Yuvaan slammed the car door shut, his eyes blazing with fury. Beside him, Varun flexed his fingers over the bowstring, and Vikram's hands gripped his own bow, muscles taut and ready.
"Stay behind Kiara!" Yuvaan shouted, his voice sharp, urgent.
Kiara stumbled out of the car, eyes wide with fear, clutching her stomach instinctively.
But Mohana didn't even flinch. She tilted her head, a cruel, slow smile playing on her lips.
"No one escapes from my eyes," she hissed, voice like silk laced with venom. "No one."
Before they could react, a dark wave of energy shot from her, hurling Yuvaan, Varun, and Vikram across the road. They crashed into a corner, skidding over gravel, barely able to lift themselves.
Mohana's gaze turned to the car, her eyes burning with power. With a single gesture, the vehicle twisted and tore apart as if it were made of paper. Steel groaned, glass shattered, and the remnants skidded to the sides, leaving Kiara sprawling on the asphalt.
"Kiara!" Yuvaan roared, scrambling toward her, but before he could reach her, an invisible force lifted him into the air, suspending him helplessly above the ground. His fists clenched, legs kicking, but Mohana's dark energy held him tight, taunting him with every struggling motion.
Kiara tried to run, but Mohana's braid, long and alive with black energy, lashed out and wrapped around her, restraining her tightly. She tugged, she twisted, but it was useless—her strength was no match for the legendary witch.
"Yuvaan!" she screamed, panic rising in her chest.
Mohana leaned closer, her grin widening. "You are powerless now," she purred, her braid tightening. "And soon, my dear child… will belong to me."
With a sudden flick, Mohana vanished, leaving behind only the echo of her laughter and the wind whipping across the road.
Yuvaan struggled, eyes wide with terror and fury, his voice cracking as he shouted, "Kiara!"
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the distant sound of Mohana's retreating steps—ominous, victorious, and utterly terrifying.
The air inside Kaalvansh was damp and suffocating, thick with centuries-old darkness.
Torches burned dimly along the stone walls, their flames trembling as if afraid to exist in Mohana's domain.
Inside an iron-barred cage—even darker than the cavern around her—Kiara lay curled on the cold floor.
Her wrists trembled.
Her breath shook.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks as she clutched her stomach, whispering broken promises to the tiny life inside her.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Baby… hold on… hold on for Mumma…"
Footsteps echoed—slow, cruel, mocking.
Mohana approached, her silhouette long and monstrous against the firelight.
She stopped in front of the cage, leaning down with a smirk that made the air turn colder.
"So," Mohana purred, her voice dripping with wicked satisfaction, "you tried to run. Again."
Her eyes gleamed with black amusement.
"Poor, powerless Jishwa… still pretending she has something left in her?"
Kiara's fingers dug into the floor as she looked up, tear-stained and trembling.
"Please…" her voice cracked. "Please don't touch my baby… I'm begging you, Mohana… spare my child…"
Mohana laughed—slow, chilling, echoing through the cavern.
"Oh Kiara… Kiara…" she said, shaking her head as if pitying her.
"You think tears will melt my heart? I have faced mothers fiercer, louder, stronger than you… and I consumed their children all the same."
Kiara's cry tore out of her like a wound reopening.
"Please! I will do anything—just don't hurt my baby!"
Mohana crouched before the cage, sliding one hand through the bars and touching the cold metal as if caressing Kiara's fear.
"This child…"
she whispered, voice like a serpent coiling around fragile skin,
"is the key. A rare hybrid of light and dark. Do you think I will let such power slip away?"
Kiara sobbed harder, shaking uncontrollably.
Mohana straightened, her smile widening.
"When I absorb the child, Kiara," she said softly, "your tears will be the last memory you ever have."
And Kiara broke.
Her screams filled the cavern, raw and heartbreaking, echoing into the shadows.
---
HIGHWAY — The Aftermath of Failure
The world felt unreal as Yuvaan stumbled across the road, his breath ragged, his vision blurry.
Then… his legs finally gave out.
He collapsed onto his knees, fingers digging into the rough asphalt.
His chest rose and fell violently, like something inside him was tearing apart.
"Kiara…"
The word left him like a dying breath.
"Kiara… I'm sorry… I couldn't… I couldn't save you…"
His voice cracked into pieces.
He bowed his head, tears dripping onto the road, each drop carrying the weight of a helpless husband and a father who failed before even beginning.
Behind him, Varun stood frozen, jaw clenched, eyes shimmering with helpless fury.
He wanted to move. To fix it. To drag Kiara back with his bare hands—but he couldn't.
Not against an Ekayaan.
Vikram watched them both, his expression ashen.
For years he had been the pillar of the Shetty family, unshakeable…
but today, even he felt his knees weaken.
The wind picked up, carrying Yuvaan's voice into the emptiness.
"Why… why didn't I hold her tighter… why didn't I protect her…"
He pressed his forehead to the ground, sobbing.
"I promised… I promised her I would never let anything happen… and I failed…"
Varun turned away, unable to bear the sight of Yuvaan breaking.
Vikram placed a hand on his son's shoulder but even his touch faltered, trembling with the weight of despair.
There was no sound except Yuvaan's pain.
No movement except his shaking shoulders.
No hope… except the faint heartbeat of a mother imprisoned far away.
---