Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Royal Palace, Vijayanagara Empire.

The day was bright. Fresh wind blew through the city of Hampi. The battle was finally ending. Sun rays filtered in through the large windows to the royal court.

Two lifeless bodies lay on the floor of the royal court. It was the corpses of Lakshmi and Nakul.

Harsha looked down at the bodies with a bloodied sword in hand. He had cut down the person responsible for the civil war and effectively ended the war.

He didn't feel anything, but today he learned something intriguing about human nature. It was love; the novel he read didn't really give an accurate understanding of the emotion called love.

He found a faint understanding of love watching Nakul and Lakshmi. Nakul loved Lakshmi but was held back by his status and for achieving the goal of Lakshmi.

Meanwhile, Lakshmi suppressed her feelings for Nakul, knowing her path would lead to her eventual death. Both had tragic stories.

The uncanny resemblance to the novel threw him off. This was reality; he had ended a potential love story. He was like the villain of the novel.

The pleas made by Nakul still lingered in his head. He begged him not to kill Lakshmi and fought him before Harsha just cut him down.

Nakul managed to croak in his last breath; his mind was never on Harsha the whole time.

"I loved you."

Meanwhile, Lakshmi's was frozen in time. Her eyes were hollow. He didn't understand why she didn't try to stop him. He could see the tears in her eyes. It was complicated, and he couldn't understand it.

'Did she accept her fate?'

'Why didn't she fight back'

It was a lackluster end for a battle, but this was the reality. Life was unpredictable; it is never fair to anyone.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Exhaustion caught up to Harsha. He had been physically exhausted for a long time since he overdid his training in excitement coupled with the battle. The mental stress for winning the game against Lakshmi. He wanted to sit down for a while.

He went and sat down on the throne.

Meanwhile, Bhairava had finished his revenge and was heading to the royal court, as he had noticed Harsha before killing Chandra. He walked into the desolate royal court.

The throne was illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the large windows. A man was seated on the ornate throne, covered in blood.

The man looked elegant—not too flashy. Bhairava's eyes momentarily saw the image of a great Samrat in him. The nonchalant expression and calm posture. The sword rested in his hand.

Bhairava noticed the lifeless bodies of two people on the floor. He knew the face of one that was Lakshmi. He didn't know the other; he assumed it would be the pawn used by Lakshmi to control Chandra's army.

He walked up to Harsha with his head held high. He looked up at him, his gaze fixed on him.

"So have you taken your little revenge, Bhairava?" Harsha spoke, looking down at him.

"Yes! I have come to fulfill my promise to you."

"Aren't you an honorable one? Here I was waiting for you to run away."

Bhairava tilted his head in confusion.

"Why would you think that? I told you I would honor the agreement even if it was my life."

"Words can be deceiving; not everyone will be honorable like you. A honorable warrior faces an early death."

Bhairava stayed silent. He nodded at Harsha's statement. It was the truth that being honorable doesn't give you the edge on the battlefield.

"But we follow the ways of Dharma."

Harsha sighed.

"You have a naive understanding, Bhairava." He got up from the throne. "Let's just proceed and cut off your arm."

Bhairava brows furrowed in confusion and frustration.

"Harsha," his voice cold. "I want to know why you think it is naive!"

"I want to start over. I want to be a better person. A person that can be useful for others."

Harsha paused abruptly, seeing the determination in his eyes.

"You and the Emperor have the same flawed understanding of Dharma."

"What do you mean?" He asked like a curious child.

"You don't need to follow a righteous way to warfare."

Harsha continued to explain to Bhairava. He was well versed in religious stuff since he was going through the vast texts inside the Royal Library. He found the texts very helpful, especially the Gita.

It was the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna who was in an emotional dilemma before the war. This deepened his understanding of the emotional aspect of warfare.

He explained how the Gita endorses the dissociation between the conduct of war and the moral reason for war. It advocated for the ethical and moral reasons to go to war. The gita didn't question the means of conduct on the battlefield to win.

Even Lord Krishna, who was revered as a wise and righteous person throughout the Mahabharat War, employed numerous deceptive and dishonorable tactics to defeat his enemies.

According to the Gita, focusing on sensory objects can lead to attachment and desire, which can give rise to anger. The Gita further suggested that an ideal warrior must relinquish their attachment to the sphere of senses, whether it results in frustration or fulfillment.

Harsha reflects on this notion, recognizing that only a select few can truly achieve this level of detachment.

He also personally felt like he was far from the ideal warrior reading the text.

Bhairava looked wide-eyed at him.

"I get it now!"

Without hesitation, Bhairava swung his sword, severing his hand. He grated his teeth to stop the pain.

Harsha sighed deeply.

"This dumb ass I said the arm, and you severed your hand."

At Harsha's annoying tone. He picked up his sword to cut off his arm.

Harsha flicked it away using the hilt of his sword.

"Enough! You have paid the price!" Harsha said, looking down at him like he was an idiot.

'I am surrounded by dumb people.' He muttered.

A man wearing leather armor barged into the royal court. It was Tarun with an urgent look on his face.

"Your Highness. The Emperor woke up from the coma."