Mahabharat: Shiva's Last Variable

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

Guys I hope you put more comments and power stones... Which will encourage me...

-------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Kandarpaasura had reached an entirely different kind of struggle.

He had abandoned any thought of approaching the golden horses gently.

After watching them attack him with their golden fire, he had decided that the only way to complete the challenge was to overpower one of them and force himself onto its back before it could escape.

He waited for one of the stallions to come within reach, then suddenly lunged forward.

His powerful legs pushed him off the ground as he attempted to land directly on the horse’s back.

But the stallion moved.

Kandarpaasura’s eyes widened as the horse shifted sideways with astonishing speed, causing him to land on empty ground.

Before he could recover, another golden stallion rushed past him and snapped its jaws toward his arm.

"Get away!"

Kandarpaasura pulled his arm back just in time, but the horse’s teeth still caught the edge of his clothing and tore it.

He spun around and immediately jumped toward another horse.

This time he managed to get one hand around its mane.

"I’ve got you!"

The stallion violently jerked its neck.

Kandarpaasura was thrown sideways.

He landed, rolled across the ground and immediately sprang back to his feet.

His expression had become increasingly irritated.

"What kind of horses are these?"

He rushed forward again.

One of the golden stallions allowed him to approach before suddenly turning its body.

Kandarpaasura tried to change direction with it, but the creature was already moving away.

He lunged again, only for another horse to come from the side and bite toward his shoulder.

Kandarpaasura twisted away.

Then another horse charged from behind.

He sensed it at the last moment and turned around, only to see a golden hoof coming straight toward him.

THUD!

The kick struck him squarely in the chest.

Kandarpaasura was thrown backward.

He crashed into the ground and slid several feet before digging his fingers into the soil to stop himself.

He slowly raised his head.

The horses had already repositioned themselves.

One stood before him.

Two were behind him.

Another was approaching from his left.

Kandarpaasura’s eyes narrowed.

"Don’t tell me..."

He turned his head.

A stallion behind him immediately kicked.

Kandarpaasura jumped forward.

At the exact same moment, another horse attacked from the front.

He twisted his body between them.

The two attacks passed within inches of him.

His expression became incredulous.

"They’re coordinating!"

It was not simply that the golden horses were strong and agile.

They were fighting together.

Each time Kandarpaasura focused on one horse, another seemed to appear from his blind spot.

Whenever he attempted to leap onto a stallion, another would intercept him.

If he tried to corner one, the others immediately moved to protect it.

It was almost as though every horse possessed awareness of everything happening around the herd.

Kandarpaasura tried another approach.

He sprinted toward a particularly large stallion and jumped.

The horse immediately ducked.

Kandarpaasura’s hands passed over its mane.

Before he could land, another stallion came from behind and struck him with its hind legs.

BANG!

Kandarpaasura was launched forward.

He crashed onto the ground face-first.

For several seconds, he remained there.

Then his fingers slowly curled into fists.

"I swear..."

He lifted his head, his hair and clothes covered in dust.

"...these creatures have eyes on the back of their heads."

A golden stallion nearby snorted.

Kandarpaasura glared at it.

The stallion stared back.

Then it suddenly charged.

Kandarpaasura’s eyes widened.

"You too?!"

He rolled aside as the horse thundered past him, but another stallion was already waiting on the opposite side.

Its hind legs came forward.

Kandarpaasura barely managed to raise his arms before the kick sent him stumbling backward.

He looked around at the herd.

They had surrounded him.

The horses moved almost as one organism, each one responding to the movements of the others without hesitation.

Their timing was unnervingly precise.

One would distract him while another attacked.

One would force him to move in a certain direction while another waited there.

Whenever he thought he had identified an opening, the herd closed it before he could exploit it.

Kandarpaasura’s head began throbbing.

"This is giving me a headache."

He wiped the corner of his mouth and looked toward the golden lake.

The horses were protecting their territory with remarkable determination.

And then Kandarpaasura remembered the rules.

No weapons. No mount.

He could not simply destroy the herd.

He actually had to subdue one.

His grin slowly returned despite the frustration.

"Fine."

He cracked his neck.

"If you want to fight as a herd..."

His eyes locked onto the largest stallion.

"...then I’ll just have to find the one that commands the others."

The stallion raised its head.

The rest of the herd shifted around it.

Kandarpaasura’s smile disappeared.

Because he suddenly realized something.

The largest stallion had not attacked him yet.

It had only been watching.

Watching everything.

And Kandarpaasura began to wonder whether this creature was not merely the strongest horse among them, but the one coordinating the entire herd.

The golden stallions suddenly stopped.

Kandarpaasura, who had been preparing himself for another charge, noticed the strange silence spreading across the clearing.

The horses no longer attempted to attack him.

They simply stood there, their heads lowered, their golden eyes fixed upon him.

