After that, Rudhran slowly lowered the hands he had placed on his forehead and returned to his normal state.
At that moment, the sage spoke.
"This is as far as I can show you your past life."
Rudhran, still unsettled, immediately asked, "What happened after that? Who was he?"
The sage looked at him calmly. "What happens next… and who he truly is… depends on what unfolds in your life from here on. You will not understand what I am saying now. But in time, you will."
He paused briefly before continuing, "Until then, do not trouble your mind thinking about it. Focus all your thoughts on ruling your kingdom well. And remember this—whatever you have seen about your past life must remain a secret. You must not reveal it to anyone."
With those words, the sage left.
Later, Rudhran lay asleep in his chamber. But his rest was far from peaceful. The life he had witnessed appeared again—this time as a dream.
Unable to bear it, he woke up abruptly.
Ponni, who was nearby, asked, "What happened?"
"Nothing… just a dream," he replied, brushing it off.
But deep within his mind, one question refused to fade.
Who was that man?
The thought lingered… until suddenly, a memory of someone surfaced in his mind.
The next day, Rudhran behaved as usual. But something was different.
He quickly went to meet Parivendhan and Parthiban.
"I have some doubts," Rudhran said. "I need answers from both of you."
Parivendhan replied, "What kind of question is this? Ask whatever you want—we will answer."
Rudhran took a deep breath.
"You both went in search of my father… then why didn't you return for all these years? What happened? Who gave the Gandharva kingdom to Keechakan? Who raised him? And where did he go after that? I need answers to all of this."
Hearing his questions, Parivendhan and Parthiban exchanged a glance before beginning their story.
"Listen carefully, Rudhran," Parivendhan said.
"Yes, it's true—we left in search of your father. But at that time, we didn't even know who ruled the Gandharva kingdom. When King Virendhirar died, we carried his body and left the land immediately. So we have no knowledge of what happened there afterward."
Parthiban continued, "After that, we tried to find your father. But without a proper map, we lost our way. A violent storm struck, and we were completely thrown off course."
"We eventually reached a place… but we didn't even know its name," he added.
"When we entered the city, something felt strange. There was not a single person in sight."
"But then, we heard a sound."
"We hid and watched."
"What we saw…" Parivendhan's voice grew heavy, "was horrifying."
"There were people—many of them—but all were tied up. They were being whipped mercilessly with thorned lashes. Blood streamed down their backs as they screamed in pain."
"We later understood—they were being punished for failing to pay taxes."
Rudhran's expression darkened.
"But that wasn't the only strange thing," Parthiban continued. "The guards there… they weren't normal."
"Their appearance was different. Their armor… their faces…"
"Their eyes were blue. And when angered, their teeth turned sharp and monstrous."
Rudhran listened in silence.
"Then suddenly, some soldiers rushed somewhere. We followed them quietly."
"They reached another place… where we saw him."
"A warrior."
"His strength… was beyond anything we could describe. Not just his sword—even his bare hands held terrifying power."
"That's when we realized… he was their commander."
"But more than that," Parivendhan said, his voice dropping, "he possessed unimaginable magical abilities."
"He could kill a hundred men at once… with ease."
"We couldn't even measure the extent of his strength."
"After that, we hid deep inside a forest, in a treehouse-like shelter, and stayed there for several days," Parthiban said.
"We tried to escape that land… but there was no way out."
"So we decided to at least understand the place."
"But even that proved difficult."
"That's when we saw it…"
"The palace."
"Our kingdom's palace is nothing compared to it. That structure was colossal—built with dark magic, reaching almost into the sky."
"At its peak, there was a swirling red vortex of energy… something incredibly dangerous."
"Seeing that, we realized one thing…"
"This was not a place we could handle."
"And more importantly…"
"It was not a place we could escape from easily."
"One night, while we were resting on the tree shelter, we heard a terrifying sound in the sky."
"When we looked up, we saw two massive creatures—like birds, but shrouded in darkness—flying above us in a strange, unnatural way."
"Their cries filled us with fear. We immediately hid."
"Then, from the kingdom, a massive beam of light shot into the sky, splitting through the darkness."
"The next day, we went deeper into the forest and met an old man."
"We asked him, 'What is this place? How do we leave?'"
The old man smiled… eerily.
"If you have entered this place once," he said, "only your lifeless body will leave it."
"You have unknowingly fallen into the grip of hell."
Rudhran's eyes widened.
"What do you mean? What is this place?" they asked him.
The old man laughed again.
"You still don't understand?"
"This place is called—"