The person was walking swiftly and dangerously towards us-tall, over six feet in height, well built with muscular shoulders, upper body covered with iron shining armor and a jute rope hanging down, maroon silk loincloth from the waist down. Half of the face, from the forehead to the nose was covered with a dark golden helmet with small holes in favor of the almost invisible eyes and with the spiky horns over the head. The only clearly visible feature was the jaw, with broad black pouted lips, shaped like that of an ox.

It was a jubilant moment, without a necessity to think twice who the person was. Undoubtedly -Vrishabha. Watching the Constellia stride towards us with such an implicit confidence and determination, my mind at once redirected, reminding me of Celina. There was same recognizable poise, the dauntless bravery, the sturdy look that my friend was known for.

"Hello, Hayden Mackay," said Vrishabha, with a voice of a...

I gasped dramatically, taking a step back and said it aloud. "You are a woman!"

'She' stood tall right in front of my eyes, placed her hands on her hips, her muscles threateningly bulging out. "Why the sound of surprise?" she asked, "Are you kind of a person who thinks all women should look like...Kanya?"

Of course, she was her extension. The kind of a reaction was pretty obvious.

"Er, no. I didn't mean like that," I said apologetically, scratching my forehead, "Isn't it a bit early for a challenge? I thought it was going to be tomorrow."

I wasn't mentally prepared for a challenge, unlike the previous times. I was having a good time with Nazira and was just about to make it memorable. Please, please let it not be now.

Vrishabha said, "Don't you think it's beneficial to have an extra day to finish the challenge?"

My heart skipped a beat, sensing the impending possibility of the danger in her tone. I was completely healthy now, besides wanting to have a private time with Nazira, I had no other reason to postpone the challenge. Unwillingly, I nodded, making up my mind that this was going to happen today... now.

I turned around to check on Nazira, to see if she wanted to stay. She was literally scrutinizing Vrishabha, studying her thoroughly and I doubted if she was still thinking of her as a man. She caught my eye and understanding the situation, she bent her head and walked into the hut against my wishes.

"What is the challenge?" I asked, sighing heavily.

"I recently learned the name and it's called 'Tug of War'," Vrishabha replied, "Ever played the game before?"

"No," I said, "But I've heard about it. So, are we going to tug each other?"

My gaze instantly dropped obliquely aside at her arms, muscles too big like the chain of mountains. And her wrist, that might be stronger than both of mine combined.

"Yes," she said, removing the jute rope out of her armor and holding it down, "But there are some rules we strictly need to follow."

"Of course, go ahead."

She pointed at one of the waterfalls, flowing exactly in the middle of the two-towered islands. "We stand at either side of the water. The one who gets dragged completely into the water loses. It's a repetitive round. We begin when you are ready, everytime you say yes the game begins. And the challenge for the day ends when the sun sets."

I looked aside at the slow cascading water, and at the distance between the two islands. I had no idea about the depth of the water, and how I was going to come back to my spot if in case drowned. I intended to ask her, but Vrishabha went on.

"Hayden Mackay, this is not going to be easy. That is why I am early. You have two advantages here. One, you have got a lot of time to finish the challenge, more than the First had. Two, your fire can simply blast the whole realm away if in contact with my kinetic power."

I blinked. "You mean we both are not only going to tug but fight against each other as well?"

"I might use my power if you do," she said raising her chin up, "I hope you remember a few tricks my master must have taught you."

My eyes slightly enlarged, curiosity getting the best of me. Has she already met her?

"Listen," I said, "After we are done with the challenge, I need to talk about Celina."

"Sure, we shall," she replied loosening the rope, getting ready for the challenge. "For now, time is precious. We should begin."

"No wait," I hedged, "Can I have something to eat first?"

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

I refused to wrap the side of the rope around my wrist, I just held it tight. It was the first round, and after my experience with Makara, I was positive that winning this challenge was going to be as hectic as it had been. I decided to take it slow, study Vrishabha first and thoroughly see and understand her capabilities.

