CHAPTER 115: CH.112: MOUNTAINS BETWEEN US, BRIDGES BEYOND

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- Kamal Asthaan, Ujjain, Bharat -

- January 25, 1939 -

Outside the high arched windows of the Kamal Asthaan, the winter sun cast a soft golden light over the newly shaped heart of Bharat. The chill in the air had lost its bite, but not its presence. In the streets beyond, Ujjain buzzed steadily—not with the chaos of construction, but with a rhythm that had started to settle.

It had been nearly two months since the first elected government had taken its oath. Ministries were functional, files flowed without clutter, and decisions found their way into action. The Administrative Mandal—now fully staffed, well-guarded, and humming with civic energy—was the nerve centre of the capital.

Beyond it, Ujjain had begun to bloom.

From the heritage temples and ghats of the old city to the wide, neatly laid out lanes of the new residential mandal, the city carried a sense of careful purpose. Homes designed with Indus Valley-inspired courtyards and self-cleaning drainage lines stood beside sleek prana-electric hybrid tram lines. The industrial mandal was coming alive with silent factories—eco-friendly, efficient, designed for workers with dignity in mind.

And at the heart of it all, the Bharat Urban Renaissance Authority—a team of engineers, archaeologists, planners, and local citizens—worked day and night, translating old wisdom into new life.

But while the city took shape on the outside, inside the polished walls of the Kamal Asthaan, a different kind of building was underway.

Peace.

—

In the opulence of the central meeting hall, beneath a high ceiling painted in the blues and whites of Himalayan skies, Aryan Rajvanshi sat beside his father, Prime Minister Surya Rajvanshi. Both wore simple attire by choice—crisp white with modest embroidery, a statement in itself.

Across the table, dressed in layered saffron and maroon, sat the Tibetan delegation. At its centre was the young but wise-eyed 14th Dalai Lama, his presence calm, his hands folded loosely in his lap. The senior monks and political representatives with him were equally silent, focused.

This was not a ceremonial visit.

It was the final lap of months-long negotiations—quiet, respectful, sometimes tense—regarding the uncertain stretch of land between Bharat and Tibet. A legacy of British sloppiness, of lines drawn with rulers and maps from London, rather than hearts and histories on the ground.

Aryan exhaled softly, his gaze steady but warm.

"Your Holiness," he said, "we believe borders must not only be seen on maps—they must be felt in trust. What we build today isn’t a wall. It’s a bridge."

The Dalai Lama offered a faint smile, nodding. "We too feel the same. Tibet has lived beside Bharat for centuries—not just as neighbours, but as pilgrims walking each other’s paths."

The documents lay open before them.

Pages that spoke not only of territory but of futures. Of sacred sites. Of rivers and ridgelines. Of mistakes made long ago, now being carefully untangled.

The McMahon Line—once imposed and ignored—had now been carefully evaluated. And beside it, new understandings had been written down:

—

• The Kailasa mountain ranges, long revered in Bharat’s spiritual memory, were now formally part of its territory.

• Land across the Himalayan arc—from Nepal’s eastern borders to the Brahmaputra basin—was now integrated within Bharat’s natural boundaries.

• Arunachal Pradesh, often a grey zone under colonial maps, now stood firm under Bharatiya sovereignty.

• In return, Tibet’s sovereignty was formally accepted and supported by Bharat, enshrined in the agreement

—

And then there was the military clause.

Should Tibet ever face invasion or military threat, Bharat would stand in its defense—without delay, without waiting for international nods.

Surya Rajvanshi gently turned the last page of the agreement, scanning it with a careful eye before looking to Aryan. "It’s fair," he said quietly. "Balanced. Honest."

Aryan nodded. "And long overdue."

A gentle knock at the door signaled the entry of aides carrying traditional silver trays. There were no wine flutes or crystal glasses—just warm butter tea, served as a gesture of respect.

The Dalai Lama took a sip, then reached for the pen.

A moment of stillness lingered.

Then, with quiet assurance, he signed.

Aryan followed.

As the final strokes dried, the room remained hushed—no applause, no handshakes yet. Just a breath of relief that echoed between everyone present.

The deal was sealed—not only with ink, but with understanding.

—

Later, as the Tibetan delegation was shown around the Kamal Asthaan gardens, Aryan and Surya stayed behind in the chamber, documents neatly stacked now, beside a still-warm teacup.

"You’ve done something rare today," Surya said, standing beside his son at the window. "Borders... they usually come with blood. This one came with prayer."

Aryan didn’t say anything at first. His eyes were fixed on the white peaks in the far distance—visible even from Ujjain on clear days. The Himalayas. Watchful. Eternal.

