The night carried no firelight between them.
Rudra stood at the edge of the quiet field where fallen weapons lay gathered like abandoned vows. The war had paused—not by treaty, but by exhaustion.
Footsteps approached.
Measured.
Unafraid.
Karna stopped a few paces away.
"You knew I would come," Karna said.
Rudra nodded. "Yes."
They stood beneath a sky stripped of omen, stars watching without comment.
"I saw it," Karna continued. "Bhairava."
Rudra did not answer.
"You could have ended everything," Karna said. "All of it. War. Lies. Kings."
"I could," Rudra agreed.
"Why didn't you?"
Rudra turned, eyes steady. "Because ending something does not mean it was understood."
Karna laughed softly. "That sounds like mercy."
"It's responsibility," Rudra replied.
Silence stretched.
Karna finally spoke again. "Do you know what it is like to live knowing every step forward was borrowed from a lie?"
Rudra studied him.
"Yes."
Karna's brow creased. "Then why didn't you stop me? When I chose Duryodhana?"
"Because stopping you would have stolen your answer," Rudra said. "And you needed it to be yours."
The system recorded the exchange.
—
[Mutual Recognition: Established]
—
Karna clenched his fist.
"I will fight," he said. "Not because I believe in his cause—but because I cannot abandon the man I once chose to be."
Rudra stepped closer.
"That choice will cost you."
"I know."
"And you accept it?"
Karna met his gaze without flinching.
"I do."
Rudra inclined his head—not approval, not condemnation.
Respect.
"Then fight well," he said.
Karna exhaled, something easing in his chest.
"One more thing," he added. "If I fall—"
"You will be remembered," Rudra said quietly. "Not as a pawn. Not as a mistake."
Karna smiled for the first time that night.
"That," he said, "is enough."
He turned and walked away, armor whispering like a decision already made.
---
Anaya had been waiting.
"You let him go," she said.
"He was never mine to keep," Rudra replied.
She leaned against him.
"Will it get worse?"
"Yes."
"Will you lose yourself?"
Rudra placed his hand on her head gently.
"No," he said. "Because you're here."
The system confirmed.
—
[Anchor Integrity: Absolute]
—
Far away, Krishna watched the night deepen.
"So the lines harden," he murmured. "Good."
Beside him, Arjuna shifted uneasily.
"I don't know if I can face Karna now," Arjuna admitted.
Krishna's smile was gentle.
"You will," he said. "Not as enemies. As answers."
---
As dawn approached, the war prepared to wake again.
But something had changed.
Not banners.
Not weapons.
Intent.
Men now fought knowing why they stood where they did.
And above them all, unseen but unmistakable, the Judge waited—
Not eager.
Not reluctant.
Simply ready.
-- chapter 43 ended --