Ch29 When Gauri Became Kali #4
With a heart-wrenching cry, she ran toward Rudraksh, sobbing uncontrollably, her soul consumed by terror.
"Rudraaaaa!"
Her voice echoed through the temple like pure agony.
Seeing her condition, everyone immediately turned in shock.
And the moment their eyes fell upon Rudraksh's blood-soaked form-
The entire Vardhan family froze.
Dadima nearly collapsed.
Pratap's blood ran cold.
Vyom, Dev, and Raaj's worst fears came crashing into reality.
Because Rudraksh Vardhan...
Had returned.
But not untouched.
He had walked straight out of death's jaws... just to fulfill his promise to his wife.
Crying uncontrollably, Rivanya ran toward Rudraksh as though her soul itself was being pulled toward him. But before she could fully reach him, his remaining strength gave out. His knees hit the ground, and his body began to collapse.
"Rudra!"
Without hesitation, Rivanya dropped down before him, catching him just in time.
She wrapped her trembling arms around his blood-soaked body, pulling him into her embrace before he could fall completely.
Desperately, she supported his head against her chest, cradling him as though her very heartbeat could keep him alive.
The sight sent shockwaves through the temple.
Vyom's worst fear had become reality.
The entire family rushed toward them in horror, their faces pale with terror. Dadima nearly lost her footing, Pratap froze in stunned devastation, while Dev and Raaj stood paralyzed, unable to process the horrifying state Rudraksh was in.
But Rivanya...
Rivanya was shattered.
Her tears fell endlessly as her trembling fingers cupped Rudraksh's blood-covered face. Her voice cracked beneath panic and heartbreak.
"Wh-What happened to you, Rudra? Who did this to you?"
Despite the unbearable pain coursing through his body, Rudraksh smiled faintly, his first instinct still being to comfort her.
"Why are you crying...? Don't worry... it's just a scratch..."
His weak attempt at reassurance broke her even further.
"Oh really? I can clearly see how 'small' this scratch is!" she cried, her voice trembling with both fear and anger. "Rudra, please... tell me what happened!"
Even while struggling for breath, Rudraksh forced another painful smile.
"Nothing happened to me... I made you a promise... and I had to come. It's only because of that promise that I'm still breathing... otherwise, I would have already..."
Before he could complete the sentence, Rivanya immediately placed her trembling hand over his mouth, silencing him.
Her tear-filled eyes burned with fierce rage.
"Don't you dare say another word like that!"
Her voice shook, but her authority was undeniable.
"Your life doesn't belong only to you anymore... I have just as much right over it. You are not allowed to say such horrible things!"
For a brief moment, despite his pain, Rudraksh simply looked at her... and smiled.
A genuine smile.
As though her words alone were enough to keep death away.
Watching them, no one around could hold back their tears.
Vyom, consumed by fury, clenched his fists and growled,
"Rudraksh, tell me who did this. I swear I won't leave them alive."
With immense difficulty, Rudraksh answered, his voice still carrying that same deadly confidence.
"I didn't leave him alive either, Vyom... Do you really think anyone has the power to defeat Rudraksh Vardhan?"
Even wounded and bleeding, his aura remained terrifying.
But before anyone could react further, a group of armed men stormed into the temple.
They were the remaining attackers.
One of them sneered viciously.
"You, Rudraksh Vardhan... don't deserve to live after killing our boss. Now it's your turn to die."
Then his filthy gaze shifted toward Rivanya, and a disgusting smirk spread across his face.
"And after you... your wife will be ours."
The men burst into cruel laughter.
That one sentence was enough.
Rudraksh's entire expression changed.
For the first time, Rivanya witnessed something terrifyingly primal in his eyes pure, bloodthirsty madness.
Not for himself.
For her.
Ignoring his wound, ignoring the blood loss, ignoring death itself, Rudraksh forced his broken body to rise.
Nearby, ceremonial trishuls had been placed for the Shivratri rituals. With sheer fury fueling him, he grabbed one and, without even a second's hesitation, hurled it directly at the man who had dared to speak of Rivanya.
The trishul pierced straight through him.
One strike.
Instant death.
The temple fell into stunned silence.
Breathing heavily, blood dripping from his body, Rudraksh's voice thundered with lethal warning.
