---
The storm had passed.
Only silence and a faint shimmer of golden dust lingered in the air — remnants of the battle that had shaken the valley to its core.
Jaswant stood at the center of the devastation, his right hand still faintly glowing. The miniature temple etched into his palm pulsed softly, as if breathing. He closed his fist, hiding the light, and exhaled deeply. The power inside him had settled — for now.
From behind a crumbled pillar, a soft sound reached his ears — footsteps, light and deliberate.
Jaswant turned.
A young woman stepped into view. Her clothes were torn at the edges, her hair swayed gently in the breeze, and faint sparks of electricity still danced around her fingertips. Her eyes — bright, steady, and filled with both strength and grace — met his.
Aarika.
For a moment, neither spoke. The silence between them felt almost sacred, like the world itself had paused to let their souls recognize each other.
Finally, she broke it.
"You're the one who fought that thing, aren't you?"
Jaswant gave a faint nod, still catching his breath. "And you're the one who saved me before it could crush me."
Aarika smiled slightly — the kind of smile that carried warmth even in exhaustion. "Then I guess we're even."
She looked around at the destruction. "That creature… Kaalkeya. I've read about them, but never seen one in the real world. You shouldn't have survived that."
Jaswant's gaze drifted to the distant horizon. "Maybe I shouldn't have. But I did."
There was something calm, almost unreadable, in his tone — and Aarika could sense it. She studied him for a long second, trying to understand the quiet depth in his eyes. "You're not an ordinary fighter, are you?"
He smiled faintly, not answering. "And you?" he countered. "Not many people can channel electricity without equipment. Who taught you that?"
Her expression faltered — just for a moment. Then she turned away. "Let's just say… it runs in my bloodline."
Her words echoed softly in the still air, and though she didn't realize it, Jaswant's eyes sharpened slightly. He knew that phrase — it was the same one mentioned in the forgotten archives of the City of Amravati.
The "bloodline of celestial descent."
Jaswant hid his curiosity behind an easy smile. "You're full of surprises."
Aarika laughed softly, brushing dust from her sleeve. "Says the man who glows like a sun."
For a brief instant, they both laughed — the tension fading, replaced by a fragile warmth neither expected.
Two strangers, bound by survival, standing in a ruined world that suddenly didn't feel quite so lonely.
---
As evening descended, they sat near a broken wall overlooking the valley. The golden dusk painted everything in soft amber.
Aarika leaned back, eyes half closed. "You know, I never thought peace could exist in a place like this."
Jaswant looked at her — the calmness in her voice, the quiet strength she carried.
"You're searching for something, aren't you?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "A relic. Something ancient… something connected to the old heavens. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it calling me."
Jaswant's heart skipped a beat. He didn't tell her that he already knew — the relic she sought was part of Amravati itself. The same place his temple fragment belonged to.
"Maybe," he said softly, "some things are meant to find each other."
Their eyes met. For a moment, the world blurred around them — just two souls, standing at the edge of something vast and unknown.
Then, Aarika stood. "I should go. My path… it leads west."
Jaswant rose too. "And mine goes east."
A long silence followed. The wind carried the faint scent of rain, and the golden sky slowly deepened into twilight.
"Will we meet again?" Aarika asked, her voice almost a whisper.
Jaswant smiled — that quiet, knowing smile that hides both promise and fate.
"Maybe not soon," he said, "but someday. When the stars remember our names."
She smiled back, her eyes reflecting both hope and sadness. "Then I'll wait for that day."
As she turned and walked into the fading light, Jaswant watched her until she disappeared beyond the ridge.
He stood there for a long time, the temple mark in his palm pulsing softly — as if resonating with something far away.
Under his breath, he murmured,
"Until we meet again, Aarika… under the same sky."
And with that, the wind carried her name across the silent valley — a whisper of destiny yet to come.
---
"Though the paths of both were different, but their destination was the same. For the time being, their meeting and parting for some time was enough to show them the path to their destination."
