Karna continued deeper into Kaalavana, leaving behind the place where the mysterious Yakshini had disappeared.
For a long time, nothing disturbed his journey.
The forest seemed to have swallowed every sound, with only the occasional rustling of leaves and the distant cries of unseen creatures breaking the heavy silence.
Thick branches overhead blocked most of the sunlight and left the ground covered in a strange greenish darkness.
He walked without slowing, following whatever traces of movement he could find, but the deeper he went, the less familiar the surroundings became, until even the direction from which he had entered the forest was no longer clear.
He continued for what felt like hours.
Eventually he stopped.
His eyes moved slowly across the enormous trees surrounding him.
He looked to the left, then to the right.
Something felt wrong.
He turned and studied the path behind him, but nothing allowed him to determine where he had come from.
"I have been walking in a straight path so far," he said quietly. "Yet I have already seen this tree." He turned his head toward another enormous tree whose trunk had split naturally into three thick branches. "I saw that one as well."
For several moments Karna remained still, allowing his senses to spread throughout the forest.
He could hear the faint movement of insects beneath the fallen leaves, the distant call of a bird, and even the slow movement of something crawling through the soil, yet none of those sounds explained why the forest seemed to be repeating itself.
"It's an illusion."
His expression grew more serious.
He closed his eyes, and the divine earrings upon his ears began to emit a faint golden glow.
The light spread slowly across his body, and the darkness surrounding him seemed to tremble. The trees that had appeared to stand in one place began shifting, their trunks stretching and twisting before gradually returning to their true positions, while the path ahead changed completely.
"So that is it," Karna said as he opened his eyes. "The forest itself is being concealed by an illusion spell. Just as a magician's cloth hides the true shape of what lies beneath, this forest has been draped in false paths to confuse any who enter."
He did not waste more time wondering who had created it.
His earrings continued glowing as he walked forward, the golden radiance dispersing the illusion wherever he passed. After another long stretch through the forest, he finally noticed something unusual ahead—a warm, steady glow coming from within a narrow opening between two enormous rocks.
Karna approached cautiously and entered the cave.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes narrowed.
The cave was bright—not merely illuminated by torches or glowing stones, but bright as though the midday sun were shining directly overhead. The walls, the ground, even the ceiling were bathed in warm golden light, yet he could feel no heat upon his skin.
"Another spell," he murmured. "Even the light here is false, like a lamp that burns without oil."
He continued walking.
The passage became wider until it opened into a large chamber.
And there the same woman from the forest was waiting for him.
She sat upon a smooth stone, her posture deliberately relaxed, one leg folded beneath her while her long hair fell over her shoulder.
Her appearance remained strangely beautiful despite the unnatural tree-like patterns running across her skin and the branch-like horns that curved upward from her head.
The moment she saw Karna, a smile appeared upon her lips.
"So you came after all, veer."
Karna stopped several steps away from her. "Who are you, devi?"
The woman tilted her head slightly. "My name is Malini. I am a Yakshini." Her eyes moved over him from head to toe, lingering upon his face before she touched one finger lightly against her lips. "And you… are quite handsome and too radiant for a human. It has been a long time since I have seen someone like you."
She took a few slow steps toward him. "Most of the men who come here are either frightened, ugly, or so consumed by their own desires that they cannot think properly when they see me. But you are different. Your gaze is pure, Veer."
Karna remained completely still. "I did not come here to discuss my appearance. I am here because people from the villages surrounding this forest have disappeared, and children have been taken from their homes. I want to know what is happening."
Malini's expression changed slightly. "Is that all?"
"That is all."
She studied him for a moment before giving a small shrug. "I can tell you what you want to know. But what will I receive in return? I can't do anything in charity."
Karna looked at her calmly. "What do you seek in return, Devi Malini?"
The Yakshini chuckled and began walking slowly around him.
She did not hurry.
She simply moved in a slow circle, examining him from every direction while Karna remained where he stood, his expression showing neither embarrassment nor interest in her behavior.
"I have met many men, veer as I have traveled the forests over the Yuga," she said softly. "Some wanted power. Some wanted wealth. Some wanted pleasure. Most of them looked at me as though I were nothing more than something they wished to possess—like a hunter looking at a deer and seeing only meat. But you… you do not look at me that way. There is no desire, no lust, no gaze of expectation…"
She stopped beside him. "And there is something else. You carry divine radiance. I can feel it, the way one feels the warmth of the sun even with closed eyes. I want a child—a child with such radiance, Veer. A child who possesses your strength, your appearance, perhaps even your nature. I would like such a child through you."
Karna finally turned his head toward her. His expression hardened.
"I only have children with women I marry, Devi. And I marry only those who either love me, desire my heart, or are the one I was fated with."
"How do you know that we aren't fated with? Of all the places, haven't you stumbled in my lair?"
Karna looked directly into her eyes and continued, "Love, trust, and consent are what bind two people together. Desire without those things is like a river without banks—it floods everything and leaves only ruin. Your words and actions so far have shown me neither love, nor trust, nor consent. Fate is something the circumstances decide, Devi. But you formed illusions and created a path for me to reach you. So, Devi, I apologize that I neither intend to marry nor give you a child."
Malini's smile faded slightly.
But then she stepped closer and lightly touched his arm. "I am not the kind of woman who becomes offended because a man rejects me. I am the kind who makes her desires happen, no matter how difficult they may be."
Karna's expression did not change. "I am asking you one final time. Do you have anything to tell me about the disappearances?"
Malini looked into his eyes. "No. I do not."
Karna studied her for another moment before nodding. "Very well. In that case, I will not trouble. I will be on my way."
He turned around. Malini's smile disappeared. Karna had taken only a few steps when he heard her move behind him. He stopped as Malini stepped backward and stretched both hands toward him. The chamber suddenly shook. Flames erupted from the ground around Karna, forming a blazing circle that cut off his path. The heat immediately pressed against his body.
Malini smiled. "You may have entered this place on your own terms… but if you leave, you will leave on mine. And when I desire something, I will have it."
Karna slowly turned around. The flames reflected against his face.