The blue veins of light traced intricate patterns across Rudra's skin, converging at the pendant. Knowledge flooded his consciousness—fractured images of places he'd never seen, words in languages he'd never heard, yet somehow understood. The room around him sharpened into hyper-focus, every detail crystalline and vibrant.
"What's happening to him?" Bunty demanded, stepping forward as Rudra swayed.
Jessica caught Rudra's arm, steadying him. "The pendant is awakening his latent abilities, connecting him to his heritage. It's a lot to process at once."
Rudra blinked rapidly, trying to sort through the cascade of information. "I can see... everything. The Institute's foundations, the wards, the—" He gasped, clutching his head. "There are tunnels beneath us. Old ones. Something's moving in them."
Above them, a tremendous crash shook the entire structure. Dust and small fragments of stone rained down from the ceiling.
"The Veil-Walker has breached the outer barriers," Jessica said grimly. "We need to move."
"Where?" Bunty asked. "If that thing is up there—"
"Not up," Rudra interrupted, his eyes now gleaming with the same blue light that coursed through his veins. "Down. There's a chamber directly beneath us. I can see it now—some kind of ritual space."
Jessica looked startled. "That's impossible. The Institute's architectural plans don't show anything below this level."
"Trust me," Rudra said with newfound confidence. "I can feel it calling to me. It's where my mother performed the original sealing."
He moved to the center of the room, kneeling to examine the floor. His fingertips traced patterns invisible to the others, leaving faint luminous trails. The stone beneath his hands began to warm, then glow.
With a low grinding sound, a section of the floor slid away, revealing another staircase spiraling deeper into darkness. Cold air rushed upward, carrying the scent of ancient stone and something else—a metallic tang reminiscent of blood.
"How did you know?" Jessica whispered, her expression a mixture of awe and apprehension.
Rudra stood, the pendant pulsing against his chest. "I didn't. It knew me."
Bunty peered into the darkness. "I don't like this. What if it's a trap?"
"Everything is a trap at this point," Rudra replied. "But it feels... right. Like coming home."
Another violent tremor shook the room. This time, cracks appeared in the ceiling.
"No time to debate," Jessica said, creating another floating light. "The entire Institute could collapse if that thing fully materializes."
They descended the new staircase, the air growing colder with each step. Unlike the previous passage, these steps were ancient—worn smooth by countless feet over centuries. The walls bore faded inscriptions and symbols that matched those on Rudra's pendant.
The stairs ended at a vast circular chamber, its ceiling lost in shadows. Seven stone pillars arranged in a perfect circle dominated the space, each carved with hieroglyphs that glowed faintly. In the center stood a raised dais with a basin-like depression.
"The Saptarishi Chamber," Jessica breathed, her eyes wide. "It's supposed to be a myth—the original meeting place of the seven mystic orders before the Great Sundering."
Rudra approached the central dais, drawn to it by an inexorable force. The pendant burned against his skin, its light intensifying. "Something happened here. Something terrible."
As his feet touched the dais, the entire chamber awakened—the pillars blazing to life, the hieroglyphs shimmering with golden light. The basin filled with a swirling, silver liquid that resembled mercury but moved like living water.
In the liquid's reflective surface, images formed: a woman with Rudra's eyes, wielding tremendous power; seven figures in ceremonial robes; a battle against shadowy entities; and finally, a ritual involving a child—an infant with a birthmark shaped like the crescent moon pendant.
"That's you," Jessica said softly, standing beside him. "And that's your mother, Savitri Chakravarti, the last Guardian of the Seventh Seal."
Bunty joined them, his expression solemn. "What happened to her?"
Before Jessica could answer, footsteps echoed from the stairway. They turned to see Roohi stumbling into the chamber, her clothes torn, blood streaming from a cut above her eye.
"They've breached the main building," she gasped. "Aarav is holding them back, but the Veil-Walker is consuming everything in its path. The students—" Her voice broke.
Rudra moved to her side, steadying her. "Are they safe?"
"The older mystics created a defensive perimeter around the dormitories, but it won't hold for long." She noticed the pendant, her eyes widening. "You found it."
"It found me," Rudra corrected. He turned back to the basin, determination hardening his features. "How do I use it? How do I stop this?"
The liquid in the basin surged, forming into a humanoid shape—a spectral figure of a woman Rudra recognized instantly, though he'd never truly seen her face before. His heart clenched.
"Mother?" he whispered.
The figure spoke, her voice echoing as if from across a great distance: "My son. The time has come sooner than I hoped. The pendant contains a fraction of my power—enough to reseal the breach, but not without cost."
"What cost?" Bunty demanded, stepping forward protectively.
The spectral figure regarded him with sad eyes. "All magic requires balance. To close the tear between worlds, one must stand in both simultaneously."
Understanding dawned on Jessica's face. "That's why you disappeared. You became the living seal."
"Yes," the specter confirmed. "I could not bear to leave my son, but I could not bring him with me. The Red Council would have used him as a conduit to reopen the gateway. So I hid him in plain sight, suppressing his abilities until he was old enough to understand his choice."
"Choice?" Rudra echoed, dread pooling in his stomach.
"The pendant offers two paths," his mother's echo explained. "Use it to strengthen the existing seal—which would require you to take my place between worlds—or use it to close the gateway permanently."