(The destination that will bring them together in the future and both will become each other's destination )
A few hours after their paths parted,
The forest stretched endlessly beneath a silver sky.
Moonlight streamed through the tall trees, scattering like shattered glass across the damp earth. Every sound — the rustle of leaves, the whisper of wind — seemed to breathe with quiet purpose.
Aarika moved silently through the shadows. The faint cut across her arm still stung from the battle with Kaalkeya, but she didn't slow down. Her steps were steady, her senses alert.
She was used to moving alone.
Yet, tonight felt different.
Somewhere deep inside, a strange warmth pulsed — faint, rhythmic, like the beat of another heart… not her own.
She paused.
Her hand instinctively went to her chest.
For an instant, a flicker of golden light glowed beneath her skin — faint, then gone.
Aarika frowned. "Not again…" she whispered.
It had been happening more often lately — bursts of light, visions she couldn't explain, and a strange melody that echoed in her dreams. Each time she dismissed it as exhaustion or remnants of battle magic… but this was something else.
The wind stirred.
A whisper moved through the air — soft, almost calling her name.
"Aarika…"
She turned sharply, scanning the forest. Nothing. Only the silver mist swaying between the trunks.
Then she saw it — a faint shimmer ahead, like ripples on the fabric of space. Drawn by an instinct she couldn't resist, Aarika stepped closer. The air around her began to hum with low energy. The ground beneath her feet glowed faintly — forming a symbol she didn't recognize, yet somehow remembered.
And then —
A vision struck her.
For a heartbeat, the forest vanished.
She was standing amidst clouds — luminous, weightless, infinite. Towers of crystal rose high above, and rivers of light flowed through the sky. The air was alive with chants of unseen beings.
At the heart of it stood a colossal temple made of pure starlight.
And on its gates, carved in golden script, she read a name that made her tremble:
"Amravati."
Her breath caught. The same name her father used to whisper when she was a child. The same word that haunted her dreams.
The vision shattered — and she fell to her knees, gasping.
The forest returned. The glow faded. Only the echo of that name lingered in her mind.
Amravati…
She looked at her trembling hands — and noticed faint lines glowing beneath her skin, forming intricate celestial patterns for a few seconds before vanishing again.
"What is happening to me?" she whispered.
---
A rustle broke her thoughts. Aarika froze.
From the darkness, a shadow moved — tall, cloaked, its presence heavy and ancient. The figure's eyes glowed faintly blue beneath the hood.
"You've awakened sooner than expected," it said, voice deep and calm.
Aarika stepped back, her palms crackling with blue energy. "Who are you?"
The figure tilted its head. "A guardian," it said slowly. "Sent to watch over the last descendant of the Celestial Bloodline."
The world seemed to tilt. "Celestial… Bloodline?"
The guardian's voice softened. "You are not human in the way you believe, Aarika. The light in your veins is the remnant of the stars themselves. You carry the seal of Amravati — the same realm that fell eons ago."
Her mind spun.
This was impossible. Myths. Legends. None of it could be real.
But deep inside, she knew. Every instinct in her heart whispered the same truth — she had felt that pull, that strange resonance, ever since she met him.
"Jaswant…" she murmured under her breath.
The guardian paused. "Ah. The Keeper of the Lost Temple. Then fate has already begun its work."
Aarika's eyes widened. "You know him?"
A faint smile crossed the guardian's unseen face. "He holds what you seek. And together… you will awaken what this world has long forgotten."
Before she could ask more, the guardian's form began to fade, dissolving into starlight.
"Wait!" Aarika called. "Where can I find him again?"
The voice echoed faintly as it disappeared into the wind:
"When the Heart of Eternity awakens… your paths will cross once more."
The forest fell silent.
Aarika stood there, heart pounding, eyes glimmering with reflected moonlight.
She didn't fully understand what was happening — not yet — but she knew one thing: her journey had only begun.
And somewhere far away, under the same sky, Jaswant stirred — the temple mark on his palm glowing softly in response.
Two souls, two powers — tied by fate, moving unknowingly toward a destiny written among the stars.
---