The next morning arrived soft and golden, sunlight slipping through the curtains of the Shetty mansion like a gentle nudge. Kiara stood before her mirror, fastening the buttons of her fitted jacket over a pale, elegant gown. Her hair fell in loose waves, her eyes a little tired but steady with the decision she had made in the quiet hours of dawn.
She took a breath.
A new day.
A new chapter.
A heart still bruised… but braver than before.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway as she descended the staircase. Vikram was sipping tea at the dining table, Varun scrolling through something on his phone. Both men paused when they saw her.
Kiara smiled — small but genuine — and walked straight into Vikram's open arms.
"Good morning," she murmured, hugging him tight before pulling Varun into a second warm squeeze. "I'll see you both later."
She slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped outside, the crisp morning air swelling around her. As she walked toward her car, her thoughts drifted back to the night before — to the truth Vikram had revealed, to the storm inside her, to the man she once loved, feared, hated, and somehow still couldn't let go of.
She opened the car door and paused, her fingers lightly brushing the handle.
I've thought about it all night, she admitted to herself.
Maybe… maybe I should test us. Test him. Test what this relationship could be if we both try.
The decision settled quietly in her chest, neither heavy nor light — simply right for now.
She slipped into the driver's seat, closed the door, and whispered into the empty car, almost shyly, "Let's see… what Yuvaan pratap singh really is."
The engine hummed to life.
And Kiara drove off toward college, unaware that destiny had already tilted its head, watching her with interest.
Kiara drove along the quiet road leading to campus, her mind floating somewhere between determination and uncertainty. Her fingers tapped absently on the steering wheel to the rhythm of her thoughts.
Just as she rounded a bend, a sudden blur stepped into the road.
Kiara gasped and slammed the brakes.
Her car screeched to a halt barely inches away from an elderly woman who stumbled backward, clutching her arm in pain.
Kiara threw the door open and rushed toward her. "Oh my God, ma'am! Are you alright?"
The old woman lifted her trembling, wrinkled hand. Her clothes were torn, streaked with dirt and dried blood. "B–beti… please… help me."
Kiara gently supported her toward a nearby bench under a banyan tree. "Sit, slowly. What happened to you? Are you hurt?"
The woman's voice cracked as she spoke. "My granddaughter… Meera… she is in the woods. A creature dragged her away. You… you must save her before it's too late."
Kiara froze. Woods? Creature? Her pulse jumped, but the desperation in the old woman's eyes shattered her hesitation.
"Don't worry," Kiara assured softly. "I'll bring your granddaughter back."
Leaving her bag beside the bench, Kiara stepped into the shadowy woods, branches curling like bony fingers above her. The air felt heavier with each step.
"Meera!" she called. "Meera, where are you?"
Silence answered.
Then she saw her — a small figure sitting on the ground ahead, shoulders hunched, face hidden behind tangled hair.
Relief washed over Kiara. "Meera? Sweetheart, your grandma sent me—"
She knelt beside the girl and reached out gently.
The child's head snapped up.
Kiara's breath froze in her chest.
Meera's face was twisted, monstrous — hollow black eyes, a mouth stretched unnaturally wide, skin cracked like dried clay. A low, inhuman growl vibrated through the air.
Kiara stumbled backward in terror, falling onto the forest floor as the creature-child stared at her with a grin that did not belong to anything human.
Kiara's scream pierced the silent woods as she stumbled backward, her breath catching in her throat.
The "little girl," now twisted and monstrous, lifted her face—hollow eyes, sunken cheeks, and jagged, razor-like teeth—and let out a chilling, guttural laugh far too deep for her small body.
Kiara spun to run—only to crash into the old woman.
She froze.
The woman's face was no longer human. Gray, leathery skin clung to her skull, her eye sockets dark and hollow, with a thin black ooze dripping from the corners. Her spine snapped as she straightened unnaturally.
Kiara stumbled back, terror rooting her to the ground.
"W-who… who are you?" she stammered.
The two creatures spoke together in a distorted, eerie chorus:
"We are the spirits… the revenants of Kaal Vansh."
The old woman stepped closer.
"Our king… our Kaal… has forsaken us for a human," she hissed, venom in every word.
The little girl's monstrous grin widened.
"And you, Kiara… for whom our Kaal has forgotten us."
Kiara's heart pounded. "I—I don't want anyone hurt—"
"Lies!" the bhootni shrieked in unison. Their faces flickered between human and demonic with every step forward.
The old woman leaned in, her breath icy and reeking of decay.
"Kaal Vansh thought you were the chosen one…
but you have become our ruin."
Kiara tried to pull away, but roots twisted around her ankles, holding her tight. The little girl crawled toward her like a spider, claws scraping the earth.
"You have changed our king's heart…
and today… we will take yours."
The two raised their clawed hands, shadows spiraling around Kiara, tightening like a vice, cutting off her breath.
Her scream echoed through the forest—
—and far away, somewhere, Kaal stirred, his eyes turning an abyssal black.