The First Strike of Darkness

The morning sun slowly rose above the village, but instead of warmth, it brought a feeling of fear. The sky looked darker than usual. Birds were not chirping. The wind was still. Everything felt wrong.

Rudra stood outside his house, looking at the horizon. His heart beat fast. He could feel something terrible approaching.

Valmiki walked beside him, calm as always, but his eyes were sharp.

“Rudra,” Valmiki said softly, “today everything will change.”

Rudra swallowed hard.
“Are they really coming?”

Valmiki nodded.
“Aghori’s army is already close. Very close.”

Rudra’s hands shook a little.

“Will… will the villagers be safe?”

“Yes,” Valmiki said. “I already placed protective barriers around the town. No monster can enter the homes. But the battlefield… will be outside.”

Rudra nodded slowly.
He wasn’t ready.
But he also knew he didn’t have a choice.

At the edge of the forest, the earth shook like an earthquake.

KRRRHHH… KRRRHHHH…

Trees snapped.
Birds flew away in fear.
A dark smoke cloud rose into the sky.

Then… the monsters appeared.

Dozens.
Hundreds.
All shapes. All sizes. All terrifying.

Some had glowing red teeth.
Some had giant claws.
Some had long tails that made cracking noises as they hit the ground.

And leading them was Trikal, the three-eyed monster general. His footsteps were so heavy that each step made a deep thud.

THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.

Aghori walked proudly behind Trikal, holding his black staff.

“Valmiki!” he shouted.
“Today your protection will break! Today Rudra will be mine!”

He raised his staff and the sky turned even darker.

Lightning cracked.

The battle had begun.

Valmiki lifted his hand. A golden aura surrounded him.

“Rudra,” he said, “stay behind me for now.”

“But Guruji—”

“Not yet,” Valmiki said firmly. “You must wait.”

Rudra clenched his fists. He hated waiting while danger came closer. But he trusted Valmiki.

Valmiki stepped forward slowly. His eyes glowed white.

From the ground, roots burst upward—thick, strong, and alive. They twisted around Valmiki like shields.

“Valmiki!” Aghori shouted.
“You still hide behind your nature tricks?”

Valmiki replied calmly,
“Nature’s power is purer than your dark magic. And today, you will see why.”

Aghori laughed loudly.

“ATTACK!”

Thousands of monsters charged forward, roaring and screaming.

Rudra stepped back in fear.

But Valmiki slammed his staff on the ground.

BOOOOOM!

A shockwave of green energy blasted out from him.

Hundreds of monsters flew backward like leaves in a storm.

“WHAT?!” Aghori shouted, shocked.

Rudra stared in amazement.

“Guruji… you’re so strong!”

Valmiki didn’t reply. His face stayed serious. The monsters were regrouping.

Trikal took a deep breath and released a powerful roar.

RROOOAAAAARRRR!

The sound shook the trees.
Rudra covered his ears.
Valmiki stepped forward, ready.

Trikal raised all three eyes toward Valmiki.
Each eye glowed differently:

One red, for burning power.

One blue, for freezing power.

One green, for mind power.

“Guruji, look out!” Rudra shouted.

Trikal fired all three powers at once.

FWOOSH!
CRACK!
SHOOOM!

Fire, ice, and mental shockwaves rushed toward Valmiki.

Valmiki crossed his arms.

A giant wooden shield rose from the earth right in front of him.

The attacks hit the shield:

BOOOM!
CRRAACK!
WHAMMM!

The shield shook but did not break.

Valmiki shouted,
“Earth Defense—BODHI WALL!”

The shield glowed brighter and pushed all the attacks back.

Trikal was forced to step back.

Aghori’s eyes widened.
“He blocked it?!”

Rudra smiled a little.
“Guruji is unstoppable!”

Valmiki said in a calm voice,
“The stronger your monster is, Aghori, the stronger nature grows to stop it.”

Aghori growled and lifted his staff.

“Enough of this!”

