The chamber was a darkened sanctum, filled with the scent of burning incense and the faint, acrid tang of sulphur. Shadows danced ominously on the walls, cast by the flickering flames of the candles that surrounded the altar.

Drau gazed around perplexed, an ominous feeling tightening in the pit of her stomach, she gazed up at her older brother, his eyes arresting hers in an intense stare.

"Jyest, what kind of Pooja is this? This doesn't feel normal. . ."

Her words faded, afraid that she might offend her brother, but all he did was smile at her reassuringly.

"I know it looks a little scary, but this is for the protection of our father and family. You would want that, right princess?"

At her brother's soft words, she bit her bottom lip.

"Yes. . ."

Her words were laced with hesitancy. No matter how hard she tried to repress that ominous feeling warning her, she couldn't.

She took a deep breath, taking a cursory glance around once again.

At the centre of the room stood a hooded man, his presence a malevolent force that seemed to absorb the dim light around him.

Draupadi's eyes, wide with fear and defiance, darted around the room, but her body remained unnervingly still, as though paralyzed by some unseen power.

Her usually vibrant attire was now dishevelled, adding to the disconcerting sight of her vulnerability.

The man approached her with a slow, deliberate stride, his dark robes trailing behind him like a shroud of malevolence. He lifted the hood.

Familiarity stirred in the pit of her stomach. Like she knew him. And yet...there was no memory that she could hold onto.

She could feel his identity hidden in some corner of her mind, but the moment she reached out to touch it, it vanished like smoke in thin air.

Terror seeped in her bones.

"There is no need for this dramatics anymore. . ." His gruff voice was hard with hatred, as he spat the words.

"But you wanted her consent for this Pooja. . ." Druveda asked confused, gazing at the man, who was effectively betraying his own family.

"I wanted her to enter this room with her consent. Which she did." The smirk that curved on the man's face was cold as ice, hard as a rock.

Confusion filled every inch of her being. Panic unfurling in her chest, like a poisonous gas that was slowly killing her from within.

"Jyest..."

"Don't you dare fucking call me that you bitch!" The man who had been so soft spoken minutes ago, roared. He reached out raising his hand, and bringing it down hard.

Now that he had no need to pretend, he let his fury surface, like a volcano that was ready to erupt.

A loud sound resonated through the room, agony shot through the young princess' cheek, making her lose her balance, as the world zinged, darkness dotting her vision, her head hit the hard ground.

Shock zapped down her system, she gazed up at her brother. Betrayal flayed her system. "What..."

"You are not my sister!" He shouted, pacing like a beast in front of her.

"Everytime you say jyest, it feels like a bloody knife is being plunged in my ear." He roared, she trembled in confusion, what was happening...

Why was he talking like this?

"But I am your sist-"

"NO YOU'RE FUCKING NOT!"

Her heart palpitated hard against her ribcage, as though trying to break free, what is he. . .

"You're the fucking reason why my sisters died! YOU!"

He pointed an accusatory finger at Drau, who just blinked, tears flowing down.

She tried hard to recall anything, but it was just a dark sludge, where grasping anything was impossible.

"Do it! I can't wait anymore!" He roared turning to the man, who was standing still, amused, gazing at the duo.

His face was a mask of cold calculation, his eyes glinting with an unsettling mixture of triumph and cruelty. "Very well." Was all he said.

He lifted his hand, and suddenly the young princess could no longer move, she fought hard against the invisible restraints, that lifted her high above the ground, hovering her over a pattern painted with blood on the ground.

In his hand, he held an ancient tome, its pages filled with arcane symbols and incantations, each more foreboding than the last.

She struggled, that ominous feeling intensifying, opening her mouth to scream. . .

Horror froze her heart, as she pushed her vocal cords to scream, but not a single sound passed through her lips.

Dread pulsed in her veins, helplessness fuiling her struggle, but it was all for nothing.

The young fireborn was unable to do anything.

With a deliberate motion, he opened the book and began to chant in a low, guttural voice, his words weaving a dark tapestry of power and control.

Chills ran down Draupadi's body. She could feel various presence surfacing in the dark room.

Though she couldn't see them with her eyes, she could feel the warm stale breaths on her skin, their evil aura that rotted everything around them.

The air around him thickened, crackling with an almost palpable energy, he invoked the forbidden magic.

Dark ribbons of energies manifested out of thin air, twirling and tangling with grey and blood red ones.

The candles flickered wildly, their flames stretching and distorting as if recoiling from the dark forces being summoned.

Before all the candles sniffed out, like all the goodness in that room had abandoned the place.

"Do my bidding!"

He screamed, loud and authoritative.

Her heart beat slowed exponentially, decreasing to a point where she thought her soul would abandon her body.

"If you continue this...she will fucking die!" Druveda's voice rang somewhere in the room.

But the words seemed to make no difference to the man. "If she couldn't with stand this procedure, she's useless to us. She might as well fucking die." He spat the words.

Draupadi's body went taut, the ribbons of magic weaved and weaved, like a tornado circling.

It felt like the all her energy was being leached out.

"What the fuck is happening?!" The prince of Viratgadh roared, he could see her face turn white, her eyes rolled back, as she twitched.

