Author's Notes:

Apologies if there's any mistakes in future translations. Especially in the languages I commonly use in this story, thankfully some of you folks have volunteered your services to assist me for which I'm grateful.


Ajay's entire body was drenched in sweat, it was adding to the already burdensome task of climbing the cliff that Darshan instructed as part of his training in improving his endurance to magic. Call it "defense against the dark arts", She-who-shall-not-be-name wasn't the only one that could use bliming magical curses and manifestations in real space. Nearly all the Rakshasa were capable of that, just at varying levels. Why Darshan never bothered to at least train some young ones this entire time he'd been preparing was beyond him. If he couldn't trust even a disciple with carrying his knowledge and assisting him, then he was really hopeless in this regard. Him, training Ajay was already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Ajay never experienced military training, not even scout camp or a huntering trip. All these had tiring and difficult obstacle courses, some natural and some man-made. Yet, he knew there were pale in comparison to what Darshan was putting him through.

He heaved a heavy backpack filled with stones as he climbed up a steep cliff without the aid of a rope or grappling anchor. Although the stones were hefty, they weren't as unmanageable as his usual heavy kit which he moved around in deceivingly agile. They were weighing on him exceptionally great by virtue of talismans stuck to each and every one of those rocks in his backpack. He wouldn't have been able to do this on the first day, so it took three days to get accustom to the gravitational differences with the talismans in place.

He also learnt that the effects had great combat potential as they could affect a locate area besides a direct application to the target, albeit weaker in comparison. There were no talismans that could outright kill though as Darshan had layed out a few for him to browse and understand what make a talisman. But where Darshan heavily relied on these slips of paper with intricate design, the Rakshasa could cast actual frigin magic with the only weakness of being long recitals. There was also another requirement of it only being able to cast in on a being less powerful that the wielder which was no problem for the near-immortal Rakshasa on mortal human beings.

(plop) He hefted the bag onto the granite floor of a natural shelter up on the cliffs.

"That looks hard." Said the chubby fellow that followed him along the trip and had been sitting watching the entire time.

"(Huff) You wanna give it a try?" He looked at him with a slight annoyance.

"No thanks man, I mean I know I can but-… nah…. This is like your trial man. I'm just here ta watch and make sure you don't cheat."

"Whatever." Ajay sighed and dug into his back to find his water bottle. After hydrating himself he poured the rest over his head to cool it off.

"Hey! What'da bout me?" The one accompanying him complained.

"I thought you were just watching over me so I won't cheat. If anything, you should've brought your own." Ajay threw the bag onto his back with a mighty heave, swearing not to put it down till he was done. He had enough of bringing it up. While the weight was still the same in reality, it was the talismans that distorted Ajay's sense of feel, making felt carrying load at something akin to a fridge on his back. He had sort of messed the demonic strength with his own but even then, it was a pain to keep standing with it, these talismans were especially effective in him. "Hurgh!"

It was just three hundred metres up the cliff to his designated checkpoint where the exercise would finally end. He ignored the whining complaints shoved on his as he climbed, keeping a strong-willed mind to focus on the task at hand.

"Say, Bads? When this is all over, what do you picture us doing after all this?"

"(huff)…. Seriously?" He stopped whilst holding onto the ledges tightly. The other person gave a look like it was important he hear it.

"Sigh….. settle in, have a family." Ajay said with honesty, unfortunately the former didn't really believe it.

"That's it? Very cliché, ain't it?"

"What would you have me do then? Take the throne and slave away for the rest of my life?"

"Man, you are such a cynicalist. If I said you could have the most fun job in the entire world, you'd complain too! What's not to like about being a King, man?"

"Because I don't have what it takes to be a King, plain and simple. I don't want to be one either…. Is it really so hard to believe I just want to live in peace and be loved?" He looked at his partner who looked back with a deep expression.

"If I was a king, I'd have to listen to hundreds of men and women representing each discipline and department drone on about what they need and would I give them my blessing. I'd step into the frontlines again, to keep morale the highest. They'd expect me to have concubines, making me breed like a rabbit. And worst, those kids will be fighting each other to take over my place. I'd rather live like I have with the girls than what Pagan originally wanted. If he consents it, his brat can have the throne for all I care."

The other person stared at him with surprise and smiled.

"What?"

"You think of kingship as nuthin' but a job like the one you have now. Haha!- (sigh) It's those kind of words about the dedication you'd put that makes everyone think you really are fit to be one, Bads." He said meaningfully.

Ajay said nothing in return and continued to climb than refute him. His muscles were sort of getting used to the strain after a good four hours of climbing. And in another seven minutes, he had reached the top. He casted the pack aside and dropped to the floor like it was a comfy bed.

A shadow loomed over him.

"Do this on your own time in future to improve your tolerace, go up by increments. Now get up, you know that time is at stake here."

"….(huff) (huff) Yeah… I gotcha. (huff)." Ajay pushed himself up onto his feet quickly and followed Darshan back to the camp they'd set up in an undisclosed location that even Ajay didn't know. Darshan had intentionally done this so that he wouldn't skip on his training to fight with incomplete understanding of his tomes and rituals which could be fatal to the user if used wrongly. He learnt the heard way before when he had trouble nunciation the Hindu words and triggered a backlash which he didn't ever want to happen again.

As the neared the familiar path back to the camp, Darshan turned to him and he knew what he was about to tell him.

"I'll be preparing for your next lesson, in the meantime go fetch our dinner."

"I'm on it." Ajay walked back to the tent which was his and retrieved his compound bow and arrows.

"(whistle)"

(woof)

Vajra who had been waiting patiently for their return accompanied Ajay to assist in what was in its nature to do so. The last hunt they were able to land a juicy tenderloin from one of the deers in this forest area, they would try once more for another, not even Darshan was going to refute a tasty meal.

"Dinner for three and one dog, coming right up."

Darshan looked at the silhouette of a man and a dog leave.

"….."


An excited mood was brewing around the North-Eastern part of Kyrat at the City of Lakshman.

