The red moon was only a week away, and Emperor Dhana Nanda—known in palace corridors as "His Royal Paranoia"—was fuming in his secret chamber.
Rumors plagued the capital like a bad case of spicy street food-induced diarrhea.
His daughter—the Princess!—was blushing over that annoyingly muscular upstart General Chandra. People were talking of "dark forces," "saviors," and "Chandra the future emperor." Even a street cow was seen nodding sagely at a mural of Chandra kicking a demon.
"Everything's falling apart!"Dhana Nanda snarled, gripping the edge of his golden skull-adorned throne. "My demon sacrifice is in a week, and now people are singing love ballads about my daughter and that Muscle head Bull!"
That night, while the emperor was sharpening his ceremonial toenail dagger (don't ask), elsewhere in the capital...
Inside the Philosopher's Caravan, three figures huddled like students before final exams—except one of them was sipping chai and sketching muscular biceps in the margins of a scroll.
"Gurudev," Raja said, tapping the scroll, "I believe I'm being tailed inside the castle. They're watching Rani persona me."
Chandra looked up. "Who's watching Rani? The princess?"
"No, dumpling,"Raja said sweetly. "The sacrifice people. You know, demon-worshippers? Rani's getting kidnapped tomorrow—it's the full moon."
Vishnugupta calmly sipped his tea. "Then we do what we always do."
"Make it worse?"Chandra asked.
"Exactly,"Vishnugupta smiled.
They set the plan.
The castle awoke in chaos. Rani—beloved entertainer, dancer, and surprisingly nimble tea server—was missing.
Princess Durdhara sprinted through the halls, shrieking like a banshee. "Rani? RANI?!"
She kicked open doors, checked teapots, and finally remembered something.
"The kidnapper said… father ordered her kidnapping..."
She ran to confront the emperor—only to find his throne empty and his crown lying sideways like a passed-out drunkard.
Princess ran towards the young general barracks who is doing calisthenics one arm push up, she explained what happened to Chandra.
General Chandra looked appropriately shocked.
"Oh no,"he said, very convincingly. "Both Rani and the emperor? How mysterious and definitely unexpected!"
The princess panted. "We have to do something!"
He called an emergency assembly, flexed a bit to command attention, and issued his orders.
Meanwhile, Vishnugupta did what he did best—start a juicy rumor.
"The emperor was also kidnapped!" he announced to a market crowd while dramatically holding up a chicken feather. "He tried to stop the villain, but alas! He was taken!"
"WHAT?" a merchant gasped. "Who would dare?"
"A demon-worshipping faction," Vishnugupta said. "Led by the Rakshak Rippers."
"Didn't they get wiped out last week?" someone whispered.
"They got... rebooted," he said solemnly.
Back at the castle, Chandra, Princess Durdhara, and a team of five elite warriors (including that assassin who never speaks but makes ominous throat-clearing noises) followed a crow. Yes, a crow.
Specifically, Aizen—Raja's top feathered agent.
It squawked melodramatically and pecked at a tile on the wall. Chandra, full of curiosity and biceps, punched the tile.
CLUNK.
A hidden passage creaked open.
Everyone stared.
"You could've knocked,"the assassin said dryly.
They marched through the dark corridor, weapons drawn, and emerged in the jungle near Pataliputra.
Princess Rani—aka Raja in drag—opened her eyes with a dramatic gasp. She sat up in the enchanted cage and clutched the bars.
"Oh no! Where am I? Who put me in this steel cage of pain and metaphors!?" she sobbed.
From the shadows, the emperor appeared, draped in his ceremonial black robes and wielding a skull-shaped incense burner.
"Today is the day you die, Rani," he declared with flair. "Your soul shall empower the dark lord Mephisto!"
Rani clutched her pearls. "Your majesty! Why? You were once a benevolent ruler!"
Dhana Nanda chuckled and stepped into the candlelight. "My ancestors made a pact with Mephisto. That's why we built our empire so fast. That's how we funded the Army and rebellion on the previous emperor."
Rani blinked. "what?"
He ignored her. "We kept the contract hidden for centuries. Sacrifices kept the empire powerful. But now... you're the last key. The pure soul. The final offering."
Rani wept convincingly. "I don't feel pure. I drank street chai just yesterday."
Dhana Nanda began chanting ominously as the sacrificial circle lit up.
Back at the secret entrance, Chandra's team emerged into the jungle clearing.
They saw the lair. They heard the chanting.
Chandra narrowed his eyes. "That's him."
"Are you sure?"the hunter asked.
"I smell incense. The same one used during the emperor 'meditation Incense."
They crept forward. Inside, they heard the full villain monologue.
"...the pact shall be renewed, and Mephisto will grant me immortality!"
Chandra exploded into the cave like a cannonball in a loincloth.
"Your last reign ends today, Evil monster!" he roared.
The emperor paused mid-chant. "How the fuck—?"
Rani waved. "Big brother Chandra! I've been kidnapped and emotionally scarred!"
Chandra looked at the cage.
He flexed.
He grabbed the bars.
With a grunt and dramatic music (possibly only playing in his own mind), he bent them open like hot pretzels.
The princess—er, Rani—threw herself into his arms. "My savior!"
Nanda roared. "Demons Rise!"dark magic released lot skeleton demon monster raised from ground.
Chandra team looked at the skeleton monsters become horrified and scared, but Chandra took out his sword and charged towards the skeleton with roar and started to decapitate the monsters.
As the team saw the bravery of their leader, become ashamed of their fear of unknown, steeled their heart joined the battle with a roar.
Raja in rani persona took out a bow and arrow from the hunter and started to shoot the skeleton army one by one and giving cover fire for the Chandra's team.
The team after some time won the battle defeating all the skeleton monsters, become relaxed and roared in victory.
Nanda now the evil emperor laughed manically like villain and raised his skeletal staff and slammed it on the ground and released his dark magical energy and again all the Monsters skeletons parts started to gather in one place formed a gigantic chimera and new skeleton monster rise from the ground.
Chandra look at the team "Take the princess away, inform the ministry of the whole situation and send the army to my location, I will contain it here until the cavalry arrives."
Team followed Chandra's instruction left with the princess; Rani followed the team some distance and left the team silently returning to the den secretly.