The chamber beneath the twin statues had awakened.
As Devsena and Avantika descended the ancient spiral staircase hidden within the Temple of Tatva, the air grew thick — not just with dust and time, but with truths long buried. The twins, once torn apart by fate, now stood side by side, their footsteps echoing like war drums announcing a reckoning.
Carvings danced across the stone walls — moving, glowing — as if the very Tatvas were alive, watching, waiting.
At the base of the chamber stood a grand archway etched with a riddle:
"Only when flame and wave walk as one… shall the face of the Architect be undone."
The archway shimmered.
Devsena placed her hand, marked with fire, upon one side. Avantika followed, her palm glowing with the mark of water. A sharp wind howled — then silence.
And then… the mask appeared.
A silver, emotionless mask suspended mid-air. No eyes. No voice. Just presence.
But it spoke — through their minds.
"You seek the truth?"
"Yes," Avantika whispered.
"Then prepare to lose what you think you know."
Suddenly, the chamber burst into illusion — no, not illusion, memory.
A younger Vrinda appeared — screaming — as Samridhi pulled the twins apart.
And then, the scene shifted.
A cloaked figure stood before the Council of Elements, demanding the separation of the prophecy… altering the fate of the twins.
The mask whispered:
"Your mother was not the one who betrayed you.
The prophecy was broken by The Architect — one who walks with many faces… one who still walks among you."
Devsena clenched her fists.
Avantika felt her knees tremble.
"Who is it?!" they cried.
The chamber cracked.
And stepping from the shadows…
Was someone they knew.
Someone trusted.
Someone… unthinkable.