Iswari POV
As soon as I reached the courtroom, my knees gave up.
I fell…hard.
The cold marble floor bit into my skin, but I didn’t feel it. Not the pain. Not the burn. Nothing.
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes landed on the sight ahead, and the world tilted beneath me.
There he was.
Dada.
Lying there on the royal couch… but there was nothing royal about that moment. Nothing dignified, nothing whole. His body was still, too still. His chest was soaked in blood. A deep, cruel wound carved across his heart like a punishment from the gods.
His clothes were torn, stained red. His face usually glowing with strength, pride, that quiet calm he always carried—was pale, fragile… fading.
My lips parted in a silent gasp. The pain in my chest spread like wildfire, burning me from the inside.
I saw Aaisaheb…my mother, my queen beside him. She was on her knees, her hands glowing as she poured everything she had into him. Her eyes were shut tightly, lips moving fast, whispering ancient spells I didn’t recognize.
She looked desperate.
Terrified.
And as her energy poured into him, his body convulsed—and blood spilled from his mouth in violent coughs.
My scream never left my throat. It stayed there, trapped with the thousand emotions crashing inside me.
“No…”
The word broke out like a breath. Useless. Late. Too late.
I didn’t remember crawling. My body just moved on its own, dragging itself toward the couch. My palms scraped against the marble, my hair clinging to my tear-wet cheeks. My chest felt like it was caving in.
When I reached him, I fell at his feet.
I didn’t dare touch the wound. I couldn’t. Seeing it so close so real froze my blood. I reached for his hand instead, trembling, and gently placed mine over it.
It was warm.
But weak.
Like a dying ember fighting to stay lit.
“Dada…”
His name came out in a whisper, broken and choked. “Please…”
His eyes fluttered open, just barely. And I saw it…
Tears.
Sliding down the sides of his face.
Dada never cried. Not even when our grandfather died. Not when he returned from battles, bruised and broken. He never let us see that side of him.
But now… he cried.
And then, his cracked lips parted.
“Ishu…” he whispered, voice rasping, breathless. “Don’t cry… you have to be strong.”
I shook my head violently, like a child refusing the truth.
“No… no, dada… please, don’t say that. You’re going to be okay. You have to be.”
I clutched his hand tighter, trying to hold onto him. As if my grip could keep him here. As if I could anchor him to this world just by not letting go.
Tears fell heavy and endless onto his fingers. They mixed with the blood on his skin, and still he tried to smile at me.
But his body was trembling now. Fading.
I turned my head and looked up And there was Aaisaheb.
Her hands were no longer glowing. The light had faded. Her shoulders had slumped. She looked smaller somehow, her golden crown askew, her regal composure gone.
Her eyes met mine.
And something in me shattered.
She reached out and cupped my face in her trembling hands, her palms warm with power and grief. I could feel her magic fading under her skin, the cost of trying to save him draining her completely.
“Ishu…” she said, softly. But her voice held no room for fear. Only urgency. “Listen to me.”
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I just looked at her, lost and drowning.
“You have to be strong now.”
I blinked.
“You’re the only one who can save this realm,” she said. “You’re the last thread of hope we have.”
Her voice didn’t rise. She didn’t cry. But her eyes… her eyes were pleading.
“Aaisaheb, no….what are you saying? How can I….how can I save anyone? I don’t know how to fight, I’m not like Dada.
She held my face tighter, leaned closer, forehead almost touching mine.
“Rudraksh has awakened,” she whispered. “Your father is at war. Your brother is falling. And if you do not rise now… everything will fall with him. Everything.”
I stared at her. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t look away. The weight of her words slammed into my chest like a storm. My hands clenched.The court was spinning around me. All I could hear was Dada’s shallow breathing, the sound of his life slipping away.
And I knew.
I couldn’t lose him.
I couldn’t lose all of them.
My breath hitched.
“Tell me what to do,” I said.
My voice was nothing but a whisper. But it held all the strength I could find.
“I’ll do anything.
Aaisaheb said softly,
“When you were born, the gods themselves blessed you. You were given a gift—the power to travel into the past, but only once in your lifetime. At that time, we didn’t understand why such a rare blessing was given to you.”
She paused, her eyes shining with sadness.
“But now... now I understand. Fate has changed, Iswari. And it is you who must save our people, our world.”
I stared at her, my mind spinning, my heart breaking.
All emotions—confusion, fear, sorrow, anger—bubbled inside me, crashing like waves against rocks.
