IX- Karnya- Nice riddle. But I don't like the answer much

18 2 0
                                    


I was upset when Aranya disappeared. I felt there was something powerful in the parking lot, the same way I felt when I found the first pearl. I walked around, and found the pearl. I looked behind a board and found the second pearl. I showed it to my friends, but our celebration was muted. "Only one more pearl left." I said.

I felt that it was my fault since I was too busy taking care of Isha. "It's all my fault." Isha moaned, "Karnya was too busy taking care of me when I should have been helping." Her bracelet suddenly turned into a trident. 

The weapon of Shiva (or Parvati). My necklace turned into a sword that was wickedly sharp. Nilan's stick turned into a huge rod which was three- fourths his size. "What the-'' I started, but Isha scolded, "Now you show up, after the danger's past!" 

Her weapon, the trident must've been hurt since it stung her spitefully before turning into a bracelet. Nilan's and my weapons didn't turn into their harmless forms. Probably because we hadn't hurt their feelings. "Please go back to your harmless forms." I pleaded. 

I was happy that our weapons had revealed their true forms but it would have been awful lugging them around all day. I asked, "What about Aranya?" It dampened our mood. "It's going to be tough without her since she gave us insight on, like, every monster we fought." 

"She was like our brain. And without the brain, the other organs are helpless." Isha agreed sadly. As I mentioned her name, a bright light came behind Isha. "Look!" I exclaimed. Isha and Nilan turned around, and the three of us saw letters burned into the ground. We ran to them, and the words were:

"Beware the past for it will keep you enraptured.

The fruit of our actions, good or bad, leads us to one place, where I am captured.

P.S- The instructions to make a portal are.....

"Ummm. What is that..." Nilan asked. "I think Aranya left us a clue to find her!" I said.

"Let's try to decipher these lines." Isha said. "The fruit of our actions..... One place.. I think she's in the kingdom of Death. Specifically my kingdom." Nilan said. "How did you get to that?" I asked. "'The fruit of our actions, good or bad, leads us to one place.'' Nilan quoted. 

"This means that, due to the fruit of our actions, we all go to one place. The Kingdom of Death!" "That is true..." Isha mused. "So how do we get into the Kingdom of Death?" I asked. "By dying?" Nilan asked. I said, "Very helpful...." 

Nilan said, "There may be another way. There is a river called Vaitarna, which separates Mrityuloka aka the Kingdom of Death. If we can cross the river, we can go and rescue Aranya." "Where is the river?" Isha asked. "Somewhere in the south? I bet it's there since the Yamaraja is also the god of the south." "THE SOUTH! WE'LL NEVER GET THERE IN TIME!" 

I exploded. "Don't worry. We know how to make a portal." said Isha soothingly, pointing to the words, which were fading now. "But we better hurry up." she finished. We followed the instructions to the letter, and when we finished, a thin cut of light formed on the ground. Nilan took a deep breath and said, "Take us to the living side of the river Vaitarna!" 

Durgamasura and the AvatarsWhere stories live. Discover now