Veena's eyes filled with tears as she struggled against the ropes. "Veer… please don't do this," she managed to cry, her voice trembling with a mother's plea even though Sharda — Veer's real mother — sat tied beside her, silently weeping.
"Now speak," Veer said coldly. "Let's hear all those loving words you never said when it mattered."
Sharda's voice cracked as she gasped out, "Veer, my son… don't do this. Look at me! You're standing against your own family — against me!"
But Veer only laughed — a low, bitter sound that filled the cold stone walls. "Family?" he mocked. "Since when was I ever family? Since when did you or anyone here see me as something more than the shadow behind your precious Vihaan?"
Vihaan, still trapped inside the electrified cage, clenched his fists, fury burning behind his eyes. "Veer, this isn't you! You've let darkness blind you—"
"Don't you dare tell me who I am!" Veer roared, his voice echoing like thunder. "I know exactly who I am — I am Naashak! Born of rejection, forged in hate! You were the chosen one, Vihaan — the son everyone wanted, the miracle child! While I... I was the leftover, the reminder of everything normal, everything dull. Even my own mother couldn't see me."
"Veer, no!" Sharda's voice broke into a cry. "You're my son! My flesh, my blood! I've always loved you!"
Veer's eyes glimmered — just for a second — with the pain of that word son. Then his expression hardened.
"Love?" he spat. "Don't lie, Maa. You pitied me. You watched me fade while you nursed him." He pointed to Vihaan. "You told yourself it was destiny, that he was special — and I was ordinary. You turned your back long before I turned mine."
Sharda's tears streamed freely now. "If you want revenge, take it on me," she pleaded. "But don't hurt your family. Don't hurt Vihaan!"
Veer smirked darkly. "Oh, I don't need to hurt you, Maa. You'll suffer more watching me destroy what you love most."
He turned to the rest of the family.
"I'll make this simple," he said, his tone shifting into something cruelly calm. "I'll spare you all if you stand with me — against Vihaan. Denounce him, and live. Stay loyal to him…"
He tilted his head, smiling faintly. "…and you can die with him."
A heavy silence followed. The family exchanged tearful glances — fear rippled through them, but not surrender.
And then Sharda, shaking yet fierce, let out a bitter laugh through her tears.
"So this is what you've become," she said. "You think power makes you strong? It's made you hollow. You speak of betrayal, but today you've proven that blood is not thicker than greed."
Her voice grew louder, steadier.
"When Vihaan can die for us, we can die for him. We may be bound, but our hearts are free — and none of us will ever stand with evil, even if that evil was born from us."
"Sharda…" Dadi whispered, proud tears glinting in her eyes.
The whole family, despite their bonds, lifted their heads. Yug glared defiantly at Veer. Raani and Urvashi closed their eyes, whispering prayers. Even Veena, trembling, said softly, "We choose love over fear, Veer."
Veer's expression flickered — pain, rage, heartbreak — before the Naashak mark on his arm pulsed, darkening his face again.
"Then so be it," he said, his voice like a death bell. "If you won't stand with me… you'll burn with him."
Red energy erupted from his hand, wrapping around the cage, tightening the trap on Vihaan as Laila's mocking laughter echoed through the fort.
Sharda's scream cut through the chaos:
"Vihaan! Don't you give up! If he's our curse — then you are our answer!"
Laila stood smirking in the corner, her eyes gleaming with cruel delight as Veer circled the trapped Vihaan. The family — bound and gagged — struggled helplessly against their restraints, muffled cries echoing through the eerie crimson light.
Sharda's pleading voice broke the silence, trembling with maternal fear.
"Veer… my son, please stop this madness!"
Veer turned to her sharply, his eyes burning with cold fury.
"Don't call me that! You lost the right to call me your son long ago, Maa!"
Sharda flinched at the venom in his tone. "Why do you hate Vihaan so much? What has he ever done to you?"
Veer's lips curled into a bitter smile.
"What has he done? He's existed! That's all it took. Every time, every single time, it was always him! The chosen one. The praised one. The loved one. While I—"
He clenched his fists, his voice cracking into rage. "I was the forgotten son of an ordinary woman just because he was the son of a witch!"
He glared at Sharda, eyes flashing red.
"You failed as a mother, Maa. You never saw my pain. You never saw me."
Sharda's tears fell silently, but her voice remained steady.
"You're right, Veer. I failed — but not the way you think. I failed to teach you the difference between strength and cruelty, between pride and arrogance."
Her voice hardened.
"I failed to make you a good man."
Veer's nostrils flared. "Don't you dare—"
But Sharda cut him off, her sorrow turning fierce.
"No, you listen! You talk about pain, but what about the pain you caused? Since childhood, you poisoned your own heart with jealousy. You mocked Vihaan every day, reminded him that he was an illegitimate child, that Veena was not his real mother — just to make yourself feel superior!"
Veena, bound beside her, sobbed quietly while the others looked on in shock.
Sharda's voice shook, but she didn't stop.
"Vihaan never hated you, Veer. He looked up to you. He tried to win your love — and what did you give him in return? Hatred. Lies. And betrayal!"
Veer's jaw tightened, his hands trembling. "Enough!" he roared.
"Truth hurts, doesn't it?" Sharda said, her tears glinting in the red glow. "You blame everyone but yourself. But the truth is, you chose this path. You chose darkness."
Veer's face twisted in rage. "Then you can choke on your truth!"
With a flick of his hand, dark energy flared from his palm —
SLAP!
The invisible force struck Sharda across the face, throwing her to the ground. The sound echoed painfully through the chamber.
"Veer" Yug and Veena screamed together, struggling against their ropes.
Vihaan's eyes blazed. "VEER!" he roared, grabbing the glowing bars of his cage — the energy searing through his hands. The electric current surged, burning his skin, but he didn't care.
"Don't you dare touch her again!" Vihaan shouted, his voice filled with fury and anguish.
Veer smirked coldly. "Look at you — so heroic, so demonic yet somewhat divine. The family's favorite son bleeding for their sins. How noble."
Vihaan let out another guttural scream, trying to tear the cage apart with sheer will. But the bars pulsed with Naashak energy —
a violent shock coursed through him.
He fell to his knees, blood dripping from his lips, his breathing shallow and broken.
"Vihaan!" the family cried — Yug, Sharda, Veena, Raani, even Raani's voice trembling with fear.
Veer watched without emotion. "You see, Maa?" he said softly, almost mockingly. "Your beloved son can bleed just like any other mortal. The difference is — when I draw blood, I enjoy it."
Sharda's scream tore through the air.
"You're not my son anymore!"
Veer's eyes burned crimson. "Then you'll die with your favorite one."
The floor beneath them began to tremble, dark energy pulsing through the fort as Laila smiled approvingly.