The Destiny of Shaitan Page 16

  “Hence my sense of discomfort?” she asks.

  “It’s quite amazing, actually, how you are so sensitive to the changes. You were right to feel that way for the plan did not follow the original blueprint. The process went into hyper drive. You three are not supposed to meet so early. And by coming to Bombay earlier than intended, well events just took on a life of their own and in a much more dramatic way.”

  “You mean …” says Rai.

  “Well, all of your powers, enhanced by the Elixir, just unravelled at a much higher pace, its dilution speeding up to eight times the usual speed.”

  “Dilution? You mean strengthening?” asks Tiina.

  “This is the ethereal world, remember? Here dilution equals becoming stronger, almost a process of spiritualising by unleashing the true powers of nature,” answers Mic. “So, before you could truly understand what was happening, your fondest desires and deepest fears were all manifesting in physical forms.”

  “You mean … no!” Rai shakes his head. “No way”

  “Yes. Egreog and Flaccid were but physical forms of your desire,” says Mic.

  “You mean we imagined it all?” asks Tiina. “That’s not possible.”

  “No, your emotions were real. So were your reactions. It’s just that they were not really there.”

  “So what were they?” asks Rai.

  “Holograms,” says Mic “I think that’s what you call them?”

  “Imaginary?” Tiina exclaims. “So I dreamed it all.”

  “No.” Mic shakes his head. “They were your own creations. You gave them shape. Much like how a director makes a movie.”

  “But what were they made of and where did they go?”

  “Flesh and blood. A mish mash of whichever characteristic you wanted them to be drawn from. Various virtual characters from the movies there.” Mic nods towards the screen.

  Yudi asks, “Are you guys listening to this? I don’t think he’s telling us the real story.” Without waiting for an answer he scrambles to his feet; still clutching his side in pain and gathering the last reserves of his energy, he takes first one step, then another towards Mic, his face angry.

  In reflex, Rai puts out his foot, neatly tripping Yudi, who crashes to the floor this time hitting his head against the hard ground and conveniently blacking out.

  The flashing blue lights on the screen cause Mic, Rai and Tiina to look up. The scene is now Egypt.

  “Ah,” says Mic, “the Fifth Element arrives. That’s our cue.” He holds his hand out to Tiina. She walks to him and places her palm in his. “I am real, you see. Come. We have work to do.” He looks meaningfully at Rai. “Will you lead the way?”

  Rai looks at Yudi, still out cold. “Leave him be,” says Mic. “He’s got a few more lessons to learn.” And when Rai continues to look at him, he adds, “Don’t you think so?”

  “Yes, yes, of course. You are right …” Tiina steps over the inert figure and walks up to them. “But we can’t just leave him.”

  Mic looks at her. “You seem hell bent on changing the future, don’t you? If you do so, then you will be in uncharted territory and I will not be there to help you,” he warns.

  Tiina hesitates, wondering what to do. This is her future and she can feel the rightness of it. As she hesitates, Mic implores, “You were made for larger things, Tiina. Don’t you see? You can have whatever you want.”

  Tiina shuts her eyes, the words from the mantra whispering to her again. “Mic, let him come with us. He is not as powerful as I am but he will bridge the missing gaps ...”

  Mic, who has been surveying the scene, finally speaks up. “I am pleased with you, Tiina.” He gestures towards where Yudi is lying on the floor. “And you, Rai. She needs you, as well, to complete the mission.”

  Clearing his throat, he addresses the three, “Chased, you will be. Run, you will have to.”

  “So we will be back?” asks Tiina.

  “Yes Tiina. For a last time. For the final test. Will you rise to the occasion?”

  “And …?” she asks. “Will we?”

  “There’s only one way to find out,” says Mic, gesturing to the screen.

  “What the hell! Might as well,” says Tiina. She walks up to Yudi, who has just opened his eyes. He sits up shaking his head to clear it. She holds out her hand to him and he takes it as if in a daze, standing up all six feet of him towering over her smaller slighter self. “Come with me,” she says in a soft voice. Hand in hand the two of them follow Rai, stepping through the silver screen.