The King had declared a national holiday to commemorate the battles thus far, this celebration marked the end of the climax to the twenty-six year long civil war. A name for it had yet to be drafted, but that wasn't as important as the assembly for the stage in which the parade would be held. A massive grandstand was being constructed along the way into the city central, meant for a large audience to watch as a military parade passed by.

3rd Company had the honours of completing that extremely demanding request in the shortest possible time, but this time they had their Commander Saraswati with them. As well as a huge logistical support to take over the heavy lifting from them to focus on the builds and construction.

But they were thoroughly enjoying the experience contrary to mega projects they'd done in the past.

"Lunch is ready!" A sweet young voice called out from the veranda under the shade of the trees.

A mix of civilian workers and soldiers were estatic at the announcement that signalled a routine for their much-awaited lunchbreak, it was their daily sin of lavishing in the textured flavour of Bhadra's lunches provided en masse to the workers at the construction site and any who wished to fill their stomachs. None of them would ever tell their wifes of this guilty pleasure, and to think that Badala had been enjoying such a meal every day made those who had eaten green with envy. It was no wonder he could fight like a demon when this delicious food was powering his mind and energizing his body, or so they were under the impression.

"Here you go. Three servings, for you and your friends." Bhadra served one of the soldiers a neatly wrapped bundle of bread and mutton curry.

"Hehe… thank you, my dear. I'll be sure to tell them you said hi." The beneficiary jogged off with the food to meet with his mates. He was just one of the few dozens in Bhadra's food line alone. She had managed to requisition the help of the student body to assist her in performing some menial work to improve the efficiency of the work going into the city celebration four days from now. Her request was approved at it would also advertise some of the social work that the school did for the community which was always a good thing to exhibit in demonstrating proper character development. The food, she sent a listen and they paid for everything. When she requested for manpower, they called forth eager volunteers not that there wasn't any who wouldn't want to work closely with Bhadra Rishal to get acquainted with her.

"Hey, Bhadra!" A voice called out in the distance behind the queue. When she looked over the shoudlers of the people she could see a couple of familiar faces.

"You guys don't mind taking over for a while, do you? I just wanna say hello and all." No one shook their heads and agreed to let her go off on her own as they managed. She could swear a few clicked their tongues but if they said yes then that was all she needed. Taking off her apron and rushing over to where the five women and one guy were. "Girls!"

"And guy." The accompanying husband of one of the women murmured due to her ill acknowledgement of his existence in the group.

"Hello, Ricardo." She beamed with a bright smile.

"Ciao Bella." Ricardo said with equal measure, earning a nudge from his wife not to take things too far.

"What've you been up to, munchkin?"

"Please don't call me that, Noore."

"Oh alright, I'm sorry. It's just me being too excited when I have another little one with me." A head popped around the back of her waist, a young Caucasian girl with brown hair stuck out like a sore thumb in this Asian dominant background, where Stella and Noore were at least recognisable as a Vice-Lord and one of Badala's mercenaries. But again, to have a young girl her age here was an enigma. Why would anyone like her choose to come here?

Bhadra was quick to notice who was that, she was the reason Noore moved out to take guardianship of her. The irony that a victim would take care of her family's killer's daughter, she was Ashley Harmon. But if Noore showed no adversity towards this adoption, then none of them could really question her on it.

"Bhadra, I'd like you to meet Ashley."

"Hello." Bhadra didn't pause in taking the rythme from Noore and greeted cheerful, seeing she was friendly in nature the younger girl returned that greeting in kind with a wide beaming smile.

"Hello. I like your eyes." She commented on Bhadra's striking eyes.

Noore tapped her on the head to which she giggled. "You're such a cheeky one, aren't you."

"You guys look free? How about lunch at the cafeteria?"

The group looked at each other and back to Bhadra.

"Sounds great."

Bhadra led the way for them to head off back to the polytechnic where she studied in, now called Min National Polytechnic or MNP. Under the sponsorship of none other than his Royal Highness. When the King's little darling was enrolled in your school, it was a blessing like no other.

They arrived at the well-furnished cafeteria and had what was on the menu. A

"Eating your vegetables first, aren't you a strange one."

"I dunno why everyone says they're yucky. I like them." Her glow caught the attention of some of the female student who giggled at her cheerfulness and were hesitant on whether to approach and interact with her.

"I wish Ric was more like you." Stella paid Ashley company as a conversation partner at Ricardo's expense.

"Unbelievable, its not like you're the one that co-gguurrgh!" A lightning quick strike to his gut silenced his last few words and made her friend chuckle at their love comedy between them.

"Any news of when Ajay comes back?" Noore asked as he had left without saying anything.

"Where did he go anyway?"

"To Darshan's in the Pravyadh village."

"The Hunter's domain?" Noore said as she frowned at the mention of that man. It wasn't just Ajay who had doubts about him, they were two peas in a pod in their opinion towards the strange exorcist.

"He'll be back for the celebration."

"But he isn't coming back for the celebration, is he?"

"….No….." Saras replied in a rather lonely way. Noore tried to change the subject to a topic that seemed more of intel gathering.

"How long have you known Darshan for, Maya?"

Being called to attention of her former subordinate, she huffed with an ill temper and then hesitated as she recalled some of the latest developments between herself and that person. She took a drink and nearly choked on it, Bhadra quickly administered a handkerchief and some gentle taps to her back.

"Thanks."

"Actually, I'm also kinda interested to know."

"That's interesting, interested in someone else other than Ajay." Noore joked.

"Maybe I like all the scruffy types better! Oh, maybe that counts as cheating?" They laughed together but the younger ones of their triad didn't seem to get it.

"Ahem." Bhadra visibly cleared her throat to tell them to quieten down, she too was anxious to hear an origin story about the pleasant middle-aged man that visited one time to return Bishal to its master.

"From what my Mistress told me, he was an enigma onto himself. It was during a time when Mistress Lau was in a more troubled state of mind, and her body was bedridden. Doctors couldn't diagnose her, Psyhiatrists called in suffering from an emotional breakdown. But it was nothing like any of their assumptions. She described it as losing herself into an abyss which she couldn't pull out from and couldn't break free on her own. Her mind was decaying slowly and would soon lose its sanity."

