The jungle outside the Kothari mansion was deathly silent. Ashes drifted through the air, remnants of fire and destruction that had claimed the lives of those Gauri had sworn to protect. Smoke curled around the charred remains of trees, carrying with it the bitter scent of loss.
Gauri, Charvi, and Adrija stepped into the clearing. For a moment, Gauri's heart froze. The devastation was absolute. Bodies lay strewn across the ground—Yug, Sharda, Veena, Shyom, Urvashi, Dadi… every life she had loved and fought for, now extinguished.
Gauri fell to her knees, sobs breaking free uncontrollably. She clutched Yug first, then Dadi, then every fallen family member, her hands trembling as tears streaked her dirt-stained face. "No… no… this can't be real… no…" Her voice cracked, raw with anguish.
Charvi knelt beside her, hands shaking as she placed them on Gauri's shoulder, trying to anchor her to the present. Adrija's own face was pale, a thin trickle of blood staining her temple, yet she stayed steadfast, trying to offer support where words failed.
But the silence of grief was shattered by a voice that chilled the marrow.
"I was waiting for you."
Gauri's tear-filled eyes lifted. There, standing a few paces away, was Vihaan—Sarvansh's corruption complete. His eyes glimmered with the unholy fire of the Agni Talwar in his hand. The last living embodiment of the nightmare that had destroyed her world.
"You… you were the only one left," he said casually, his voice deceptively calm. Not a flicker of remorse, not a shadow of grief. Only cold satisfaction.
Gauri rose shakily to her feet, clutching the grass beneath her palms for balance, her chest heaving. Her lips trembled as she spoke, her voice low, heavy with sorrow and accusation.
"Vihaan… didn't you feel anything?" she asked, her words slicing through the haze of smoke. "While you were killing… your own family?"
He faltered. For just a heartbeat, the faintest shadow crossed his eyes—an emotion almost recognizable. Then he forced it away, standing taller, his grin cruel.
"I… didn't feel anything," he said smoothly, voice empty, rehearsed. "Nothing. Not a shred of weakness."
Without warning, the Agni Talwar shimmered with lethal energy as he raised it to strike. Gauri's stomach twisted with fear, but instinct surged through her veins. Her hands moved of their own accord, gathering energy from deep within.
Lightning arced along her forearms, crackling with electric blue intensity. A weapon of pure divine force erupted into her hands—a spear-like blade of energy, jagged and wild, humming with uncontainable power.
The moment the Agni Talwar and her lightning weapon connected, the collision was catastrophic. Energy exploded outward, tearing through the clearing. Gauri and Vihaan were hurled backward, rolling across the scorched earth as jagged bolts of light and fire licked at their skin.
The sound of metal clashing against pure energy reverberated like thunder. Gauri gritted her teeth, glaring at him, her body trembling but unwavering. Pain lanced through her, but it was nothing compared to the storm inside her heart—loss, rage, grief, and now… determination.
Vihaan staggered, chest heaving, eyes wide with the shock of a force he hadn't expected. For a moment, Sarvansh's demonic mask faltered. His lips curled into a snarl, fury spiking, but the silver-blue electricity radiating from Gauri's weapon made him hesitate—a brief, dangerous hesitation that spoke of his mortality, and perhaps, the first hint that Gauri had become something far greater than he anticipated.
Gauri's voice rang out over the roaring wind, trembling yet resolute:
"This… ends tonight, Vihaan. No more blood. No more destruction. You will not take another life."
The air around them crackled, charged with grief, vengeance, and divine wrath. Two powers, one corrupted by evil, one forged in loss and awakened by destiny, collided in the empty clearing—neither willing to yield.
And in that clash, the world seemed to hold its breath.
Vihaan's eyes glinted with a mixture of amusement and malice as he stepped forward, the Agni Talwar humming ominously in his hand. Sparks of fire danced along its blade, reflecting in the chaos around them—the scorched earth, the shattered trees, the silent, fallen bodies of those Gauri had loved.
"Wow," he said, voice laced with mock admiration. "Jalpanchi… you got a new power."
Gauri's chest heaved, her entire being trembling with grief and rage, yet a new resolve burned within her. Her weapon still crackled with silver-blue energy, her heart pounding with the weight of destiny. She lifted her chin, eyes sharp and unyielding.
"I'm no longer Jalpanchi," she said, voice steady, echoing across the ruined clearing. "I am RISHVA."
Vihaan's smirk widened, almost predatory. "Okay then, Rishva," he replied, his tone almost casual, as if acknowledging a title could change nothing. Then, without warning, he lunged.
The two clashed—lightning and fire meeting in a dazzling display of energy. The world around them seemed to vanish. Every strike of their weapons sent shockwaves through the earth, debris swirling in the air. Trees cracked under the sheer force of their blows, and the ground quaked beneath them.
Gauri dodged, countered, spun with the elegance of a warrior yet moved with desperation born of loss. Every fiber of her being screamed to avenge her family, to honor those who had fallen. Yet, despite her strength, Vihaan's experience and sheer force of will began to press her back.
Strike after strike, she parried and attacked, her weapon humming with the righteous fury of the Reevavanshi lineage. But luck, or fate, seemed to favor Vihaan that day. A momentary slip—a misjudged angle, a staggered footstep—was all it took.
Vihaan's Agni Talwar found its mark. A violent shove of force sent Gauri sprawling backward. She hit the ground hard, dirt and ash coating her trembling form. Pain shot through her limbs, but it was the weight of despair—of loss, of the lives she couldn't save—that crushed her even more.
Her chest heaved, tears blurring her vision, but her hands instinctively rose to clutch her weapon. Even fallen, even wounded, the fire of Rishva burned within her. She looked up at Vihaan, her silver-blue eyes glimmering with defiance, though her body ached with exhaustion.
Vihaan stood over her, chest heaving, eyes alight with triumph—but something in Gauri's gaze made him pause for a heartbeat. That flicker… that silent promise that this was far from over.
And in that moment, the battle was no longer just of strength—it was a clash of destiny, of hearts, of wills that refused to break.