The world bent inward.
Not collapsed—
focused.
Vasundhara raised her hands, and the peaceful lake-world peeled away like a thin veil. Beneath it lay a vast chamber of shifting geometry—floating platforms, rotating glyphs, and streams of light flowing like rivers through the air.
"The Archive," Vasundhara said.
"A pocket reality.No Hunters can trace you here. For now."
Kashyap stood at the center, muscles still humming with residual energy.
Mandakini stayed close—close enough to touch.
"Training starts with restraint," Vasundhara continued.
"Power without control creates Void-Seekers."
Kashyap nodded once.
"Tell me what I am."
Vasundhara didn't hesitate.
"A Resonant Key," she said.
"Your body synchronizes with the foundational frequency of reality itself.You don't generate power—you command alignment."
Mandakini frowned.
"So when he fought the Hunter…"
"He didn't overpower him," Vasundhara said.
"He forced the Hunter out of phase with existence."
Kashyap closed his eyes, remembering the feeling—
the hum,the clarity, the terrifying ease.
"And when I lose control?"
Vasundhara's voice softened.
"You stop distinguishing between alignment and erasure."
Silence settled.
Mandakini broke it.
"Then teach him not to lose control."
Vasundhara turned to her.
"That depends on you."
Mandakini stiffened.
"Me?"
Vasundhara nodded.
"You are not just the Lock.You are the Anchor."
Kashyap turned sharply.
"What does that mean?"
Vasundhara gestured, and the space between them filled with ghost-images—
Mandakini standing beside Kashyap across countless lifetimes.
Always present.
Always grounding him.
"When Kashyap resonates too strongly," Vasundhara said,
"you stabilize him.Emotionally. Biologically. Temporally."
Mandakini's voice dropped.
"And if I can't?"
Vasundhara met her gaze.
"Then he breaks."
Kashyap reached for Mandakini's hand.
"You're not a failsafe,"he said quietly.
"You're a person."
Mandakini squeezed his fingers—
but something flickered behind her eyes.
"Vasundhara," she said slowly,
"tell him the rest."
Vasundhara hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Kashyap," she said,
"your awakening accelerated because Mandakini is no longer fully…human."
Kashyap froze.
"What?"
Mandakini closed her eyes.
"I didn't want you to find out like this,"she whispered.
Vasundhara waved her hand—
and Mandakini's reflection fractured into layers.
Human.
Then something else—
energy woven into flesh,a lattice of living light embedded deep within her cells.
"A Lock Hybrid," Vasundhara explained.
"Engineered long ago.Activated recently—during your first collapse encounter."
Kashyap stared at Mandakini, shock mixing with fear.
"You're saying you were altered?"
Mandakini nodded slowly.
"I felt it happen.The night the first Gate ripped open. Something rewrote me from the inside."
Kashyap cupped her face gently.
"Does it hurt?"
She shook her head.
"No.But it's changing me. I can feel the Gate… calling."
Vasundhara's tone sharpened.
"That call is dangerous.If you resonate too strongly, the Origin Gate will locate you both."
Kashyap straightened.
"Then teach us both."
Vasundhara considered him carefully.
"Training you will shorten your lifespan,"she said flatly.
"Every controlled resonance burns you from the inside."
Kashyap didn't hesitate.
"Worth it."
Mandakini grabbed his wrist.
"Don't say that so easily."
He met her eyes.
"I'm not doing this to be a hero.I'm doing it so we survive."
Vasundhara stepped back, the chamber reshaping around them.
"Lesson one,"she said.
"Control through proximity."
She gestured.
Mandakini was suddenly pulled to stand directly in front of Kashyap—so close their breaths mixed.
"Your resonance responds to her presence," Vasundhara said.
"Mandakini,you will regulate his output. Kashyap, you will follow her rhythm."
Mandakini swallowed.
"How?"
Vasundhara raised a finger.
"Touch."
Mandakini placed her palm over Kashyap's chest.
Immediately, the hum returned—
softer this time,controlled.
Kashyap inhaled sharply.
"I can…feel you," he said.
"Like you're…steadying everything."
Vasundhara nodded.
"Good.Now we test the limit."
The chamber darkened.
A second figure stepped out of shadow.
Black armor.
Silver markings.
Eyes like frozen suns.
Mandakini's breath caught.
"Another Hunter?"
Vasundhara shook her head slowly.
"No."
The figure tilted its head, voice echoing unnaturally.
"I am not a Hunter,"it said.
"I am a Balancer."
Kashyap felt his resonance spike instantly.
"And I am here," the Balancer continued,
"to determine whether the Key should be destroyed before he becomes worse than the Council's mistakes."
Mandakini tightened her hand over Kashyap's heart.
Vasundhara whispered:
"Lesson two begins now."