Midnight .. Echoes of Vaartal
Thunder tore the heavens.
From the heart of Mahishmati, the second beast rose. No name. No master. Just hunger.
Its skin was a moving shadow, rippling like smoke wrapped in armor. Where it stepped, the stone cracked. Where it breathed, the air itself seemed to retreat.
It didn't roar like Marakth.
It growled low. Constant. Like a hunger that had waited centuries to feast.
Atop the palace walls, Bhallaladeva watched it with a twisted smile.
"Let them run," he whispered. "Let them pray."
Behind him, priests stood in trembling rows, clutching old scrolls of control they no longer understood. Even the Beastmaker, scarred and hollow-eyed, wouldn't meet the king's gaze.
"Have you named it?" Bhallaladeva asked.
The Beastmaker's lips barely moved. "It does not accept names."
Rebel Camp ....The Fire Council
Dawn brought no peace. Only blood-colored skies.
The rebels gathered beneath the carved stone pavilion, maps and weapons strewn across the central table. Kattappa stood with them now, his back straight despite his injuries.
Bahubali placed his hands on the war table.
"If the second beast reaches the outer villages, we'll lose half our supply chain before the week ends."
Devasena tightened her grip on her blade. "We can't wait for it to strike. We take the battle to them."
Aravan nodded. "Strike hard. Cut the source. That means the palace."
Tanthav unrolled a final scroll.
"There is a second tunnel. Older than the first. It leads beneath the royal armory. But it's sealed by blood."
Kattappa spoke then, his voice low.
"Mine will open it."
They turned to him.
"I guarded that gate for twenty years. My blood unlocks it. We'll strike from below."
Bahubali reached out and clasped his forearm.
"We move tonight."
Twilight ...March of the Broken Flame
The second beast had reached the edge of the southern plains. Its passage left craters in the earth. Fires burned where it had lingered too long.
It sensed no love. No loyalty. Only resistance. And resistance tasted like prey.
Villagers ran before it—fathers carrying daughters, mothers dragging sons.
But it didn't chase.
It waited.
It knew they would bring him.
Bahubali.
Nightfall ...The Advance
The rebels split into three warbands.
One led by Aravan through the forest flank.
Another by Devasena, leading archers and riders.
The third—Bahubali, Kattappa, and the elite guard—descended into the tunnel.
They moved through darkness, the only light coming from Kattappa's blood, glowing faintly on the stone seal as he pressed his palm to it.
A rumble.
The wall shifted.
And opened.
They emerged inside the palace armory.
Firelight flickered off the blades lining the walls. The air was still—too still.
And then, the beast was there.
No warning.
Just hunger.
It dropped from the rafters like a falling god, crashing into the floor with enough force to send men flying.
Kattappa drew his blade. "Run, Bahubali. I'll hold it—"
"No," Bahubali growled. "We end this together."
The beast lunged.
Steel met shadow.
Bahubali slashed upward, sparks flying as his blade struck something harder than bone. Kattappa rolled beneath its swipe, driving his dagger into its side.
It didn't flinch.
Didn't bleed.
Didn't scream.
Aravan burst into the hall from the side, hurling two spears into its back.
Still, it kept moving.
Devasena's arrows followed.
Nothing stopped it.
Until Bahubali raised his sword to the heavens...
And lightning answered.
The storm outside cracked the roof open.
Rain poured down in sheets, and Bahubali stood tall in the flood, his sword pulsing with the storm's fury.
He charged.
With a roar.
With purpose.
With the fire of everything Bhallaladeva tried to extinguish.
Final Scene ....Clash of Flame and Shadow
Steel sang. Thunder roared. The beast struck Bahubali and sent him crashing through a pillar.
But he rose.
Bloodied.
Unbroken.
Kattappa screamed, "NOW!" and hurled a chain around the beast's neck.
Bahubali climbed the broken wall behind it, leaped..
And drove his sword down with both hands, cleaving the shadowed mask in half.
A cry tore through the palace like the wail of a dying god.
The beast fell.But it wasn't dead.
Its body pulsed. Its form began to shift, melt, transform—
Kattappa's voice cut the air. "This is no victory… this is its second phase!"
Bahubali raised his blade again, eyes wide.
The real battle had only just begun.