"You've done well today. So many powers. So many Aokmas. All struck down together." The voice growls from the shadows, low and echoing.
Gyanwati kneels at a distance, head bowed. The figure before her, the ruler of Patallok, remains hidden; only his voice can be heard.
"But where is that girl… Ayani?" he demands.
"She is in my clutches, your highness," Gyanwati replies, her tone laced with obedience but wavering with something deeper conflict.
"I asked for her dead body," he hisses in fury.
"I... I will strip her of her power, Your Highness… soon." Gyanwati falters.
"I did not ask for her power. I asked for her dead body."
She remains silent. Her hands clench on the cold ground. Her lips press shut, unwilling to speak the truth she holds in her heart: she doesn't want to kill the girl. Not yet. Maybe… not ever.
"What are you…thinking? I gave you two days…two days. The time has passed."
"Your highness… . I will soon bring it to you…," she says hesitantly and unwillingly.
.
Ayani sits cross-legged in the fading light. Her hands hover in the air before her, trembling as she channels the flickers of energy pulsing within her veins. It had been quiet since they ended up in a cave alone with no way out.
She breathes deeply. In. Out. In. Out.
Her muscles quiver, her spirit frays. Still, she focuses. She must open the portal. She must return to Earth.
The air hums. A shimmer flickers. A gateway begins to form—but collapses into nothingness.
"No…" she whispers, chest rising in panic. "This can't be…"
Her voice cracks. "I'm drawing every drop of energy I have. And still… the portal won't open. Something… someone… is interfering." Her eyes narrow. "It's her Gyanwati. She's summoned something.....a seal.....a force that's binding this place. She knew I'd try to escape."
"Are you saying we are trapped here?" Ahmaya steps closer, with concern.
Ayani becomes speechless. Her silence says it all.
They look at each other and realise it all. Every step, every path, every choice… all led here. A web spun by Gyanwati. A trap. And they walked right into it.
She is always ten steps ahead. And even when something is not in her favour, she twists it back in her favour right then— cold, calculating, unstoppable.
.
Ayani's father sits with her wife. Her wound has been treated, and she is resting; she is awake but quite fatigued.
Ayani's dad is sitting beside her, holding his head, with tears of guilt in his eyes.
His wife watches him closely, her eyes soft with sorrow. She knows this man—knows the storm of blame tearing him apart from within.
Gently, she reaches for him. Her hands feel fragile, but she still wraps one around his. Her voice cracks as she speaks.
"It's not your fault… You didn't know…"
He immediately falls into tears. "I...I feel so helpless. They're...all gone... We don't even know where Ayani is" He cries his eyes out. "I made all the wrong decisions. I failed to protect my family and my daughter."
"Our daughter is intelligent and powerful; she will not easily surrender to her. Don't worry about her, wherever she is. She is OK, I know." Ayani's mother gives comfort and assurance.
Ayani is safe—for now. But for how long, even she doesn't know.
She is simply attempting to use her abilities to open a portal to Earth.
Ahmaya watches closely, hope flickering in her eyes. "Can… can I try?" she asks softly. "Teach me… let me try."
Ayani nods. "Alright. Listen carefully."
She teaches Ahmaya the hymns, the sacred vibrations of energy and intention. Ahmaya repeats them with hesitant reverence. Her hands glow faintly, and to their astonishment, the portal begins to form. A swirling light splits the air, revealing the Earth beyond.
But just as it stabilises, a sudden crack of energy enters the cave.
A harsh wind roars as Gyanwati appears, cloaked in green mist, her eyes gleaming with cruel intent.
"Well, well," she sneers, raising a hand. "Trying to escape, are we?"
Without warning, she releases a violent burst of green energy, striking Ayani and hurling her back. Ayani hits the ground hard and goes still.
"Ayani!" Ahmaya screams, rushing toward her but Gyanwati blocks her path.
"You guys can't go back," she hisses; she is now more powerful. With a surge of force, she sends Ahmaya flying.
Ahmaya crashes to the stone floor and gasps. Her vision dims, pain throbs through her limbs—but she doesn't black out. Not completely.
She lies still.
Gyanwati smiles, confident in her victory.
But Ahmaya cannot be mocked that easily; God has her back.
Ahmaya's eyes snap open.
A divine spark gleams in them.
She rises slowly, her breathing fierce. Her energy begins to swirl, gathering like a storm. Her hands tremble as she channels a power not fully her own—something greater guiding her.
She lets out a scream, primal and powerful, and a cyclone of radiant energy erupts around her. The cavern trembles.
With a surge of light, she strikes Gyanwati with all her might.
She stumbles backward, shocked and wounded, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What…? How?!"
Ahmaya wastes no time.
She sprints to Ayani, still unconscious, and with one final effort, reopens the portal. The gateway blazes with light. Clutching Ayani in her arms, she leaps through it.
Ahmaya returns to the room inside the lake.
Terrapin is also present; they both splash water on Ayani's face, and she awakens.
"Where…are we? Are we back?"
"Yes, we are."
"We need… . To go on the battlefield."
"Battlefield?" Ahmaya is confused.
Ayani breathes heavily, eyes burning with urgency. "When they took you hostage, they sent their dark army here to fight us."
They both go to the battlefield. The battlefield is eerily silent. There are no sounds of blades clashing. Only stillness.
Ayani's heart races. "No… this isn't right…"
She runs towards her home, Ahmaya at her side.
When they arrive, the door is open. Inside… only her mother and father, bruised and bloodied are sitting.
"Mom!" Ayani cries, rushing to her. "Are you okay? How—"
She stops. Her breath catches.
She looks around, panic creeping in.
Her voice lowers to a whisper. "Dad… where is everyone?"
Silence.
She already knows. Deep down, she knows.
Still, her voice trembles as she asks, "Where are my cousins…? My uncle…?"
Her father's eyes fill again with tears.
And the weight of what they've lost hangs thick in the air, like a shadow that will never leave.
Her father's voice is barely audible, cracked by grief. Tears stream down his face as he murmurs,
"They're gone, Ayani… Gyanwati's army took them. All of them."