ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

2. The Second Beginning

"It has been a while, Master." Shubhankor finally said, almost as if he was meeting an old acquaintance after a while.

"It has, indeed." The old man replied.

"I sense my brother was here too." Shubhankor breathed in deeply.

"You just missed him."

"Yes, it would appear so," Shubhankor said, touching the ground next to him, "Did you tell him I was coming, Master?"

"I did."

"Did he offer to stay?"

"He did."

"Always the dutiful General; never hesitating to go down fighting for the cause," Shubhankor muttered, a rueful smile playing on his lips. "But Gargi, outside, is convinced she saw a light of passage. She was not mistaken, was she Master?"

Yagyavalkya didn't reply. But he didn't have to. Shubhankor gazed at the old man with his penetrating hazel eyes, betraying no emotions.

"You told him to be reborn, didn't you? You gave him the knowledge."

The old man kept his silence for a while before asking, "So you won this war Shubhankor. Now what?"

"You already know what comes next, Master," Shubhankor replied, "However I must admit, that weapon....I almost didn't see it coming."

"I will never forgive myself for that."

"But you do not regret doing it. From where you stand, I gave you very little choice." the former disciple said in a gentle voice.

"There's always a choice Shubhankor. I could have chosen to lie all those years ago or let Gargi win," Yagyavalkya answered, "I chose not to." For the first time, he looked away.

"And today, my own brother chose to carry on the fight from where you left," Shubhankor said with a bitter smile.

The old man looked at his former disciple in pure desperation. He was never more certain of Shubhankor's commitment to his quest, than he was in that moment.

"Yes, Korno has the knowledge. He will stop you," Yagyavalkya replied, enraged.

Shubhankor's eyes glowed as he looked at his father through the fire that separated them.

"Like you, he will also try. But nothing has changed, Master," Shubhankor said introspectively, "All will be...the way it has to be. We both know that."

As a vicious storm swept through the mountain, a gust of wind entered the cave, extinguishing the fire. The former Master and disciple still sat there in the dark, in silence.

"Master, allow me to share something with you." A calm voice broke the silence, "I once met a being, who told me something very interesting. He had a theory about sentient lives across the universe, who have crossed a certain threshold of intelligence. The being argued that the reason most of our evolutionary history has a similar pattern is because at some point they all looked up at the stars. Upon understanding what they are and what they represent, they developed in themselves the absolute certainty of conviction that it is those stars that they are destined to reach."

"I would say, the being was wise," replied the old man.

"I believe so too. But here is what I do not understand. After reaching that last star, at the very edge of the universe when they found nothing but darkness, why did they stop and not press further to explore what lay beyond? Why did that darkness make them afraid?"

"What you ask, Shubhankor, is heresy." the old man exclaimed.

"What I ask, Master, is for my knowledge to be complete. And in time, I believe I will find all the answers; just like the Heeruuns did."