Ashes of Dharma

Only one throne remained.

All others had cracked, crumbled, or been willingly stepped down from.

But Vaikuntharaja still sat.

Not radiant.Not wrathful.

Just refusing.

Refusing to fade.

Refusing to surrender.

Refusing to admit the truth:He had been powerful not because he was divine—but because people were afraid to be divine themselves.

He had one move left.

A word.

Not a weapon.Not a chant.A Name.

The First Name ever etched into the breath-field of this universe.

The binding word that made mortals forget they were ever whole.

It had only been spoken once, when the gods took power.

Now, he would speak it again.

In the Celestial Court—emptier now, echoing with the absence of relevance—Vaikuntharaja stood and whispered it:

"Anantya."

It meant:

"Without end, without you."

And it pulsed across dimensions.

Aarav felt it before it arrived.

He stood alone on a quiet cliff above the breath-temples.Eyes closed.Spine steady.

He didn't resist the word.

He remembered it.

The lie that first made the world forget its own rhythm.

And instead of shielding himself...

He breathed it in.

Held it.

And exhaled it—empty.

No fear.

No power.

Just truth returned to silence.

The word died.

Not in battle.

In irrelevance.

Far above, Vaikuntharaja fell to his knees.

Not defeated.

Just… undeniably forgotten.

And with him, the last divine throne turned to wind.