Karna & Arjun - The Union of Brothers

13. Deep and Beyond

"You should get some rest, Yuvraj," Prince of Trigart, Susharma, advised Suyodhan, who was engaged in punching a tree trunk. His years of practice were evident, as there were barely any bruises on his fingers, but the trunk was badly damaged. His body was covered with sweat, and the afternoon sun added to its shine. For a young teenager who was still growing, Suyodhan's muscle size was a testament to his strength.

"And do what? Lose to Arjun? We have been here for days, but all we do is eat fruits and fishes, make water drinkable, and follow a watchdog routine," Suyodhan responded in frustration as he landed his most powerful blow, cracking the trunk.

"This stretch is beyond my comprehension too. This should be the phase of Vishnu, but there has been no development since the eliminations," Susharma said, his bright mind searching for clues.

"Vishnu? Yes, this ocean bed must be a replica of Vaikunth, right? Let's find out," Suyodhan said, starting to walk towards the water.

"Yuvraj, wait. What are you doing?" Susharma asked as Suyodhan walked away.

"Going to Vaikunth," he replied, pointing towards the blue sea.

"We don't know how deep it is."

"I have been practicing diving for years now. I can hold my breath for about 30 minutes."

"Still, we need a safety net. Let me conjure Vayuvyavastra. An air bubble around your face will not just give you an additional source of oxygen, but it will also help you see clearly underwater," Susharma said as he raised his hand-made bow and arrow.

"Whatever," Suyodhan said, and they proceeded to peel the bark off a tree. Using the bark as a raft, they sailed a few hundred meters into the sea. The farther they went, the calmer the ocean seemed. They had never seen such clear water in their lives.

Suyodhan wanted one clear clue before stepping into the water. He closed his eyes to spot a pattern shift in his vicinity. While archery was not his forte, he was intrigued by the idea of shabd bhedi baan, the arrow that one would shoot without looking at the target, simply relying on the sound. Susharma was asked to keep sailing as per his directions. He kept focusing to identify denser sounds and pointed his hands in specific directions accordingly. They continued this exercise for about 30 minutes and finally reached a spot with a high concentration of fishes. The spot wasn't too far from the beach.

Suyodhan dropped a stone in the water after reaching that point.

"It's about thirty feet deep. Drop this if anything goes wrong," Suyodhan said after dropping a stone in the water and handing another to Susharma.

Susharma stretched the string of his bow, closed his eyes, and recited the mantra to conjure Vayuvyavastra around Suyodhan's head. Suyodhan dived into the water and noticed an air bubble around his face. He felt a bit cold initially but got comfortable after a couple of minutes. He could clearly see the coral reefs, the plants, and the schools of colorful fishes underwater. He had never seen such a scenic manifestation of aquatic life before. He was welcomed by some friendly dolphins and vigilant turtles. This display of natural beauty didn't deviate him from his focus. He kept looking for the clue for the next round in the tournament.

After a few minutes of exploration, he maneuvered his way to a spot with the highest concentration of fishes. He swam his way to that spot and scared the fishes away from it. The decluttering of the fishes revealed something he wasn't prepared for: a floating corpse tied to a rock with a chain. His immediate response of moving backward was driven by fear. He immediately started swimming upwards, but his curiosity made him stop and look back at the corpse.

With only a dhoti for clothing on his slim body, Suyodhan was almost convinced that this was the corpse of one of the young warriors who had gone missing after landing on the beach. There was no flesh left on his face, and the fish had already consumed a lot of flesh from the rest of his body. The strangest aspect about the skull was its color, predominantly black and gray.

Suyodhan intended to further study the body, but his concentration was disturbed by the sound of a stone falling behind him. He turned his face upwards, but his vision immediately blurred as the air bubble around his face disappeared.