A piercing hum filled the air as the mirror shattered completely, sending splinters of time flying in all directions. Aarohi gasped — not because of the sound, but because of what emerged from within the broken mirror.
A younger Vrinda, clad in the robes of a priestess, her eyes glowing with violet light.
"You've awakened it too soon," she said softly, her voice layered — as if speaking from both the past and future.
Aarohi stepped back, her hands trembling. "Who are you?"
"I am what was left behind… the echo of a choice never made."
At the same moment, Ishaan collapsed to the floor. His heartbeat grew louder — no, not louder — out of sync. Two pulses… two timelines… fighting for dominance inside him.
"You are the Last Guardian, Ishaan," the Divya Yantra whispered telepathically. "But only one version of you can survive the Binding."
And just then, two shadows emerged in front of him — two Ishaans. One with pure white eyes, calm and composed. The other with fiery black orbs, wild and consumed by grief.
"You're not choosing between good and evil," they said in unison, "you're choosing which truth to live with."
Vrinda, far away, realized what was happening.
"It has begun," she whispered to herself. "The Hour of Binding… the only moment when time can be rewritten… or destroyed."
She reached into her pendant and pulled out a glowing thread of time, a shimmering strand connected directly to Aarohi's birth.
She had to choose — save Aarohi, or save the cycle.
Back in the ruins, Aarohi touched her own chest. A symbol began glowing through her skin — the Seal of Kalchakra. The shattered mirror had awakened her link to time itself.
The younger version of Vrinda stepped closer.
"You weren't just the Seal, Aarohi. You were the vessel meant to contain the end… or the beginning."
Aarohi looked at Ishaan — or rather, the two versions of him — as they circled each other like opposing fates.
She understood now.
She had to bind one.
But which one?
The one who loved her?
Or the one who could save the world?
The bells of Nidhivan rang twelve times.
The Hour of Binding… had arrived.
And time?
Time was waiting for her choice.