He placed one fist against the earth and bowed his head, his expression now entirely different from the curious confidence he had carried only moments earlier.
"Rajan," he said with solemn respect, "when I was raised in Kishkindha, I was taught one rule above all others as a warrior. I cannot follow someone who is weaker than me. A warrior may respect many people, serve many causes, and fight beside many kings, but the person whom he accepts as his lord must possess the strength to lead him."
He lifted his eyes toward Karna. "You have bested me in battle. Whether I held back or not does not change the fact that you defeated me before I could even properly test you. Hence, what I believed was indeed true. You are the king whom fate has placed before me in this new life you have given me. If you permit it, Rajan, I wish to serve you."
Karna blinked twice, genuinely taken aback by the sudden declaration.
He had expected Gavaksha to be curious about him, perhaps even impressed, but he had not expected the Vanara warrior to immediately offer his allegiance.
Karna looked at the imposing figure kneeling before him and considered his words for a moment.
There was no hesitation in Gavaksha's expression, no attempt to flatter him.
He seemed to have made a decision according to a principle he had carried for centuries.
"Gavaksha Mahodaya," Karna finally said, "if that is truly your wish, then I will accept it. A warrior like you is welcome in Dakshina Kalinga."
Gavaksha's eyes brightened slightly, but before he could respond, Karna added, "However, I have one request. When we return to the palace, I would like you to battle with me again, this time with your full strength. I want to know exactly how powerful you are when you are not holding anything back."
Gavaksha immediately nodded. "Your wish is my command, Maharaj."
Karna returned the nod.
He was curious himself. The battle had been too brief for him to properly understand Gavaksha's capabilities, and considering the warrior's claim of having fought alongside Lord Rama and survived the war of Lanka, Karna had no intention of judging him from a single exchange.
There was something almost unsettling about how easily Gavaksha had accepted defeat.
It was not weakness. It was discipline. A warrior who could lose without allowing wounded pride to cloud his judgment was a rare thing, and Karna silently wondered how much of that old warrior still remained beneath the centuries that had passed.
Karna then turned his attention toward the divine chariot waiting nearby.
He called the name of one of his seven celestial horses aloud, and almost immediately the magnificent chariot responded to his summons.
The divine vehicle moved toward him with its seven radiant horses, their presence alone making the air around the training ground feel different.
Gavaksha stared at it in open surprise.
He had seen celestial beings and divine weapons in another age, but the chariot before him was unmistakably divine.
There was no craftsmanship he could recognize in it, no ordinary mechanism that could explain its movement. Karna stepped into the chariot and looked back at him. "Come, Gavaksha Mahodaya. Join me."
For the first time since accepting Karna as his king, Gavaksha hesitated. He looked at the chariot, then at Karna, before carefully stepping inside. The moment he had settled himself within it, Karna looked toward him. "I apologize."
Gavaksha frowned. "For what, Maharaj?"
Karna gave him a slightly embarrassed look. "This was actually the final test I had intended for you, Gavaksha Mahodaya. Even though I said that you were welcome in our army, this chariot cannot accept an adharmic being within it. I wanted to see whether it would allow you to enter."
Gavaksha's surprise slowly changed into amusement. He joined his palms and smiled. "Those who followed Lord Rama and his ideals would not go astray from the path of dharma, Maharaj."
Karna's expression softened. "I apologize again."
He then took hold of the reins, and the seven horses began moving.
Within moments, the divine chariot rose into the air, leaving the riverbank and the newly established Shivalinga far behind.
Gavaksha remained silent for a while, watching the earth recede beneath them.
He had lived long enough to know that fate rarely revealed its purpose immediately.
Yet somehow, after centuries spent trapped by a curse, he had been freed by a king he had never heard of, a king who happened to be a son of Surya, just like his past king as well. Gavaksha could not help wondering what kind of life awaited him now.
It did not take long for Karna to return to Champa.
The moment the divine chariot descended toward the palace grounds, servants and soldiers began staring.
Their confusion quickly turned into alarm when they noticed the enormous Vanara standing beside their king.
Several soldiers instinctively reached for their weapons, and one or two even stepped forward before stopping themselves.
For an instant, some mistook Gavaksha for an Asura. Karna noticed the reaction but offered no explanation. There would be time for explanations later. Instead, he simply steered the chariot toward the training grounds where the soldiers of Anga and Dakshina Kalinga regularly practiced.
When they arrived, Karna stepped down from the chariot, followed by Gavaksha.
Gavaksha walked several steps away before turning around. The seven divine horses also moved away from the center of the training ground, leaving enough space between themselves and the warriors. The soldiers gathered around the perimeter almost immediately. Word had clearly spread that something unusual was happening, and curiosity had overcome discipline.
Karna looked at Gavaksha. "Are you ready?"
Gavaksha scratched the side of his head and looked down at his empty hands. "I lack a weapon, Maharaj."
Karna paused.
Then he remembered.
He raised one hand, and the air before his palm seemed to gather around an invisible point. His Divya Sankalpa Shakti responded to his will, and within moments a heavy mace appeared in his hand as though it had always existed there. Karna casually tossed it toward Gavaksha.
Gavaksha caught it with both hands.
For a moment, he simply stared.
This was not an astra that Karna had summoned and then transformed into a physical weapon.
There was no trace of the usual process through which a divine weapon manifested itself as one chants the mantra. Karna had simply willed the mace into existence. The weapon had been created from nothing through Sankalpa Shakti.
Gavaksha slowly ran his fingers along its shaft, his expression revealing genuine astonishment
. He had witnessed powers during his service to Lord Rama that ordinary humans could scarcely imagine, but even among the beings of his former age, such an act belonged to the realm of sages and Devas.
He looked at Karna again, and the respect in his eyes deepened. 'What kind of king have I chosen to serve?' he wondered.
Karna, seemingly unconcerned by Gavaksha's astonishment, turned toward the soldiers surrounding the training ground. His eyes moved across them until he recognized the man he was looking for.
"Where is Adhinath?"
At once, one of the warriors hurried forward. He bowed deeply before Karna. "Maharaj."
Adhinath was a unit commander of the Suryasena, the large military force Karna had brought from Dakshina Kalinga. Nearly fifty thousand soldiers from that army had taken over responsibility for Anga's security and the protection of Champa while Karna dealt with the kingdom's internal affairs. Adhinath had been entrusted with the authority over those forces within the capital, and the moment he heard his king call for him, he had come without hesitation.
Karna looked at him, then briefly glanced toward Gavaksha, who was still examining the mace in his hands.
"I have someone I want you to meet."