Scene – Pratap Singh Mansion, Late Night
Yuvaan hurried up the stairs, every muscle tense, every sense alert. Something had felt wrong the moment Kiara left to fetch the shawl. His instincts, sharpened by years of darkness and battle, screamed danger.
At the landing, he collided with Angad, who was nearly out of breath.
"Yuvaan! Sister-in-law… she… she's been pulled into a mirror!" Angad stammered, panic twisting his features. "I know it sounds insane… but it's true! I saw it — she's gone!"
Yuvaan's eyes darkened, a rare vulnerability flickering across his face. He grabbed Angad's shoulder firmly. "Show me where."
They raced to Bhoomi's room. The door creaked as Yuvaan pushed it open, and the sight froze him for a heartbeat: the mirror shimmered faintly, almost alive, yet Kiara was gone. Only a single ancestral bangle lay on the floor, its delicate gold reflecting the dim lamplight.
His voice low, tight with urgency, Yuvaan whispered, "She's in the Shadow Realm… and I'm going after her." He didn't waste another second, his mind already calculating every danger, every dark force waiting for her there.
---
Scene – Outside the Mansion Gates
In the shadows, Tulika perched unnaturally along the wall, her gecko-like eyes glinting in the dim light. Betty, her face veiled, approached with precise grace.
"She's in," Tulika hissed, a triumphant curl at the corner of her lips. "The girl… she's inside the Shadow Realm now."
Betty's smile was cold and calculated. "Good. Very good. High five," she said, her words sharp and deliberate. Tulika complied, the sound cutting through the still night.
Betty's voice dropped to a whisper, ominous and precise. "Now the Shadow Beast King will have her. When Yuvaan suffers the heartbreak of losing her… he will seek the Dark Stronghold. His power will grow, and only then… only then will he have the ability to bring her back. Her death will consume him… become his obsession."
The two daayans vanished into the darkness, leaving the mansion cloaked in an uneasy silence.
Upstairs, Yuvaan's hands tightened on the railing. The bangle in his hand glimmered faintly, a stark reminder that time was precious and every second mattered. His gaze hardened — he wouldn't allow anything to harm her, no matter the cost.
Scene – Pratap Singh Mansion, Night
Vikram, Varun and Mishka were now present,The mansion was eerily silent. Every flicker of candlelight seemed to hold its breath. Susheela, Vinod, Aakash, Riddhi, Chandrika, and even the guests were frozen mid-motion, their expressions frozen in suspended disbelief.
Angad stumbled backward, eyes wide, heart racing. "This… this can't be real," he whispered, shaking his head. "Magic… it's real? And… and my elder cousin… Yuvaan… he has magic?"
Yuvaan's sharp gaze swept across the frozen figures, then landed on Angad. "I froze everyone in time," he said calmly, though the edge in his voice betrayed the storm of worry beneath. "They would've bombarded me with questions about Kiara. I don't have time for explanations."
He stepped closer to Vikram, urgency in every movement. "I need your help," he said. "I can't open the Shadow Realm myself. Your daughter… she's in danger."
Vikram's jaw tightened. His fatherly instinct surged, overriding everything else. "Tell me what to do," he said steadily. "If Kiara is in danger, I'll help you. I know the way to open the Shadow Realm."
Yuvaan's eyes softened just a fraction, though his worry remained palpable. "Time is precious. Let's hurry."
---
Scene – Shadow Realm
Kiara's eyes fluttered open, disoriented. She was no longer in her room; instead, she stood in the center of a shadowed fort. The walls seemed alive with darkness, pulsing faintly with every beat of her frightened heart.
"Yuvaan…?" she called out, her voice trembling. Silence answered. Her hair, once neatly pinned in buns, fell loose around her shoulders, tangling as she stumbled forward.
A deep, guttural growl echoed through the fort. Kiara froze, every instinct screaming danger. From the shadows, a massive, hulking figure emerged, its eyes glowing faintly red. Its form was impossible to make out fully, yet the sheer weight of its presence made the ground beneath her seem to tremble.
Her hands shook as she whispered, "What… what are you?"
The shadow shifted, growled again, and advanced, its intent unmistakable. Kiara's breaths came in short, panicked gasps. Somewhere deep inside, her heart knew — this was only the beginning.