"This chapter contains graphic descriptions of abuse. Reader discretion is advised."

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Time was slipping through Antra's fingers as she stood opposite Devyani. Antra was desperately running through all the possible ways to escape the camp, creating plans in her mind. Every passing moment felt like an eternity. Even after knowing exactly what had happened on doomsday, she still couldn't stop it. Events were supposed to unfold in the exact pattern they had thousands of years ago.

Focus, Antra. You need a strong plan to get out of this camp, she thought to herself. Throwing herself into what ifs wasn't productive at this moment. She could contemplate them later, with Kalika.

And the question remains: How can she escape the camp?

First of all, Antra couldn't seek Kalika's help until she was out of the camp. Secondly, from past incidents, it was clear to Antra that Devyani wouldn't let her out of her sight. Devyani was going to keep her under constant watch.

Gathering all her strength, Antra decided she would smother her way out if given a chance to be far away from Devyani. To make that happen, she had to ask for another chore.

"Devyani ji, what else can I do for you?" Antra asked, carefully balancing her tone, trying not to reveal the anxiety building within her. Her voice was steady, but her hands fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve, betraying her nerves.

Devyani didn't even look up from her papers; her silence was a dismissal more powerful than any words. Antra's heart sank, but she quickly masked her disappointment with a forced calm, bowing her head in submission.

Antra knew that for Devyani, the only thing that mattered was finding the secret of Sanjeevani and the correct way to create it. This would allow her to bring the dead back to life. Her father had strictly instructed her to find it before the sun rose in the east.

"Devyani ji..." Antra hesitantly called out again, but she received the same cold response, as if she wasn't even there.

What am I going to do now? She's not even listening to me. Then an idea struck her. What if I share the secret of Sanjeevani? If it's supposed to happen—if there's going to be a bloodbath on the battlefield—it will happen anyway. No one can delay or stop it, Antra thought to herself.

In this pivotal moment, Antra faced a choice: save herself by giving away the secret or stop the discovery of Sanjeevani, which would change the course of time and the outcome of the war. Her soul urged her to stop it once and for all, but her mind reminded her that it might be a waste of time. Why? First, she was already on a tight deadline, having traveled back in time. Second, even if she halted it, things might turn out far worse than ever.

What if she was never born? Or even if she was born, she wouldn't be able to meet her husband Ryhan and her beloved daughter? There were so many what ifs, and out of all these, two were the worst for her.

Antra shook her head to clear these thoughts. Losing her family, even as a distant possibility, broke her heart. No, no, I cannot do this.

She couldn't take that risk. With this second option, too many what ifs would open, none of which she had any control over. Abandoning the idea of stopping Devyani from discovering Sanjeevani, she decided to do the opposite and give Devyani the secret.

Before revealing the secret, she prayed to Shiva, "Oh Mahakaal, stop me if my decision is wrong." It was a silent prayer, her lips barely moving.

"Devyani ji..."

A sudden knock on the door stopped Antra mid-sentence. Both Antra and Devyani were startled by the sound.

"Who on earth dares to knock on the door?" Devyani mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Who is it?" Devyani demanded in a seething tone.

"Devyani ji! It's—it's the Watcher from the North Gate," the voice gasped, each word heavy with urgency, as if he had run all the way there.

Devyani paused briefly before responding, suspicion clear in her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice sharp with doubt.

According to the instructions set by her father, Shukracharya ji, everyone had been told to stay at their posts unless summoned by Shukracharya himself. Therefore, to Devyani, this was clearly a plot set up by her enemies. She glanced at Antra, who stood before her, staring down at her feet—just like a slave should. Frustrated, Devyani shifted her weight to her left foot and crossed her arms.

"Devyani ji, there's... there's an emergency at the North Gate." The watcher's voice wavered slightly, betraying his fear. Hearing the urgency in his voice, Devyani motioned for Antra to open the door.

The watcher entered the tent, disoriented and stinking of decaying flesh. Antra was on the verge of vomiting. The stale smell coming from the watcher made her stomach churn. Antra held her breath.

The watcher first looked at Antra, analyzing her from top to bottom, and then shifted his gaze to Devyani, ignoring Antra's presence. He continued, "The entire army guarding the gate has lost their senses and... and started attacking each other." Tears of fear were on the verge of his eyes. "It's as if someone has cast a spell on them. I can't go to Shukracharya ji—he'll kill me. I beg you to come and see for yourself." His voice quivered, each word tumbling out faster as the sounds of chaos outside grew louder, like the drums of war echoing in the distance.

Despite his imposing height of ten feet, the watcher trembled before Devyani, as if her gaze alone could strike him down.

"Devyani ji, I beg you, please come with me before all hell breaks loose and everyone in the camp is slaughtered." The watcher fell at Devyani's feet, his desperation palpable.

Realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, Devyani glanced at Antra. After giving it brief thought, she ordered, "You, go to the kitchen area and start preparing food for the other slaves. I'll be back soon." Her eyes flashed with a mix of anger and concern as she left the tent.

Once Devyani and The watcher left the tent, Antra release a relaxed breath. She was now free from that pungent smell of rotten flash and Devyani's watchful eyes.

"Dhanyawad, Mahakaal, you saved me." Antra closed her eyes, while saying her thank you to Shivaji.

"I have to get out of this place as soon as possible."

She quickly turned to escape from the tent, but the shackles tightened around her ankles, piercing through her flesh and making it burn. A painful cry escaped from her mouth as blisters began to form around the area.

