Chapter 16: The Price of Electricity

There was a scene of haunting peace after the battle. The once lively sanctum sanctorum now lies in ruins, its shattered stones strewn across the blood-stained ground. The echoes of the conflict gradually faded into the distance, replaced by a silence that was almost too heavy to bear.

Arjun was standing among the rubble, having difficulty breathing, his muscles trembling with exhaustion. His body suffered from the stress of war, but it was not the physical pain that weighed on him. No, it was something deep—an emptiness that gnawed at his soul. The Codex, which had once burned with divine energy, now lay dormant in his hands, dimming its glow with each passing moment.

“Is it over?” Vikram’s voice broke the peace, his tone full of uncertainty.

Arjun did not respond immediately. Instead, he looked down at the Codex, a powerful artifact of creation and destruction, now lifeless in his grasp. The weight of the decision to use his power was completely settled on him. It had won him, but at what cost?

“You’re asking the wrong question, Vikram,” said Arjun, his voice heavy with fatigue. “The battle may be over, but the price of this power ... It’s not something we can walk away from.

Vikram stepped closer, his brow wrinkled in concern. “What do you mean?”

Arjuna looked up, his eyes filled with grief. “Codecs... It’s not for mortals. It was never meant to be driven by someone like me. I can feel it—its power is fading, and so am I. It’s taking everything from me.

Radhika, who stood silently beside him, approached with a soft expression of understanding. “The Codex has chosen you, Arjuna. You were its vessel, its protector in this moment. But like all great powers, it demands a sacrifice. Now the question is not whether the sacrifice is worth it or not... But what comes later?

Arjuna turned to him, the weight of his words drowning in him. “What happens later? I gave everything to stop Daksha. I don’t even know who I am now. I was once just a man – now...”

He stepped back, his thoughts spinning like a storm. The glory of victory, the thrill of war, the weight of responsibility—it all came crashing down in an instant. He was no longer the same person who had once walked the streets of Delhi, oblivious to the forces that drove in the shadows. He had seen the true nature of the world, the divine and the demonic, delicate balance that held everything together.

And now, that knowledge was worth more than he could bear.

Radhika placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We are all changed, Arjuna. The question is how do we move forward. You’re not alone in this. We will rebuild together.

Vikram nodded, his expression serious but firm. The world needs you, Arjuna. You have made the impossible possible and we are with you every step of the way.

Arjuna felt the warmth of his words, the support of his comrades. But even as they spoke, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something was slipping deep inside him. He was fading the divine power he had wiped out, but the price was more than just physical exhaustion—it was as if the very essence of his being was being torn apart.

As others began collecting survivors and assessing the damage, Arjuna retreated to a quiet corner of the sanctum sanctorum, with the codex still in his hands. He wanted answers – answers that no one could give him. What did Daksha mean when he said that places were beyond saving? What was the true nature of the codex? And what was his worth beyond the physical toll?

The air around him shimmered with a strange energy as the codex pulsed weakly in his fist. Arjuna closed his eyes, focusing on the faint, flickering light within him. He could feel something, something just out of reach, like a distant memory that had escaped from his mind.

Suddenly, the world around him changed.

The ground beneath him began to vibrate, and the air became thick with energy. The codex in her hands pulsed once more, and the light flared brighter, casting the shadows that danced around her. Arjuna’s heart raced as he felt himself being pulled into another realm, his body weightless, drifting between worlds.

He opened his eyes and found himself standing in a vast, ethereal expanse – an infinite void full of stars. The landscape was unlike anything he had ever seen, an endless ocean of cosmic light and dark matter swirling in a delicate dance of creation and destruction.

“You’re welcome, Arjun,” a voice emerged, echoing through the void. It was both ancient and eternal sounds, carrying the weight of millennia.

Arjun’s heartbeat stopped as soon as he recognized the voice. It was the same voice that whispered to him through the codex - the voices of forgotten gods, the lost souls of the universe. Who are you? He demanded, his voice steady despite the overwhelming presence around him.

“You know us as the keepers of balance,” the voice replied. “The Codex wasn’t just an artwork, Arjuna. It is the gateway to the heart of creation. And you, the chosen one, have been its bearer, its protector, its vessel.

Arjuna’s mind raced. “But I can feel it fading. The codex is losing its power. I’m losing myself. What have I done?”

“You have done what was necessary,” the voice said, your tone full of both grief and wisdom. “The Codex has served its purpose, but the time of mortals is fleeting. It can’t stay with you forever. The price of wielding such power is not only physical – no, it is spiritual. The Codex was never meant to be in your world, Arjuna. It was never meant for you to control. It is only through your sacrifice that the balance has been restored.

“Then what happened to me?” asked Arjuna, his voice full of a mixture of fear and resignation. “What happens to my soul?

The voice fell silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, there was something deeper in his tone. “You’ll be back, Arjuna. You will return to the mortal realm, but not the same as you were before. The codex will leave its mark on you, and with it, the knowledge of the universe. As long as you live, you will take its power, but it will no longer be your master.

Arjun felt a deep weight in his chest. The Codex had chosen him, but now he was abandoning him. The power he had so effortlessly wiped out was slipping from his fingers, and with it, a part of himself would disappear.

“You’ll find your objective again,” the voice whispered. But you must remember - there is always a price to be paid for power. Always.

The void began to fade, the cosmic light dissolved into the darkness as Arjuna felt the ground beneath him freeze. He winked, finding himself back in the ruins of the sanctum sanctorum, the Codex now a dull, lifeless object in his hands.

But the words of the voice remained in his mind: there is always a price to pay.

Arjuna’s heart was heavy with the knowledge that, even though the battle had been won, his journey was not yet over.

Chapter end