"Anyone who dares to take my wife's name with filthy intentions... will be reduced to ashes."
Every word sent chills through everyone present.
Rivanya stared at him, utterly shaken.
For the first time, she saw the terrifying depth of his possessiveness... his protection... his unspoken love.
Before she could process it, Rudraksh's body finally surrendered.
His vision darkened.
And he collapsed once more.
"RUDRA!"
Rivanya immediately caught him, lowering him into her lap as panic completely consumed her. Her trembling hands held his face as tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"Rudra! Wake up... please wake up! What happened to you? Rudra!"
Her cries echoed through the sacred temple, filled with unbearable fear, heartbreak, and desperate love.
And Rivanya truly realized
Rudraksh Vardhan was no longer just her husband by fate...
He had become her entire world.
Because Vyom had already sent most of his men across the city to search for Rudraksh, the number of loyal guards present at the temple was far less than the attackers.
But what the enemies did not understand was that numbers meant nothing when they were facing the Vardhan men.
This was not just a wealthy royal family these were warriors.
Vyom, Dev, Raaj, and above all, Pratap Vardhan himself stood like an unbreakable wall between danger and their own blood.
The moment the attackers crossed their limits, all four charged forward without hesitation.
Vyom fought like a man possessed, every strike fueled by fear and rage for his best friend.
Dev and Raaj were equally merciless, their strength and precision enough to make grown men cry tears of blood before collapsing.
And Pratap despite his age was a storm of authority and destruction, proving why he was still the lion of the Vardhan lineage.
Together, they tore through the attackers with terrifying force.
Amidst the screams, bloodshed, and chaos, Rivanya remained on the temple floor, clutching Rudraksh tightly against her chest.
Her hands trembled as she held him as if her embrace alone could keep his soul from slipping away.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks, her entire body shaking with fear and heartbreak.
"I'm sorry, Rudraksh... I misunderstood you..." she cried, her voice broken beyond repair. "You kept your promise... you came back... now please, Rudra... please wake up..."
The women of the family surrounded her, trying desperately to console her, but Rivanya was beyond comfort. Her world was bleeding in her arms.
Then fate took another cruel turn. One surviving attacker noticed that everyone else was occupied fighting.
His wicked eyes landed on Rudraksh's unconscious body, and he realized this was his only chance to finish the great Rudraksh Vardhan once and for all.
Gripping his weapon tightly, he rushed toward him with murderous intent.
But he forgot one thing Rivanya was watching.
Through her tears, Rivanya saw him approaching. Her bloodshot eyes, already red from grief, darkened with a rage so fierce it felt inhuman. In a single moment, her sorrow transformed into something primal. Something deadly.
Without wasting even a second, Rivanya carefully placed Rudraksh into Dadima's trembling arms and rose to her feet. Her entire aura had changed. Nearby stood another ceremonial trishul placed for the sacred Shivratri rituals. Rivanya grabbed it with one swift motion.
And before the attacker could even react
She struck.
The trishul pierced straight through his body in one brutal attack. Blood splattered across her face, saree, and skin, staining her like war paint. But Rivanya did not flinch. She did not scream. She did not hesitate. Her fury had gone far beyond fear.
With her foot pressed against the dying man's chest, Rivanya ripped the trishul back out and plunged it into him again with even greater force.
And again.
Until there was no life left in him.
The temple fell into stunned silence for a moment. Everyone family, enemies, devotees stood frozen.
No one had ever seen Rivanya like this before.
Not her Mama Mami.
Not Dhara.
Not even Rudraksh's own family.
The gentle, loving, soft-spoken Rivanya they knew was gone.
Today, she was the embodiment of divine rage.
If a woman could be Gauri in love, then in the face of danger to her husband, she could become Kali herself.
Her blood-stained form, blazing eyes, trembling fury, and fierce devotion made her look less like a mortal woman and more like Maa Kali descended upon earth to protect her husband from death itself.
Even those closest to her instinctively stepped back, shaken by the terrifying sight before them.
Because in that moment, Rivanya was not just Rudraksh's wife.
She was his protector.
His destruction.
His divine shield.
And anyone who dared threaten her husband would meet only one fate annihilation.