  The other side

  They walk out of the screen and into a well laid out garden set in front of the crumbling remains of a building. Hidden away from prying eyes, the area has that feeling of having been forgotten. It is a secret, well-guarded by those who know about it. A jealous, I do not want you to be part of this, suggestion hangs heavy in the air.

  Yet the fading glow around the area, with its echoing vibrations of indulgent self-importance, imply that it played a role in the journey of those who came before them; those who also saw the vision to strive for something more, to find a way to save themselves from the meaningless march of time. They had come to exchange secrets, and give each other hope for the eventual discovery of the Isthmus and its return home.

  They walk through the beautiful garden, sniffing appreciatively the perfumed air from the many jasmine shrubs and herb plants lining the perimeter of the building. They keep walking and a few steps later Tiina gives a small cry of delight at the sigh of hundreds of poppies nodding their heads ahead of them. It is as if waves of colours have exploded for as far as the eye can see. Yudi and Rai follow Tiina as she runs, skipping, into the flowerbed and flinging out her hands tries to hug as many of the flowers as possible.

  “What is this place?” Rai wonders aloud.

  “It’s like the beginning of nowhere,” replies Yudi. He follows Tiina walks through the poppies, admiring their colours, and straight into a familiar orb floating on level with their heads. Its colour is the same red as the flowers, as if it is trying to emulate them. Artemis looks Yudi squarely between the eyes. Then, as if realising that her old enemy is back, goes a deep shade of green and hastily darts around him and stops in front of Tiina who is right behind and dips her lights to her as if to say, “Hello”.

  Tiina shouts in delight, “Artemis!” She holds out both her palms in a cup shape. Artemis floats gracefully to land on her upturned palm, snuggling right in.

  “She wasn’t gone long, now, was she?” asks Rai, amused.

  “Yeah. Just like a woman. Disappearing when the going got rough. Making sure she didn’t have to face the Godfather” Yudi grumbles.

  “Guess she was enjoying the view while we dealt with the real stuff,” laughs Rai.

  With Artemis leading the way again, they continue to walk through the garden until a transparent structure appears in front of her at the very bottom of the garden.

  Yudi approaches one of the glass walls and taps the panel tentatively, wondering aloud, “What is this made of? Feels stronger than glass? Something more complex?” He steps back in surprise when the panel springs back with a quiet swoosh, admitting them into an area filled with rows and rows of creepers on trellis. They walk closer and Yudi suddenly exclaims, “Grapes!” He touches the bunches of succulent fruit and, breaking off one, pops it into his mouth.

  Tiina and Rai are close behind. They follow his example, breaking off bunches of the fruit, chomping on them as they walk through the vineyard, following what seems to be a path cutting through the shrubs and finally opening up into a clearing. In the middle is set a tinkling fountain and beyond it a sheet of solid glass, reflecting back their images.

  Then walk up to the fountain and pause. Tiina steps up to the marble casing around the fountain, and unable to resist, she sits down on the rim, trails her fingers in the cool water, and asks, “Do either of you have a coin?”

  Yudi laughs. “Ha! Do you really believe in these old stories?”

  T
iina looks at him. “Unlike you, I still believe in something, right?”

  Rai goes through the pockets of his clothes and pulling out a coin, comes over and gives it to her. Tiina closes her fingers around the coin as Yudi shakes his head in exaggerated disbelief and then closing her eyes, makes a wish and tosses the coin into the fountain.

  They continue to gaze at the fountain. Right in front of their eyes, the water begins to gurgle and foam as if there is a living breathing dragon right there below the water, blowing out fumes of fire, shooting through the layers of water, heating it and making it break out into waves on the surface. The coin she has just thrown in is cast right back out, as if in fitting reply to a challenge, and it hits the glass panel in front, cracking it. The crack grows in width and then the entire panel collapses, falling to pieces on the ground, raining down pieces of glass onto the three, who cover their faces and drop to the ground, hugging the earth, protecting themselves from the sharp shards. There is a pause, then, as the last piece of glass falls to the ground, tinkling.

