Rudra stared at his mother's spectral reflection, the chamber's golden glow flickering uncertainly along the stone pillars. Around him, the others were silent; only the distant rumble of the collapsing Institute and the faint, mournful howl of the Veil-Walker above reminded him that time was nearly out.
Jessica nudged closer, her voice trembling. "What happens if you close the gateway permanently, Rudra? Will it destroy you?"
His mother's eyes shimmered with sorrow. "To close the gateway entirely would end the passage for all magic—yours, mine, every mystic's in this world. It would strip the land of the gifts and curses we have known for generations, and the balance of power would shift forever." Her gaze found Rudra's. "But you would survive. We all would, as ordinary people."
Roohi pressed a hand to her bloody brow. "And if Rudra takes your place as the seal?"
The specter's reply was gentle, irrevocably final. "He would become the anchor—a living bridge between worlds. He would not fully exist in either place. He could protect everyone, but at a great personal cost. He would be alone."
Bunty choked on the word. "No. There must be another choice. Rudra, you can't—"
But Rudra's mind was spinning, thoughts a torrent of memory, longing, and fear. He saw the faces of his friends, the ones he'd just made, the ones who had risked everything for him: Bunty, Roohi, Jessica, even MG and Gauri. He saw his mother's face, always just out of reach, now looking at him with that expression he remembered from childhood stories—hopeful, strong, and breaking.
The Veil-Walker's scream shattered the quiet as cracks appeared in the ceiling overhead. Silver light leaked through, flooding the Saptarishi Chamber with an otherworldly radiance. Roohi flinched as shadows began to ooze down the walls, coalescing into half-formed shapes with burning green eyes.
Jessica whispered fiercely, "You have to decide now!"
Rudra gazed into the swirling basin, the pendant pulsing in his fist. "If I close the gate, I erase what we are. But if I become the anchor…"
His mother's ghost brushed her hand through his hair—he could almost feel the touch. "There is courage in sacrifice, my son. But also in choosing to live."
The Veil-Walker's claws burst through the ceiling, sending a rain of debris crashing down. Bunty shoved Rudra aside, shielding him, and Roohi dragged Jessica back from the falling stones.
"Choose!" his mother cried.
Rudra raised the pendant, feeling its magic swelling within him. The blue light rushed up his arms, into his heart, and for one bright, impossible instant, he saw the two futures laid bare before him: one of emptiness and peace, another of endless vigilance and power.
He drew a breath, steady and true. "I—"
A scream, unnatural and thick with venom, split the chamber. Yakshini, the Red Council's leader, appeared in the breach, her cloak aflame with red fire. She hurled a bolt of energy at the basin, shattering the silver liquid into a thousand droplets that hovered in the air like stars.
She grinned, teeth gleaming. "No more choices, little seal. Your power belongs to us!"
Her hand shot toward Rudra, fingers curled in a cruel spell. Pain lanced through him, the pendant burning, blue and crimson threads of energy locked in a deadly struggle. The Veil-Walker roared, its huge head twisting toward the light.
Rudra screamed, falling to his knees, as his mother's specter flashed between him and Yakshini—absorbing the deadly spell. The room was a storm of magic, light, and shadow, everything spinning out of his control.
The pendant shattered, blinding everyone with its brilliance. In the instant before he lost consciousness, Rudra heard his mother's voice, clear and resolute, echoing in both worlds:
"Not yet. Not like this."
Darkness closed around him just as the chamber split open, the Veil-Walker's gaping maw looming overhead, and the Red Council's laughter ringing in the void.