The 16th day of war raged on. The battlefield was a storm of blood and steel, where warriors clashed, and history was rewritten with every blade stroke. But amidst the chaos, **Arhaan stood still.**
His hands trembled as his communicator vibrated inside his armor. **A call.**
**A voice from the shadows.**
He didn't recognize the number.
He answered anyway.
A cold, distorted voice seeped through the receiver. **"Arhaan… this is your final mission."**
Arhaan clenched his jaw. **He knew what was coming.**
**"Assassinate Manav."**
Silence.
For a long time, Arhaan said nothing.
His heart pounded. His breathing felt shallow.
Manav—the man who had been twisting the war, breaking Vinay's army from within. The man who fought without lifting a blade, yet caused more damage than any warrior ever could.
It wasn't that Arhaan was afraid of the mission.
He was afraid of what it **meant.**
If he did this… there was no turning back.
The voice on the other end spoke again. **"Kill him before he kills us all."**
Then, the line went dead.
And the war raged on.
Arhaan gripped his sword, but before he could move, he saw **Rudra.**
**Still standing. Still watching.**
Unmoving, like a statue carved from the battlefield itself.
Dain, standing nearby, followed Arhaan's gaze and exhaled slowly. **"You're looking at him, aren't you?"**
Arhaan didn't answer.
Dain smirked, his voice low. **"You ever hear what Rudra did in the past?"**
Arhaan turned his head slightly.
Dain continued, his voice carrying the weight of memory. **"Years ago, there was a crisis—an infestation of monsters unlike anything this world had seen. They weren't just creatures. They were—"**
He hesitated.
Then he said it.
**"Insects."**
Arhaan frowned. **"Insects?"**
Dain nodded. **"Not ordinary ones. These things… they consumed entire nations. Cities disappeared in hours. No one could stop them."**
His gaze flickered to Rudra, who remained still, his presence radiating something unexplainable.
**"Then Rudra appeared."**
Arhaan swallowed.
Dain's smirk faded. His voice was serious now. **"I was there, Arhaan. I saw it with my own eyes."**
He exhaled.
**"He burned them."**
Arhaan frowned. **"Burned?"**
Dain's eyes darkened. **"Not with fire. With something worse. Something none of us understood."**
He paused.
Then he whispered it.
**"A black aura. Like flames, but alive."**
Arhaan's blood ran cold.
Dain continued. **"Those things… those insects… they screamed. But not like animals. Not like monsters. Like humans."**
He exhaled, shaking his head. **"And Rudra just watched. As if it was nothing."**
Arhaan turned back toward Rudra.
For the first time, he felt it.
That **chilling** presence.
That **void-like** aura.
Something about him wasn't just powerful.
It was **unnatural.**
**Not human.**
Not… something that belonged in this war.
### **Arhaan's Decision – A Path of No Return**
The order still echoed in his mind.
**Kill Manav.**
But now, standing in the presence of **Rudra**, Arhaan hesitated.
Not because he feared Manav.
But because he realized something terrifying.
If Rudra joined this war—not as a spectator, not as an observer—but as a **true combatant**…
Everything would end.
This wasn't just a battle of armies anymore.
This was a battle of **monsters.**
And Arhaan?
He was just **a man.**