Netra’s PoV

Iraniyan was sitting near me in that crooked cave. I could now see his beauty behind this beastly appearance. I raised my hand to his face and he placed his cheek on my palm. I saw his eyes pour and that made my heart bleed.

“Are you alright?” He asked me and I got up and hugged him. I kissed him on his cheek and his grip around me just tightened.

“Are you?” I asked him and he shook his head in a no! 

“How could I be alright when I see you like this? You need to eat, Vizhi.” He said, parting me from him. 

“But what would I eat here? Also I have to go to my grandma, Iyan. she must be worried sick for me. Thuriga will be waiting for me.”

“You have to be careful, Vizhi. You must not trust anyone. You have a grandma?”

“Yes! She is your god’s mother. She was the one who said that I am a god too just like your god.”

“What? My god’s mother? I have never heard of her, Vizhi. But I want you to be very careful. Your babies are very important. Until they are in your tummy, they are safe and they will keep you safe but when you give birth to them, you must keep them safe. This planet is a dumpyard. Our god has dumped all her failed creatures here. You have to be careful.”

“I will be! I have to go now, will you meet me at the pond everyday? I will make sure to come after everyone falls asleep.”

“I would be glad to meet you, Vizhi. You don't know how long I have waited to see you in flesh and bones. This life is killing me, Vizhi. It is making me weak. All I want is to break free of this curse and only you can do that! You have to find the soul snatcher, Netra. To break our curse, you have to kill her.”

“Kill? Who?” I asked him. The very thought of killing someone shudders me. 

“Theeya. You have to kill Theeya.”

“But who is she? Why should I kill her to break your curse?”

“Our god was angry at me, Vizhi. She thought I was the reason that you left me. She thought I had an affair with Theeya which shooed you away from me to the land.”

“Did you?” I asked him! The very thought of him cheating on me was killing my soul. The anger that raised in my blood upon hearing this is insane. I would definitely not believe anything without proper evidence and if I had left him and decided to live on land, is he hiding anything from me? 

“You said I should not believe anyone, can I believe you?” I asked him. I know I love him. I know he is the love of my life. But I can't trust anyone like he says before I realize who I am and my purpose!

“You have never changed! You have no trust in me. You just heard what she told you and left me. We are destined to be together and my heart will never waver from you. You are my mate, not just for this instance, but for eternity. Your disbelief does hurt me, Vizhi. I don't know how someone else’s words gained much power over the love I have for you. But it’s ok! You were not ready back then to listen and now even if I explain, you will have the benefit of doubt. You will understand my love, you will understand yourself and will come back to me soon. But when you come back, you should come back with the soul snatcher. When you kill her with that, she will become weak! Her weakness is our salvation for the curse.”

“Iyan!” He moved away from me. I cannot let him go, not just yet.

“Come back to me when you completely trust my love, Vizhi. Until then, you can never find me.” He said and left me there. The mer-people followed him and disappeared in the darkness. Why did I suspect his love? What is a soul snatcher? Where would I find it? Who is Theeya? How will I know her? What did he mean by making her weak after killing her? It doesn't make any sense. I have numerous questions but no answers. 

I swam to find the opening to the pond but it seemed quite impossible in the dark waters. The glowing fish just vanished away with Iyan. As I swam along, I heard loud noises from a particular direction and I started swimming in that direction. I saw light as soon as I neared the sound and swam a little faster. I hid behind a rock crevice to analyze the situation before showing myself to the people out there. 

“Maayon, the water is flooding the pit. I don't think we can continue digging.” I heard someone talk. Oohh! My dad is here! 

“We have to find Netra. If she is with my mom then it is very dangerous. She is under bad influence. We will deploy a motor to suck out the water. Keep digging.”

“Working with the gear on is very difficult, Maayon. You have to understand.”

“You have to understand what is at stake here. It is the life of my daughter. My grandkids!” 

Hmph! My dad is worried for my life? My kids' life? Why? Why did he say that his mom is dangerous! Argh! Who would tell me what is really going on? Now I am scared to go to my grandma. I cannot go back to Iyan. I cannot trust my dad. Mom?! I can trust her but what if she was manipulated by dad? Dyan! Where the hell are you?

I decided to turn around and swim back to the same place. Since I lost my consciousness when they brought me into the cave, I don't really know how to get back to the entrance of the pond. Ah, doesn't matter, even if I was awake, there is no way I could tell the way back in this dark.

I pictured the glowing fish in my mind and called them to help  me find the way out. As soon as I summoned them, there appeared a way in the water made by glowing fish all along. I hit my head for the late idea and followed the light. 

“Thank you!” I told them as I tried to climb up the wall. 

“Netra!” I heard Thuriga. Aira came running to me and lifted me out of the water with her paw. Giza rushed to me with a piece of cloth to cover me. 

“We were worried for you. What happened to you?” Thuriga asked me.

“Nothing. I slipped into the water and was amazed to see caves and rocks glowing inside the water. I just took a swim.”

“Did you know it has been almost half a day since you were gone. How did you manage to hold your breath underwater?”

“Relax, Thuriga. There were air pockets under water. Like small caves. I am fine. I am sorry I made you worried.” I said heartfelt. Giza never said anything. He stood near me hugging me.