Tears wouldn't stop streaming from my eyes. My vision was blurred.
My brother’s condition was getting worse—his breathing shallow, his face pale.
Aaisaheb held my face gently and said,
“We don’t have time, Iswari. The Moon Kingdom is already at our gates.”
I didn’t know what to say, what to feel.
My heart was too heavy.
I just kept staring at my mother... and slowly, I nodded.
She gave me a small, comforting smile—the kind a mother gives her child before sending them into battle.
“Iswari,” she whispered, “you have to fulfill your responsibility now. You are the Lotus Princess. You must save our people.”
Her words wrapped around me like chains and wings both.
“You must go to the past,” she continued, “find Rudraksh... and kill him. If you succeed, the future will be saved. Our world will finally know peace.”
I nodded again, somehow forcing my weak, trembling body to stand.
I had no strength left. None at all.
But I stood.
I turned my gaze towards Dada.
He was trying to stand too, struggling, leaning heavily on the couch.
Slowly, painfully, he walked towards me.
He placed his hand on my head, his touch as gentle as a falling leaf. In a soft, weak voice, he said,
“Ishu… you have to be strong. We are always with you.”
He fell silent for a moment.
Then, with sudden anger flashing in his tear-filled eyes, he said harshly,
“Rudraksh must be killed.
He has ruined everything—our people, our realm, our very skies.
Now… only you can stop him.”
Before I could even breathe, Aaisaheb came towards me again.
She grabbed my hand gently, her fingers warm and trembling.
And she said in a low, serious voice,
“Iswari, listen carefully—do not kill him directly.
First, you must destroy his Demon Crystal.”
I looked at her, confused.
She squeezed my hand tighter.
“If the Demon Crystal remains intact and Rudraksh dies...
then his soul will transform into something far worse.
He will become a Devil—something that no power, no god, no magic can destroy.”
I swallowed hard, my body numb, my soul burning.
I lowered my head slowly, my whole body trembling, but my heart firm.
A soft “yes” escaped my lips, carried by the silent nod I gave.
The moment I agreed, tears rolled down from Aaisaheb’s and Dada’s eyes, shining like broken pearls on their faces.
Both of them lifted me gently into the air with their power, surrounding me with a warm, shimmering light.
I closed my eyes, feeling the strength of their love and their hopes wrapping around me like an invisible armor.
I pressed my palms together and made a sacred mudra with my hands.
My eyes snapped open, glowing with a bright, blinding light pink color.
Tears still shimmered within them, but now they carried the weight of destiny itself.
Between my eyebrows, the lotus mark began to glow—
brighter, fiercer, more powerful than ever before.
A warm energy blossomed from it, flowing through my body like a river of stars.
I unlocked the hidden Lotus Crystal power buried deep within me.
Behind me, a massive, breathtaking layout of light pink energy formed—a shining lotus blooming in the air, so pure, so fierce, it lit up the entire courtroom.
The three of us—Aaisaheb, Dada, and I—merged our powers together.
The air around us trembled. The marble beneath our feet cracked lightly under the force.
A portal began to open, swirling with soft pink and golden lights, humming with the power of time itself.
The portal to the past—the only hope left for our world.
BANG!
The courtroom doors burst open violently.
A loud, thundering echo rolled through the palace halls.
The portal was slowly widening, its light trembling in the heavy air.
On both sides of the grand courtroom gates, the army of the Moon Kingdom stood in rows—
all of them clad in dark black clothes, their faces hidden, their swords gleaming with killing intent.
We could do nothing.
It was as if an invisible force had sealed our powers—
as if the portal itself was protecting me but refusing to let us fight.
My heart hammered against my chest.
Fear tightened its grip around my soul.
Then—
like a flash of light in the middle of the storm—
came Amrita.
The immortal daughter of the sacred river.
My best friend.
My sister by soul.
With one swift, graceful movement, Amrita raced through the hall, her hair trailing like a river behind her.
In a heartbeat, she threw her power forward—
and in an instant, blood sprayed out from the bodies of the Moon Kingdom soldiers.
Their agonized screams echoed through the entire courtroom, chilling and wild.
But more kept coming.
The Moon Kingdom army surged forward, black waves crashing against the gates of our hope.
Amrita fought—
her every movement was like water, flowing, striking, unstoppable.
She was a dance of destruction, a storm wrapped in silver.
But then—
suddenly—
she stopped.
She turned towards me.
Her eyes—usually fierce and full of life—were filled with sorrow.