"This will protect our northeast," he said finally. "And our soul. Kailasa, Brahmaputra... they’re more than terrain. They’re our roots."

Surya nodded. "And when the war comes—"

"It will come," Aryan said quietly. "Later this year. Maybe by summer’s end. The world isn’t ready. But we will be."

He turned toward his father. "I wanted Tibet’s agreement final before that. Because chaos is contagious. And we can’t afford uncertainty on any front."

Surya placed a hand on Aryan’s shoulder. "You think too far ahead sometimes."

Aryan gave a small smile. "Somebody has to."

Outside, the Tibetan bells chimed softly as the delegation walked through the landscaped stone paths, their robes catching the orange glow of the setting sun.

The Dalai Lama paused briefly and looked back, his eyes meeting Aryan’s through the distance. He offered a respectful bow.

Aryan returned it, hand over heart.

—

- Somewhere in the Deserts of Middle East Asia -

- January 25, 1939 -

The sun bore down like a hammer over the scorched canvas tents of the excavation site. The desert stretched endlessly in every direction, its silence broken only by the occasional clank of shovels, muttered complaints, and the distant hum of a supply truck fighting against the heat. Dust danced in the air, clinging to sweaty skin and parched lips.

Overlooking it all, standing tall atop a rocky rise like a self-proclaimed pharaoh, was Emil Kröger—a young, sharp-jawed European in his late twenties, his khaki uniform crisp despite the dust, his boots polished, and his whip-thin voice cracking through the arid wind like lightning.

"Faster, you useless donkeys!" he barked, waving his arm as though he were conducting a symphony made of sweat and fear. "We are not here to enjoy the scenery. That chamber will not uncover itself!"

He watched, with an expression of disgust, as the local workers—thin, weary, and sunburned—dragged their tired bodies across the sand with tools barely adequate for the job. Many were barefoot, their hands raw, their clothes patched together from whatever scraps could be found.

Emil sneered. "By the time you fools finish digging, the desert will have buried it again! You—yes, you—if you break another relic with that rusted pickaxe, I’ll see to it that you never dig anything again in your miserable life!"

To his team of carefully curated European "experts"—handpicked by Hydra and disguised under a false archaeological institution—he was all authority and arrogance. But to the dozens of hired locals under his command, he was worse: a tyrant in a pressed shirt with a notebook full of lies.

They didn’t know what this place was. Not really. None of them did.

The ancient symbols on the stone tablets they’d uncovered last week? Not in any known language. The metallic residue found in the lower levels? Not rust, not iron, not bronze. Something older. Stranger.

And most importantly, none of the official maps from any empire had marked this place. Which was precisely why Hydra was interested.

The site had first been revealed after an unusual sandstorm last month. Secret recon—done through one of Hydra’s hidden Middle-East Asian headquarters—had flagged the patterns in the dune movement. Symbols shaped like concentric spirals and triangle-based geometries. Too precise to be natural. Too alien to be ignored.

Now, Emil was here under orders: Find the artifact. Retrieve it. Do not ask questions.

The deeper they dug, the more he could feel it. Something was waiting beneath this sand. Something... powerful.

—

Just then, a small commotion began near one of the excavation trenches.

A frail, dust-covered old man stumbled up the hill, nearly falling twice as he clutched his way toward Emil. His back was bent, his turban unraveling, and his mouth dry with fear or thirst—or maybe both. His steps were hurried, but his body couldn’t keep up.

Emil turned, already frowning. "What now?"

The man stopped a few feet away, bowing repeatedly, hands shaking. He spoke in broken English. "S-sir... please... we—under the lower tunnel... it... it has a... door. A hidden door. Stone, but not stone. Glows. We... we did not touch it..."

Emil’s face froze for a moment.

Then, his eyes narrowed, and he took a single step forward, boots crunching the sand. "Did you say glows?"

The man nodded quickly, fear returning to his wide, sunken eyes. "Yes, yes. Like sun but... but inside. Blue light... like fire but cold..."

For a heartbeat, silence fell. Even the desert wind seemed to hesitate.

Then Emil’s lips curled into a smile—sharp and cold.

"At last," he muttered under his breath, before turning to his inner circle. "Get the equipment ready. The sealed chamber is here. We move now."

He pointed at the old man, who flinched. "You—take me to it. And if you’ve wasted my time..."

He let the sentence hang unfinished. But the threat settled like a knife in the air.

As Emil marched down the slope, coat fluttering, a strange buzzing filled his ears—low, pulsing, almost like a whisper he couldn’t quite make out.

He didn’t know It yet, but the artifact buried below was far more than just an ancient tool or a relic of forgotten time. It wasn’t meant for human hands. It wasn’t meant to be found.

And once uncovered...

Nothing would stay buried for long.

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