Lysara unleashed a chest-ripping roar as she sent a storm of her threads crashing through the air. Red threads twisted like snakes across the ground and sky, emitting crimson sparks with each movement. Riya flipped sharply to avoid the first threads and swung her blade in a clean arc. With every cut, threads were sliced apart—but new ones kept growing instantly.
"Focus on the roots! Every cut is just temporary!" Riya's voice echoed out.
Aarya activated his Granthnishaan. His breathing was steady, and in his mind, the thread flow still glowed in white trails. He targeted a spot and dove toward it, but Lysara's voice seeped into his ears.
"…You won't be able to save them… just like you couldn't save that girl…"
A flash—red blood, a small crying girl. His heartbeat quickened, and the Granthnishaan shifted to a faint red glow.
Riya shouted, "Aarya! It's an illusion! Stay focused!"
Feran's telepathic roar echoed, "Stay in control! You are not alone!"
But the fog thickened, and a maze-like structure began forming around them. Threads built walls between Aarya and Riya. Her voice now sounded faint, "Aarya! Focus on my voice! I'm right here!"
Lysara's voice became more venomous, "…See, alone again… like always…"
Heat spread through Aarya's chest. His breath grew heavy. The Granthnishaan now glowed deep red. Feran growled angrily, "No! Aarya, don't give in to your instincts!"
But his body was already reacting. He let out a roar—a raw, beast-like sound from his throat. His eyes flashed with a faint crimson glow, and his movements grew more aggressive. Without thinking, he tore through a thread with claw-like strikes that felt brutal and uncontrolled.
Riya rushed in front of him, grabbing his hand. "Aarya! Look at me! You're not alone! You're with me!"
His eyes were red, and for a moment, he saw Riya as an obstacle. Feran released a loud telepathic roar that echoed directly through Aarya's Granthnishaan, "You promised—never to lose control again! You're fighting for both of us!"
Riya grabbed his other hand and looked straight into his eyes. "You can come back… you're not alone… you trust me, don't you?"
Inside his mind, two voices clashed—Lysara's seductive whispers and Riya's calm tone. "…Join me, Aarya…" "You are not alone…"
And then he took a deep breath. Slowly, the Granthnishaan's red glow faded into white, and the red faded from his eyes. His breath began to normalize.
"I'm not alone…" he whispered, "…I'm with both of you."
Lysara let out a scream filled with anger and pain. "…You can't suppress your instincts that easily… it's only a matter of time…"
Aarya looked at her, his breath now steady and his mind syncing with the heartbeat of the zone. Every thread now revealed itself to him like an open path—like the zone had become part of him.
"Riya, Feran… let's finish this."
Riya gave a confident smile. "Together."
Feran growled as he stood between them, "This time, we'll shatter her heart."
Lysara let out another chest-tearing roar, her entire body transforming further into threads. The arena's thorns split open the ground. Riya tightened her grip on her blade and stood shoulder to shoulder with Aarya.
Aarya's Granthnishaan glowed white and steady now, and his eyes held a new intensity of focus. "Let's end this."
And all three of them charged at Lysara, just as she unleashed her full storm of threads toward them.
—
A storm of red threads swirled around them, thorns and threads raining from all directions. The arena now felt like a living creature, red glows pulsing from within every thread with each heartbeat. Riya flipped to avoid two large threads and slashed them with her blade. Feran growled and lunged at another thread, his claws tearing it apart.
Aarya's Granthnishaan glowed in a steady white. Each thread appeared in his mind in a rhythmic pattern, like he was hearing the heartbeat of the zone itself. His breathing was calm, but his eyes shone with sharp focus.
"Riya, thread coming from the left!" Aarya shouted. Without looking, Riya swung her blade in that direction, slicing the thread as it fell to the ground.
"Feran, focus on the root below!" Feran growled and charged at the underground threads, tearing into them.
Lysara looked at the two, her face twisting further. "…You're feeling the rhythm of the zone, Aarya… you're becoming what I am…"
Aarya tightened his Granthnishaan. "No… I'm not like you. I'm breaking this rhythm."
Lysara roared and turned her entire body into threads. Half of her body burrowed underground, and the threads began slithering around them like serpents. Suddenly, a large thread emerged beneath Riya's feet and began pulling her behind another wall.
"Riya!" Aarya rushed toward her, but another wall of threads rose between them.
Riya cut through the threads with her blade, but for every cut, new threads grew in their place. "Aarya! We need to destroy the root or this won't end!"
Aarya closed his eyes and sensed deep into the zone. Every thread appeared as a bright trail in his mind, and between them, one spot glowed brighter than the rest—the true root of the Heart Zone.
"I see it… I can see its heart."
Feran growled, "Then we have to reach it, no matter what!"
"Riya, cover me!" Aarya shouted.
Without hesitation, Riya readied her blade and began cutting down the threads around Aarya. Feran joined her, blocking every incoming thread with ferocious growls.
Aarya charged straight through the threads, his Granthnishaan glowing even brighter. Every thread now felt slow to him—like he had become one with the zone.
---
A large thread lunged toward him, but Aarya slid sharply beneath it and sprinted straight toward the root. Lysara's voice echoed in his mind, "…You won't save her, Aarya… just like you couldn't save that girl…"
And for a moment, that flash returned—a small crying girl, red blood, and his own hand failing to catch her. His chest burned again, but this time his breath remained calm.
"I'm not alone… not anymore." He whispered, and his Granthnishaan flared brighter, a white light bursting around him like a flare.
---
Aarya stopped in front of the root. It pulsed like a massive crimson heart, surrounded by red threads moving like breath.
"This is her heart…" Aarya tightened his Granthnishaan.
Riya shouted from the other side, "Aarya! Now!"
Feran growled, "Finish it!"
Aarya channeled energy through his Granthnishaan, and an intense white burst of energy flowed from his hands. He slammed both hands directly onto the root.
The root began to shake violently with a scream that pierced the air, the threads spinning out of control. Lysara's scream echoed through the arena, "…No! You can't break me! I'm part of you!"
"I am not you," Aarya said softly but firmly, "I am Aarya."
The root roared again and then crumbled in a blinding burst of light.
---
The red fog slowly began to thin, and the threads crumbled to dust on the ground. The arena's trees and walls began to wither, and the soft vibrations in the earth faded away.
Lysara's body slowly dissolved, her red eyes carrying a strange softness—as if she had been freed herself. "…Maybe… you really are different… Aarya…"
And then she completely faded into the fog.
Aarya took a breath and sat down on the ground, his Granthnishaan now glowing normally. Riya came to his side and held his hand.
"Are you okay?"
Aarya gave a faint smile. "Yeah… we did it."
Feran growled, "And you controlled your instincts. You made me proud."
Aarya took a deep breath, but for a moment, his mind blanked—and he saw a small memory flash: the same girl, this time smiling and softly saying—"You came back… Aarya…"
His chest felt heavy for a moment, but he smiled. "Let's get out of here."
Riya tightened her grip on his hand and nodded. "Let's go."
And the three of them slowly made their way out through the collapsing threads of the Heart Zone.
TO BE CONTINUED...