Noore paid close attention and had even taken out her notepad to jot down what she heard.

"And then she woke up with a clear mind one day, that miasma that trapped her thoughts and clouded her mind were banished. And standing over her was Darshan."

Bhadra seemed excited about the story already.

"He was on the accounts of the Royal Academy, an exceptional soldier. But he seemed to have a trade in mediums before all this. And it was as he described to the mistress, he'd banished the spirit that possessed her and was feeding off her negative emotion."

Noore was beginning to match this account with Ajay's description. He was some sort of exorcist and from the most recent account from Vasu, he was the only one that made those Rakshasa shiver at the sight of him.

"Vasu called him a Demon Banisher." Hearing that name, Maya's brows bent.

"I know you're not completely satisfied with the amnesty he gave to them." Noore said regarding the Kshatriyan Lords.

"Why should I be? Vasu Sen killed thousands even before he was set free. And Sun Han Feng, don't even get me started on that guy. He and his father had plotted for the day they could overthrow the Kingdom!" Maya expressed her disgruntledness towards Ajay's decisions.

"Perhaps there is a deeper meaning behind why he did this." Saras tried to be diplomatic without taking sides and giving a different perspective. Maya didn't want to continue one about them anymore so she went back to the original topic.

"As a reward or a way to make use of his talent she was thoroughly convinced was useful having been subject of that miracle, she promoted him to a standalone rank of Specialist. He took no orders from anyone save herself and her second-in-command who was still old Raghu at the time. And if he required anything, he was able to requisition it at his request, not that he ever did apart from request to join the Hunters."

"He only had one job, and that was to ensure that nothing would affect her subordinates' minds like it did to her. He was to scan her ranks of any such cases and destroy them at the root."

"Did you believe in this?" Saras asked.

"God no, I thought this was just something akin to a Taoist practice of hiring a medium just for the sake of having one. One of the weird quirks she as a Hong Kong Chinese might've brought over. Not that I ever understood Cantonese culture or Taoism for that matter."

"I don't think anyone would." Said Bhadra.

"So yeah, that's about it. Oh- I think he was heavily involved in the capture of those Devas during the 98' offensive which was kinda strange since he was only dealing with paranormal cases."

"Which raises the question about what drew him towards them." Noore said tapping her notepad like a detective trying to solve a riddle.

"His effectiveness as a member in the institution was a questionable one that many didn't fully understand, I was one of them for the record. Now I hear he is some sort of antithesis to those Rakshasa that stormed Lanka."

"That sounds like a bit of a twist."

"What does?" Maya asked Bhadra.

"Rakshasa attacking Lanka, the name of one of their homes." Maya turned to Saras for an explanation on why she picked the name for the fortress.

"I-… let's just say I went through a phase." She said in embarrassment. For once, Maya seemed humoured by her reaction.

"I bet you were screaming into a pillow to muffle your embarrassment when you heard that they were really going to build it." Maya said with a smirk almost laughing.

Saras's silence was taken as an acknowledgement.

"The secret side of Saraswati, that not even Ajay knows about."

"Oh god-…. Please for the love of god, don't bring this up with him." She said rubbing her temples in a tremendous headache.

"It'll require some hush money." Maya went straight to the point.

"(Sigh) If you weren't so petty, perhaps you would've made a little more friends."

"What was that? I have p-plenty of friends, mind you."

"Oh? Then name a few."

As if she was stuck in a botch, Maya was about to turn red at the embarrassment, like what she did to Saras in the beginning. She stared at her in deadpan and broke routine by declaring….

"Touché." Maya said back with a smile to which they laughed it off. Saras's expression was also gentle upon her.

"You've grown quite a bit, haven't you?"

"I should say the same for you, look at all those wrinkles."

"Alright, enough of those non-lethal confrontations." Noore broke up another potential word sparring match for another time.

"I wish we could've spent more time together like this, just us girls for a change." Bhadra said with a sigh.

Noore chuckled at what she was trying to say, she felt so as well. They'd been in and out of the house all the while when there was no pause to this civil war and now there was a measure of peace at least till such time that more serious issues occur.

"How about we go on a trip, just the six of us." Noore declared.

"Six?" Maya was a bit confused about the numbers.

"Stella and Saras's old friend Kanaan. Technically, six and a half if Ashley wants to come along. I heard its a place that the Nobles and Cantons often frequent. One of my traditional medicine colleagues ancestral home used to run a natural spa there. They have a hotspring just next to them that she allows her clients to use."

"I'm in!" Stella's voice called out almost instantly as she caught whiff of the words hotspring and spa.

"Can I come as well?" Ricardo asked but before Noore shunned him, Stella already did the job for her. Ricardo couldn't believe his wife's betrayal this early into their married life.

"I guess it's a yes from everyone? Ok." Noore nodded and puffed happily that the trip was seemingly going to turn out well.

"When do we set out?" Saras asked.

"How about tonight, our place at 7? It's not that far from where we are, I've already seen it though haven't tried it yet." The girls looked at her in a bit of surprise, but they were by no means going to turn it down.

"Oh man, I'm already fired up!" Bhadra declared. "I'd better get back to inform the rest I'm packing early!" She dashed off as quickly as the words left her mouth.

"I'm going back home to change into something comfortable." Stella declared and moved without waiting for poor Ricardo.

"Shall we go home as well?" Maya seemed to show interest in it purely for the stress-relief for god knows she needed it.

Noore chuckled at their excitement.

"You girls won't be disappointed."

(Boom) A tremor was heard out in the distance.

"What was that?"

"I dunno! It sounded like an explosion!"

A feeling of anxiousness grew amongst the peope in the cafeteria and the people who were in the proximity to it in general. They lived near conflict in the past so recognised the sounds of explosions.

""….."" Of all those ignorant to the truth, only Maya and Saras seemed to have a vague idea. And it had soured their mood greatly when that explosion though far and barely audible was still heard.

"Shall we cut-." Noore wanted to suggest cutting the trip short, but to her surpise they both replied-.

""No!"" Noore felt like laughing.

Even in seeming danger, no one was going to tear a woman from a means of relaxation.


