...."

"...."

Every spirit. Every practitioner. Every creature.

Silent.

Standing there was a goddess.

Fierce. Terrifying. Yet Divine.

Her skin was darker than the void between stars.

A blackness that seemed to absorb light itself.

Not the darkness of evil.

But the darkness that existed before creation.

The infinite void from which all things emerged.

Her long unbound hair flowed around her like living night.

Stretching impossibly far.

As though space itself answered her presence.

Ten arms extended from her divine form.

Each radiating immeasurable power.

In one hand rested a sword.

A blade capable of severing ignorance itself.

In another rested a severed head.

The symbol of destroyed ego.

Destroyed arrogance. Destroyed illusion.

Around her neck hung a garland of severed heads.

Not trophies.

Lessons she had thought to those crossed her paths.

The countless identities shed by souls seeking liberation.

Around her waist hung a skirt formed from severed arms.

Representing actions.

Karma.

The surrender of worldly attachment.

Her tongue extended slightly beyond her lips.

A manifestation of raw cosmic force.

The devourer of illusion.

The destroyer of falsehood.

The pressure emanating from her existence alone crushed the clearing.

The practitioners found themselves unable to breathe.

Unable to move. Unable to think.

Tears streamed down many faces.

Not from sorrow.

From overwhelming awe.

Because they immediately recognized her. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Even without introduction.

Even without explanation.

Their souls knew. Their hearts knew.

Their spirits knew.

Before them stood—Goddess Mahakali.

The First Mahavidya.1

The Primordial Mother.

The Endless Night.

The Devourer of Time.

The Destroyer of Ego.

The Beginning.

And the End.

Karichathan immediately folded his hands and bowed deeply.

Every spirit followed.

The entire forest lowered itself before her presence.

Meanwhile the tantra practitioners remained kneeling.

Trembling.

Unable to even lift their heads.

Because the goddess they had hoped to call...

The goddess they had hoped to use as a weapon...

Had arrived.

Not in blessing. Not in kindness.

Not in peace.

But in her fierce form.

And the expression in her eyes made every practitioner understand one terrible truth.

She was not pleased.

The sight before the gathered practitioners was enough to make their souls tremble.

Mahakali stood amidst the ruined ritual ground.

Her dark form seemed larger than the forest itself.

The flames around the clearing no longer gave light.

Instead, it felt as though all light was being swallowed by her presence.

Her ten arms remained still.

Yet every practitioner felt as if mountains were pressing down upon their shoulders.

Even breathing had become difficult.

The spirits that had gathered earlier were all kneeling with their heads lowered.

Not one dared look directly at her.

Even Karichathan had become unusually quiet.

The mischievous grin still rested on his face.

But now it was accompanied by respect.

The kind reserved for someone infinitely above him.

The remaining clan leaders struggled to breathe.

Their bodies shook uncontrollably.

Their minds screamed at them to flee.

Yet their legs refused to move.

The elder who had taken command after the death of the previous leader somehow gathered enough courage to crawl forward.

Every movement felt difficult.

As though the air itself had become heavier.

Finally, he lowered his head until it touched the ground.

His voice trembled.

"Goddess Mahakali..."

He swallowed hard.

Then began reciting her names.

The names passed down through generations.

The names sung in temples.

The names whispered by devotees.

"Adya Shakti..."

"Kalaratri..."

"Mahakali..."

"Bhadrakali..."

"Dakshina Kali..."

"Shyama..."

"Jagadamba..."

The elder continued to say all the names.

One name after another.

Each spoken with reverence.

Around him, the other practitioners quickly followed.

Many collapsed fully onto the ground.

Some folded their hands.

Others pressed their foreheads into the dirt.

For the first time that night, their arrogance had completely disappeared.

Only fear remained.

And devotion.

Yet none of it seemed to matter.

Goddess Mahakali’s expression did not soften.

If anything, her rage seemed to deepen.

Her eyes blazed like cosmic fire.

They were not merely angry.

They were the eyes of a mother whose child had been threatened.

The eyes of a protector confronting those foolish enough to touch what was under her care.

Then she spoke.

The moment her voice echoed through the clearing, the entire forest shook.

Trees bent.

The earth cracked.

Several practitioners vomited blood from the pressure alone.

"HOW DARE YOU."

The words rolled across the forest like thunder.

The spirits immediately lowered their heads further.

The practitioners trembled.

Nobody dared answer.

Goddess Mahakali took a step forward.

The ground beneath her feet blackened.

Her voice echoed once more.

"HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO CAST A CURSE UPON DEVARATHA."

The name alone seemed to carry power.

Every practitioner felt their hearts skip a beat.