  Rai looks up cautiously, removes his arms from where they had been protecting his face, and slowly rises to his feet, walking slowly towards the scenario now revealed. His feet crunch on the glass pieces in front of him and, hearing this, the other two also get to their feet. Tiina shakes off the pieces of glass caught in her hair and, holding hands, she and Yudi follow Rai. There right in front of them is the most incredible, massive, gold-plated structure that Tiina has ever seen. What seems to be a soaring gold altar rising to the very heavens, the surface gleaming in the sunlight. The altar is stunning in detail, various motifs carved into its side, tiled with beautiful designs, and incredible statues stand on either side, overpowering in their sheer beauty.

  As Tiina looks at it, she is forced to take a step back to put the entire complex in perspective. She cranes her neck, gazing up at the structure, and realises that the altar is curved around in a semi-circular fashion with massive motifs extending out on either side. There is a massive gold-plated cage-like formation on either side of the outer walls, which seems to enclose the inner altar, walls, and an eggshell around the yolk.

  "Wow!” she gasps. “What is it?"

  Yudi says, “An installation of some kind, like a shrine for all the beautiful things in the world.”

  Mimir appears, seemingly walking out of the altar and says, “I had heard that a resting place had been created to house the expression of some of the most talented artists from around the world during their most joyous days. These were brought together by the last empress of the united universe, uniting all their creative energies and harnessing their hopes, talents and spiritual sense.”

  This time none of them bats an eyelid, so accustomed are they to Mimir’s seemingly easy appearing and disappearing into thin air, it seems almost normal that he should materialise in front of them.

  Continuing his conversation, Yudi says, “And so she left a clue, one last beacon of hope for those who are to come later in search of the Isthmus, to guide them in the right direction?”

  “Yes,” agrees Mimir. “She was a descendent of the ancient souls of Machu Picchu. She, the princess who worshipped Shiva till he revealed himself to her and she bore him a son, the God of Destruction who would be able to lead the troops in the future.”

  "Shaitan?” queries Tiina.

  “No less,” replies Mimir.

  “Incredible how the pieces of the puzzle all fit together now, isn’t it?”

  Yudi then says, “But that does not make sense. So Shaitan was born of this universe. Yet he wants to destroy it?”

  “The ultimate weapon gone wrong. He is the flawed one,” answers Mimir. “He was supposed to protect us. Instead, he now leads the army that wants to end it all. Never has there lived a more evil, more senseless soul of destruction. And so it brings about the opposite.”

  “The opposite?" asks Yudi. Then says with a note of resignation, “I know what you are going to say next …”

  Mimir nods “As evil as Shaitan is, he serves a purpose. He activates the very DNA of the balancing force. He ensures that there is just as much good, to balance him out.”

  “It’s a weird logic, but it actually makes sense” says Tiina looking at Yudi and Rai.

  Mimir smiles, “I am not done yet.” He looks at Rai, “Don’t you think it’s time, to show us who you really are?”

  Tiina and Yudi look at Rai. “Is there something we don’t know yet?” she asks.

  Rai doesn’t pay her any attention. He stands quietly observing the flow of energy from the altar. The tricky part was to tap into it really. He holds out his palms to the universe, offering himself and his fear, his aspirations and goals, all to the greater good. He closes his eyes and reaches out with his heart expanding with happiness, flying out, into the atmosphere, outside the orbit of planet they are on, to gather up all the good intentions in the world, bringing it right back so that it falls over them in a soft curtain of good hope.

  Then opening his eyes he looks up and holds up his right hand to the sky, sensing the energy flowing from the heavens, touching his finger tips through his physical body, through his feet and to the heart of the city where he is standing.

  Yudi and Tiina watch fascinated as the lighting strikes from the sky flowing through his finger tips and for a moment his entire figure glows with the white light. Rai opens his mouth and screams in agony. Tiina and Yudi reach out as one and hold onto him. Tiina puts her arm around his waist and Yudi holds onto his legs, anchoring him, grounding him, as the sound of thunder growls again, moving up to a crescendo with another explosion of silver lightning catches them unawares.