(Boom) Another distant explosion out of the many few dozen explosions over the week was now becoming a norm to the more remote residence. It initially surprised the general populace, but after an explanation from the authorities that the Royal Kyrati Army was hosting a live-firing military exercise with India and Russia military forces in the mountains. The civilian populace was appeased, albeit annoyed to hear booms in the distance very early in the morning. They were still content with it than to actual fighting like before.

But the reality was far from the fabrication to keep the people calm to avoid mass panic. The detonations were triggered by explosions of ship-launched cruise missiles off the Arabian Sea, intercepted by 24hr patrols of interceptor aircraft and SAM systems with the aid of airborne AWACS aircraft and balloons. The ground-hugging cruise missiles were not something the state-of-the-art AESA ground radar could detect only at the very last moment. A significant amount of fuel, energy, man-hours and munitions was dedicated to keeping Kyrat and its installations safe from this underhanded-style of bombing. As costly as it was to deploy this defense umbrella throughout the fortnight, it was better than having the cruise missile indiscriminately kill.

The party responsible for firing them had not even declared war, but it was needless to say who was shooting them to soften up their defense integrity. The fact that their movements were not even publically announced on the international news said it was a high-covert operation but deploying quite a significant force. Strategists believed it was a strike force of at least five thousand supported by warships and a carrier fleet, an unknown reserve kept if they had to go public. New Delhi informed their war office of amassing troops at the Pakistani Airbases, while said country was not participating, they were providing a foothold for the US expeditionary force to house their supplies and muster their specialised troops.

It was a genuine silent war, the biggest there had even been. Where no side would declare their involvement in the coming battles. US didn't want the international community to dig into Broken Arrow and find all the mess they'd made stretching back two and a half decades. India and Russia did not want to be openly condemned and have commercial embargoes to boycott their deployments, so they had to play this carefully in their dispatching of troops. An official announcement was that a military exercise was being held in the Himalayas to boost troop competence in mountain warfare served as their alibi, hosted at the recently-affirmed Kyrati kingdom. News was that China was amassing troops along the Yinkian border, whether they were simply testing the alliances' defensive capabilities or worse, collaborating with the US remained an unknown to both the local assets and Russian and Indian intelligence. They only had the justification to keep their troops near the border fence to watch the exercise.

Commander Singh was sitting comfortably in the Strategic Air Defense control room monitoring the progress of the Interceptor-configured Fighter Squadron in cohesion with SADEC activities. The room was daunted by a dark red-light due to the action-stations status presently in effect. While his Kyrati colleagues maintained strict awareness to the surveillance assets for the Spyder, Pantsir and S-350 SAM systems in intercepting those cruise missiles, the air defense umbrella.

(Biiiii) A hostile looking dot merged with a dotted like and vanished all together on the screen.

"We have a confirmed kill, missile intercepted." Reported the weapons officer.

Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief and fist bumped. Even if this wasn't the first, they'd successfully downed every cruise missile.

Commander Singh figured he'd been here long enough to know that whatever intercommunication between his group out in the sky and the Air Defense forces would not accidentally shoot down his men or the mercenary pilots.

"It's time I head back." He announced.

"Let me take you back, I'll need to drop the Commander my report." The SADEC commander proposed and Commander Singh nodded.

Waiting for him in the car pool as he relayed orders and picked up a key to the jeep to ride back in. the drive down the road was quiet but from the distance, a beautiful dazzle of the hanging lights of at Lakshman was a sight for sore eyes. The people were out an about enjoying themselves.

It was at this moment that the Kyrati Commander grit his teeth. "Those damn Yanks. That was the twentieth one." He referred to the most recent cruise missile out of twenty fired upon them over a period of three days.

"That's good." Commander Singh's reply caught the Kyrati officer's tongue.

"It means the US military has no on-site assets and are relying solely on their satellite imagery to assess the situation based on analysis." Completing his sentence. The Commander Officer of the control room nodded in agreement to his theory as he dodged a bullet from his incomplete sentence.

"That can be the titbit of the day I suppose." He said before turning a curve on the road.

"I was more concerned about the return of those F-22 Raptors. The last time they attacked, you barely got anything on the early-warning."

"… I'm not proud of that. I'm sorry for your losses." The Kyrati SADEC officer replied.

To not be able to even notice the enemy fighters who'd escaped their eyes in the radar was more than frustrating, it was frightening. Pravi did not even notice the attack until they were upon him launching AMRAAM missiles.

"I'm not blaming you, those birds have an almost infallible reputation. No one has seemingly caught up with the US airforce yet."

"Speaking of the Raptors, how's your boy holding up?" The SADEC commander asked Pravi's superior.

"Shaken if anything. But more angry they shot him without warning or hailing him first, angry at himself for not noticing them at all."

"Like you said, he shouldn't be at fault here. Considering that he's one of the few to survive a Raptor attack, he should consider himself a lucky devil." This talk reminded him that he should visit the boy, since the very brief funeral for his weapons officer, Lieutenant Arun he hadn't left his quarters.

He himself had ever faced such a situation before in his earlier days as a pilot.

And now, it was going to happen to Pravindra. Their most celebrated pilot in the Northern theatre would have this conviction tying a knot in the boundless potential he could achieve and potential deprive India of a full-fledged ace pilot.

"Not for him though, when you've had a winning streak like Alexander the Great. The fall from grace is the hardest." Commander Singh replied as he'd left his Kyrati colleague hanging for a while.

"I dunno, you pilots are a totally different animal all together. All we do is look at a screen and press a button to send a surface to air missile at you folks when we see you." The Kyrati officer gave his honest opinion.

"…."

As simple as the Air Defense role was made to sound by the Commanding officer, it was anything but. They had a rushed course with the Israeli advisors on operating the equipment, but to actually practice using it. They had unfortunately stumbled when the squadron of C-17 cargo airlifters had airdropped those mercenaries and passed the scope to fire upon them. Instead, the IAF apprehended and confiscated those airlifters to their benefit, so all was alright in the end. But they still lagged behind competence then and they couldn't accept it.