Few of the fibers of this rope slightly pricked my skin, but it just gave a slight itching sensation. I planted my feet methodically, applying force into the ground. Standing just a foot away from the flowing water, the rocky surface of the island was wet and slipping frequently seemed quite a possibility.

The peacocks and the rabbits came out of nowhere, few of them surrounding us and the little milky white creatures passed through beneath the rope. I was hoping for them to not create any hurdles for me. Yet I tried to stay attentive- the challenge with Kumbh had taught me that the rules might contain more than the Constellia's explanation.  

Vrishabha was standing at the other side of the waterfall, waiting for my signal as per told. But what confused me the most was her style of stance. She was rather relaxed, one hand holding the rope and the other on her hip, not even Makara might have had looked as cool and distant as she was.

"Your call Hayden Mackay," she shouted, "Are you ready?"

"Yes...aaaah!"

Beeeeeeeeep!

My world tilted on its axis, all my senses turned off. Just for a split second, everything in front of eyes was blurred, colors faded, my mind shadowed by blackness. I shook my head and pressed my eyes shut in a hope to regain my consciousness when I open my lids.

It took several seconds to realize that I had gone through a state of comatose with my eyes open. Everything happened so fast that my mind actually failed to register the current scenario. I felt someone tapping on my legs momentarily bringing me back to the present, but it was actually the feeling of the moisture passing through my jeans and tingling my skin. And then I understood that I was dragged into the water, within a fraction to a fraction of a second.

I found myself fallen on my knees, in the area right in the middle of the cascading water. The level of water was low, only drenching my legs and the lowest portions of my outer shirt. Confusion in my heart was empowering to such an extent that it wanted to explode and beat out of my chest. I jerked feeling a sudden splash in the water beside my leg. It was the rope that had returned, waiting for me to hold it again for the second round.

Wasn't it just five seconds ago the first round had commenced?

"Hayden Mackay, you lose," Vrishabha said, her voice sounded extremely serious and sad, that it silenced my pounding heart at once.

I began to breathe with my mouth. My hands were shivering and I put an effort to hold the rope once again to get on with the challenge.

Calmly and quietly, I stood up over the running water and looked up at her with apprehension. She hasn't had moved an inch, her posture was as identical as it was just a minute ago. I easily guessed that she had just flicked her hand and applied the amount of strength to pull me one might need to untie a shoelace.

I walked backward, still staring at her bug-eyed. I reiterated the same mantra to calm my nerves down. 

I went through this stage before, I can do this too.

I can do this too.

I can do this too.

I got back to my position and applied a little tension to the rope, pressing my legs to the ground.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Y...yes...aaaah!"

The very next second I was back into the water, head bent down, fallen down on my knees. I gasped feeling the skin on knees getting a scratch giving me a piercing sensation.

"You lose," she said, her voice high and dominant, "Come on, grab the rope."

I held the rope once again and went back, my mind reeling for a technique. But unfortunately my mind was blank, devoid of any idea.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Ready?"

"Yes."

.

.

.

.

"Ready?"

"YES!"

It was the fiftieth or probably sixtieth time, that I splashed myself in the water, and it had just been an hour since the challenge had begun. My jeans were soaked and I could feel it tearing as a result of coming in continuous contact with the rocky ground. I even felt a sprain around my ankles with numerous bruises and gashes on my knees. Again, it had just been an hour.

I felt the bile rising in my throat, the immense pressure building in every cell of my body. This challenge kept starting and ending every other second. Until now, I haven't even had a single plan set up to defeat the Constellia, who was definitely stronger than her arch rival Makara.

I wasn't even given the amount of time required to concentrate to use my stone. Without just giving the idea up, I tried quite a few times, concentrating on my stone while positioning myself. But a spark wouldn't even appear with my faltered, improper manner of command.

