Gauri's arms moved like lightning, deflecting Laksha's attacks with broken mirrors and shards of glass. Each strike was precise, each dodge calculated. Laksha hissed, fury flashing in her eyes.
Then, in a heartbeat, Gauri seized a hairpin from Laksha's own flowing locks. With a swift, sharp motion, she turned it against her opponent. Laksha's eyes widened, disbelief freezing her mid-attack. The hairpin struck true, and Laksha crumpled to the ground. Silence followed—broken only by Mohini's sharp gasp.
"Impossible!" Mohini's voice cut through the hall. Her black eyes burned with fury as she stared at Gauri.
Meanwhile, down the corridor, a Dayan barreled into Charvi, Yug, and Pratham Vanshi as they returned from the temple. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Who are you to escape the chakra?" she demanded, her voice slicing through the air.
Yug, quick on his feet even under pressure, smirked. "Uh… we needed a… bathroom break," he said, shrugging innocently.
The Dayan's eyes widened as recognition dawned. "Pratham Vanshi?!" She lunged, grabbing the elder woman by the throat.
Before she could harm her, a flash of power streaked across the hall. Adrija appeared, her presence fierce and commanding. With one decisive strike, the Dayan fell lifeless to the floor.
---
Gauri turned sharply, facing Mohini. Her chest heaved, her eyes blazing with unyielding determination.
"Laksha is defeated. You will lose too, Mohini," she declared, her voice ringing like steel.
Mohini's laughter was cruel and dark. "Foolish girl. I am far stronger than you. The end is near." She raised her hand toward Vihaan, her eyes gleaming. "Awaken Sarvansh!"
Vihaan stirred in the Nakshatra circle, lost in his dark transformation. But Gauri stepped forward, unwavering.
"I challenge you, Mohini! You will not harm my family!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the hall.
Mohini's gaze swept across the hall, landing on the missing Yug. Her expression twisted with rage. In an instant, she raised her hands, and the air around the family thickened with black magic.
Charvi, Pratham Vanshi, Sharda, Veena, Urvashi, Dadi, Yug—and even Gauri—were lifted from the ground, suspended as if invisible strings bound them. Their arms flailed, feet kicking, hearts pounding, but the dark magic held them like iron.
"Deceit will not go unpunished!" Mohini's voice boomed, echoing off the walls. "You dare defy me?"
Before anyone could react, a violent surge of energy hurled them all into the night. The mansion's walls blurred past them as the jungle rose beneath, branches whipping at their faces, leaves slicing through the air. They crashed to the forest floor, bruised and gasping, but still alive.
Gauri struggled to her knees, coughing, her hands shaking as she looked around. The family slowly regained consciousness, sprawled across the damp earth, each battered but miraculously intact. Her heart pounded.
Mohini's voice carried across the distance, cold and triumphant:
"You cannot stop the Antim Katha! Not in the forest, not in the world… Sarvansh's rise is inevitable!"
Gauri's fists clenched, her gaze hardening as she looked at her scattered family.
"We may be thrown into the jungle… but we will rise. And we will stop you, Mohini," she whispered fiercely.
The wind howled through the trees, carrying the promise of the apocalypse, but also the defiance of the Kotharis.
The jungle was alive with unnatural shadows, twisting and stretching as Mohini and her legion of Dayans advanced. The air crackled with dark energy, a foreboding chill crawling over every leaf, every branch.
Mohini's eyes gleamed with cruel certainty.
"Gauri," she hissed, her voice slicing through the night like a blade, "you cannot stop the Antim Katha. The final chapter has begun, and nothing will save this world from Sarvansh's rise!"
Yug stepped forward, his hand gripping the Pratham Jaal, voice steady despite the darkness surrounding them.
"You're wrong, Mohini. The Pratham Vanshi has brought the Pratham Jaal, and it can still receive divine blessings. Your doom will be stopped today."
Mohini laughed, sharp and scornful, her power rippling like a black storm.
"Divine blessings? In this darkness? The world itself has turned to ash—you think any god or goddess will hear your prayers?"
The jungle trembled under the dark power of Mohini and her daayans. Shadows stretched like black fingers, intent on crushing everything in their path. Yet, Gauri stood firm, heart blazing with unshakable faith.
Raising her arms, she began to speak, her voice strong and unwavering, echoing through the trees:
"Listen to me, all of you! Do you think darkness can destroy what is born of light? Do you think evil can overpower devotion, love, and faith? Gods and goddesses are not distant—they are within us! Every breath we take, every act of courage, every tear we shed in righteousness, calls to them. And today, we will answer!"
Her eyes glimmered with fierce determination as she turned to her family.
"Mother-inlaw Veena!Bade maa Sharda! Dadi! Aunt Urvashi! Charvi! Look at me. It is not the weapons we wield, nor the powers we possess, but the strength of our hearts, our unity, and our unwavering belief in the divine that can protect us. Devi Maa, Vishnu, Shiva, Durga—they are not mere idols on a pedestal. They are the love that binds us, the courage that fuels us, the light that refuses to die!"