They had undergone rigorous training and practice drills ever since then, they could spot even the slightest of details in the radar and react appropriately. The result was a 90% successful shoot down of all the cruise missile fired from the Arabian Sea, by destroyer or by submarine they didn't know nor care. The rest were shot down by the interceptor aircraft. It was annoying to be on the receiving end of their missile barrages though.

They arrived at the Airbase, booming with activity. A massive amount of airtraffic was ongoing in the deepest part of Kyrat.

"This is my stop. Thanks for the ride." Commander Singh alighted and thanked his escort who left for the Command Centre where the Air Chief Rohan was to report.

Commander Singh was forced to walk the remainder of the way as it was a no-drive area from here on to the medical centre. He looked to the nearby hangars brimming with people hailing from single nationalities. In one hangar, there was an entire Company strength-worth of Russian Caucasians in a woodland-speckle uniforms, if he had to guess, they were the Russian Spetznaz. On the neighbouring hangar, he could hear the cheerfully loud chatter in his native tongue and accent. His fellow countrymen were here as well, from the insignia he saw on one under the streetlamp light talking to a Spetznaz officer he could just make out that they were the Airforce Garud Para spec-ops. Both parties sent their elite direct-action forces here as an advance party for their mountaineer infantry brigades coming to conduct their "exercise". It highlighted the importance of this operation, to find and bring that nuclear weapon back to the Mumbai Labs for reverse-engineering. It was a matter of great national interest. As much as Nuclear weapons were banned and condemned the western powers, the US especially still had bunker loads capable of destroying the world many times over.

But what differed them from say the rogue state North Koreans' version of nuclear weapons wasn't just range and accuracy of their weapons, but yield. What made true nuclear-armed states was their nuclear weapons capable of secondary fusion stage, what was often referred to as a hydrogen bomb. If the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was 21 kilotons equivalent of TNT, then a secondary fusion stage thermonuclear weapon was capable of going from 300 kilotons to 1 Megaton. Capable of levelling a major city and destroying all of the harden shelters underneath, needless to say Kyrat would be a giant crater in the Himalayas if such a weapon was employed there. And that lost tactical nuke was likely within said yield.

To think that Badala would freely offer it to them exhibited extreme calm under pressure and a tingle of madness. Instead of handing it back the US, he wanted to deprive it from them out of spite. Hell hath no fury like his against the place whose conspiracy threw his homeland into chaos. As reluctant as the civilian portion of the Indian government was to accept it, the military and main governing parties were estatic. It was truly good Karma for the aid they provided to Kyrat, hopefully this was just the beginning. Somehow, Moscow seemed involved to provide nuclear package expertise on handling the weapon safely.

Perhaps having India enter the Nuclear triad with them would shake things up in their disadvantage on facing so many oppositions. If this was the case, China had more reason to stop them than even United States. But after their cockblock by Badala, they weren't going to risk another embarrassment, the Chengdu Military District knowing him. A rumour was that they took to callsigning him Shan Yao (mountain devil), a fitting name if any.

Commander Singh arrived at the place he had meant to be in, at the ward room occupied by his young subordinate, Pravindra. The ward was shared with four beds but Pravi was the only one in it.

"Lieutenant." He called out from where he was, but no response came from Pravi staring out at the glintering light where Lakshman was.

"Prav." Commander Singh called him by the pet name he always heard his co-pilot used to call him.

"Nobody calls me by that name anymore."

"….." He knew he was working with something not in his profession but even still these men were his responsibility to bring home. He sat down on the vacant chair he pulled next to Pravi, silently watching what Pravi had been seeing for the last four days.

For a good fifteen minutes, he said nothing. Until Pravi spoke on his own accord.

"I don't think I can fly anymore." He was declaring his resignation.

"That's not the Kumar I know, nothing like his crazy uncles. That hotheaded fool that dared to confront the PAF and USAF during his rounds near Kashmir. Who came home with fifteen kills, now a whopping twenty-three thanks to your recent efforts in these Campaigns in Yinke and Kyrat. You might be the start of our countries air dominance in central asia….. that's if you continue your career."

"I can't….. I've been with Arun ever since basic, no one knew me like him…... He always complained when I tampered with the plane or call out when trouble brewed." A sadness grew.

"But now, there's no one to watch my back."

"Not even in spirit?" His superior asked.

Pravi was loss of words as he pictured his friend watching over him in the sky.

"Son, more of our fellows die from airframe accidents than by actual dogfights. Even though the Brass does not accept his death as a documented KIA, the heavens won't turn a blind eye. You now have another responsibility…"

"…What?"

"You need to tell his family the truth, so that they know their son died for their tomorrow." These words stuck to Pravi as he thought about it deeply.

"Not an easy task, is it?"

"Letting them know their son died because he was attached to a fool?" He said in self-ridicule.

"Let them know that you're alive because of him."

"….. I'd might as well be dead."

"Then you're not being fair to all those that didn't have the chance to survive like you did!" He raised his voice.

"What you're going through isn't something that you feel exclusively I'm afraid. Like you I was once a brilliant pilot, a young one fresh out of school and graduated in the academy with 1st class honours."

"Congrats to you then." He said lazily.

"Yes….. but that would do nothing to prepare me for what happened sixteen years ago."

Pravi traced back the date to a very high-profile conflict in their military history, it could only be one battle. The Kargil War.

"Command had made the poor decision to send raw pilots up against veteran pilots in the PAF, thinking it was a good publicity stunt." He turned to Pravi. "To make up for the disparity in experience, they sent two squadrons against a single flight party. Back then we flew the good old MiG-21, Command assumed they would bring something along the lines of Mirages, F-86 Sabres or even Chinese-versions of our aircraft. Oh, how wrong they were?" Commander Singh chuckled at the ill humour of it all.

"They flew then-brand new American F-16s, and those Viper pilots were veterans of the Afghan War. We were horribly outmatched and outgunned, it was equivalent to a slaughter for us and a field day for them." He gazed deeply back at Pravi.

"That's why the Command never declassified this information and why there is always dispreferencies in the Pakistani claims and our own." He sighed as he remembered those ugly thoughts.

