The light that had bled from Trinetra Gaadha did not fade. Instead, it surged skyward like a divine flare—summoning, warning, remembering.
Lakshya stood still as the last echo of the mirror-fragment settled in his Vardaan. The ground beneath him trembled slightly. A whisper traveled through the earth, something ancient… awakening.
Ravinya turned toward the east.
"They've seen you," she said, her eyes glinting like twin moons. "The Temple of Burning Echoes has opened its gates. It hasn't done so in centuries."
Lakshya looked toward the horizon where a thin trail of smoke rose like a prayer. It came from the mountains that surrounded the Valley of Forgotten Flames—a place sealed since the Fall of the Heralds.
Ravinya placed a hand on his shoulder. "This will not be like the Mirror's Maw. The temple was once a sanctum, but it became a prison after the Mirror corrupted its final guardian."
Lakshya's gaze darkened.
"Then I'll free it."
Journey to the Temple
The path to the temple was no ordinary trail. As Lakshya and Ravinya crossed the forests and rivers, the world twisted. Trees whispered in forgotten languages. Stones wept tears of gold. And the air was filled with the hum of unseen beings.
They passed Agnigiri, the mountain where the first Vardaan was ever gifted to man. There, the Flameborn Deer, made of living fire, watched them with mournful eyes.
One approached Lakshya and bent its flaming head. It touched his chest and left a glowing mark—temporary, but meaningful.
Ravinya's voice was hushed. "Even the wild spirits recognize your return."
By dusk, they stood at the edge of the Valley of Forgotten Flames.
The wind was hot and heavy with memory. A colossal staircase carved into red stone spiraled up to the temple gates. Each step was etched with stories—Heralds kneeling, flames rising, stars falling.
Lakshya touched one of the carvings. A vision flashed.
A great Herald with golden eyes—once revered—stood in battle, striking down others of his kind, his hands dripping with crimson fire.
Ravinya saw the pain in Lakshya's expression. "That is the one you must face. The guardian who betrayed his flame—Jwalant."
Inside the Temple
The gates creaked open without touch.
Inside, the temple was filled with flickering shadows. Statues of Heralds stood silent, their features cracked and burned, as though they wept for the sins of time.
At the center of the great hall was a dais, and above it hung an enormous crystal mirror, shattered into a hundred pieces, suspended in the air like a broken constellation.
And there, beneath it, meditating in silence… was Jwalant.
He was no longer entirely human or divine. His body was wrapped in molten robes, and his face had no eyes—only two searing flames where they once existed.
"You've returned," he said without opening his mouth. The voice was inside Lakshya's mind.
Lakshya stepped forward. "You betrayed the Heralds."
"I revealed the lie," Jwalant answered. "We were not protecting the truth. We were guarding a cage. And I chose to burn it."
Ravinya's breath caught.
"He fell to the Mirror's Whisper, Lakshya. His truth was twisted."
Jwalant rose. "Will you fight me, Dreamwalker? Or will you learn from flame what the stars hide?"
Lakshya's Vardaan blazed on his arm.
"Show me your truth. And I'll show you mine."
Battle of Echoes
The chamber exploded with heat.
Jwalant raised his hand, and a wall of burning memories surged forward. Lakshya dodged, barely evading a cascade of molten illusions. Each flame that touched him tried to show him something—a fake truth, a false memory.
One showed his mother saying, "You were never meant to succeed."
Another showed Ravinya turning into a Mirror servant.
Another showed the sky itself cracking apart.
But Lakshya's Flame of Unmasking lit up. The visions peeled away, revealing the truth beneath.
He countered with a spiral of radiant light. Truthfire, not to burn, but to awaken.
Jwalant staggered.
"You… wield the Unseen Flame. The one the gods feared."
Lakshya charged. His strike wasn't one of rage—it was of purpose. His fist struck Jwalant's chest, where a twisted shard of a Mirror's lie pulsed like a parasite.
And then…
He spoke not in anger, but with compassion.
"You were a guardian. Not a prisoner. Let me free you."
Jwalant fell to his knees. The fire in his eyes flickered—and went out.
The parasite cracked.
And in its place, a fragment of glowing silver floated toward Lakshya.
📜 Vardaan Update:
🔸 Memory Fragment: 3/7 Collected
🔸 Ability Gained: Echobind – Bind corrupted Heralds and release their original flame, regaining lost truths.
🔸 Herald Trust: +2
🔸 Mirror Resistance: +10%
🔸 Inner Flame Level: Tier 2 (Awakened)
Aftermath
Ravinya stepped beside him as Jwalant's body turned to ash and scattered into sacred wind.
"You did not just defeat him," she said quietly. "You redeemed him."
Lakshya turned toward the shattered mirror above the dais. The pieces now began to drift downward, forming a ring around the dais—like a broken crown waiting to be reforged.
"There's more than just fragments," he whispered. "There are stories, truths, names… memories of a life I've not yet remembered."
Ravinya looked out the temple window.
"Then let us remember them, one by one."
Far away, in the deepest layer of the Mirror Cult's realm, a figure cloaked in darkness watched the temple through a pool of black water.
"They've reached the third," the figure hissed. "Then it's time to release the next trial..."
To be continued....