The fire of the Mirror's Maw had not left Lakshya.
Even as he stepped into the sunlight of Mahakaal Lok again, something within him burned—quietly, steadily, like a sacred lamp resisting the wind.
They camped by the River Shambha that night, where trees bore silver leaves, and the waters hummed with untold knowledge. Ravinya, the seer, sat across the campfire, her third eye dimmed, her voice soft.
"You carry something new within you now," she said, stirring crushed moon-berries into her wooden bowl. "It is not just the memory you reclaimed. You've lit the Inner Flame."
Lakshya nodded slowly. "It's... unlike any power I've felt. It doesn't roar. It guides."
"The Flame doesn't burn to destroy," Ravinya said. "It burns to reveal. The Heralds once called it Agnisaakshi—witnessed by fire. You now carry a piece of truth that cannot be cloaked by illusions."
He looked at his palm. The symbol—the circle, triangle, and flame—was faintly glowing, pulsing with his heartbeat.
"And the second Mirror?" he asked.
"It has awakened," Ravinya replied. "But the land it lies in... is veiled from the rest of the Lok. Forgotten, cursed, and guarded by the Heralds themselves."
The Lost Domain – Trinetra Gaadha
The next morning, the skies were turbulent. Flocks of black feathered Vairags circled overhead, the harbingers of hidden realms.
Lakshya, guided by Ravinya, descended into the Trinetra Gaadha, a deep canyon carved not by time but by divine memory. At the center of the gorge stood three stone spires, worn by age yet untouched by ruin.
"The place where the Three-Eyed Flame once struck the earth," Ravinya whispered. "It is said even the gods do not tread here anymore. But the second Mirror now sleeps within these stones."
Lakshya stepped between the spires, and time seemed to twist.
Everything faded.
The Veil
A white mist enveloped him. The world was... silent. No wind. No birds. Not even his breath echoed.
He was in the Veil—a space between thought and reality.
A voice rang out.
"You seek the second truth."
It was not a voice of a man or woman. It was the voice of the Herald of the Veil.
Suddenly, before Lakshya stood a figure clad in robes of shifting symbols. Its face was a blank mask, smooth and mirror-like.
"State your purpose," it said.
"I seek to reclaim what was stolen," Lakshya said calmly. "The memories bound by the Mirror."
The Herald tilted its head. "Only those who have mastered the First Flame may walk beyond the Veil. Show me you are not bound by illusion."
Trial of the Inner Flame
The world shifted again.
Lakshya found himself back in his old house from Earth.
The peeling plaster. The smell of dust and sweat. His worn notebook of dreams lay on the table.
He was a boy again.
His mother sat on the broken bed, crying. His father's silhouette walked out the door, silent and final.
A familiar ache surged in his chest.
"No..." he whispered. "This isn't real."
But the scene kept repeating.
His mother weeping. His father leaving. His dreams crumbling.
Then... the Inner Flame within him flared.
The scene cracked.
The voice of his real mother echoed in his mind—not from pain, but from memory.
"Lakshya, promise me. No matter how hard it gets, you'll keep walking. Even through fire. Even through failure."
Lakshya stood tall.
"I never forgot that promise."
The illusion shattered like glass under divine light.
Revelation
Back in the Veil, the Herald stood motionless.
"You carry the truth of the First Flame and have passed the Second Gate," it said.
It handed him a shard—black crystal with veins of gold.
"This is the Fragment of Origin—the second of Seven. Each one restores not just your power, but the world's memory of you."
Lakshya accepted it. His Vardaan pulsed.
📜 Vardaan Update:
🔸 Memory Fragment: 2/7 Collected
🔸 Ability Gained: Flame of Unmasking – Burn through spiritual illusions and reveal hidden constructs.
🔸 Herald Trust: +1
🔸 Herald Title Progress: 12%
Suddenly, the ground quaked.
The spires of Trinetra Gaadha began to bleed light—gold and red spirals swirling into the sky.
From the deepest part of the gorge... something stirred.
A terrible echo, like laughter and weeping combined.
Ravinya appeared beside Lakshya, breath ragged. "The Mirror Cult is moving. They've sensed your awakening."
"And the other Heralds?" he asked.
She looked grim. "They do not all wish for your return. Some serve a different flame now."
Lakshya clenched his fists.
"Then I will walk through every veil... burn every illusion... until the truth stands alone."
As the light of Trinetra Gaadha reached the heavens, a ripple passed across the Mahakaal Lok.
From distant temples to buried ruins, the name of Lakshya—the Dreamwalker—was whispered once again.
To be continued....