The next morning, the great arena of Magadha lay completely quiet under the blazing midday sun.
The heat pressed down on the sand like a heavy hand, but no one seemed to notice. Every single person in the packed stands, whether it was poor farmers squeezed in the lower rows, rich merchants with silk umbrellas, or the proud nobles draped in gold, kept their eyes glued to the wide central pit.
Down there, two kings stood facing each other, ready for a fight.
Meanwhile, Karna stripped down to just a simple white langot tied low around his hips, just like other wrestlers and Jarasandha, as he entered the arena. His bare chest rose and fell in slow, even breaths. The sunlight hit the golden earrings he always wore, making them flash like small flames dancing on his ears.
His sculpted body made Dhavani's cheeks flush red, and she immediately hung her head in shyness.
Across from him stood Jarasandha, huge and scarred, his dark langot clinging to his thighs. Oil and fresh sweat made the old battle marks on his shoulders and chest shine.
He rolled those massive shoulders once, twice, loosening up, and his eyes sparkled with the same wild excitement he'd shown earlier when he'd crushed Vikram in barely a minute, a while ago.
Once Karna stood before him, Jarasandha then broke the silence. He kept his voice low, so only Karna could catch the words over the faint murmur of the crowd.
"I wish you luck, Suryaputra."
Karna met his gaze without flinching. His own voice came out quiet but firm, "Then let the ground decide between us, Maharaj."
As the fight started with a bell ring, both of them started to circle each other slowly.
Neither rushed at first. They were feeling out the distance, listening to the soft crunch of sand under their feet, watching how the other shifted weight from one leg to the other.
Jarasandha moved like a mountain deciding to walk with his every step heavy, every turn seemed to be brimming with power. Karna stayed lighter, almost dancing on his feet left and right, while his eyes locked on the older king's face, never blinking away.
Eventually, Jarasandha exploded forward.
In the first phase of the fight, the king of Magadha owned everything.
He crossed the space between them faster than anyone expected from such a big man. His thick arms snapped shut around Karna's waist like iron clamps.
Karna sucked in a sharp breath as the grip squeezed tighter, pressing his ribs inward. Karna never underestimated Jarasandha, but when faced with his grip for the first time, which he couldn't get free from properly, Karna realized that he perhaps had underestimated this King of Magadha.
Just as Karna tried to get free to push away Jarasandha's hands, the latter bent his knees, lifted him straight off the sand, and slammed him down hard.
*Swish*
The impact sent a ripple through the ground. Dust billowed up in a thick cloud. Karna felt the shock travel up his spine and rattle every bone at once, and pain flared bright and hot, but he bit it back.
While the crowd burst into cheers, up on the royal platform, Crown Prince Sahadeva threw his head back and laughed, the sound sharp and mocking.
He leaned close to his younger brother Jayatsena. "Look at that, Younger Brother! Father's tossing him around like a little child. Karna really overestimated himself."
Jayatsena didn't laugh, though. He frowned instead, eyes narrowing as he watched Karna push himself up from the sand almost right away, sand pouring off his shoulders.
"Something's not right, elder brother," he said quietly. "Father's putting in more effort than it looks. See how his arms are shaking just a little when he grips? He didn't break Vikram this hard."
Meanwhile, Princess Dhavani sat frozen among the women of the court. Her fingers twisted tight into the edge of her thin veil until her knuckles turned white.
Until a minute ago, she was blushing hard, but now, her heart pounded so loud she could hear it in her ears. She watched Karna rise without making a sound, dust clinging to his sweat, and her stomach twisted with worry.
When her father charged again to pin down Karna, she pressed her lips together hard to keep from crying out.
The king clinched once more.
This time, he twisted Karna sideways in the air, hoisted him high, and drove him down shoulder-first.
The thud rang out like someone beating a huge drum. Karna's body bounced once on the sand before he rolled away and pushed up onto one knee, breathing through his mouth now.
Jarasandha didn't give him a second to rest. Another clinch. Another lift. Another brutal slam. Each time Karna hit the ground, the crowd's roar swelled bigger. Sahadeva's laughter sliced through the noise again and again.
"Look at him! He can't even stand up straight anymore! Hahaha..."
But Karna did stand.
Every single time.
Slower, yes. Yet his eyes stayed calm and steady.
He watched Jarasandha the whole time, studying him like a student with a difficult teacher.
He noticed the little things—the way the king always leaned his weight forward just before the lift, the way his fingers dug deepest into the ribs, the sharp huff of breath right before the slam. Karna stored every detail away i his head.
And then the fight shifted when Jarasandha lunged with the same move again—arms reaching, body lowering for the clinch.
This time, the instant the king began to pull upward, Karna hooked one leg behind Jarasandha's knee.
The older king's balance wobbled for the first time. Karna twisted his hips fast, turning the lift into his own throw. At once, Jarasandha crashed down onto one knee with a surprised grunt.
A gasp rippled through the stands, seeing a counterattack from Karna when they thought the match would be over.
Jarasandha shoved himself up quickly, eyes narrowing with new focus.
But Karna was already closing in.
When the next clinch came, Karna slipped an arm under Jarasandha's shoulder, locked it behind the king's back, and used a quick shift of his own weight to pull him off-balance again.
The king growled low in his throat and pushed back hard, muscles bulging, but Karna stayed calm. He breathed deep and slow, keeping his face blank, refusing to show how tired his arms were starting to feel.
Prince Jayatsena leaned forward on the platform, voice dropping even lower. "There, see it now? Father's starting to tire. Karna isn't trying to match the raw strength of Father. He's just waiting, wearing him down with patience."
Dhavani's fingers shook under her veil. The sharp worry in her chest started mixing with something else... perhaps, a small, fluttering spark of hope.
She watched Karna sweep a quick leg under Jarasandha's ankle, making the giant stagger sideways. Then came a shoulder lock that forced Jarasandha down to both knees. The king roared and powered out of it, but his movements weren't as smooth anymore.
And soon, Jarasandha's breath came in rough, uneven gasps.
Sweat streamed down his face and chest in rivers, dripping onto the sand.
His huge muscles trembled every time he tried to push back.
Karna kept coming with tight arm bars that made the older king grunt in real pain, pin attempts that got him halfway down before Jarasandha bridged out with a desperate heave.
Every escape costs the king more. Every failed attack drained him a little further.
The crowd's mood changed slowly.