"She is the embodiment of goodness. And to do what we have to...we have to consume her soul completely. Make her a hollow vessel. . ."

The man explained, as he made another powerful symbol with his fingers, that sent a shockwave of energy through the room, Druveda slammed hard on the wall, his breath knocked out.

Distorted shadowy creatures rose from the darkness, that had suddenly birthed in the room, one that was created due to the lack of goodness, and not because there was no source of light.

Something was rising.

The young prince could feel it. Every last cell in his body repelled against what rose, his mind was screaming warning.

But he stood still, as he grasped the pillar. The ground below his feet trembled hard, the man who had been chanting began to slowly rise in the air.

Ebony smoke circled Draupadi and the man who were now at least thirty feet above the ground. Druveda's grip tightened on the pillar, terror sunk deep in his heart.

The patterns that were once painted on the floor, floated in the air, at least 10 feet above the ground.

"Seep out that is everything pure, and take her my lord!" The man roared, and the smoke plunged like daggers in the young woman's body, tearing a soul trembling scream, filled with torment.

Draupadi felt like millions of fine needles were shooting down her body. Running through her veins. Tearing her from within.

They bled her open, flayed her down to her marrow, and all she could do was scream.

Her body burned and throbbed with pain. She begged for death, darkness greeted her, stealing her consciousness.

The dark magic flayed the seal on her memories open. Everything rushed back like a huge wave of tsunami crashing her mind.

Her soul ached, her husbands...they had been here and she... And now when Drau screamed, it was more due to the mental pain, rather than the physical one.

All the strength to fight had left, her eyes were struggling to keep open. Her body was shutting down, she could feel the entity in her body feast at everything with, tear her from within.

Till it reached to the core of her being. . .her soul. That throbbed and burned strong. The darkness seeped in ur, ready to consume it. . .

"Arya..." The word was an echo of her longing and need for them, of her love.

She was strung somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness. . .

"Drau..."

A deep male voice echoed deep in her mind. . . And a sob tore through her lips. . .

Sehdev. . .

Her mind whispered, a broken cry slipped past her lips.

The magic reared back and plunged down on her soul, ready to shatter it. But the moment it touched her soul, a bright golden aura weaved around her red pulsing energy. . .

"Shhh baby...easy..."

That voice in her dream whispered..."Arya..." She didn't care if it was her imagination or hallucination, but she grasped on Sehdev's deep soothing baritone.

She could feel his warmth, tug her soul, so deep in her, till it was nowhere to be found by the darkness.

Her body pulsed with agony, but the sludgy darkness in her was furious, it tore and tore, before it grasped her mind. . .

As the chant grew louder, Draupadi's expression shifted from absolute terror to a blank, vacant stare.

Her struggles became feeble, her once fierce spirit gradually dulled by the insidious influence of the dark magic.

The villain's eyes shone with malevolent satisfaction as he watched the transformation unfold. He could almost taste the power he wielded, feeling it seep into Draupadi's very soul.

The runes floating in the air, drawn with human blood, began to glow with an eerie, scarlet and dark light, casting a sickly hue across Draupadi's face.

Her mind was being ensnared, each word of the villain's incantation burrowing deeper into her consciousness, erasing her will and replacing it with a dark, obedient emptiness.

The process was excruciatingly slow, every moment a torturous struggle between her fading resistance and the overwhelming force of the black magic.

By the time the chant reached its climax, Draupadi's eyes were empty wells, devoid of the fire and strength that had once defined her.

The energy in the air receeded, as the two were delicately placed on the ground. A satisfied smirk curving on the man's face.

The villain approached her, placing a cold, demanding hand on her shoulder, his voice a final, chilling whisper of control. "You are mine now," he said, his tone dripping with sinister satisfaction. "Your will belongs to me, and you shall serve my desires without question."

The chamber fell silent except for the soft crackle of the candles, which were suddenly lit again.

Everything was back to normal. . . like all that happened moments ago was nothing but an imagination.

Draupadi's once vibrant spirit had vanished.

Her will was buried beneath the weight of dark magic.

The villain's satisfaction was palpable, his dark plan complete, leaving him alone in the chamber, the embodiment of unmitigated power and control.

He turned to Druveda who looked dishevealed. He licked his dried lips.

"Is it done? Because the king is awaiting us at Hastinapur. . ."

He whispered, without the ruler's (the third villain) help, it would have been impossible to attack Hastinapur, it was his army that had defeated the army of Hastinapur.

"Um.. I'm pretty certain he is enjoying himself just fine. Since Duryodhan had defeated him. .. all he could have thought about was, getting his revenge."

The man betraying the Kuruvanshis' said nonchalantly, as he snapped his fingers letting the invisible restraints on Draupadi fade. . .

"Let's go Draupadi..." He boomed, walking out, as the girl walked behind him, her eyes distant and hollow, as she followed him, Druveda rushed to keep up the pace with them.

Now this should be fun. . .

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Yes before you get confused...there are 3 villians in this story.

1. Druveda.
2. The one who betrayed the Kuruvanshi.
3. The one who is from Duryodhan's past.

Can u guess who the number 2 and 3 really are?!

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