Then something began to change.

A faint cracking sound emerged from their bodies.

Kandarpaasura’s expression slowly changed.

"What now?"

The muscles beneath the golden coats began shifting unnaturally.

Their shoulders broadened, their backs lengthened, and the joints of their legs twisted into new positions.

Their hooves changed shape, becoming larger and sharper, while the elegant proportions they had possessed only moments earlier became heavier and more predatory.

Their necks thickened.

Their jaws elongated.

The majestic manes that had made them resemble divine celestial steeds now framed faces that looked increasingly ferocious.

Then the first stallion opened its mouth.

Kandarpaasura froze.

Rows of long, razor-sharp teeth were revealed behind its lips.

Another horse opened its jaws.

Then another.

Soon the entire herd stood before him with their mouths filled with predatory teeth, their once-beautiful appearance transformed into something far more terrifying.

Kandarpaasura slowly backed away.

"Those are not the teeth of a horse."

The golden creatures lowered their heads.

Their nostrils flared as they inhaled deeply, almost like predators preparing to pounce upon prey.

Their eyes had changed as well.

The calm intelligence from earlier was still present, but now it was accompanied by something primal.

Hunger.

The golden glow surrounding their bodies intensified.

Kandarpaasura looked from one creature to another.

"They were hiding this?"

One of the creatures scraped its newly sharpened hoof against the ground.

The sound echoed through the clearing.

Kandarpaasura’s grin returned, although there was now a hint of caution behind it.

"So the beautiful golden horses were only one form."

The largest stallion stepped forward.

Its body continued shifting until its appearance resembled something between a celestial warhorse and a massive hunting predator.

Its shoulders were powerful enough to crush a tree, its legs were built for explosive speed, and its jaws carried enough teeth to make even an asura reconsider getting too close.

Kandarpaasura slowly clenched his fists.

"Herbivores..."

He glanced at the creatures surrounding him.

"...my foot."

The transformed golden beasts suddenly released a series of deep, rumbling growls.

Kandarpaasura’s eyes widened.

He had spent the entire challenge believing that he was trying to capture powerful celestial horses.

Now he understood the truth.

He wasn’t trying to mount horses.

He was trying to subdue predators that merely happened to look like horses when they wanted to.

And judging by the way the entire herd lowered themselves into attacking positions, they were about to show him exactly what kind of predators they truly were.

Kandarpaasura did not wait to find out what the transformed creatures intended to do.

The moment the nearest golden predator lowered its head and exposed its rows of sharp teeth, Kandarpaasura turned around and ran.

He sprinted through the forest with all the speed his enormous body could produce, branches snapping against his shoulders as he pushed through them.

Behind him came the thunderous sound of pounding hooves, except the creatures chasing him no longer moved like ordinary horses.

Their bodies had changed into powerful predatory forms, and they pursued him with frightening coordination, their golden eyes locked onto him as though he were nothing more than prey.

One of them accelerated.

Kandarpaasura glanced over his shoulder.

The creature was gaining.

"Why are you so fast?!"

He suddenly leapt over a fallen tree, but the predator cleared it effortlessly behind him.

Another came from his right, forcing him to change direction.

Kandarpaasura swerved left, only to see another golden beast waiting there.

His eyes widened.

"They’re herding me!"

He pushed himself harder.

The predators were not simply chasing him.

They were controlling his movement, driving him toward whichever direction they wanted.

Their growls echoed through the trees, growing louder as they closed the distance.

Kandarpaasura looked behind him again.

Several of the creatures had opened their jaws.

Golden fire began gathering inside their mouths.

His expression became horrified.

"Don’t you dare!"

Multiple streams of golden flames erupted through the forest.

Kandarpaasura threw himself forward as the flames passed over him, scorching the trees and illuminating the entire forest with brilliant golden light.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the lake, Devara was facing an entirely different problem.

The stallion he had managed to grab was still fighting him.

Devara had both arms wrapped tightly around its neck, but the creature continued bucking and twisting with astonishing strength.

He had managed to pull himself partially onto its back, yet every time he tried to settle his weight properly, the stallion violently threw itself sideways.

"Hold still!"

The horse responded by rearing again.

Devara tightened his grip.

Then he felt something beneath his hands.

A strange movement.

The muscles of the stallion’s neck began shifting.

Devara’s expression changed.

"Wait..."

A series of unsettling cracks echoed through its body.

The golden stallion’s magnificent form began transforming.

Its shoulders expanded. Its legs altered their shape, the joints shifting into a more powerful configuration.

Its jaw lengthened, and the elegant head of the celestial horse slowly became more predatory.

Devara’s eyes widened as sharp teeth emerged from its mouth.

"You’re changing too?"

The stallion released a deep growl.

*******************************

(Author note:)

I hope you guys give me your opinion and idea’s.

-->

Don’t forget to review guys...

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!