He stabbed his staff into the ground.

The earth turned black.

All the roots and plants around Valmiki began to rot instantly.

Valmiki’s wall cracked and shattered into dust.

Rudra gasped.
“Guruji!”

Aghori shouted,
“DARK EARTH CURSE! Let your nature die, Valmiki!”

Valmiki stumbled back as the energy around him weakened.

Trikal roared and charged forward again.

Without warning, he punched Valmiki with all his power.

BOOOOOOOM!

Valmiki crashed into a rock cliff.

“GURUJI!” Rudra screamed.

Valmiki’s body shook. He tried to stand, but he was hurt.

Trikal roared again and rushed for another attack.

Rudra panicked.

“I can’t wait anymore… I need to transform!”

He grabbed his bracelet.

The Saktra Bracelet glowed faintly… but then flickered weakly.

Rudra’s eyes widened in fear.

“No no no… please don’t fail now!”

He tried again.

Still weak.

Valmiki shouted,
“Rudra! The bracelet has not recovered! Don’t force it!”

“But Guruji will die!”

Valmiki shouted,
“I said NO!”

Trikal fired a freeze beam. Valmiki barely dodged it.

Rudra felt tears in his eyes.

“This can’t be happening…”

Aghori laughed loudly.

“Yes, Rudra! Feel the fear! Feel the weakness! Without Jinnah, you are NOTHING!”

Rudra’s heart pounded.

“No…
No…
NO!”

He clenched his fists tightly.

“I may not have Jinnah right now…
But I won’t let my Guruji die!”

He ran forward.

But Valmiki shouted,
“STOP, RUDRA!”

Suddenly—

A giant shadow fell from the sky.

A massive monster, even bigger than Trikal, landed between Rudra and Valmiki.

BOOOOOM!

The monster had four arms, each covered with spikes. Its skin was dark purple, and its mouth had three layers of teeth.

Aghori smirked.

“Meet my newest creation… Mayandhar!”

Rudra froze.

This monster was not normal.
It was terrifying.
It looked like pure destruction.

Mayandhar roared so loudly the ground cracked.

He lifted all four arms and slammed them down toward Valmiki.

Valmiki tried to block with magic, but he was weakened.

He couldn’t stop it.

BOOOOOM!

Valmiki fell to one knee.

Rudra screamed,
“GURUJI!”

Rudra ran to Valmiki’s side.

“No… this can’t happen… please get up…”

Valmiki breathed slowly.

“Rudra… listen… you cannot fight now. We must retreat.”

“But Guruji—”

“No time. RUN.”

Aghori laughed.

“There will be no running today!”

Trikal and Mayandhar surrounded them.

Rudra felt helpless.
Too weak to transform.
Too weak to fight.
Too weak to protect his Guruji.

Tears fell down his face.

“I’m useless…”

Valmiki placed a weak hand on Rudra’s shoulder.

“Not useless… just unprepared. Now go!”

Aghori raised his staff again.

“FINISH THEM!”

The monsters charged.

Rudra closed his eyes.

This was the end.

Just as Trikal’s claws were about to strike—

The bracelet on Rudra’s wrist glowed brightly for half a second.

A spark of energy hit Trikal’s hand.

ZAAAAP!

Trikal shouted in pain and stepped back.

Rudra stared at his bracelet in shock.

“It… it still has some energy inside?”

Valmiki’s eyes widened.

“Rudra… the Saktra is reacting to your fear. It is giving you a warning.”

Rudra gulped.

“A warning?”

Valmiki whispered:

“Yes…
The next time you transform…
Jinnah might not follow your command.”

Rudra’s blood went cold.

He looked at the glowing bracelet.

Then… the glow stopped.

It went completely silent.

And without any warning—

Rudra fainted.

He collapsed in Valmiki’s arms as the final bit of energy disappeared from the bracelet.

Valmiki looked at the approaching monsters and whispered:

“I will protect you, Rudra… even if I give my life.”