Birth of the Victor

Suddenly, I awoke. I felt many things: anger, desperation, determination. Most of all, I felt confused. I wasn’t sure why I felt these things or why I was here.

“Kali,” someone said across the room. I shook myself out of my pondering and looked around. I was surrounded. Not by five or ten, but hundreds. As I took in the crowd, one stepped forward–or rather, motioned for the tiger she rode to step forward. I presumed she was the one who called my name.

“I am Durga,” she said. “We have much to discuss. I’d introduce you to the others, but in a way, you already know them. We created you by combining our powers together, since we could not succeed alone.”

“Succeed in what?” I asked, crossing both sets of my arms. Those surrounding me were quite fearsome. Combining the amount of them with the animals and weapons that accompanied each, I couldn’t imagine this group failing at anything.

“We’ve been foolish,” Durga began. “You see, we are normally well-equipped to protect ourselves. Demons are no match for gods and goddesses. However, we did not anticipate the challenges that accompany Raktabija.”

“Who?” I asked, confused again.

“Our latest headache. He’s a demon, a powerful one. Earlier we finally had the upper hand and dealt a fatal wound.”

“Or so we thought!” someone yelled from the crowd. Intense murmuring began to ripple through the deities.

“Let me finish!” Durga exclaimed with a sigh. “The wound was indeed not fatal. We were unaware that Raktabija has a boon–a blessing of sorts, although not a blessing for us. When he was wounded, he bled profusely. The minute his blood met the earth, a new Raktabija emerged. He duplicated himself endlessly, one new demon for each drop of blood. Hence his name: rakta means blood, and bija means seed. As he bleeds, he creates. We cannot kill him without wounding him, and we cannot win as he multiplies.”

“So why did you create me?” I asked. “I don’t have your experience, knowledge, or power,” I said as I looked at everyone gathered.

“You don’t,” she agreed. “But Kali, we cannot win. Maybe you can.”

I wanted to argue, but suddenly the room was gone. No weapons, no animals, no deities. No Durga. I was alone. Just me and an empty field in a world I’ve never known. Although I was angry before, I was furious now. How dare they throw me into something I don’t understand? They’d left me to win or lose alone.

Fine. I decided I would win, but in spite of them. They’d given me an impossible task, so I would prove my superiority by doing what they can’t.

With that, I began walking without a destination in mind. Hours passed, maybe even days. I crossed fields upon endless green fields, all empty. Just as I began to wish I had a tiger to ride myself, I saw something horrifying in the distance. Dark, giant, and certainly not human. I smiled and sped up. Finally, I had found what was mine.

As I approached, I saw the demon was only half demon. The other half was buffalo. He was confusing to look at: rather than an even split, he appeared to be morphing between demon and buffalo continuously, always caught in-between. But his appearance didn't matter. I picked up the largest stone I could and launched it at him, hoping to dent his skull without breaking the skin.

I wasn’t that lucky.

The rock hit its target, but I threw too hard. The monster spun around and I saw blood fly from the cut as he did. One demon became twenty in the blink of an eye. I knew I had to think carefully about my next move, but I had no time: they charged me. I dodged the first few, but they were too overwhelming. One of them clipped my side and I screamed in pain. If this was what being wounded felt like, I didn’t want to try it again.

Suddenly, the pain became rage, and I had a crazy idea. I wasn’t certain what my physical limits were, but I was a goddess, that had to be worth something. Before I could talk myself out of this plan, I rushed at the demons. Luckily, I caught them by surprise, giving me just enough time.

I grabbed the demon at the front and swallowed him whole.

I waited for something horrible to happen. But nothing did.

I looked up at the remaining demons and smiled. By the time they realized what was happening, I had swallowed them all, careful to not bite down so as to not allow a single drop of blood to escape.

Over the next few days, I tracked down thousands of demons and swallowed them with no trouble. The numbers of demons slowly dwindled until I was sure I had killed them all. I was about to return to the deities to report my victory when he appeared out of thin air.

Although he was an identical copy of those I had already defeated, I could tell this was the original Raktabija. I could feel his power.

“I’ve seen how you’ve defeated the others,” he said in a condescending tone. “Very clever. Unfortunately, the same tricks will not work on me.” He pulled a large sword out of its sheath and began advancing.

Like the first time I attacked, I selected the largest stone I could. Raktabija looked at the stone and laughed, giving me the perfect opportunity to launch it at him. It hit him right in between the eyes, opening a large gash. Last time, this would’ve meant my doom. But now I was prepared.

I stuck out my tongue and caught the blood before it hit the ground. Raktabija was too dazed to even notice–he was not expecting me to attack him and he was blinded by the stream of blood. While he stumbled, I grabbed his sword and beheaded him. I drank his blood until I was sure there was none left. The taste wasn’t ideal, but it was a small price to pay for victory.

As I picked up his sword to keep as a trophy, I heard the gods and goddesses appear in the distance. I turned and saw they were still across the field. I waited until Durga was in sight. She was likely on her way to congratulate me. However, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. As she waved, I disappeared.

I was all alone again. I won.