"I survived by virtue of my co-pilot who engaged our ejector seat when the shit hit the fan, I accused him of cowardice the entire time we returned, even slapped him. And then-… he just collapsed and died."

"Autopsy reported he had suffered deprivation of oxygen to the brain, at some point of the high-g manuever he forced our bailing out when we were level, but perhaps his ejection wasn't as smooth as mine. He ensured I exited safely before he did, he was not one bit a coward I declared him to be and to think in his final moments I never realised it."

"…" Pravi was no fool to understand his point, these things always happened. Commander Singh's story had reaffirmed him in getting it.

"I was now the only survivor of those squadrons that made it back, somewhere in Pakistan, those five PAF pilots were national heroes and we were nothing but an accidental loss. It was a painful feeling that took many nights at the bar or brothel to forget. But that was pale in comparison to what I set out to do next. I went to each door to pass words of condolence, to every concerned wife, to each anxious mother and father. I had no medal to hand them, no commendation for their son's services. They didn't have insurance back then, so you can imagine the situation for some that the main bread winner was now gone among the most grievous concerns."

"Is that why you stayed at Farkhor?" Prav asked him a more personal question.

"It was, so that young blood like yourself wouldn't unnecessarily spill your lifeblood over another foolish political bravado."

"And then fifteen years later, came this little deviant named Pravindra Kumar. Another in the long line Kumar hotheads, I thought. Who carried himself like the biggest thing, looked at dogfights like they were field days and enemies like trophies."

Commander Singh got up from his chair and prepared to leave.

"You have a privilege that wasn't afforded to me in my time, Prav. You have instinctual talent as a fighter pilot to keep you alive and able to strike back. Sometimes I wish to myself that I could fly as instinctively as you, but facing the reality all I can depend on is my experience. That's something our enemy has who shot you down. But talent is something ordained from birth, you either have it or you don't."

"….. What will you have me do then?"

Commander Singh smiled as he finally got through to him.

"Report tomorrow at Hangar Four, 0900Hrs. That should give you enough time to sort out your thoughts and put your game face on. Clear?"

"Crystal." Pravi replied.

Satisfied that he got back his MVP, Commander Singh walked to the exit. Stopping after having a last-minute thought to share.

"You now have a choice in what's to come though. Play this safe and keep our group alive till the end of this campaign, then head back home with a story to tell." But his face seemed to want to say there was an alternative.

"Or?" Pravi looked at him like he was providing him a divinitation to his future. Deep within, Commander Amar Singh was surprised to even think of such thoughts when he was usually of rational mind.

Badala was crazy for proposing to offer the nuke instead of returning it. The United States was crazy for having a non-negotiating policy towards a madman like him who wouldn't even flinch to use it if they pushed him, instead send a silent expeditionary force to take it back and subjugate Kyrat. Amar's own country was insane to break future relations with US to gain full superpower priveleges in a wild gamble over a black ops myth without solid evidence except for a testimony from an old dysfunctional agent.

-Perhaps if the whole place is turning crazy, we should just follow suit.-

"Sir?" Pravi bore witness to a blank exterior, then the light returned to his superior's eyes.

"Or we can give up on everything instead to find those Raptor pilots and return them the favor."


"Rakshasa have a library of offensive and defensive spell lines among their kind, most commonly used by them for simplicity sake are Slaughtering Moon and Azure Sky tomes. Both have curse-type abilities employed to handicap their opponent. Get hit by either one, and you can consider yourself done. When they move in for the kill" Darshan recited whilst he was busy memorizing a chant.

(zzzzzz) Like being struck by lightning, an electric current coarsed through his body and caused him to vomit out blood. Another backlash had occurred.

Darshan stood observing Ajay as he performed a simple incantation which shouldn't have even caused this type of reaction. Yet this was the fifth time over the three days of conditioning that it occurred. He could only guess one possibility.

"Your progression down the path of the demon has worsened." Ajay stopped trying to chant as he listened to Darshan's diagnosis.

"Does this mean I won't be able to use any of the Demon Exorcism traits?" Darshan thought for a moment and pulled Ajay's jacket off him.

"Hey! What'cha-.."

"Keep still, I'm checking the integrity of the seal." Ajay was stunned in place when he mentioned a seal on him. When did he place it? While he slept?

Darshan pushed down his collar and looked at the nape of his neck where he'd last placed the seal to force the demon into slumber. Ajay kept absolutely still.

"…."

Darshan observed the wear and fade on the diagram, a vast amount of corrosion had occurred upon it. But it seemed intentional, which meant that at some point the Rakshasa Princess had attempted to burn it. But being that it had anti-demon properties, she couldn't tamper with it to her hearts desire with the time span till Darshan came. Instead, what he found was a talisman of her own overlapping his. It was devouring Darshan's seal, encouraging Ajay's change.

Without asking permission, Darshan stuck an acupuncture needle into his neck. "Hey! What- aarrr…. (plop)" Instantly dropping Ajay into a snooze.

"... You never cease to surprise me, but the more you want him back the more I want to deprive you of your last hope." Darshan said silently to himself before proceeding with the delicate operation of painting the seal on again.

….

….

Music resounded the halls of the main court chamber as a young aspiring warrior stepped forward for the coronation. Before him, at the very end of the velvet carpet were the Temple elder, his former father the Lord Regent, his mentor and the old king.

His appearance had set off the crowd awild on a jubilical mood, for today the mountains had chosen their newest master.

It had been Three decades since his declaration up on the highest peak of Akaash that he would be at the very top of the world. The mountains had apparently listened to his wish and had judged him worthy of bearing the responsibility over not just the Rakshasa Kingdom, but all that was built upon the Mountains and Valleys of the Himalayas, this included the guardianship as the keeper to Shangri-La.

He had demanded his father disown him which he did without hesitation, infuriated by his words, albeit at the worry of his sister for he was setting himself up for a route without return. He joined the Rakshasa Army as a foot soldier and out of the flames of yet another war with the union of Vanara monkey tribes he emerged a decorated warrior whom they feared for killing several of their chieftains in the fighting. He was recognised by one of the Four Pillar Generals for his courage and valour and was taken under the wing of the General of the East's mentor, groomed to succeed him. But fate had other plans in store for him, as he had resolved an incursion with the human mortals backed by their Demon Banisher Order without even a single blood spilt. Earning him a place in the king's court among the many subjects but looked on with favour by the old king for his ability to circumvent disasters.

