"Yakshas are protectors of nature and natural treasures," she said. "They are a different race—not human. Their home is Bhuvar Loka, a higher realm than the world we live in. And across the Lokas… there are hidden cities and forests where Yakshas still thrive."
She took a slow breath before continuing.
"The strength of a Yaksha depends on the size of the land they protect. A river guardian cannot rival a mountain sovereign."
Her voice dipped.
"But time manipulation…" "That is not a power any Yaksha could possess."
Then, almost against her better judgment, she asked,
"Why is a powerful Yaksha like you here? Not in your Loka… or a secret city?"
She froze immediately after. Her shoulders stiffened.
A sharp silence hovered between them.
She lowered her eyes, a faint regret tugging at her expression. "I– I shouldn't have asked that," she murmured.
The Yaksha only smirked. Slowly. Deliberately.
He said nothing. Not a single word.
His pupils flicked away from Subha, gliding toward the battlefield instead—his attention shifting like drifting smoke.
Arjun and Subha turned as well.
The sight was terrifying.
Golden radiance sparked from the archer's Dhanush, flickering like embers caught inside fate itself. The glow twirled around him—wild, yet motionless—like stars nailed into destiny.
Even the trees near him seemed unreal, their outlines dissolving into a world that didn't belong to time.
No one spoke.
No one could speak.
Even breathing felt forbidden in that moment.
The stillness made every inhale sound thunderous.
Then—snap.
The Yaksha flicked his fingers.
The temporal bubble burst apart.
A sudden frost-bitten storm shot outward.
A cold gust slammed into their bodies, pushing them a step back as time snapped back into motion.
Pebbles dropped.
The arrow launched again, hitting its target for the second time.
Still—the figure did not fall.
The warrior took the strike and remained in the sky, defying logic and weight alike.
"Why isn't he falling?" Arjun whispered, eyes burning with disbelief.
"Even after two direct hits… why?"
Before Arjun could finish thinking, the Yaksha answered him anyway.
"He is using a form of Maya Astra."
A cold line ran down Arjun's back.
His heartbeat stiffened.
"Can he… read minds too?" he feared silently.
It was the smallest question—but the most terrifying one.
Another noise cracked through the field.
A faint shiver of sound.
The airborne warrior dissolved—folding inward—as a single leaf spiraled down from where his body once existed.
The leaf touched the soil.
It unfurled.
It reshaped.
And—standing now in its place—was a man gripping a massive mace.
The mace-wielder didn't waste a second.
He hurled something unseen toward the archer. Threads of illusion exploded outward, wrapping around the burning light like a predator trapping the sun itself.
The archer kept firing—but madness had claimed precision.
His arrows shot endlessly, wildly, into places that held no enemy.
The golden brilliance behind him expanded—growing—swelling—into a miniature sun roaring in confusion.
The heat shattered rock.
Cracked stone.
Trees ignited helplessly around him, one by one.
The forest screamed in flame even before voices could.
Arjun finally realized what was happening.
The Maya Astra was not shielding the mace-wielder—it was feeding on the archer's mind.
The illusions were disorienting him. Confusing his aim. Making him attack the land itself instead of his enemy.
The mace in the other warrior's hands kept growing heavier. He continued crushing the ground beneath him with every passing second.His entire stance radiated intention—he was planning a final, lethal blow to finish his opponent, who was still trapped inside the illusion of his own Maya.
Then suddenly—boom.The land where the Dhanush-wielder had been standing burst upward. Gandiva glowed even brighter—angrier—larger, like a star refusing to dim.
At that exact moment, the mace struck him.
He managed to use his bow to absorb the impact—but it hurt him visibly. His body reacted before his pride could.The force slammed him straight into the earth—digging a massive crater—blood spraying as evidence of pain and survival.
Arjun gasped quietly,"He was caught in Maya…"
"The moment he was released, he was hit instantly."
The two warriors now stood at a small distance apart.
The mace-wielder looked terrifying—his already massive weapon appeared impossibly heavy, yet it kept expanding in size. Every second it seemed to grow larger, heavier.It began absorbing and attracting everything around it—dust, wind, fragments, even broken light—pulling it inward like an unstoppable gravitational void.