The goddess eyes swept across them.

One by one.

As if judging every soul present.

"WHO."

Her voice thundered through the forest.

"WHO AMONG YOU THOUGHT IT WAS THEIR RIGHT TO TOUCH HIM?"

The pressure intensified.

Several practitioners collapsed unconscious.

Others began crying openly.

The remaining clan leaders felt as though their bodies might disintegrate at any moment.

The rage radiating from Goddess Mahakali was beyond anything they had ever experienced.

This was not merely divine anger.

This was the fury of a cosmic force.

The elder hurriedly pressed his head against the ground.

"Forgive us!"

His voice cracked in panic.

"We were blind!"

Another leader quickly joined him.

"Forgive us, Mata1!"

Others followed.

Soon the entire clearing was filled with desperate pleas.

"We did not know!"

"We were ignorant!"

"Please forgive us!"

The elder lifted his head slightly. Tears streamed down his face.

"If we had known..."

His voice shook violently.

"If we had known King Devara was under your protection..."

"We would never have even imagined such a thing."

"Never."

The remaining clan leaders immediately agreed.

They nodded desperately.

Like condemned men pleading before a judge.

"We were fools."

"We were arrogant."

"We were blinded by greed."

"We beg your forgiveness."

The elder’s forehead struck the ground again.

"We have committed a terrible mistake."

"We seek your mercy."

The entire forest became silent.

No response came.

The practitioners slowly looked up.

And immediately regretted it.

Goddess Mahakali was still staring at them.

The same rage remained in her eyes.

The same fury.

The same terrifying expression.

Not a trace of forgiveness had appeared.

Not a trace of sympathy.

The realization struck them harder than any weapon.

Their pleas had not reached her.

Or perhaps... They had reached her.

And she was still angry.

The elder felt cold sweat pour down his body.

For the first time, he truly understood the magnitude of their mistake.

This had never been about a ritual.

This had never been about a kingdom.

This had never been about revenge.

They had unknowingly declared hostility toward someone protected by forces far beyond their comprehension.

And standing before them was living proof of it.

Nearby, Karichathan quietly watched the scene.

His yellow eyes moved between the trembling practitioners and the furious goddess.

Then he slowly shook his head.

Almost pitying them.

Almost.

Because even he knew.

"...."

The worst part wasn’t Mahakali’s anger.

The worst part was that she had not yet decided what to do with them.

The clearing remained trapped beneath an unbearable silence.

No one dared speak. No one dared move.

The only sounds came from the crackling of distant torches and the trembling breaths of the practitioners kneeling upon the ground.

Mahakali stood at the center of it all.

Her dark form seemed to dominate the entire forest.

The fog moved around her feet like obedient servants.

Her unbound hair flowed endlessly behind her, stretching through the darkness like a piece of the night sky itself.

The practitioners remained bowed.

Not one dared raise their head fully. Not after witnessing her anger.

Not after hearing her voice.

Not after realizing exactly whose protection they had challenged.

Then her gaze shifted.

Slowly.

Deliberately.

Toward the tree branch where Karichathan sat.

The moment those eyes landed upon him, the kuttichattan froze.

The mischievous grin disappeared.

Completely.

"...."

The spirits watching from the forest immediately looked away.

Several even lowered their heads further.

Because despite all his antics.

Despite his fearsome reputation.

Despite how casually he had treated the tantra practitioners.

Karichathan himself knew exactly who stood before him.

The kuttichattan immediately jumped from the branch.

He landed gracefully upon the ground.

Then without a second’s hesitation, he folded his hands respectfully and bowed.

Deeply.

Not the playful bow he had given the practitioners.

Not the theatrical introduction from earlier.

This was genuine respect.

The respect of a younger being standing before an ancient cosmic force.

The respect of one who knew exactly where he stood.

The forest became even quieter.

Several practitioners couldn’t help noticing it.

The same Karichathan who had laughed at them.

Mocked them.

Played with them.

Terrified them.

Now stood obediently with folded hands.

Mahakali remained silent.

She neither nodded nor spoke.

Yet something subtle changed.

The kuttichattan immediately relaxed.

Only slightly.

To anyone else, it appeared as though nothing had happened.

No words were exchanged.

No blessing was given.

No acknowledgment was spoken aloud.

Yet every spirit gathered there understood.

Goddess Mahakali had seen him.

And chosen not to rebuke him.

For Karichathan, that alone was enough.

The kuttichattan lowered his head once more before quietly stepping aside.

Returning to the role of spectator.

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(Author note:)

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Don’t forget to review guys...

Guys I have a new fic which named: Karuppan: King of Openings.

First of the Wisdom GoddessesMother