A silent, wordless goodbye.
Amrita returned to the broken gate.
Raising her hands, she summoned the deepest power of her river bloodline.
A massive wall of water rose behind her, roaring, trembling—
as if the river itself had come alive to protect us.
A Broken cry tearing free from my soul.
With all her strength, she hurled the mighty wave towards the enemy.
The force struck—
but the leader of the Moon Kingdom, cloaked in dark magic, raised his hand.
The impact between their powers shook the palace.
A terrible sound rang through the air—
and before my horrified eyes, blood gushed from Amrita’s mouth.
The backlash of the power was too strong.
It threw her backwards like a broken doll.
She crashed onto the marble floor, coughing out more blood.
Her body trembled, struggling to rise, but she could barely lift her head.
My throat closed up.
Tears burned my eyes again.
"Ishwari!"
Amrita screamed with all her strength, her voice tearing through the storm of chaos.
In that one scream, I heard everything—
our playful talks under the ancient trees,
our laughter echoing down the riverbanks,
the dreams we whispered in the dark.
My heart twisted painfully.
But before I could move—
before I could even take a single breath—
a black shadow descended upon us.
It wasn’t human.
It wasn’t even a creature of this world.
It was the Moon Devil.
His body was cloaked in swirling black mist,
his eyes hidden behind a storm of darkness,
but even without seeing them clearly,
I could feel it—
his thirst for blood,
his hunger for destruction.
He turned his head slowly,
and when his gaze fell upon me,
an uncontrollable shiver ran through my soul.
He didn’t need a weapon.
His eyes alone could kill.
And when his gaze shifted towards my mother and brother—
a scream ripped from my throat before I even realized it:
"No! Don’t hurt them!"
But the devil only smiled—
a cruel, merciless smile that sent ice into my bones.
Before I could reach them,
before I could even scream again—
he hurled a monstrous wave of black energy toward them.
It was so strong, so deadly,
that my instincts forced my eyes shut.
For a heartbeat, there was only silence.
No sound of my mother's cry.
No sound of my brother’s voice.
Only—
a deep, broken voice—
one that wrapped itself around my heart like a noose.
My father's voice.
Weak.
Ragged.
Full of unbearable pain.
I snapped my eyes open in horror.
And I saw him.
My father—
his strong body shielding my mother and brother.
He had taken the full brunt of the Moon Devil’s attack—
for them.
For us.
He lay there now, his once-proud armor cracked and bloodied,
his hand still stretched protectively over his family.
Lifeless.
The world blurred through the tears flooding my eyes.
a broken cry tearing free from my soul…..
I was floating in the air— the portal beside me roaring, as if it was alive, as if it was screaming for me.
Below me, I saw it— the courtroom where once the laughter of my people echoed, where disputes were settled with wisdom, now soaked in blood. Now filled with death.
My mother— my strong, beautiful Aaisaheb— collapsed to her knees, her hands trembling.
My brother— my Dada— the warrior of our people, fell beside her, his body shaking with silent sobs.
Through her tears, my mother cried out, her voice breaking into my soul: "Now you are not living for yourself, Ishwari. You live for our kingdom, for our realm, for our people. Only you can save them now, my child."
Her words carved themselves into my heart. I couldn’t even speak. Only tears spilled from my eyes— silent, endless.
And then— Rudraksh.
With a wave of his dark power, he sent my mother and brother flying back like broken dolls. Their bodies crashed against the marble floor. The sacred courtroom, the place of justice, was now a graveyard.
One by one, they fell.
My mother. My father. My brother. My best friend Amrita.
Their blood flowed like a river, staining the marble red, pooling around them, reaching out towards me.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear the world apart.
My tears blurred my vision, but through the haze, I saw him—
Rudraksh.
Standing tall, his body wrapped in darkness, his mouth curled into a cruel smile.
He had destroyed everything. Everyone. And he smiled.
An uncontrollable scream ripped itself from my throat— a scream of anger, of hatred, of unbearable loss:
"I will kill you, Rudraksh!"
His only response was a cold, mocking smirk.
Before I could move, before I could tear him apart with my bare hands, the portal sucked me in— ripping me away from the ruins of my home, from the blood of my family, from the last pieces of my shattered heart.
The last thing I saw was Rudraksh standing over their broken bodies, and I swore to the gods, to the stars, to the spirit of every fallen soul—
I will kill you, Rudraksh. Even if I have to tear apart time itself…..
I WILL KILL YOU
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