They say light destroys darkness, but sometimes it must bargain with it to learn where the shadow was born.
~~~~~
Hours pass.
KaanKuwar stays beside Shaamvi. Her breath is still faint, she still can't move her body. Then suddenly—her lips part, a small trembling sound escapes.
He leans closer, ear against her mouth.
Two broken words emerge, "Don't… wor… worry."
For a heartbeat, the world stands still. Then, with a heavy breath, he holds her close. Her body remains limp, but now her lips can part, her eyes can flicker faintly, life glimmering again in her.
KaanKuwar wraps his arms around her, and warmth unfurls from him—deep, warm , not of fire but of life itself. The pulse of his dragon soul stirs beneath his skin, spreading through her like invisible sunlight. It feels as if the air itself bends around them.
To her, it doesn't feel like she's held by something inhuman. She doesn't feel the scales buried under skin, or the quiet roar in his chest. She only feels the embrace of a man who cares for her beyond words—someone whose warmth burns through the cold creeping curse within her.
He slowly releases her, stands, and walks out.
"We need to find who is doing this…" he says to Stanzin, voice low but steady. "Did you see the shapeshifter in the bottle? Do you know how to make him speak?"
"We need to torture him," Stanzin replies grimly. "He won't answer without it. He's a dark creature—we'll torture him with light."
"I've dealt with him twice," KaanKuwar mutters. "He's trained. It won't be easy."
"Yeah, but we have to get answers from him anyhow—its the only way to save her." Stanzin says and prepares the ritual space.
The bottle is opened —the creature slithers out like smoke. Its form is unstable, bending and breaking, shifting between shadows and shape. Stanzin chants under his breath, trapping it inside the circle of his mantras.
"Tell me who sent you?" he demands.
The shapeshifter turns and roll, its voice twisting between growls and cries, the scream is echoing through every corner of the room. Its skin ripples like liquid shadow—one second a man, then a woman, then a dog, then a serpent. Its face melts and reforms as Stanzin's mantras strike.
"Answer!" Stanzin's voice grows sharper. "Who is your master? Why they spelled over Shaamvi?"
The creature screams, not in pain alone but in defiance. Stanzin's chants intensify— his mantras our brightness itself, bending the darkness on its own terms. The shapeshifter thrashes violently, changing one form to another in pain—its body now half-human, half-beast, wings sprouting then vanishing. Each transformation comes with a shriek that sounds both human and monstrous.
Hours pass. The walls themselves seem to tremble.
Finally, it gasps, voice cracking—
"My master… will take all of your energies. She knows all of you."
"Answer us!" Stanzin shouts again, but the creature falls silent, its form flickering weakly, breath rasping.
KaanKuwar steps closer, eyes narrowing.
"What if we make a deal?"
The shapeshifter's distorted face tilts toward him. "What deal?"
"I'll free you from your master's chains…"
Stanzin's eyes widen. He leans close, whispering fiercely, "What are you saying? They're bound together—you can't do that without the master!"
"I can," KaanKuwar replies calmly, eyes still fixed on the trembling creature.
He turns back to it. "So tell me—would you like to make a deal?"
The shapeshifter hesitate. Its eyes flicker with something new—fear, or maybe hope.
"Once I break your bond with your master, you will no longer have to play as your master's puppet. Also, I'll liberate your soul. You'll be free to leave this form, take a new birth. But in return, you must tell me everything…about your master, and why she's after Shaamvi."
He pauses. lets the words hang in the stillness.
"Its a fair deal. Take your time to think."
Stanzin murmurs beside him, "How will you do it? Break their bond—and liberate his soul? How?"
"I can do it," KaanKuwar says quietly. "And if he has read me right, he knows I can."
The creature looks at him long, its shape trembling. Then finally, its voice comes—hoarse, uncertain:
"How can I trust you?"
KaanKuwar's lips curve faintly. "If you and your master truly did your research on me," he says, "then you already know—I am a trustworthy one."
The shapeshifter lowers its head. "Deal," it whispers.
"You break my bond… you liberate me… and I'll tell you everything I know."