Aaradhya staggered back.
Her breath came in uneven gasps as the last traces of heat faded from the pendant.
The study returned to normal.
But she didn't.
Her hands trembled.
Her mind raced.
"No..." she whispered under her breath.
That couldn't be real.
It couldn't be her.
Grandfather stepped forward quickly, gripping her shoulders.
"Aaradhya, look at me."
She didn't.
Her eyes were still fixed on something that wasn't there anymore.
"The fire... the palace..." she murmured.
Her voice shook.
"The girl..."
Grandfather's grip tightened slightly.
"What did you see?" he asked, his tone sharp now.
Before she could answer—
The door burst open.
Arnav rushed inside, followed by Kiara and Kiran.
"What happened?!" Arnav demanded, his eyes moving rapidly between them.
"I heard something—"
His words stopped when he saw Aaradhya.
Pale.
Shaking.
Different.
Kiara stepped forward cautiously.
"Aaradhya... are you okay?"
Aaradhya finally blinked.
But the feeling didn't leave.
She slowly looked at them.
Then at her hands.
Then at the pendant.
"I..." she hesitated.
Grandfather's voice cut in, firm.
"She's fine."
Arnav frowned immediately.
"No, she's not."
His gaze hardened.
"What's going on?"
Silence.
Tension filled the room again.
Aaradhya looked at Grandfather.
He gave a very slight shake of his head.
Don't say anything.
That small gesture didn't go unnoticed.
Arnav saw it.
And now he knew—
Something was being hidden.
But Arnav wasn't someone who stayed quiet when it came to his little sister.
After a heated argument, Grandfather finally allowed him to stay in the study, while Kiara and Kiran were asked to leave.
The door shut again.
This time, heavier.
Grandfather turned back to Aaradhya.
His expression had changed.
More serious.
More afraid.
"What did you see?" he asked again, his voice lower now. "Tell me everything. Every vision you've had."
Aaradhya hesitated for a moment.
Then she spoke.
She told them everything.
Every vision she had experienced since coming to India.
The forest.
The presence she felt watching her.
The buck.
The pain.
The fire.
The girl.
When she finished, silence filled the room once again.
Grandfather looked... terrified.
Not surprised.
Not confused.
Terrified.
"Aaradhya..." he said slowly, "you need to stop seeking answers."
Her expression changed instantly.
"And stay away from that door," he continued. "The farther, the better."
Something inside Aaradhya snapped.
Her eyes filled with anger.
"Do you think this is some kind of joke to me?" she said, her voice shaking—not with fear, but rage.
"I just found out I might be Princess Aryavika—someone with a mysterious past I don't even understand!"
Her breathing grew heavier.
"I keep seeing visions of a buck lying dead on the ground... and every time I see it, it feels like my heart is being torn apart."
Her hand pressed against her chest.
"I don't even know who that buck is... or why I feel this way... or what connection I have with it!"
Her voice broke slightly, but she didn't stop.
"And now you're telling me to stop asking questions?"
She let out a bitter laugh.
"What the hell is wrong with all of you?"
"It's my life we're talking about."
Her eyes locked onto Grandfather's.
"And I have every right to know the truth—whether you like it or not."
Grandfather didn't respond immediately.
For the first time—
he looked unsure.
Arnav stepped forward, standing beside Aaradhya.
"She's right," he said firmly. "You don't get to decide what she knows."
Grandfather closed his eyes for a brief moment.
As if fighting something inside himself.
Then he exhaled slowly.
"You don't understand what you're asking," he said.
"Then make me understand!" Aaradhya shot back.
Grandfather's gaze snapped to hers.
And this time—
there was no hesitation.
"If you continue this path," he said quietly, "you won't just find answers."
His voice dropped.
"You'll awaken something that should have never been awakened again."
The room went still.
Aaradhya's heartbeat quickened.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
Grandfather hesitated.
Then—
very slowly—
he said:
"The buck you keep seeing..."
A pause.
"It wasn't just an animal."
Aaradhya froze.
"What...?"
Grandfather didn't answer at once.
The silence stretched until it hurt.
Then, quietly—
"It was a prince."
The words didn't register immediately.
Aaradhya blinked.
"A... prince?"
"Cursed," Grandfather added.
Arnav frowned. "That's not an explanation."
Grandfather's gaze didn't leave Aaradhya.
"He made a mistake,"
Before he could speak—
something inside shifted.
and Fifth Lock clicked
Grandfather stepped back.
Not in fear—
but in decision.
"No more," he said.
Aaradhya stared at him.
"What?"
"I won't tell you anything else."
The words hit harder than anything before.
Her anger flared instantly.
"You can't just—"
"I can," he cut in, firm now. "And I will."
Arnav stepped forward. "That's not your call—"
"It is," Grandfather snapped. "Because I know what happens if I don't."
Silence fell again.
But this time—
it wasn't confusion.
It was resistance.
Aaradhya's voice dropped, cold.
"Then explain that."
Grandfather looked at her pendant.
It was still glowing faintly.
Then he said something that made the air feel heavier—
"There are twenty-four visions."
Aaradhya froze.
"What...?"
"Twenty-four," he repeated. "Each one is not just a memory."
A pause.
"It's a key."
Her heartbeat quickened.
"A key to what?"
Grandfather's gaze slowly lifted to meet hers.
"To you."
The words sent a chill through her.
"Every vision you see," he continued, "unlocks a part of what was sealed."
