Previously on ATOCAD

Taking a deep breath she put her now glowing hand on his forehead. The man with a start opened his grey eyes and looked around. Eventually, his eyes met hers and they both went into a trance.

…..

Chapter 3

[Sonoran Desert North America]

They kept staring at each other until a hot wind blew the nearby sand, which caused them to come out of their trance. Realizing what just happened Raven looked away to hide her blush. Rudra, on the other hand, was calm. He has seen too much to be affected by emotions like embarrassment. But he has to agree that the woman in front of him was stunning.

Looking at her pale skin, violet eyes and the red stone on her forehead he couldn't help but think how perfect she looks. Not wanting to be seen as a pervert he stopped looking at her and pushed himself up in a standing position. That is when it hit him. he was not feeling the usual resistance from his body. During his time in the para commando unit and later in RAW, he got several injuries which always make themselves known whenever he moves his body. But right now he was feeling no such thing. He doesn't know how to express it but his body felt … new.

Checking his now fully healed body he went into slight shock, 'How is this possible, first I am in a desert-like place with a gorgeous woman then my body is all healed and much younger then I remember. What is happening' thought Rudra. Right now the only thing he wanted was answers and there was only one person here who could give them. Looking at the woman, who was now staring back at him with narrowed eyes, he decided to introduce himself. "Miss, my name is Rudra Verma, can you please tell me who you are and where i am?"

Raven was trying to look in his mind with her magic to see if he was an enemy or not but when she heard his name, something clicked in her mind. 'Rudra' in Hinduism was the name of Lord Shiva's Avatar. Rudra was also known as the 'God of Storm'. He was a fierce character with a very short temper if his family was ever harmed. Remembering the 'Trident of Chaos' on his back and now his name, she became worried. 'Something is wrong with this entire situation, it is like, fate is playing a very dangerous game.' Realizing the gravity of the situation. she decided to tread carefully.

"I am Raven and we are currently in Sonoran desert North America." Replied Raven. Looking at his now shocked face, she knew something was wrong. He then said something that shocked her. "how is this possible, I was in Wuhan, China and …" he suddenly went quiet as the reality hit him hard. "I died there, how am I still alive?" Despite his voice being very low, she still heard him and frowned. "What do you mean you died." She questioned wanting to know what was going on.

Rudra stared at her not knowing what to say, he clearly remembered dying, the sound of having his arm ripped off, the pain of being buried alive, the calmness of darkness and at last the pain of his body being put together piece by piece. But he needed answers and she was the only person here who could give them and for some strange reason there was something inside him that wanted him to believe in her even if they have just met, it was like there was a part of her inside him, that was compelling him to trust her. So with a sigh, he started telling her of who he was and what exactly happened before he regained his consciousness.

When he told her about the black and grey space he was in, she froze and her magic went haywire for a moment. seeing the black ambience that was leaking out of her body, Rudra was … surprised. Taking deep breaths Raven calmed herself down and said. "So let me get this straight, you were a Black ops in the Indian military, who was sent to China to investigate the origin of a virus that caused a pandemic and killed millions of people worldwide. In their lab, you found that they were conducting illegal human experiments and fought one of their genetically enhanced subjects." Taking a deep breathe she continued.

"And to kill it you shoved a grenade in his mouth and later demolished the entire underground lab, killing yourself in the process and when you regained consciousness you were in a dark space where you got your new body, is that right." Hearing this he just shrugged and waited for her response. Raven who was looking at him with a strange look knew that he was telling the truth since she scanned his mind for any deceit. ()

Then her eyes suddenly went wide and she muttered. "Domain of Destruction." Hearing this Rudra raised his eyebrows and asked. "Domain of Destruction, what is that?" Still in her daze, Raven explained. "Domain of destruction was a realm created by Shiva to store his excess Chaos force before he ascended and became one with the universe. For millennium people from this world and Azarath tried to find that realm but failed in their endeavour. It is believed that Lord Shiva's legacy resides in that place in the form of 'Trident of Chaos'." She finished with a serious look.

He nodded hearing this, at first he didn't want to believe her but the situation spoke for itself. He clearly remembers being in the 'Chaos realm' and the pain he felt, that was not his imagination, also his body was completely healed and he was much younger. So her explanation put thinks in a new perspective.

Thinking about the legacy, he asked. "Raven, can you tell me about Shiva's legacy and how was I able to get it? when I was in the Chaos realm."

"Shiva's legacy was stored inside his 'Trident of Chaos'. Now the 'Trident of Chaos' can exist in many forms. In Shiva's domain, it exists as Chaos itself. Which means even if someone enters the realm somehow, they won't be able to find it. only people who are worthy or have extremely high Karma can get its recognition. After getting the recognition they are put threw a test of endurance and perseverance, which in your case was the reconstruction of your body." She explained in great details.

"But how can you be sure that I got the legacy, I mean it can be something else right." She shook her head at this, "No I am sure you got his legacy since there is a tattoo of the 'Trident of Chaos' on your back."

Hearing this he became curious, in his college days he always wanted to have a tattoo but before he could get one, he was accepted in the military, and in Indian armed forces tattoos are strictly prohibited, if you have even a tiny one you will be thrown out. Coming out of his thoughts he looked at her and asked "Raven, can I see it?"

She sighed hearing this and took out her iPhone and motioned him to turn around. Nodding he turned around and took off his T-shirt, flexing his back muscles in the process.

Seeing his back Raven couldn't help but blush. But not wanting to be seen as a pervert she quickly took the picture and showed him. looking at the so-called 'Trident of Chaos' he smiled and said. "it kinda looks cool." Hearing this Raven rolled her eyes. she then noticed a look of recognition appearing on his face and couldn't help but ask. "What is it?"

"Mahamrityunjaya Mantra." he answered and showed her the mantra that was written just below the trident in ancient Sanskrit. A curious Raven studied the words but wasn't able to understand them. "What is Mahamrityunjaya Mantra?" she asked.

"This Mantra is dedicated to Shiva the god of destruction and all his incarnations. My father used to recite it often when I was a kid. So I still kinda remember it." he finished and looked into her purple eyes, he was about to drown in them when he heard. "Do you know the complete mantra?" Hearing this, he shook his head to clear his mind and with a nod started reciting the 'Mahamrityunjaya Mantra'.

"Aum Tryambakam yajaamahe sugandhim pushtivardhanam. Urvaarukamiva bandhanaan mrityormuksheeya maamritaat." (We worship the three-eyed One, who is fragrant and who nourishes all. Like the fruit falls off from the bondage of the stem, may we be liberated from death, from mortality.)

And to Raven's shock, just as he uttered the first word. His skin turned pale just like hers and three horizontal white markings appeared on his forehead. Looking at the changes Rudra wanted to stop but something inside him compelled him to recite the full mantra. A dim grey glow with a tinge of black then appeared around his body.

Soon he was finished and just as he stopped his features return to normal and he looked at Raven with questioning gaze. "What the hell was that?"