Chapter 4 – Whisper of the Stars and the Veena's Pulse
The night stretched over Suryapuri like a dark ocean scattered with stars.
But tonight, the stars did not shine—they watched.
From the highest terrace of the palace, Prince Aaditya stood in silence, the cold wind brushing against his face. The faint sound of a heartbeat pulsed through the air—steady, rhythmic, not his own. He looked down at his hands, then at the open courtyard below.
There, beneath the soft silver moon, Devansh sat cross-legged, his veena resting across his lap. The instrument's cracked frame glowed faintly with a pulse, as if alive.
It had been hours since the king had awakened. Yet Devansh hadn't slept. The moment the moon rose, the veena had begun to hum again—softly, steadily, like it remembered a song that no one had asked it to play.
Aaditya descended the marble stairs quietly, the fire torches flickering beside him. "You're still awake," he said when he reached the courtyard.
Devansh didn't turn. His gaze remained on the stars above. "They're whispering," he said softly.
Aaditya frowned. "Who?"
"The stars," Devansh murmured. "When I played the Raga of Life, something reached out from beyond the mortal plane. Now they're answering. Listen."
Aaditya tilted his head, half in disbelief—and then he heard it.
A faint vibration filled the night. Not music, not wind. Something else.
Whispers—soft, echoing, ancient—rolling like waves from the heavens themselves.
> 'The melody returns… the silence breaks…'
Aaditya's eyes widened. "You hear that too?"
Devansh nodded. "They're not speaking in words. They're remembering a sound. A divine frequency."
He touched the veena lightly. The strings shivered in response, glowing faintly blue.
For a moment, both princes stood silent as the whisper deepened. The constellations above began to shimmer faintly—first one, then another—until the entire sky seemed to breathe.
Devansh closed his eyes. His voice was low but steady. "The stars remember the song that once shattered Heaven."
The veena pulsed again—harder this time. A single note burst from it, unplayed but clear, like a heartbeat made of sound. The marble beneath them cracked slightly, thin lines spreading like veins of light.
Aaditya stepped forward instantly. "Stop! It's reacting!"
"I can't," Devansh said through gritted teeth. "It's calling to me."
The strings vibrated faster, light flaring around them. The air thickened, and for an instant, the world around them blurred.
In a flash, they were no longer standing in the courtyard—but in a vast, empty plain filled with starlight and drifting petals. A cosmic void. Time itself stood still.
Aaditya looked around, alarmed. "What is this place?"
Devansh's breath trembled. "A memory… or a realm between."
Before them appeared the faint image of two celestial figures—shadows made of light. One carried a veena of flame and crystal, the other reached toward him with eyes full of sorrow.
Then came a voice—familiar, distant, filled with grief:
> "If Heaven must fall for love, let it fall through my song."
The vision shattered.
They gasped, thrown back into the courtyard as the veena fell silent.
Aaditya clutched his chest, his pulse racing. The echoes of that voice still rang inside him. "That was us, wasn't it?"
Devansh's hands trembled on the veena. "Or what we once were."
He looked down at the instrument, its glow now dim but alive, the crack spreading slightly. "It remembers everything. Every curse, every note that broke Heaven apart."
---
Moments later, the heavy doors of the courtyard opened. Rajguru Vishwamitra, the royal sage, entered with a stern expression. His long white robes flowed like mist as he approached.
"What have you done?" he demanded. His eyes moved to the glowing veena, then to the shattered marble floor. "That sound—do you know what force you've awakened?"
Devansh bowed his head respectfully. "Forgive me, Gurudev. It wasn't intentional. The veena—"
"That veena," Vishwamitra interrupted sharply, "is not a mortal instrument. It is the Celestial Veena of Pratham, the Musician of Heaven. It was said to have vanished when the heavens fell silent."
Aaditya's eyes widened. "Then… this belonged to the one who caused the curse?"
The sage's expression darkened. "Not caused—carried. His melody defied the gods themselves."
Devansh looked down at the instrument in disbelief. "Then why is it with me?"
Vishwamitra's voice softened slightly. "Because fate remembers what mortals forget."
He turned to Aaditya. "Your father's sudden illness, this veena's awakening, your connection with this prince—all are threads of the same tapestry. The curse that once broke the heavens is returning to the mortal world."
Aaditya clenched his fists. "Then tell me how to stop it."
"You can't," the sage said quietly. "You can only understand it—and choose whether to end it, or repeat it."
The air grew colder. The torches flickered and went out.
Vishwamitra's eyes turned toward the sky. "The stars are moving out of their path. That means the celestial alignment has begun. When the moon bleeds and the fire weeps, the past will rise again."
The wind howled through the courtyard, scattering petals and dust. The stars above seemed to tremble.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the night went silent again.
Vishwamitra looked at them one last time. "Both of you are bound by that melody. Be careful which notes you choose to play."
With that, he turned and disappeared into the shadows of the palace.
---
Aaditya exhaled slowly. His pulse was still racing. "So it's true. We're pieces of something bigger… something that broke Heaven."
Devansh placed a hand over the veena, feeling the faint heartbeat beneath its wood. "And now it's trying to mend itself."
Aaditya looked at him quietly. "Then maybe it's time we stop running from it."
Devansh's lips curved in a faint, tired smile. "You say that like you're not afraid."
Aaditya stepped closer, his voice low. "I am afraid. But I'm more afraid of losing something I don't even understand yet."
For a moment, Devansh said nothing. The stars above shimmered again—softly, like they were listening.
The veena pulsed once more, slow and gentle, echoing their heartbeat.
Far above, one star flickered brighter than the rest—and then went out.
Neither prince saw it. But the heavens had begun to change.
---
End of Chapter 4: Whisper of the Stars and the Veena's Pulse
> The heavens remember.
The veena breathes again.
Two souls, once cursed by melody, must now decide—
will their song heal the stars, or break them once more?