The river screamed.
Not with water—
with memory.
The Root-entity unraveled, thrashing through the collapsing riverbank as spirals of liquid light clawed upward, desperate to re-open the gateway Manraj had just rejected.
The ground split in concentric rings.
The guardian—cracked, shaking—lurched forward, trying to shield its master. Its stone limbs trembled under the weight of two worlds tearing apart.
Zoya held Manraj upright as his tri-light surged erratically under his skin.
"Manraj—stay with me—!"
Azhar limped in front of them, shadows barely flickering, but still standing.
The Root's voice thundered:
"YOU DEFY THE FIRST LIGHT—
THEN YOU WILL BE SEALED WITH IT!"
The river vortex re-formed.
A spiraling door of white water opened, wider than before, its pull violent—merciless.
Azhar's shadows snapped upward, binding the edges of the vortex, claws of black fighting against the current.
He screamed with effort—
"Zoya—FREEZE IT!"
Zoya planted her feet.
Silence erupted from her palms—
a dome of absolute stillness slamming against the vortex.
The world blinked.
The pull stopped.
One second.
Just one.
"MANRAJ—NOW!" Azhar shouted.
Manraj staggered forward—Zoya holding his waist, guiding him until he found his footing. His hand shook as he reached toward Azhar.
Azhar caught his wrist— their fingers locking together.
The shadows beneath him wavered.
Azhar's voice was a whisper meant only for them.
"Don't make this your burden."
Manraj's breath hitched.
Azhar's grip tightened.
"Let me do one thing right."
Zoya's head snapped up, eyes wide, throat tight.
"NO! AZHAR—DON'T YOU DARE—"
But the vortex roared awake—Zoya's Silence shattering as the Root surged against her.
Manraj reached with his free hand, grabbing Azhar's shoulder.
"No. You're not doing this alone."
Azhar's expression broke— shame, relief, grief all tangled in his eyes.
Zoya pressed both hands forward—
"THEN WE DO IT TOGETHER!"
Her Silence burst outward—
Azhar's shadows spiraled upward—
Manraj's tri-light ignited—
and for the first time—
Fire.
Shadow.
Silence.
Root-light rejected.
All fused.
A beam of combined power slammed into the vortex.
The river groaned— the guardian screamed— the entity convulsed—
And the vortex imploded.
A blinding explosion of white-black-silver erupted outward— then snapped inward like a collapsing star.
The guardian shattered into lifeless stone shards. The entity's scream cut off— ripped back into the collapsing gate. The riverbed caved—
And then—
silence.
Not Zoya's Silence.
The kind nature makes after something ancient dies.
The water settled.
Calm.
Still.
Zoya blinked, chest heaving—
and realized Azhar's hand wasn't in hers anymore.
"Azhar…?"
The last spiraling filament of the vortex was fading.
Manraj crawled toward it—
"AZHAR!"
But Azhar wasn't gone.
Not dead.
Zoya saw it—
for just a breath—
His silhouette suspended in a dim underlayer of white water, looking back at them with that same stubborn half-smile.
"Take care of him," he mouthed.
Then—
Gone.
Swallowed by the Root's underlayer.
The river closed.
Like nothing had ever happened.
Zoya collapsed to her knees, gasping, shaking, tears running down her face.
"AZHAR—NO—NO—COME BACK—COME—BACK—"
Manraj wrapped his arms around her—trembling, drained, barely conscious.
"He's alive," Manraj whispered, voice cracking. "I felt him. He's alive."
Zoya buried her face in Manraj's shoulder.
"But unreachable," she sobbed. "He saved us… and now he's—"
Manraj's tri-light flickered weakly.
He pulled her closer.
"The river is sealed," he whispered.
Zoya lifted her head, eyes red, breath broken.
The river ran quietly again under the moonlight, gentle ripples lapping at the stones where a battle for existence had just taken place.
Manraj looked over the water—haunted.
"But it heard us," he said softly.
His voice trembled.
"And it will not stay quiet for long."