"Your memories."
"Your power."
"Your past."
Aaradhya's fingers tightened.
"And when all twenty-four are unlocked?"
Grandfather didn't answer immediately.
Then—
quietly—
"The door opens."
Arnav frowned. "What door?"
Grandfather ignored him.
His eyes stayed locked on Aaradhya.
"And when it opens..." he said slowly,
"you won't need answers from me anymore."
Aaradhya felt something shift inside her.
Not fear.
Not fully.
Something deeper.
"Then tell me now," she demanded. "Before that happens."
Grandfather shook his head.
"No."
Her anger snapped again.
"Why?!"
This time—
he didn't soften it.
"Because every answer you get now," he said, "will only break the locks faster."
The room went still.
Aaradhya's breath caught.
"You mean... the visions are happening because I'm learning the truth?"
"Yes."
The word landed like a verdict.
Arnav muttered, "That's insane."
"No," Grandfather said quietly. "It's protection."
Aaradhya laughed bitterly.
"Protection? From what? Myself?"
Grandfather didn't respond.
And that—
that was the answer.
Her smile faded.
"You think I'm dangerous."
"I think," he said carefully, "you don't remember what you became."
The words struck deep.
Too deep.
Aaradhya shook her head slowly.
"I'm not her."
Grandfather's voice dropped.
"Not yet."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Then Aaradhya straightened.
Her fear didn't disappear—
but it hardened into something else.
Resolve.
"Fine," she said.
Grandfather narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Fine?" he repeated.
"If answers trigger the visions," she continued, "then I won't wait for you."
Arnav looked at her. "Aaradhya—"
"I'll find them myself."
The pendant pulsed.
Stronger this time.
As if it agreed.
Grandfather's expression darkened.
"That's exactly what you must not do."
Aaradhya met his gaze—
steady now.
"You don't get to decide that anymore."
Outside—
the wind picked up suddenly.
The trees shifted.
And at the edge of the forest—
something moved.
Waiting.
Aaradhya felt it.
Without seeing.
She knew.
Another vision was coming.
And this time—
The feeling came suddenly.
Sharp.
Pulling.
Aaradhya gasped.
Her hand flew to the pendant as it flared—brighter than before.
Hot.
Too hot.
"Aaradhya—" Arnav started, stepping toward her.
"Don't—" she whispered.
But it was too late.
The world shifted.
Not gradually.
Not gently.
It snapped.
The study disappeared.
Cold air hit her skin.
The scent of smoke filled her lungs.
She stood—
not in the present—
but somewhere else.
Somewhere familiar.
The palace.
But not as before.
Not whole.
Burning.
Flames climbed the walls like they were alive.
The sky above was dark—unnaturally dark.
And the air...
It wasn't just heat.
It was grief.
Rage.
Loss.
Aaradhya stumbled forward.
"No..." she whispered.
Her voice echoed—but it wasn't alone.
Another voice overlapped with it.
Stronger.
Colder.
Hers.
But not hers.
"Aryavika."
Aaradhya froze.
Someone was behind her.
She turned slowly.
And saw him.
The buck.
But not as before.
Not distant.
Not silent.
Standing close.
Too close.
Its eyes weren't just watching her—
they were knowing.
"You came back," the voice said.
But the buck's mouth didn't move.
The voice was in her head.
No—
in her memory.
Aaradhya's chest tightened painfully.
"I don't understand..." she whispered.
The buck stepped closer.
And with each step—
something inside her broke.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Walls.
Barriers.
Locks.
"You promised," the voice continued.
A flash—
A hand reaching.
A vow spoken.
A heartbeat shared.
Aaradhya staggered.
"I didn't—" she tried.
But the words felt wrong.
False.
Because somewhere deep inside—
she knew.
She had.
Another flash.
A sword.
Blood.
A scream that tore through the palace.
Not from her throat—
but it became hers.
Aaradhya dropped to her knees.
"No... no, stop—"
The flames surged higher.
The buck's form flickered.
For a split second—
he wasn't a buck.
He was human.
A prince.
Eyes filled with pain.
With love.
With betrayal.
"Aryavika..." he said softly.
And that—
that broke something completely.
Aaradhya clutched her chest.
The pain was unbearable now.
Raw.
Real.
"I didn't kill you..." she whispered desperately.
The prince's expression didn't change.
"I know," he said.
A pause.
"But you didn't stop it either."
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Aaradhya's breath shattered.
"I tried—"
"Too late."
The flames roared.
The world cracked.
And then—
the prince stepped back.
His form dissolving again into the buck.
"Find the truth," the voice said, fading.
"Before the last lock breaks."
Everything collapsed.
Aaradhya screamed—
and the vision shattered.
She was back.
The study.
The desk.
The walls.
But nothing felt the same.
She was on the floor.
Her body trembling violently.
The air around her—
unstable.
The glass on the table shattered.
Water lifted from its surface—
hovering.
Fire flickered along the edges of the curtains—
without burning them.
Arnav stepped back instinctively.
"...What is happening?"
Grandfather didn't answer.
He was staring at Aaradhya—
with absolute certainty.
"It's accelerating," he said.
Aaradhya slowly looked up.
Her eyes—
weren't the same.
For a brief moment—
they weren't just hers.
Something older looked through them.
Something that remembered.
"I saw him..." she whispered.
Her voice was quieter now.
Deeper.
"He was real."
A pause.
"And he's waiting."