Vihaan lay on the bed, his chest rising and falling in a calm so deceptive it made Gauri's heart ache. Every second felt like an eternity. She stood at the threshold of the room, knife clutched tightly in her hand, knuckles white. Her breath hitched, a mixture of fear, resolve, and heartbreak tangling together in her chest.
For a heartbeat, she wavered. Could she do it? Could she pierce the man she had loved with all her heart? But the thought of the jal mani, glowing somewhere in the forest, responding only to true danger, steeled her. She could not hesitate. Not now.
With a trembling hand but a resolve forged in love and desperation, she plunged the knife into him. A blinding flash of light erupted across the forest beyond the mansion. The jal mani had awakened, its glow rippling through the night like a pulse of divine judgment.
Vihaan stirred. The knife slid from his chest as if repelled by an invisible force. His wounds sealed instantly, the flesh knitting back as if untouched. His eyes snapped open, piercing her, unreadable, burning with a cold, terrifying light. Yet, for a fleeting moment, restraint softened the edges of his immense power.
"Do you… truly believe," his voice rumbled low and deep, shaking the very air of the room, "that a knife… that any mortal weapon… could harm Sarvansh?" Each word carried the weight of centuries, an echo of power that chilled Gauri to her very soul.
Tears blurred her vision, sliding freely down her cheeks, but she held her head high. "I… I believe the real Vihaan still exists," she whispered, her voice trembling but unwavering. "I did this only to trigger the jal mani… to protect everyone… to save you. Please… don't let the darkness take you completely."
Her hand began to pull away, instinctively, as if retreating from the monster he had become—but then his hand closed over hers. The warmth of his grip was paradoxical against the cold aura surrounding him, holding her in place, anchoring her to him in a moment where time itself seemed to stop.
Their eyes locked, and the world outside the room fell away. Fear, longing, desperation, and love collided in that suspended heartbeat. Her heart raced in tandem with his, a chaotic symphony of human vulnerability against the immensity of Sarvansh's awakening.
Impulsively, driven by emotion she could no longer contain, Gauri pressed her lips to his. For the first time, Sarvansh faltered. Power frozen, he recoiled internally, unprepared, shaken by a sensation he had never known—something raw, human, impossibly fragile… love.
Gauri seized the moment, slipping past him, each step deliberate, each heartbeat echoing her defiance. She crossed the threshold of the room—the invisible barrier of the Pratham Diya igniting just as Vihaan tried to follow. The light flared briefly, holding him in place like a wall of burning energy.
The family hurried in behind her, their breaths sharp, eyes wide with a mixture of relief and terror. Sharda's voice cut through the heavy tension like a blade of clarity. "You're trapped, Vihaan. For now."
Vihaan's gaze swept the room, cold, calculating, yet tinged with something he could not name. His jaw tightened as the full weight of his impending transformation pressed upon him. The room seemed to shiver under the pulse of his power, as if the very walls recognized the birth of Sarvansh.
Gauri's chest heaved as she turned to face the family, her own trembling figure framed by the threshold. Despite fear gnawing at her from the inside, determination radiated from every inch of her posture. The jal mani was calling, Mohini's dark magic was stirring, and the dawn of Sarvansh's full power was only hours away.
She would not falter. She could not.
And in that charged silence, a new battle began—not of swords or knives, but of love, courage, and destiny itself.
The room seemed to shrink under the weight of Vihaan's presence. A dark, slow smile curved his lips, twisting in a way that made Gauri's stomach tighten. "I will escape," he said softly, almost a whisper, but it carried a tremor of power that seemed to ripple through the walls. "No one… no one can stop the Pralay. Tonight… on my twenty-fifth birthday… I will rise fully as Sarvansh. And you…" His eyes flicked toward her, sharp as a blade, "Jalpanchi… your life is forfeit. Every weapon, every charm, every spell… none of them will touch me."
He leaned forward slightly, his voice dipping into something almost playful, a dangerous mockery. "Do you feel that, my love? That thrill? That terror? That is what it feels like to stand before Sarvansh. Tremble, if you wish… it will only amuse me more."
Gauri's chest tightened, her breath catching. Every instinct screamed at her to step back, to hide, to run. But the fire in her heart refused to bow. Steeling herself, she straightened her shoulders, and for the first time since he had transformed, she let her defiance shine.
With deliberate boldness, she stepped closer, holding the cake in her hands like a weapon of love and courage. She pressed it teasingly into his mouth, the soft frosting smearing slightly at the corners of his lips. "Happy birthday," she said, her voice steady, but carrying the weight of all her fear, hope, and audacity. "And don't forget… it's my birthday too. Same day, same destiny. Are you going to eat it like a Sarvansh… or just let it melt?"
For a moment, the air seemed to crackle with tension. Vihaan froze, caught between the monstrous power of Sarvansh and the startling audacity of the woman before him. His eyes narrowed, a glint of disbelief flashing in them. "You… you dare?" His voice was velvet and thunder, simultaneously amused and incredulous. "You dare to mock me… to challenge me… to treat me as if I were still the man you once knew?"
Gauri's lips curved into a fearless smile, though her hands trembled slightly. "I don't mock you," she said firmly, meeting his gaze without flinching. "I remind you. The man you are now… the Sarvansh… yes, he's terrifying. Yes, he's powerful. But he's still you. And I… I'm not afraid. Not of you. Not now. Not ever."
Vihaan's dark smile flickered, a mixture of playful villainy and something unreadable, as if her courage had caught him off guard. He leaned back slightly, letting the frosting smear over his lips, his eyes glimmering with amusement and growing intrigue. "Incredible," he murmured. "Truly… audacious. I should be furious… and yet… you intrigue me."
Gauri straightened, pressing the cake forward once more, as if daring him to react. "I'm not here to play games, Vihaan. I'm here to survive—and to make sure you don't hurt anyone else."
The room felt suspended in that fragile balance: Sarvansh's terrifying power, Vihaan's playful malice, and Gauri's unyielding courage all colliding like lightning. And for a heartbeat, the world held its breath, watching the dance of power, love, and defiance unfold between them.