"Is Kali Yuga truly so cruel... that even God Himself was destined to live a life of suffering and agony?"
Andy's question echoed through the chamber like a whisper carried by time itself.
For a brief moment, silence consumed the room.
Kripacharya and Ashwatthama exchanged a glance.
Neither answered immediately.
The question was too profound.
Too painful.
Finally, the great sage looked toward Andy, his voice calm yet carrying the weight of countless ages.
"Kali Yuga has now reached the pinnacle of its cruelty, Andy."
"But understand this... every sorrow that Maan endured—every wound, every loss, every hardship—was never meaningless."
"It was destiny."
"Behind every event in his life, a greater purpose was hidden."
"Some of those purposes were born not in the present... but in the distant past."
The chamber grew quiet once again.
Andy frowned.
"But wasn't it foretold that Bhagwan Kalki would be born into an ordinary family?"
"And that the immortals would guide Him from childhood?"
Kripacharya nodded gently.
"Yes."
"And exactly that has happened."
"The prophecy has never changed."
"Only your perspective has."
Everyone looked toward the glowing celestial cocoon resting at the center of the chamber.
The sage continued,
"Maan was born into an ordinary human family."
"He knew neither luxury nor privilege."
"Suffering became his first teacher."
"Struggle became his companion."
"He experienced loneliness, rejection, hunger, uncertainty, and pain—just like millions of ordinary humans."
"When he was born, his parents passed away."
"His own blood relatives refused to take responsibility for him."
"He walked through life abandoned, carrying burdens no child should ever bear."
Kripacharya's eyes reflected infinite compassion.
"There are many who say..."
'God could never understand human suffering.'
'The Divine has never experienced pain.'
'How can God understand the tears of ordinary people?'
The sage's voice became firm.
"This..."
"This is the answer to those doubts."
"The Divine chooses suffering."
"So that no devotee ever walks alone."
"Every tear shed by humanity..."
"is first felt by the One who created it."
No one spoke.
The silence itself had become sacred.
Ashwatthama lowered his head.
Even the immortal warrior seemed humbled by the truth.
Andy slowly looked toward the cocoon once again.
His voice had become almost a whisper.
"I understand now, Gurudev."
"But what will happen after He awakens?"
"How will He change?"
Kripacharya closed his eyes.
For several seconds, the chamber remained perfectly still.
Then he answered.
"He will not return as the innocent child you knew."
"He will rise as Kalki."
"And that day will arrive only when the end of Kali draws near."
"Until then..."
"Our duty is to protect this world."
"To keep the darkness at bay."
"To preserve hope until the appointed hour."
The divine cocoon pulsed again.
The light surrounding it became even brighter.
Almost impossible to behold.
Kripacharya slowly raised his eyes toward it.
"When those eyes finally open..."
"The Earth itself will tremble."
"The oceans will rise."
"Mountains will split."
"The skies will roar."
"A cosmic storm unlike anything humanity has ever witnessed will descend upon creation."
"It will not merely be destruction."
"It will be purification."
"The final cleansing of Kali Yuga."
"The collapse of an age of darkness."
"And from those ruins..."
"A new Satya Yuga will be born."
The chamber fell silent.
No one dared speak another word.
Outside, the bells of Kashi rang without human touch.
The sacred winds began circling the city.
Somewhere beyond the boundaries of time...
Destiny had already begun its final countdown.