Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

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After several hours of preparations, the moment everyone in Surya Lok had been waiting for finally arrived.

The entire ceremonial grounds had been transformed for the Swayamvara.

Thousands of lamps surrounded the enormous hall, celestial flowers covered the pathways and the sound of Gandharvas playing their instruments filled the air.

Guests from different realms had already taken their places, while the celestial guards stood around the outer edges of the gathering, keeping a close watch over everything.

One by one, the eligible suitors who had come seeking Goddess Yami’s hand stepped forward and took their places.

Among them stood Devara.

He wasn’t wearing any extravagant armour or carrying a weapon.

He had come as a guest of Surya Dev, and although he knew there were many powerful beings present, he had no intention of turning the Swayamvara into a display of strength.

The rules were simple.

Yami would enter the assembly carrying the ceremonial garland, walk among those who had come seeking her hand and place it around the neck of the man she wished to marry.

There would be no contest.

No challenge.

No one would be forced to prove his strength against another.

The decision belonged entirely to Yami.

That was what made the atmosphere so tense.

Every man standing there knew that possessing power, status or divine ancestry meant nothing if Yami simply walked past him.

The assembled guests waited as the great doors at the far end of the hall slowly opened.

But before Yami entered, Devara looked around the gathering.

The number of important guests was enormous.

The Trimurtis themselves were present, accompanied by their consorts.

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati sat among the divine guests, while Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Brahma and Goddess Saraswati were also present.

They had come not merely because Surya Dev was hosting an important celestial ceremony, but because their son was among those standing before Yami.

Devara’s family had practically turned the Swayamvara into a family gathering.

Ganesha was there as well, sitting comfortably beside his parents and watching the proceedings with an amused expression.

Kartikeya had also arrived, accompanied by his wives, Devasena and Valli.

Both women were clearly enjoying the excitement surrounding the occasion, while Kartikeya looked toward Devara with the quiet confidence of an elder brother who had come specifically to support him.

Ganga and Bhudevi were seated among the honoured guests, their attention fixed on Devara.

Gandhari was not present, having remained in Trivenivrata because of her pregnancy, but Devara knew she would have wanted to be there if circumstances had allowed it.

Karna stood among the family members rather than the suitors, watching everything with a calm expression.

Surya Dev sat at the front beside his family, while Indra and several other Devas occupied the nearby seats.

Then the ceremonial music changed.

The conversations throughout the hall slowly disappeared.

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

Yami appeared.

She stepped into the hall dressed in her celestial attire, the golden radiance of Surya Lok reflecting softly around her. In her hands she carried the garland that would decide the future of her life.

For the first few moments, she simply stood there.

Her eyes travelled across the gathering.

She could hear the quiet whispers of the guests, feel the attention of the entire assembly upon her and, somewhere among all those powerful beings, she knew exactly whom she was looking for.

Then her eyes found Devara.

He was already looking at her.

Their eyes met.

The nervousness that had been sitting inside Yami’s heart for the past several hours seemed to disappear.

A small smile appeared on her face.

Devara returned it.

Neither of them needed to say anything.

Yami began walking.

She passed the first suitor.

Then another. And another.

Some of the men watched her hopefully, while others slowly lowered their eyes when they realized she had no interest in them.

The entire hall remained silent as she continued forward.

Step by step, she came closer to Devara.

The celestial guests watched.

The Trimurtis watched.

Her family watched.

Even the gods who had gathered to witness the ceremony remained completely silent.

Finally, Yami stopped directly in front of Devara.

For a moment, she simply looked at him.

The man she had already chosen long before this ceremony had begun.

The man she had spoken to in his mind space.

The man whose arrival had made her heart race even before she saw him.

Yami slowly lifted the garland.

Devara lowered his head slightly.

And with a gentle smile, Goddess Yami placed the garland around his neck.

The moment the flowers settled upon him, the entire hall erupted in celebration.

Yami had just lifted the garland, her hands moving toward Devara’s shoulders, when something went terribly wrong.

The brilliant radiance that had filled the ceremonial hall suddenly began to fade.

At first, everyone thought a cloud had simply passed across the celestial sun. But the darkness did not move away.

It spread.

Golden light disappeared from the walls, the pillars and the gardens outside as though something unseen was swallowing it.

Within moments, the entire sky above Surya Lok had turned black.

The music stopped.

The celebrations died in an instant.

People began looking toward the sky in confusion.

"An eclipse?"

Someone whispered the word, but even the gods knew that explanation made no sense.

There was no eclipse supposed to occur.

And this darkness wasn’t behaving like one.

It was spreading across the realm from every direction.

Indra immediately stood from his seat.

"This isn’t an eclipse."

His voice carried across the suddenly silent assembly.

Surya Dev had been standing with a smile only moments earlier, watching his daughter finally place the garland around the man she had chosen.

Now that smile was gone.

His expression twisted in pain.

"Father!"

Yami immediately turned toward him.