Hearing her cry, the guards laughed, their voices like daggers to Antra's ears.

Her eyes were swollen from holding back tears. She cursed under her breath, "I have to walk as slowly as possible, otherwise these shackles will cut my feet."

It took her time, but she eventually got out of the tent. She looked at the guards with rage in her eyes. If the circumstances were different, she would have killed them then and there. No one, not even Devyani, would have been able to save them from their fate.

Spitting at their feet, she began her slow and painful walk toward the kitchen area. Struggling toward the kitchen area, her pain intensified with each step, while the laughter echoed even louder.

After walking a few steps, she looked back and saw the guards following her. "Why can't Devyani leave me alone?" she mumbled.

Upon reaching the kitchen area, she sat on the ground.

"Hey, you, slave! What are you staring at? Huh, you brat. You're not a princess—get to work! Cut the lamb," a harsh female voice commanded. Disgusted by the task she had been assigned, she stood up and threw the lamb at the guards' faces, making them angrier.

Antra knew exactly what the next course of action from these filthy guards would be.

So, she began her act. She walked over to the head chef and slapped her, then threw a bowl of hot water on her face.

Enraged by the unexpected defiance of a lowly slave, the head chef retaliated with a slap, sparking an all-out brawl among the women working in the kitchen. Seeing the chaos unfold, the guards rushed in to separate Antra and the head chef. In the midst of the commotion, one of the guards shoved Antra so forcefully that she was sent sprawling a few feet away from the kitchen. Now, she found herself dangerously close to the camp's boundary, just a few steps from freedom.

At first, the guards watched her struggle to escape with her shackled feet.

To them, it was a cruel game of cat and mouse, their goal to crush her last shred of hope. They relished watching her struggle, but as soon as she inched close to the boundary, the guards rushed forward, ready to drag her back by her hair.

They seized Antra by her hair and forced her to stand on her unsteady feet. Her face was already battered, blood trickling from a gash on her forehead and her lips split from the head chef's blows. On the brink of collapse, Antra swayed, barely able to hold herself upright.

Meeting the guards' glares with a resolute stare, Antra spat directly in their faces, only fuelling their fury. Her mind was consumed with the thought that one final push would free her from this hell and end her suffering once and for all. Her wish was soon granted when one of the guards slapped her hard.

The impact of their slap, cause Antra to fall back again to the ground. Now, her upper half was outside the boundary, while the lower half remained inside the camp.

Seizing the opportunity, she shouted, "KALKIIII!" Her cry for help was so profound and anguished that it seemed to shake the very heavens. The sky darkened as clouds clashed, and thunder and lightning tore through the air.

The sudden shift in the weather was as if the entire world—earth, air, and water—was trembling and mourning in response to her distress. The guards, witnessing this dramatic change, were struck with paralyzing fear. Their once proud and arrogant postures gave way to trembling shoulders and wide-eyed terror.

Antra's desperate cry was so haunting that it instilled a deep, palpable fear in the guards, causing them to falter and lose their composure. Antra's call for help was so chilling that it turned the guards into cowards.

"YOU DARE TO TOUCH THIS WOMAN? I WILL BURN YOU TO ASHES!" The voice thundered from the heavens, each word crackling with fury and divine authority. It was a voice that brooked no defiance, echoing with the promise of immediate, fiery retribution. It was Kalika's. Though she couldn't be present in her physical form, her spirit was there.

Out of nowhere, a force pulled Antra out of the camp, breaking the shackles in one strike, freeing her from the pain.

Antra looked at her feet; they were burning, with blisters all around where the shackles had been. She was still crying in pain. A soul piercing cry.

She closed her eyes, and with one more bolt of lightning, she was back in her time.

⨊⨊⨊

Both Antra and Kalika knelt down. Antra was crying from the pain of her injuries sustained during her time travel.

"Kalika," Antra called her friend with trembling lips, "I am sorry." Sobbing, Antra tightly hugged Kalika. Like a true friend, Kalika stroked her hair, trying to bring some solace to Antra's soul.

"Antra, shh. We are back in our time." Kalika cupped Antra's chin in her hands, making her look into her eyes. "Look at me. Wipe your tears. I am with you. We will find a way."

"Kalika, I know you knew exactly what had happened, but you still took me and fulfilled my childish wish. I was so wrong to doubt you. I am sorry. Please forgive me." Antra begged for the forgiveness. Her eyes were looking for the single hint in her friend's eyes, that her friend will forgive her.

"Antra, look at me. You don't need to apologize. This was meant to happen," Kalika said, noticing the quizzical look on Antra's face.

Stroking Antra's head, Kalika continued, "Yes, Antra, I knew all along that you had to undertake this journey to discover the real truth and learn what truly happened. You know I can see through time. When I was fighting alongside my mother and father, on the fifth day, my father asked me to fetch water from the nearby river. The challenge was that the river flowed near Shukracharya's camp. As a faithful daughter, I went there, and while I was filling the earthen pot, I had my first vision. I saw you, a girl who traveled back in time and was in pain, needing my help. I created a disturbance at the North Gate of their camp to assist you."

"Later, I heard someone calling my name, in pain. My inner strength was awakened, and I began to merge with the earth, air, and water, leaving only my voice. From the sky, I saw you being beaten by the guards. I was so enraged that I warned them if they touched you, they would turn to ashes."

"Back then, I had no idea that it was my future self who had given me my powers and helped both you and my past self. Since that day, I have been waiting for this moment. But I never expected the circumstances would be like this."