Eternity Once More

The end of the world was nearing, and everyone knew it. They were on the precipice of attaining peace on earth, a few moments of lasting peace and happiness till their inevitable close.

The Protector of the World looked down at the world, proud of the work he had done. Dharma had been restored for the final time, and now it was time to finish it with a flourish.

Closing his eyes, the golden curl of hair on his chest, positioned carefully above his heart began to glow. It was SriVatsa, the symbol of his divine consort. The light took over the left half of the body, till it showed an andrygonus form depicting two beings, both as ethereal as the other. Both the same yet complete opposites. Finally, the two separated.

The man had skin that shone like jewels, eyes made of pure gold. Strands of charcoal flowed freely in the wind, the air every bit as desolate and lonely as he felt.

The woman was a stark contrast from him, with skin that glowed like liquid sunlight. Night took the place of her hair, stars scattered in the depths of her eyes. Her scarlet mouth was like the petals of a lotus, her body resembling the stem, from her timid waist to dainty shoulders.

"Kamalapati." she said, her voice nothing more than a breath on the wind, yet it carried all the sounds the universe had ever heard, from the holy sound of 'Om' to the faint rushing of water.

"Madhavi." he replied, voice as soft as hers, akin to the whispers that passed through her own flowered lips.

A smile graced her moon-like face upon hearing even a single word escape from her lord.

"The End of Time is upon us." she noted, tilting his head to face her.

"And after a lifetime of bliss, it seems as though sorrow has finally caught up to us." he said back.

She placed a branch like finger to his lips.

"Hush now. We've parted a thousand times, and we will part a thousand more. It does not matter, we always find our way back to each other."

After eons of keeping his sadness and regrets hidden, they surfaced now, revealing just how much time had taken a toll on him. Whenever trouble hit, it always hit them the hardest. Millenium of victory, centuries of wins... And yet nothing could ease the pain in his heart.

"I will go last. It has been long since Brahma and Saraswati left, and now it is just the four of us: Shiva, Parvati, you, and I. Being the Destroyers they must end this universe, and I can not leave until I have nothing left to protect."

"And I am the power behind the universe." Lakshmi said sadly. "I am the force behind every Devata, illusions and reality."

"The sole purpose of Shiva and Parvati was always to destroy you and everything you stood for in the end." he finished.

The Mother Goddess nodded.

"But did you forget? Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. They will destroy my materialistic aspect, not my essence. I am ever present, I was never born so how can I die? I am the soul of this Universe, and the atma is not something that you can annihilate, it simply loses its container. Our separation has always been necessary for the betterment of the universe, that's a truth that can never be ignored." she explained.

"And when the world begins again, I'll be waiting for you, Parvati, and Saraswati to manifest together, like always." Vishnu told her.

"And then starts our story." she said. "Time and time again."

"Eternity once more."