अन्तः अस्ति प्रारंभः।
The end is the beginning.
A caterpillar dies, to birth a butterfly. Water evaporates to rain down. Dead carcasses fill the stomachs of vultures.Life gives way to death and death to life. In a vicious circle of different karmas...
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Shri Vibhishan helped Mihira to her feet tentatively, ignoring his own blood splattered body. "Are you better, child?"
Mihira nodded shakily. Her voice was still raspy and her throat hurt as she spoke,"That was the mother of—"
"Hush," Shri Vibhishan shushed her gently as he looked around and began leading her to the temples, slashing away with his silver sword,"demons hear the calls of our names just as the gods do. Do not speak their names aloud, they will find you, even in this chaotic field."
Mihira nodded, stabbing a particularly old looking demon in the throat and watching as black blood poured from the wound and ran over her hand. She pulled back and move away swiftly, hearing the thud of a fallen body in her wake. She asked,"Does your sword do more damage to demons than the normal ones? Why?"
She had faintly noticed his threat to Durukti, the way she had frozen under the cold metal. Shri Vibhishan nodded,"My sword is silver, forged by demons of Patal Lok and cooled by the waters of Vaitarni River. King Mahabali has similar weapons, all demon royals do. It is specially used to punished the greatest offenders, according to the ruler."
As if to prove his point, Shri Vibhishan plunged his sword in the solar plexus of a demon and the rakshasa screamed, blood gushing as his life gave in. "No resurrections from a wound inflicted by these beauties. No loopholes to exploit."
Mihira nodded silently as she absorbed the information and kicked a man behind his knees, briskly slicing across his neck and moving on. "You do not seem to have trouble with blood." Shri Vibhishan noted idly, as if they were talking about the weather while butchering everyone in their way.
Mihira shrugged, slamming an abandoned shield in the nose and temple of a rakshasa, going for his jugular once more. She replied,"I was born at the peak of Kaliyug. Seeing the butchering and being a prey is a part of my childhood. I have made peace with blood."
"Even the one on your hands?"
"As long as I come out alive and have not killed anyone innocent? Yes."
Shri Vibhishan regarded her for a moment, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He paused in his path and asked,"How did you enter Shambala?"
"I am a warrior, Shri Vibhishan," she replied,"it does not mean I am not on the path of Dharma."
He hummed distractedly, rushing towards a fellow warrior who was struggling to fight against a rakshasa. Mihira followed his lead and looked around, hurrying to help other fellow warriors who were fighting against a towering demon.
"Hey!" She yelled over to get attention of an archer. The man looked at her and huffed, raising his eyebrows. "I'm going to try something stupid. Shoot that demon in his eye. Both, if possible."
"Just don't die, warrior. Our Lord needs us."
She nodded before picking up a stray knife in favour of her shield. Taking rushed steps to give her the leverage, Mihira used her motion to stab the demon in the small of his back hard enough for the knife to get stuck in the spine. He turned around blindly and reached for her. She ducked down just barely fast enough as an arrow went whizzing past her, towards the rakshasa's right eye. He shrieked and pushed Mihira on the ground with a heavy hand on her stomach.
