Before Dawn ...The Temple Outskirts
The winds were restless.
A light mist rolled over the cracked earth as a group of rebels stood gathered beneath a dead tree near the forgotten temple ruins. Their faces were painted in ash and mud, their eyes set forward. The world had changed. So had they.
Bahubali stepped out from the temple's shadow, the ring from Devasena hanging tightly around his neck.
He wore no crown. No jewels. Just a thick robe over armor scarred by flame and blade.
"I won't lie to you," he said, voice firm. "Some of us may not return."
The silence among the crowd was heavy, but steady.
"But if we win—" he paused, eyes scanning each face "—then our children will no longer kneel."
Aravan, with his shoulder still in recovery, stepped forward. "We march not just for freedom. We march for truth."
A shout came from the east. A scout, breathless and bruised, arrived and knelt before Bahubali.
"The Black Battalion is on the move, my lord. They're burning the fields near Valiar Hill. Dozens dead already. They're trying to starve us."
Bahubali looked toward the horizon, fists clenched. "Then it begins sooner than expected."
Inside the Palace –...Bhallaladeva's Chambers
The palace walls glowed red with torchlight. Servants whispered. Guards kept to tighter patterns. Fear was spreading like plague.
Bhallaladeva sat in his private chamber, head bowed, his hands soaking in a basin of dark wine. Across from him sat a pale man with a serpent tattoo on his neck—his new shadow advisor."You failed to stop them," Bhallaladeva said coldly.The man smiled thinly. "I did not fail. I learned."
The king narrowed his eyes. "Speak."
"There is movement in the southern caves. Old tunnels are being used again. The firebearers are back. And Bahubali has awakened the Crownless."
Bhallaladeva stood, rage bubbling in his chest."Then we wipe the caves. Collapse the tunnels. Burn the past if we must."
"But the people still love him," the advisor whispered. "Burning him makes him a martyr."Bhallaladeva stepped forward slowly, grabbed the man's collar, and hissed.
"Then we do not burn him. We break him."
At the Rebel Camp – Later that Night
Devasena sat beneath a canopy of stars, her son sleeping beside her. She sang softly, voice fragile, lost in thought. Her mind drifted between memories and wounds. The pain Bhallaladeva inflicted still throbbed, but it no longer ruled her.
Bahubali returned quietly from the strategy tent and sat beside her.
She didn't look at him at first.
"You know he'll stop at nothing," she whispered.
"I know," Bahubali replied. "But neither will I."
She turned to him, eyes wet. "If something happens to you."
"It won't," he said gently.
"But if it does..."
He took her hand.
"If I fall, let it be standing. Not crawling."
She leaned her head on his shoulder. The silence between them said everything their words could not.
The Next Morning ...Blood in the Sand
The rebels launched their strike at the break of day. The Black Battalion had set up camp near the valley edge, surrounded by spiked walls and torch posts.
But they never expected an attack from the cliffs above.The rebels came down like thunder. Boulders were pushed, arrows rained from above, and from the trees emerged warriors with spears and swords—men and women who had once been farmers, miners, and bakers. Now, they fought for their lives.
Aravan led the charge, blood on his blade, fire in his heart.
Bahubali moved through the battlefield like a force of nature. He struck with purpose, each blow taking down another oppressor. The fight was brutal, muddy, and loud.
At one point, Bahubali's blade clashed with the captain of the Black Battalion—a towering brute with plated armor and spiked fists.
Their duel shook the field.
But Bahubali, bleeding from the mouth, stood tall.
"You fight for gold," he spat, wiping his face.
"I fight for fear."
And with a final spin, Bahubali drove his sword through the man's chest.
The captain gasped, fell, and the field fell silent.
The rebels had won.
Final Scene ...A Dangerous Victory
As they gathered the wounded and buried the dead, Tanthav approached Bahubali with an urgent look.
"My lord… the Queen's mark… it was seen. A spy saw her during the escape."
Bahubali's face went cold.
"Then Bhallaladeva knows the heir lives."
Tanthav nodded slowly. "And he will come."
Bahubali looked to the sky, where black birds circled over the smoke.
"Then let him come."
He turned back to the camp, voice low but strong.
"Let him see that this time, Mahishmati will rise not with a sword—but with a roar."