One Last Look

The flames atop the snow-capped mountain gradually died down, and whoever emerged from them would directly determine the future of the era. Arjuna slowly emerged from the flames. At this moment, he stood alone atop the snow-capped mountain, like a proud peak standing tall among the mountains, overlooking the entire world.

"You're back... Well then, although we need to rebuild, let's take a look back at what we had before..." Arjuna murmured, then with a flash of light, he disappeared from the top of the snow-capped mountain.

In Hastinapura, the Hundred Sons of Dhritarashtra were rescuing people from the burned-out palace. Those who had committed the illegal acts had all been burned to varying degrees. Among them, Bhishma and others had their silver armor turned to liquid and their bodies were charred black, but at this moment, he disregarded his physical discomfort.

The depression in his heart was more unbearable than the physical pain. He felt that the oath to protect the throne had turned into a mountain, pressing down on him and making it hard to breathe.

"Bhishma." The person next to him patted him on the shoulder; it was Drona. He raised his thumb and pointed outside.

The two strolled along the streets late at night; there were hardly any people left.

"Drona, tell me, did I do something wrong? I protected the throne of Hastinapura, I upheld my oath, but in the end, what did I get?"

They were nearly burned alive, yet I could not obtain justice for the children of Pandu. I allowed Hastinapura to be divided in two, and even watched this gamble that destroyed the Dharma take place.

"Drona, you know what? Krishna was right back then. He really could have killed me. I didn't want to live anymore."

Bhishma grew increasingly heartbroken Bhishma. Drona looked at this Tianxia warrior, who now seemed nothing like the invincible warrior who had once dominated the battlefield.

He looked like nothing more than a pitiful old man.

"And what about me? I chose to be loyal to the Dhritarashtra, and instead watched as that Dushasana went to insult Princess Draupadi... Alas, if Mr. Bai Mo hadn't stopped me, I probably would have met my friend on the battlefield."

Drona sighed deeply. After walking around, Drona saw the Ashwatthama in Hastinapura seemingly beckoning to him, so he bid farewell to Bhishma. Bhishma, however, clearly wanted to walk around a bit longer to clear his head, and none of the Hundred Sons of Dhritarashtra dared to speak to their grandfather.

Bhishma walked slowly, his footsteps rustling on the sand, the ground beneath his feet seeming to sigh. As he reached the corner, another set of footsteps sounded.

Bhishma's unfocused gaze sharpened instantly upon seeing the man; his pupils trembled uncontrollably as he could not believe what he was seeing.

With his dark skin, clean and even somewhat handsome face, and those sharp eyes typical of an archer, the person before him was undoubtedly one of his great-grandchildren.

Arjuna, what are you doing here?

Already unsettled, Bhishma couldn't help but cry out in surprise. Upon hearing this, the Pandavas, including Duryodhana, rushed over and saw Arjuna standing at the crossroads. They could never forget that figure, which symbolized the absolute and purest difference in strength. Arjuna, the son of Indra, was standing right there.

"Arjuna, what are you doing here?" Duryodhana asked, but when he met Arjuna's gaze, he felt a strange sensation.

Who is this guy?

The question arose in his mind. He could tell from both appearance and demeanor that the person before him was Arjuna. But... at this moment, Duryodhana felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Arjuna raised his hand, and immediately, streams of energy, like rivers flowing into the sea, converged in his hand. The lights of the Hastinapura's residents turned towards Arjuna, the clouds in the sky turned towards Arjuna, and even the underground rivers burst forth and surged towards Arjuna.

Arjuna, what are you doing?

Bhishma was terrified. Faced with such terrifying energy, anyone would have reacted by running away or trying to stop him, but having just experienced something like that, Bhishma had no desire to fight Arjuna at this moment.

"Grandfather, why are you wasting your breath talking to him? This guy is obviously here to kill us!" Duryodhana shouted, trying to stop him, but at this moment, the power that Arjuna was unleashing seemed to be affecting the entire world, far exceeding the energy that had been unleashed in the battle between Bai Mo and Shiva.

He wanted to stop it, but the overwhelming power disparity made him feel that even if he tried, it would be like an ant trying to shake a tree—utterly futile.

So he called for the others to come.

As more and more people gathered around him, the unease grew stronger. What was wrong with this guy's gaze? It felt like he wasn't treating us like human beings at all, as if we were invisible.

This guy's acting strange, there's something wrong with him!

Duryodhana intuition quickly made a judgment, and just then, a familiar voice rang out behind him, startling him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Duryodhana, what are you doing now?"

It was Gandhari and Dhritarashtra who came; naturally, they rushed over when this happened.

"Hurry, Dad! Mom..."

A pressure came from behind, making everyone feel as if they were in the deep sea, struggling to breathe under the immense pressure. Arjuna spoke slowly from behind, his tone calm but devoid of any emotion.

"It's no different from what I remember; this place, nearing the age of the Struggle of Yuga, is still filled with [evil]."

Since my future has been disrupted, let's start afresh from here.

Energy gathers, weaves...

"At this very moment, let's begin the first ruling!"

The stars will shrink, and evil will be punished by the sword. Inherit the power of the gods, complete the work of the gods—Maha Pralaya! (The Maha Pralaya!)

Light, the light that divides the world. Under this sword light, all living beings are like fish on a chopping board, cut up and shredded. What is needed is kept, what is not needed is cut off and thrown into the trash can. In Duryodhana's eyes, his brothers around him are all swallowed up by this sword light.

They disappeared, one after another.

Duryodhana ran backwards without regard for anything else, heading towards his father and Gandhari. To be honest, he didn't know why he was doing this; it would only buy him less than a second. Under the sword light that covered the world, there was nowhere to escape.

But perhaps, even just one more second is worth taking action?

Gandhari heard the sword's clang, followed by a deathly silence that drowned out even her own son's voice. She knew her child was right in front of her, and in danger. As a mother, that was enough for her.

She removed the cloth from her eyes. Gandhari, out of compassion for her blind husband Dhritarashtra, willingly blindfolded herself and lived in darkness from then on. This was undoubtedly an act of asceticism, a meritorious deed, which now converged in her eyes, allowing her to see the person before her clearly.

This was the first time she had seen her child.