𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦

𝟰. 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦

Unknown Place and Time

Black. It is pitch dark as far as an eye could see. There's neither sky nor land - a void where no human can breathe for even a second. A tall young man is moving forward as if an unknown compass is showing him the way.

"Maybe this is how death feels like," he mused. As he walked further, he saw a light so bright that he had to shield his eyes.

"Vathsa, you finally came," said a serene voice of a young woman. "Sorry, I forgot the light is blinding for your mortal eyes," she giggled.

He felt the light dimming and finally opened his eyes. A divine lady with a soft smile stood in front of him and asked, "Do you know who am I, Radheya Karna?" He was too stunned to speak so he just shook his head in denial.

The woman just laughed and said, "I'm the mother of this universe, Vasusena, and I'm here to give you a second chance to repent for your sins."

He looked at the deity in disbelief. Repent his sins? Washing Yagnaseni's hair with his blood a thousand times would not be enough to wash away from them. But also why only he was given the chance? Certainly, his mithra also deserved the chance and so did his brothers. What they did was heinous, but so did he.

Jaganmata noticed his turbulent emotions and spoke, "I know you feel you don't deserve redemption, but who said it's about that? It's about repentance and you pay for your deeds by correcting them. As a mother, I think all my children need a chance to learn from their mistakes."

"Thank you so much for giving this undeserving child a chance, Devi Parashakti. I'll stick to the dharma and make sure I give my best to turn Duryodhana into Suyodhana," he said, kneeling in front of the goddess.

She smiled and replied, "I've faith in you, son. All your curses are gone the moment your severed head touched the ground. You can still use the Vijaya and Asthra, as blessings cannot be taken away. But you can't get your Kavacha and Kundali as you have given them away as a charity. No one except Vasudev Krishna will know about this, and it should be kept the same way. Now do your karma, Vasusena."

"Dhanyosmi, Mata! Please bless me with success," he said as he knelt and raised his head to look at her, hands folded in reverence (A/n: like this 🙏🏼). "Vijayibhava, vathsa," the deity blessed him and his world became black.

Charioteer Adhiratha's cottage, Hasthinapur, Dwapara Yuga

15 years ago

Karna woke up in the creaking bed of his childhood home. It felt like everything that happened - him humiliating a woman in the worst way imaginable, the conversation he had with the divine mother, like a fever dream.

"Huh? Why are my arms and legs so short? I was just a few inches shy of Duryodhana's height, who was tall as a mountain. What happened to all the muscles?" he wondered, looking at his small, twig-like body. He rushed to grab a mirror and saw 12 years old him staring back.

"Hey, Surya Narayana! Why did I become a child?" he lamented. "Whatever it is, I'll take it. I will not waste this golden opportunity. I lusted after many frivolous things like honour and reputation, ignoring the most precious ones - my childhood and my parents' love. I still have knowledge of Asthras and my Vijaya, which is more than enough. I'll just say that Adi Shakti has blessed me with divine weapons," he nodded to himself with conviction.

He ran towards the kitchen and hugged his Radha Ma from behind, crying and apologising for the agony he caused.

"What happened, Putra? Why are you crying? Whatever it is, I'll forgive you. Please don't cry," she turned back and said, worried, wiping away the torrent of tears from her son's face. Her son never cried. Not even his arm broke in a child's fight. "Please tell me, son, did something happen yesterday? Did your father scold you? I'll talk to him, okay? Don't cry," she consoled, caressing his hair and cheeks. He leaned into her hug, savouring the warmth.