He brought about many great changes in their society as well as introducing many new systems in industry, military and policy making. It created many friends as it did enemies whom were disagreeable to his success or just jealous.

His father, the Lord Regent and his extended family were in disbelief to his rise to prominence. The 2nd Son, his elder half-brother had tried to plot against him, but he turned it on him and used his folly as a stepping stone. And after Twenty-Nine years away from the family home and away from that one beloved sister of his whom was the only one that believed in him, he took on the trial.

The final trial was none other than the retrieval of the treasured Astra, passed down from generation to generation. Said to be gifted by one of the Trimurti to the first ancestor and ruling sovereign over the mountain and valleys before the other races moved in as well. The sword of past kings now sheathed in his scabbard, now his. A trial that didn't decide its chosen by strength, prowess or even heart. It would only pick one, and it picked him. When the openings for the trial first begun upon the declaration by the old king's desire to retire, many flocked to take it from the altar but there was a catch. If he or she was not worthy, the sword would decay the wielders body and annihilate him body and soul. And so, when the sword was open to all to have a go, none approached it. When he stepped forth, his friends shook their heads in regret that an uncommon talent had chosen to waste his life. People begun to see him as a fool for trying something that even the old King's son, the crown prince who was the best qualified to take it had once tried years ago and perished. Throwing the old king further into despair and grief.

"I give you, your new King!" After a ritual by the temple elder along with the old king passing his signet ring over to him, the elderly Rakshasa king announced. His response was met with a bellow of joy and cheer. For they had walked alongside a person who had gone through untold trials and had become their newest mighty sovereign.

"""Hail! Lord Ishaan, our king!""" The soldiers and generals shouted in unison, as the new subjects knelt before their sovereign to express their allegiance. His expression changed into one of a dignified manner.

His father and family were no exception, for they stood a chance to be relatives to a king but had overlooked his hidden qualities and casted him out on the street. There was no medicine for regret now, they could only bow in servitude.

The new King of the Rakshasa looked around at his court and waS focused mainly on his former family members. They seemed estatic he would pay attention to them on the account that they shared the same blood. He stepped down off the dais and walked towards them, the sea of subjects parted to make way for him.

But he had his eye on only one person, dearest of all to him. Said person lowered her head further towards the ground as he was just arms length from him.

"Why do you bow, dear sister?"

She was frozen stiff for a moment but replied with maximum composure as her words stood to uphold the familys' honour.

"To express my loyalty to you, my liege." These words were like a newly formed barrier that she'd erected between them for the sake of the family. It hurt her more than it hurt him to see that gap widen between them.

"From you, that is utterly unnecessary."

She trembled at those words which the rest seem to be unable interpret.

"You have no idea how much those words you spoke back then meant to me, it was what kept me standing strong throughout my career in the military, every minute before I charge out into battle, and always stayed fresh in my mind."

His sister not of his blood couldn't help but look up at him in wonder, all she saw was a kind smile like he used to instead of that dignified face of a king.

"Your belief in me, was the only belonging I took with me out of the house and was the only thing I ever needed. Unfortunately, I cannot return in back to you…. But I can give everything to you to make up for it."

He turned to the crowd.

"I hearby declare this woman before me, my dearest sister. Beloved by all and most precious to all. The jewel of our city. Not for a single breath shall she be left wanting! Nor shall she be beneath any in authority but the heavens!" At that moment, a law was written into the fabric of natural as he words boomed into existence as a new natural law.

"My loyal subjects, friends… and family." He continued as he passed a gaze towards the family members whom disowned him. His father couldn't help but smile and laugh contently to himself.

The young king turned towards his sister, not by blood but by bond. He uttered the words that would write down the laws in the mountains and valleys and would never be unwritten unless someone succeeded him and did so.

"From this moment on, she shall be a Crown Princess of Akaash! (*muffle*)"

Ajay's eyes snapped open after a long period of time. Vajra whined next to him as it felt the disturbance in his thoughts, he administered some comfort to his wolf friend with a couple of gentle strokes over its pelt.

"What did she show you this time?" Called out the voice over the other side of the fireplace, slicing the cooked steak over the fire.

"….. Nothing that'll change my mind." Darshan got up to come within readable distance of his eyes.

"Let's hope so." He said before returning to his seat and cutting the meat.

"How long was I out? And before that, what the hell!? You-… You stuck a goddamn needle into my neck!"

"Your seal was getting undone, if I'd have left it as is, you would have set off anywhere and anytime giving her exactly what she wants."

"And what does she want, Darshan? Not once have you told me a single bit about her, and as a matter a fact not even you!"

"All you need to know-."

"I'm sick of you telling me that. I'm leaving." Ajay picked up his gear and packed his bag to leave. Regardless if he didn't know the way back, he could find it like he always did.

"You can fight her all you want, but don't count on me to help you. You've always worked better alone, so die alone! And most importantly, don't get in my way. Don't especially involve Maya in this, or that Princess will be the least of your worries!" Ajay threatened before turning about to leave the campsite. And for once, Darshan's calm left him.

"Don't you walk away from everything again!"

Ajay turned around with a hateful look.

"You read my history, you read my files. BUT YOU DON'T KNOW ME!"

As Darshan slipped out of his view in his hurry to leave, a sudden jerking flung him against the tree. A hand grasped his collar and stared at him demanding obedience. But Ajay snorted.

"You're pathetic excuse of a man, no matter how much the Huns or the Hunters adore you. You're just some loner expecting sympathy from everyone because you lost someone precious."

A fist struck Ajay square in the jaw with a force that he hadn't felt in a while.

"What do you know of loss, Ajay Ghale?..." He stared at him with daggers. As Ajay stared back in defiance and blood dripping from a forehead wound.