“Giza, she is ok!” Thuriga pulled him from me towards her and I gave her a mild smile before walking towards the hut. Aira came with me, giving them both the privacy they needed. 

“She is fine!” I heard Giza say to her.

“Yes, she is!” Thuriga told him and hugged him. 

“Looks like they have fallen in love, Aira. good for them! You know what? I am in love too! With my soulmate. But it looks like I didn't trust him! I don't know whom to trust anymore. My dad says my grandma is a danger to me. My grandma says my dad wants me for the power I possess which I don't even realize I have.” I kept talking to Aira and Aira sat down showing her leg to me. I understood that she wanted me to climb on her. I climbed on her and she started walking into the forest. It was very soothing! A stroll in the woods! It gave me back the memories of Kilchi and Sivagami paati. 

As I was sinking in my old memories, I forgot to look at the way Aira took. She has walked me into the forbidden forest! The big armadillo-like creature came rolling near me and there were many other exotic animals in there! I loved seeing them all. There were giant sloth-like animals, giant beaver-like animals, saber tooth tigers, humongous birds and that one! The one that told me everything I needed to know!

Adhiyan’s PoV

The ‘Rasamani’ the Siddhar gave me shrunk me into a tiny atom and that is how I landed safely on my feet in this new place. I saved the Rasamani in the rock crevice that I saw near me. Thanks to his training, I am in one piece even after enduring such pressure in the wormhole. It was pitchblack in there and there was no air! No sound! It was pure emptiness. Netra had no such training and I wonder how she endured it all! I just hope that she will be fine. I slowly stood up to investigate where I was.

‘What the hell!?’ I thought to myself as I realized that I am in a temple. A temple just like on earth. The huge pillars inside the temple are connected together in a chain. The ridges on the pillar were like a gear wheel and the chain fit perfectly on the ridges. The pillars are of different sizes and as I opened my eyes, I saw the gear slowly coming into a halt!

I have heard of a similar structure in Chennakesava temple in Karnataka! If this temple is operated in a way that I can come here, then there should be someone here. Who might it be? Whoever it may be, I should not get caught until I see Netra. I found the Rasamani again and put it in my mouth, under my tongue. I felt my body shrink and I was invisible. I slowly forgot my physical body and woke up my subconscious and made myself float. I might have gained a trick or two from the Siddhar! 

I saw HIM! So he is the one that brought me here. How dare he try to trap me? Now I understand why the Siddhar told me that it is a bad idea to come here. Whatever it is, I must not get caught in his hands. I floated out the place but as soon as I was out in the sun, the Rasamani felt heavy in my mouth and I started dropping to the ground. I pulled it out of my mouth and fell on the ground with a loud thud. As the sun shines on it, it becomes heavier. A small ball bearing sized Rasamani started to weigh so much that I could no longer carry it in my hand. I hurriedly tried to find a spot to keep it safe. I found a rock just like Agathiyar rock and put it safely in the pockets of the rock. As I took in the surroundings, I understood the geography a bit and started running in the direction of the thick forest ahead of me in order to hide myself from the eyes of Niranjan.

“Ngyarrrrr!” I heard a different growl of an animal from a distance and I pushed my wolf out. Being in my wolf is the safest in this forest. I kept my eyes peeled for any dangers that might lurk in the forest. As I ran I saw nothing except for some small insects and giant trees. The leaves of the trees are so huge that you could cover yourself with it. I turned into my man self and grabbed a leaf to cover my naked body.

‘Where is she!?’ I thought to myself and tried to connect with her through mind-link. 

“Netra! Where are you?” I called her but even though I felt a connection with her I could not hear anything back from her. 

I started running to see if I could find anyone or anything but was shaken to the core of what I saw! Dinosaurs! Living dinosaurs! Actually roaming on the land. It was all a bit different than humans perceived. But they are definitely dinosaurs. They have no scales like crocodiles but they are covered in a weird fur or feather-like thing. Their bodies are fuzzy!

“Frrrilll!” I heard a growl behind my back and gulped down the ball of anxiety. It was a raptor! It was almost my height and it looked at me by tilting its head. I slowly backed up and tried to climb the tree without startling it. 

It looked up at me as I climbed the tree and walked away just as it came in. Releasing a sigh of relief, I kept climbing the tree to see if I could spot something from the heights. As I got a clearing with the height, I looked underneath to see many different animals. Saber toothed tigers, mammoths, weird-faced bear-like animals, and many others. It was a sight to see! As I was lost in what I was looking at, I forgot that there was someone else watching me with its hawk eyes! Or should I say dino-eyes!?

It was a pterodactyl. It was humongous with an almost 40 feet wingspan. I would be like a snack to it! It was just as curious as me. It brought its beak-like mouth towards me but never did any harm to me. I tried to touch it and it nudged me. I was about to fall but it caught me with its talons. I looked up above it and saw a giant papaya like fruit beaked open and most of it was eaten. I let out a long sigh, it is a herbivore after all. I slowly made a move on it and stood up on its paws. I petted its neck and it ruffled its feathers. 

Wow! Such a majestic experience!