Surya Dev stumbled backward.

His knees suddenly gave way, and he collapsed onto the floor.

The moment his body touched the ground, the darkness around him became even thicker.

Black tendrils of energy began crawling across his golden form.

Surya Dev clenched his teeth.

It looked as though something poisonous had entered his body and was spreading through his very existence.

His hands pressed against the ground as he struggled to breathe.

"What... is this?"

His voice came out strained.

The darkness continued spreading across his arms, chest and face.

The pain was clearly unbearable.

Yami dropped the remaining portion of the garland and rushed toward him.

"Father!"

She knelt beside him, reaching for his hand.

But the moment she touched him, she felt an unnatural coldness.

This wasn’t merely the absence of light.

Something was actively consuming it.

Surya Dev’s radiance, which had illuminated the entire realm since its creation, was being suppressed from within.

Indra immediately summoned his weapon.

"Everyone stay back!"

The Devas moved into defensive positions.

The Trimurtis had also risen from their seats.

Lord Vishnu’s expression had become extremely serious.

Lord Shiva stared toward the darkened sky, his eyes narrowing as he sensed the force spreading through the realm.

Brahma remained silent, studying the phenomenon.

Ganga and Bhudevi instinctively moved toward Devara.

Devara, however, wasn’t looking at anyone.

His eyes were fixed on Surya Dev.

He remembered the warning he had heard before leaving Bhulok.

He remembered the vision Shani had described.

A Surya Lok drowned in darkness.

Surya Dev’s light disappearing.

Darkness spreading into the other realms.

Creatures of darkness gaining strength.

Devara’s expression hardened.

Shani’s vision had come true.

The darkness had arrived.

And it had chosen the exact moment when Yami was about to place the garland around his neck.

Yami looked desperately at her father.

"Someone help him!"

Surya Dev tried to speak, but another wave of pain passed through him.

The darkness surged across his body.

And for the first time in the history of Surya Lok, the realm of the Sun was completely dark.

Meanwhile, Karna had already moved toward Surya Dev the moment he saw his father collapse. He barely had time to reach him before something strange happened.

The Kavacha and Kundala that had always remained upon Karna’s body suddenly began to shine.

A brilliant golden radiance burst from them, illuminating the darkness that had swallowed the ceremonial hall.

The light wasn’t ordinary sunlight. It carried a portion of Surya Dev’s own divine energy, the same divine essence that had been passed into Karna when he was born.

The moment that radiance touched Surya Dev’s body, the darkness covering him recoiled.

Surya Dev’s breathing, which had become painfully strained, slowly became steadier.

The black energy that had been spreading across his body stopped advancing.

Karna immediately noticed the change.

"Father..."

Surya Dev looked toward his son, still struggling against the darkness.

"Karna..."

The word came out weakly, but there was recognition in his eyes.

Karna moved closer, allowing the golden radiance of his Kavacha and Kundala to continue flowing toward Surya Dev.

"I don’t know what is happening, but whatever this darkness is, it seems to be reacting to the light."

Surya Dev managed to breathe more easily.

For a brief moment, the pain seemed to lessen.

But before anyone could understand what had happened, a deep sound echoed through the hall.

BOOM.

Everyone turned toward the enormous entrance.

The great doors slowly opened.

No herald announced the arrival.

No guard stepped forward.

And yet someone had entered.

A tall figure stood beyond the doorway, surrounded by an unnatural darkness that seemed to cling to his body rather than simply exist around him.

Behind him came the distant silhouettes of countless soldiers.

The celestial guards who had been stationed outside were nowhere to be seen.

Kandarpaasura stepped into the Swayamvara hall.

The entire assembly fell silent.

His eyes slowly travelled across the gathering before finally settling upon Yami.

Then he smiled.

"So this is Surya Lok."

Indra immediately stepped forward, weapon in hand.

"You."

Kandarpaasura looked toward him calmly.

"Lord Indra."

His smile widened.

"It seems I have arrived at an interesting moment."

Indra’s expression hardened.

"How did you get past the outer defenses?"

Kandarpaasura gave a quiet chuckle.

"Your guards were very devoted."

He glanced behind himself.

"But devotion alone does not make an army capable of stopping me."

The assembled Devas immediately understood what had happened.

The outer defenses had not failed because of negligence.

Kandarpaasura had simply been powerful enough to bypass them.

Surya Dev, still being supported by Karna’s radiance, looked toward the Asura with anger.

"You were not invited."

Kandarpaasura calmly looked at him.

"I know."

His eyes shifted toward Yami.

"But I heard there was a Swayamvara."

He spread his hands slightly.

"And I have come to participate."

Yami stared at him, her expression changing from confusion to unease.

Devara stepped forward.

His hand instinctively moved toward his weapon.

Kandarpaasura noticed him.

Their eyes met for the first time.

The smile on Kandarpaasura’s face remained.

"So..."

He looked at the garland that Yami had dropped moments earlier.

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(Author note:)

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