Meanwhile, the wounded archer lifted his Dhanush toward the sky and began chanting an mantra.The golden cluster behind him dissolved into flowing streams of light that coiled into the bow itself—building power again.
A thunderous sound erupted, and the air around them turned warm.There was nothing left to exaggerate the drama—because everything around that place had vanished entirely.
Heat and light—capable of burning anything in existence—formed inside the Dhanush once more.
At the same moment, the mace-wielder slowly rose into the air, propelled not by strength alone, but by destruction's permission.His mace dragged more and more objects into itself—metal shards, leaves, broken stone—pulling in matter like a black mouth swallowing creation.
The arrow was finally released.
Not fast this time—but heavy.So heavy that reality bent around it. The ground burned a full foot beneath its path, the released Shakti rippling outward violently—reaching even as far as Arjun.
Arjun thought to himself,"We are not even his target… and the Shakti is still reaching us... Just how powerful is he?"
His opponent hurled his own weapon in response.
The mace moved first, darker than measure, deeper than dimension.The air evaporated along its trajectory—leaving nothingness where it passed.
But—before the two forces could collide—
The Yaksha started walking.
Each footstep shook the ground itself.Boom.A new wave of sound rose with every step—steady, deliberate, terrifying.
Arjun whispered anxiously,"His footsteps alone carry power... We should leave this place. We don't know what he'll do if we stay."
He glanced worriedly toward Subha.
But the very next instant—
The Yaksha vanished from sight and reappeared directly between the two warriors.
The world turned violent again.The wind thickened—pressured—alive—making it painful to inhale, as if the air had become a living boundary refusing entry into lungs.
And then—
Silence.
No explosion.No sound.Nothing at all.
Their attacks vanished.
The Yaksha floated there and spoke—calmly, casually, as though the world still owed him patience.A single, incomprehensible phrase erupted into the air—and both warriors were slammed into the ground before they could brace themselves.
Arjun whispered,"He made them fall with just words."
But confusion twisted behind his eyes. He and Subha had heard nothing.Why were they the only ones unable to hear something that powerful?
The Yaksha declared loudly:"You all are too weak. You rely on Astras and objects too much. You are only beginning to fight—don't let pride blind you."
His words struck deeper than attack had moments ago.
Arjun fell to his knees. His voice was barely above breath now."Weak?" he echoed. "Them? If they are just beginning…""Then what have I been doing all these years?"
A snap was heard, and they both vanished.
Subha flinched and blurted, panic cracking her balance,"Where are they?"
"They failed the test," the Yaksha replied, shrugging once, as though throwing away generations was easier than throwing weapons."So they were removed."
With another snap of his fingers—
Arjun and Subha were teleported far away, into a place they had never stepped into before.
They landed on unfamiliar soil.
The land was too beautiful to feel accidental.Lush greenery stretched endlessly. Flowers glowed faintly like living gems, and a giant ancient tree stood at the heart of the place. A river flowed behind it with gentle inevitability.
The Yaksha sat under the tree, leaning against time itself.
Subha murmured, almost falling back into thought instead of speech,"It's beautiful here… Beautiful might still be too small a word for this place."
Arjun still said nothing. His mind hadn't moved from the battlefield—only from realisation of his own weakness.
A powerful, unfamiliar fragrance danced in the air.It was indescribable—something Arjun couldn't name, but something he found himself liking without question.
Subha glanced at him again."You okay?"
Arjun exhaled, shaking his head."Still falling from words," he said quietly.
They both walked toward the Yaksha again—this time slower, quieter, smaller, more respectful.
He spoke finally, eyes half closed like resting storms,"I am Vana... the Yaksha"
Arjun repeated the name under his breath, almost forming a vow without realizing it.
Nervous but recovering, Arjun said,"Thanks for showing us this place… but we'll be taking our leave now."
The Yaksha raised one hand lazily and replied,"Fine. Take the treasure I have guarded for decades."
Subha blinked, stunned by his casual surrender,"But… don't we need to pass a test first?"
He smirked,"You already have."
Arjun narrowed his eyes instantly."Wait… when?"
The Yaksha placed his palm on the ancient tree.
A bright shimmer spread outward, revealing the treasure that had been hidden for ages. Its true name would remain unspoken—for now.