Hastinapur Palace, 500 BCE

"Oh, great warrior, who must you be to wield such divine power?"

The Rakshasa in the palace hall spoke in a lustful voice. His long tentacle-like tongue, drenched in saliva, stuck out as he greased his lips. The creature's large eyes gawked at Yug Pralaya with envy, bouncing between the weapon's bright gleam and Bhishma's hooded face.

There was a silent staredown between the two. Both of them waiting for the other to make the first move. Bhishma could feel an intense pressure building up in his gut as he tried to think of a plan of attack.

Rakshasas are known to have quirks that make them extremely effective against human opponents. Apart from the thick muscles that give them an upper hand in the strength department; they can have abilities like shapeshifting, invisibility, skin hardening, and even skeleton deformation. That is why the great war in Lanka was won with the help of an army of agile ape soldiers. They could act quickly and attack in large groups to overcome their disadvantage.

"Are you going to just stand there or will you say something?" asked the Rakshasa.

Bhishma noticed that his opponent did not visibly possess any weapons. Then how did he stab the king in the chest so many times? Shantanu was still holding onto his sword and there were no other weapons around them. It could only mean one thing.

That must be it, the Rakshasa's quirk. He must somehow be able to use his body like a sharp tool. I should just use my bow from a distance and find a way to reach the king. But what of the strange fluid on his skin? I cannot wait any longer.

Bhishma aimed Yug Pralaya and conjured an arrow. The Rakshasa didn't even bother standing up as Bhishma pointed the bow at his chest.

The launched arrow traveled at incredible speed, but the Rakshasa maneuvered even faster. He rolled to the side, and smoothly evaded the oncoming threat. Bhishma was shocked to see a frame so large move so quickly.

"My name is Yudh. I am the Rakshasa of war. I ask you again warrior, who are you?"

Bhishma fired another arrow. This time, it barely missed Yudh's arm and went flying towards the back of the hall. It exploded on contact with the wall, instantly bringing it down.

"Tell me, how did you conjure that bow? It belongs to the destroyer god Shiva," said Yudh.

As Bhishma prepared his bow to fire a third time, Yudh clasped his palms together with a painfully audible force and closed his eyes. He mumbled a small prayer and a ball of bright green light manifested in front of his chest. It quickly grew in energy and took the form of a giant curved blade.

"Behold, warrior! The true power of Shiva the destroyer!" exclaimed Yudh at the top of his voice.

Bhishma fired again, this time he aimed for the Rakshasa's head. The arrow raced towards Yudh's eye but he did not flinch. With a swift flick of his wrist, he spun the sword to cover his face, letting the arrow hit the side of his blade. Glistening blue energy dispersed from the point of impact and formed a misty cloud of blue particles around the glowing sword.

Yudh's lips stretched across his face revealing a pair of dagger-like canines as he smiled. And the smile promptly turned into laughter when the arrow practically melted on contact with the sword.

"You see warrior? We both have more in common than you think. But I am far superior of course," said Yudh pointing his sword at Bhishma's bow.

"You humans think of us Rakshasas to be vile creatures. You think that we live to kill and war. But I think it couldn't be more ironic. Humans are the pest to this land that came to exist a long time after the Rakshasas. You fought with our race, stole our lands, emptied all resources. My entire tribe was slaughtered in front of my eyes. So I do what any organism does. I exterminate the pest!"

Yudh spoke with a deep voice filled with conviction. He waved his hand gesturing at the pile of dead human bodies in the garden outside. So far, Bhishma was in a rush to kill the Rakshasa and tend to his father. But now, he truly realized the full potential and complexity of his opponent.

Bhishma lowered his bow to the side and pulled down the hood attached to his cape revealing a head of thick platinum hair tied into a neat bun. A giant scar, at least a decade old, went across the entire left side of his face. His long and sharp nose was left crooked by the countless times it was broken in combat. There were deep wrinkles on his eyes that extended up to his forehead. And a patchy white beard covered the slightly visible slash marks on his chin and neck. Bhishma certainly looked a lot older and far more rugged than most men of his age.

"My name is Bhishma, I am the first son Shantanu, a disciple of Bhagavan Parashurama. And we are not at all the same."

Bhishma started to slowly walk towards his father's body as he continued to speak.

"I am not a zealot of the destroyer god Shiva. In fact, I don't pray to the gods to seek their favor, nor I desire vengeance upon my enemies with their gifts."

Bhishma squatted and touched his father's cold pale face. Shantanu's eyes rolled inside his skull to look at Bhishma but no other muscle in his body moved. King Shantanu had self-paralyzed his organs to save himself from losing blood.

"Your race has tolerated oppression for many years, it was cruel and I won't deny it like my forefathers."

Bhishma continued to talk at the Rakshasa while hiding the joy of his father being alive. He stood back up on his feet and walked past Shantanu as if he was nothing more than another dead body.

"I can't change the mistakes we made in the past but we can still learn from them. Rakshasa Yudh! I offer to forgive your crimes. Go to back to your homeland, and never enter the realms of men again and I promise that they shall be forbidden from yours. For once, let there be peace among our people."

Bhishma spoke in an assertive tone, looking straight into Yudh's eyes. The Rakshasa seemed slightly amused at first but was laughing out loud by the time Bhishma finished talking.

"Bhishma, I apologize that I mistook you for a great warrior. A believer of Shiva like me. Unfortunately, you turned out to be a fool like your dead father. Do you really think that I will go back to my tribe with your word when I can take back your head? I pledged to take every single human life behind these walls and burn every structure to the ground. And on the ashes, I will build a new age of the Rakshasa."

Yudh's loud voice roared across the Hastinapur palace. Bhishma subconsciously took a step back as the Rakshasa took one forward.

"Naive prince, you do not possess the ability to stop me. You will perish alongside the rest of your bloodline tonight."

Bhishma's hold tightened around the grip of his bow. A pulsating feeling in his chest started to extend out to his stomach. He took a deep breath and raised his weapon, measuring the stance of his approaching target.

"Rakshasa Yudh, know that I will not fall today! God Shiva willed it himself when he presented me with his bow."

Bhishma pulled Yug Pralaya's string much further than he had before. Its gorgeous blue limbs shivered with tension. He took another deep breath in an attempt to pacify his throbbing heart. It did not work.

In the meantime, Yudh wavered his majestic green blade in anticipation to deflect the forthcoming projectile. He turned to his side to reduce the area for Bhishma to target. The Rakshasa looked focused, seeking an opportunity to pounce into the offensive.

"Yug Pralaya," muttered Bhishma.