That one hour turned three, five and seven. My legs were completely dysfunctional now. Blood leaking out of my knees and making the water red at the spot of contact. Unable to move with any proper grace, I felt my movements uncontrolled. My eyes filling up with tears. Was I going to lose this round? It was the matter of losing after all, what was worrying me the most was Nazira and her future.

I lifted my head up to see the position of sun but Vrishabha eventually, immediately cleared my doubt.

"We have only two more hours," she declared, her voice sounding the same since we had begun, unchanged, no sign of exhaustion.

And in those two hours, I might have fallen approximately two hundred times. My stomach giving up on, my legs paralyzed. I was struggling for breath and when I thought the darkness was forming in front of my eyes, it wasn't really because I was going unconscious.

The sunsetted.

The last I fell, rope never returned to land beside me. It wasn't going to. I found myself in a terrible shocked state, and now I realized that I was going through trauma since the game had started. The day I was dreading was finally here, the day I lost the challenge, without even single proper trial in my defence. This feeling of losing was intolerable. Thinking about the one looking forward to having a normal life, to have just a life was eating me up.

"Hayden Mackay," said Vrishabha, "Let's begin tomorrow, right after the sunrise." Before walking away, she added something that only increased my pain. "Don't forget, we have faith in you."

Slowly and carefully, clutching my stomach I stood up. Inwardly I was seething with frustration. My throat constricted, pinching my neck, and it was the same kind of a suffocation that I had felt when I lost against Tyrell. I was limping, there was too much crawling sensation from my knees to down my feet, the water and blood dripping all my way until I reached the hut.

Pushing the door, I found her sitting down on the floor, her eyes glued to the paper in her hands, but instead of sketching, she was vigorously biting her nails. Her concentration wasn't on the painting at all. When I walked closer, she then noticed and at once her face filled with the joy. That was the kind of an expression I wanted to see for so long, but only if I actually had won...

"Good, its over. You must be starving," she said walking quickly towards me, "Let's go to next realm and have dinner together."

Together? Those words would have been pleasing to listen -again, only I had won the challenge.

I gazed down at her eyes, keeping my face expressionless. She raised her eyebrows waiting for some reaction from me. And I responded. I shook my head, grimly, blinking back the tears that began to roll in my eyes.

Her features hardened. She creased her forehead watching my eyes watering. Unable to look at her getting disappointed I walked past her, balancing myself and sat on the chair, placing my elbows on my bleeding knees.

Nazira leaned and crouched down beside me, giving me an opportunity to unregretfully confess. "I am scared." I whispered and then said it aloud with a quivering voice, "Nazira, I am scared. There is no winning this challenge. There is just no way."

I thought I heard a low gasp, but she actually was feeling difficult to put her palms on my arm. She overcame her hesitation, her warm hands touched mine. She said something that at the moment I forgot that it was actually meant for her.

"Take a step," she whispered.

I glanced a look at her, watching her intently. For the first time today, unlike at those tense situations she wasn't teary. There was something in her look, besides the seriousness,  a spark of resolution showing in her eyes. I frowned at her. She has always been disappointed in me when I won these challenges, and now that I actually lost...

Breaking her eye-contact with me, she walked away. In her way, she pushed the basket towards me and then sat in the usual place holding the paper and pencil up.

I was indeed looking at a new Nazira.  

Later she dozed off on the floor where she chose to sit earlier, still having the pencil in he grip. All these hours she behaved as if my lose wasn't a big deal. The only difference was, watching me being silent, she temporarily decided to stay calm like before and never disturbed me in whatever I decided to do.

The whole night my eyes refused to even droop. A sudden attack of insomnia had hit me. My eyes staring blankly into the darkness, listening to the sounds of the waterfalls, breathing the fresh air and my mind functioning superiorly like never before.

Snap!

Roaaar!

Snap!

Roaaar!

Sitting outside the hut at the threshold, one leg completely down, another pulled up, with my hand on my healing knee and fingers snapping, I was just waiting for the sun to rise.

Tomorrow shall be a new day.

-x-