Underground Arena – Match 5
Aaravi stepped into the silent pit, her breath ragged, her body stitched in bruises and ache. Blood throbbed behind her temples, but it wasn't pain that made her freeze.
It was the man walking toward her.
Not masked. Not announced.
Aryan Vaidya.
Kavya's secret. Her own forbidden kiss.
The man they all buried in memory.
But here he was—flesh, breath, sin. Alive. And smiling.
"Aaravi," he said, voice raw gravel and smoke. "You've grown into fire."
She didn't lower her bat. "You let her burn."
He stepped into the shadows with her. "She burned for you."
Flashback – Three Years Ago
Kavya stood under a black sky, wind tugging her dupatta like a warning.
Aryan held her hand. She placed a cold, black sphere into his palm.
"If I die… don't avenge me. Protect Aaravi."
He kissed her brow—delicate, final.
But he never came back.
Now – The Match Begins
No drones. No commentary. No League orders.
Just two unfinished souls, circling history.
Aryan opened his arms. "Hurt me if it heals you. Hate me if it helps. But hear me before you destroy everything."
Aaravi swung.
The bat sliced air an inch from his face.
He didn't flinch. "I buried her. With secrets you were never meant to find."
She slammed him into the wall, their faces inches apart. Her heart was thunder. "Speak."
His voice cracked. "She wasn't just your sister. She was... the architect. The Syndicate. Mira's rise. The game you think you're fighting—she built it."
Vivaan – Surveillance Room
Vivaan's breath caught.
On screen, old footage flickered—Kavya in leather, leaning over plans with Mira, Veer, Aryan.
Scheming. Smiling. Signing papers that dripped in blood money.
His jaw clenched. His world tilted.
Kavya wasn't a victim. She was the origin.
And Aaravi never knew.
Locker Room – Post-Match
Aryan didn't defend himself. He took every blow, every scream.
Until Aaravi collapsed into him, fists turned open palms.
He held her like grief—tight, afraid to break it.
She kissed him.
Slow. Angry. Addicted.
It wasn't desire—it was collapse.
He lifted her onto the locker shelf, fingers pressing into skin like memory, lips tracing the scar near her ribcage.
"She loved you more than the world."
Her hips rocked into him, not seeking pleasure—seeking answers.
"Then why didn't you come back?"
"Because Mira said she'd gut you in your sleep."
Their clothes fell like broken promises.
He took her—rough, raw, needing to be punished by her body.
Her tears fell into his mouth.
Because this wasn't sex.
This was mourning made flesh.
Vivaan – Still Watching
He saw it all.
Her legs locked around Aryan. Her breathless cries.
The look in her eyes that once belonged to him.
He didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
Just whispered:
"You chose a ghost over a future."
And shut down the feed.
But the image carved itself into his mind like a curse.
Elsewhere – Veer's Chamber
Veer sat alone with a detonator.
Kavya's voice looped through a recording device:
"If anything happens to me… find Mira. Burn everything."
He opened his palm. A cold blue light flickered on the device.
KMV-0403: Project Resurrection.
Mehul entered silently.
"You ready to take this game back?"
Veer didn't smile.
"No. I'm ready to end it."
Final Scene – Mira's Private Suite
Mira reclined in her crimson bath, rose petals floating like bleeding promises.
Her intercom buzzed.
"Aryan and Aaravi reunited."
"Vivaan broke."
"Veer initiated KMV."
She exhaled slowly, a smile ghosting her lips.
"Perfect."
She opened a hidden drawer.
Inside:
A vial. Labeled Phase 2 – Memory Collapse.
She didn't hesitate.
She injected.
And as the drug slid into her veins, Mira's pupils dilated, her past unraveling.
The hunter just erased her own history.