  The thunder and the lightning fade away leaving them the same yet changed. Tiina steps back pulling the strands of hair away from her face with shaking hands. She clears her throat but cannot trust herself to speak yet.

  Yudi’s breath whistles out in relief as he looks at her from the few feet away where the force of the lightning had flung him away earlier.

  Only Rai seems undisturbed. Standing exactly where he had been earlier. If anything he seems calmer than earlier. His eyes are now fixed on the altar. Tiina and Yudi follow his gaze to the front of the altar which opens and out walks a man dressed like a warrior with the head of a lion.

  “Lion Man,” there is no other way else to describe him really, thinks Tiina. He is well put together, with strong well shaped thighs, beautifully defined chest muscles, and the proverbial chiselled face, his skin a dark brown rich red teak colour. Thick luxurious blonde hair cascade from his head to the middle of his back complimenting his golden moustache, beard and side burns.

  He is wearing black leather trousers and a golden vest of some kind made of some kind of material which clings to his upper body like a second skin and yet seems to be tough enough to deflect any sword.

  There is a massive sword strapped to his side and a massive shield to his back.

  As they gape at him, the Lion Man says, “Watch out,” then dives towards the ground for cover, taking the three of them with him.

  Tiina manages to look up as they cower, and it seems to her that the entire world is coming out of the altar. First flocks of birds of various varieties which seem to go on and on, then animals and then what feels to her like the entire rest of the world.

  Finally when things slow down they raise their heads only to see the back of an elephant as it runs away heavily from them and then unexpectedly, right after, come space ships and shooting stars and then a kaleidoscope of colours, which overwhelms them completely.

  When they come to, the Lion Man bows to them. “I am the guide for the next stage of your journey” he says then points to Yudi.” You are flawed yet chosen, for the dark lord that dances keeps watch over you.”

  “Shiva?” exclaims Tiina. “He is the son of Shiva?”

  “Close,” says the Lion Man. “He is the son of Shaitan who is the son of Shiva.”

  “So he’s got to get to Shaitan before the opposite happens?" she as
ks.

  “Yes,” nods the Lion Man. “A good team you make, son of Shaitan. You and the one born by the grace of the rising sun."

  "You mean me?" asks Tiina.

  “Yes you,” says the Lion Man, smiling “You have the strength of a lion, the charisma of royalty, and your true place in the world is to rule. You are of my kind and I am here to protect you.”

  The Lion Man bows his head to a bemused Tiina who looks at the other two and rolls her eyes head in disbelief. “Hmm... Ah! OK.” She says embarrassed then a thought strikes her “Wait, what about him?” she says pointing to Rai. “You left him out.”

  The Lion Man looks at Rai speculatively. "Yes. The third man. The one …” He hesitates, “the one who is fated to spark the beginning.”

  "Me," confirms Rai, nodding, as the other two look on in surprise.

  “So that was your secret, eh?" asks Tiina.

  Rai nods “So here we are the three of us on a date with destiny on this journey.”

  “That sounds serious,” says Yudi.

  “Let's not speak about it anymore” says Tiina “Just enjoy the surprises of the journey... pretend to be normal for as long as possible...”

  “You got it!” says Rai, putting his arm around her shoulders “no more deep dark talk from me...”

  “Yah! Leave that to the girls...” smiles Yudi, coming up on the other side of Tiina and putting his arm around her as well, so that for a brief moment the three of them stand as one.

  The Lion Man looks at them, unified, yet separate beings, and says, "The three of you together, at the right place and right time. Now that is powerful...If you succeed in your quest then you break the never-ending cycle of birth and death for humans & Half Lives. You do know what this means, right?”

  “It’s like the story of Buddha, Nirvana or something like that” smiles Tiina

  “Yes – free to be, forever. Free thinking forever, no boundaries to what you can feel and do…”