An interlude to Sunset

The part where Divinity enters - Krishna

Krishna ran a hand over Arjun's head, trying to tidy the disheveled curls of the Gudhakesha. His friend was burning up with fever. There was a faint sheen of sweat all over his body and his hair was matted and also soaked with sweat. As he ran his hands over Arjun's torso, Krishna found that Arjun's hands were extremely cold, not unlike a corpse's. "Are his feet the same way?" he asked Sahadeva who stood nearby.

"Yes Vasudev. The palm of his hands and the soles of his feet have turned unnaturally cold since around two prahar back," Nakul replied.

Krishna kept running his hands over Arjun's head and discretely wiped off the tears which had formed at the edge of Arjun's eyes, no doubt from the pain and suffering. And despite knowing all, he still asked,
"What happened, Nakul? Please tell me."  

He desperately needed time to compose himself  least he broke down much akin Madri's sons and that would not be beneficial to Parth in any manner.

Krishna forced himself to listen to every word as spoken by Nakul, from Arjun's injury to Dushyala's story to the medicines they have tried, to every single symptom Arjun had shown. When speaking of how Arjun's heart had given up, Nakul had to stop and gather himself. A few details were added  by Guru Drone, including details of the expedition undertaken by Yudhistira, Bhim, Mahamahim and Angaraj.

Krishna almost smiled on hearing this; Bhrata Bhim and Angaraj Karna at one place certainly could not mean anything good but it would be interesting, nevertheless.

The recount ended and there was unbroken silence in the room. Arjun was dragging in shallow breathes and coughing now and then. Each cough brought up some blood and bile and despite Nakul and Sahadeva trying to dissuade him, Krishna wiped away the same with his own angavastra. His bright yellow angavastra soon turned crimson and yet the blood kept coming.

"M-Madhav... M-Madhav..."

Parth had called out!  Krishna hurriedly bent over his friend and placed a hand on his chest, carefully avoiding the wound. "What is it, Parth?" he asked softly. "What is it, mitra? I am here now... It is time to wake up, Gudhakesha. You have slept enough."

There was fleeting expression of something that lighted Arjun's face and Krishna hardly had time to register it, before it vanished. If asked to describe, he would say that it was akin a mix of relief and devastating sorrow. But Parth, for once, did not heed his words.

Krishna placed his hand back on Arjun's forehead and looked over at Guru Drone. "With your permission?" he asked.

"Of course, Vasudev." Guru Drone accepted readily.

Krishna focussed his considerable energy, his entire thoughts and his formidable aura and concentrated. He felt the heat on Arjun's forehead increasing and tried to modulate his energy so that it did not overwhelm his friend. But he probed. Channelling his energy, he navigated Arjun's severely depleted core and tried to find the source of Arjun's wound. He carefully avoided moving anywhere near his friend's mind or his thoughts and instead, concentrated on reaching his heart. The further he went, the harder it became. Arjun's parched body was trying to imbibe as much of Krishna's aura as possible, but something was stopping him from taking in as much as was needed. Krishna tried to push through the barrier in order to reach the internal wound but then, something went wrong .

Even as Krishna was jerked out of his meditative state by Arjun's scream, he saw Nakul and Sahadeva rushing in and gathering Parth in their arms. Arjun's body was jerking wildly, and drool mixed with blood ran down his chin and pooled on the bed. He kept screaming and groaning, and Krishna realized that he was screaming Krishna's name, "Madhav! Madhav!"

Even as the Lord looked on helplessly, Arjun kept suffering. Suffering from the unfamiliar effects of some unknown curse, his body screaming at him to give up but his sheer sense of determination not letting him. Parth kept calling out for his friend but try as hard as he may, Krishna was unable to breach Arjun's Psyche. He was certain that his attempt to simply burn through the curse had caused Parth's body to react as violently as it did. It took a long time before Arjun again laid recumbent and Krishna gently wiped his face with one of the wet clothes provided by Sahadeva.

Yet again, Krishna felt a hand holding on to his feet and as he looked down, he saw Nakul sitting on floor and the young Pandava had placed his head on Krishna's feet. The Dwarakadhish felt his heart squeeze painfully at the sight and he tried to get Nakul to stand but the Prince did not pay any heed to his words. Nakul's tears kept washing Krishna's feet even as he beseeched, "Please save my brother, Vasudev Krishna. Hey Dwarakadhish! He is your friend and he worships the ground you walk upon. There is little that you cannot do, Vasudev. Nothing is beyond you. Please... Please save my Bhrata Arjun, Bhrata Krishna. Please... Please I beseech you. He is your brother too."

Nakul's each word pieced Krishna like many edged arrows. He was not sure that his heart could  take so much pain; he still held a mortal heart. For the first time Nakul had called him Bhrata and it was under such circumstances.

Krishna used considerable force and finally dragged Nakul from his feet and clasped him in an embrace. "What are you trying to do to me, Nakul? Are you trying to make me feel guilty? Then it is working, I must tell you. But you need not do this, you know that, don't you?" There was raw grief apparent in the Dark-skinned Lord's voice.

Nakul moved out of Krishna's embrace and folded his hands. "Forgive me, Vasudev. I know what Bhrata Arjun means to you. It was not my intention to hurt you further. Please forgive me."

One hand laid in comfort over Nakul's head and the other supporting Parth, Krishna knew that though he was all powerful, here he was still helpless. There was a critical and impossible choice to be made. For who he was, the entire world and universe was his responsibility, but could he let fate play out when Arjun lay suffering like this? What was his duty? What was his responsibility?

And oblivious to all this, Arjun kept dreaming. Of heartbreak, of loss, of war, of carnage and even as the Lord of the Universe lapsed in thought, Arjun's voice again echoed around the room,

"Help me, Madhav! Too dark here. Help Madhav... Help..."

And the Lord of the Universe finally made up his mind.