"Did you stand helpless as they suppressed your strength?! When they brought that loved one before you and cut her down?! DID YOU!?..."

Ajay had gone down that road before and yet it felt as if it wasn't the end to what Darshan had to say. Darshan tossed him aside as he curled up against the tree of all things…. Crying.

"…. My wife-… Jita-….. my unborn child-….." If Ajay was guilty for anything now, it would be for putting an elderly man at such ends that he forced a painful memory of grief upon him. Ajay was genuinely loss of words, falling sympathic to Darshan's outburst which had caught him unawares of the witch's true nature.

He sat down next to Darshan making a wet mess of himself. "…. I'm sorry."

"I don't need your pity."

Darshan wiped his eyes and brought back his expressionless look as best he could. He fiddled with something in his hand.

"She doesn't want you, she wants that thing inside. And she'll go by any means necessary to bring him out."

"How?..." Was what Ajay wanted to know.

"By breaking your sanity."

"By throwing you into an unforgettable despair you'd give it leeway to creep out of you when your emotional barrier becomes nothing. She will kill everything that you love if she can't make you forget them to shorten that loss of personality and gap for that person of hers to return."

Ajay took out his bottle of whisky which he saved and popped the cork off and drank directly from the bottle.

"How do you know that her brother will pop out of me?" Darshan looked at Ajay for a while and laughed.

"So it was her brother, was it?" A madden smile crept onto his face, a face full of anger. Before he turned back to Ajay.

"Kalinag once housed a fragment of his soul too. She failed and he was locked away by my predecessors under that mountain."

Darshan took the bottle from him and dunked down on the bottle of bootleg whisky. He gazed into the flames of the still burning fireplace till a new emotion arose.

"I will….. I will kill her, I swore it upon them and myself that I will."

"….."

"Ajay Ghale, will you lend me your assistance in dealing with her rearguard?"

"Who?" Darshan gave a look like he wasn't convinced he didn't know at all.

"The Four Pillars?" He nodded to Ajay's answer.

"Are you sure you can beat her alone?"

"Let me bother about it."

"What about Mohan, what about Vel?"

"They're just human tools she keeps around for utility, nothing more."

Ajay sighed as it was useless to portray the actual threat he felt from people like the Violet Witch of Tirtha or Great Leader Mohan to a person of Darshan's calibre when he was confident in fighting the strongest force among the Rakshasa. Though he met his father only briefly, he noticed his limbs and hands were conditioned. It meant that Mohan wasn't just some aspiring leader that Sabal hoped to be. He was a genuine fighter, how strong was he was beyond him. But if he was somehow taught by the age old Rakshasa in there secret arts, then he was a pretty credible threat on par to what Darshan was.

But Darshan was too narrow in his objective that he wouldn't acknowledge those pawns she had at her disposal. Ajay still had to worry about the US at the moment, because they were the biggest nuisance to Kyrats growth in future. So how he handled this would determine the future that Kryat would have. Americans didn't like losing, even he as one once had the same feeling. It was that unyielding belief that brought them this far as the supreme power over the free world as its guardian.

Ajay's insane attempt was threatening the peace like so many before him had but in a much more terrifying way. He was trying to possess a WMD, it was something out of a Tom Clancy novel thriller and he was the bad guy.

"We have a long day ahead of us, so eat up and sleep early. I'll cover the next portion of our training early tomorrow." Darshan got up and returned to his tent without mentioning another word.

Ajay looked at Vajra who cocked its head curiously from its seated position next to Ajay. Ajay retrieved the pieces of cooked meat and wolfed down on the chunks with a little bit of whisky to push it down his throat. He passed the uncooked bone to his canine friend who licked the uncut meat from the bones with delight.

Ajay reflected on what Darshan had told him and the most recent dream he had. It was strange that he could recall some parts but when it came to recalling their faces it was blank, a feeling of frustration ran through him. There was still too much secrets hidden from him that would decide his fate. While he sensed that Darshan had told him the truth, it wasn't the entire truth. The Princess Witch was no better. They were both telling their versions of the truth of which they wanted him to hear and be on their side.

Like chosing between Sabal and Amita.

"….."

It was starting to feel all too familiar. But unlike the last time, he wasn't going to pick either of them.

-I'll carve my own future and my own end.-

A thought occurred to him on the recollection of this familiar instance in regards to the choice between Amita and Sabal. He was often curious about it when he came to this timeline.

Would his fate have been different if he'd picked Amita instead?

"It doesn't really matter anymore….." He murmured like he was talking to Vajra.

Ajay thought good thoughts about after he had finished this gruelsome training, he could spend at least a day out with Saraswati. After a few hours of digesting his dinner, Ajay lay on his sleeping bag gazing at the stars. He raised his hand over in front of him where a matching ring on his finger blended with the dazzling blanket of stars.

He truly felt blessed to have such a person after all the bumps in his life, he felt that she was truly the one for him. But in thinking that she was an existence precious to him, Darshan's words about the witch destroying everything he would love came back to haunt him. If anything…

"I'd rather die together with your brother's soul fragment than let you."

He could not let her do as she pleased, even if he bore an unbreakable Karma to her in a long-forgotten era.


Author's Notes:

Just to clarify, since I've talked to one of the reviewers. These Rakshasa, as much as they can be commonly related to the ones found in Indian Mythology will not be affiliated in anyway save for that fact of sharing lineage and ancestory perhaps.

Cruise Missile - For the sake of those that aren't familiar with what differs this weapon from other rocket driven missiles i will give a rough layman's overview. Basically, its a smart missile guided by a satellite or a predesignated position, has a smart sensor which can detect new threats in the area and relocate appropriately. But its main use is often on Air Defense installations and other fortified locations where sending a bomber into enemy airspace would be more dangerous. This missile hugs the earth, as you know the earth is round and so there is a slight curvature in the horizon. therefore any radar won't be able to detect anything of a distance if its too close to the ground. Plus, in a real world scenario, you'll never know when one strikes so the air defence preparation might not be able to respond in time to intercept. This is what makes the Cruise missile a valuable asset to you see the news, the US often employs the Tomahawk cruise missiles, one of the most versatile platforms out there.