The night carried a different silence — heavy, almost alive.
Aarohi couldn't sleep. The memory of fire still haunted her — her hands glowing, Arin's broken gaze, the echo of her own words: "Then let it burn with us."
She sat on the floor beside the cracked mirror, staring at her reflection — at the faint red mark now pulsing at the base of her throat.It hadn't been there before.It glowed softly, like an ember.
She touched it. It burned.Not painfully — but like recognition.
And suddenly, whispers filled the room again. Not Arin's voice this time — others. Countless. Whispering in a tongue she didn't know, yet somehow understood.
"The Flame has awakened… the Seal is breaking…"
Aarohi stumbled back, her heart racing.The lights flickered. The black feather lifted from the desk — floating midair, spinning.
Then, from the corner of the room — a shadow moved.
The Intruder
She froze.Someone — or something — was standing near the window.
Not Arin.
The shape was wrong — too thin, too tall, its eyes glinting silver in the dark. Its voice hissed through the air like smoke.
"The cursed flame… she's alive."
Aarohi stepped back. "Who are you?"
"We are what remains when gods forget mercy."
It lunged.
Before she could scream, the black feather exploded with light — a circle of dark fire spreading across the floor, forcing the creature back.
And then — he was there.
Arin Returns
The air rippled like heat. The shadows bent.Arin stepped out of the darkness — his coat sweeping behind him, his black eyes gleaming like obsidian fire.
The creature hissed and shrank away.
"You dare touch what's bound to me?" Arin's voice thundered — low, controlled, but burning with fury.
He raised his hand, and the air itself trembled. The creature screamed, its form dissolving into mist before vanishing completely.
Silence.
Aarohi collapsed against the wall, trembling. "What… what was that?"
Arin turned toward her. His anger melted instantly, replaced by that same impossible sadness.
"A remnant. They've found you sooner than I thought."
He moved closer, kneeling before her. His voice softened.
"You're hurt?"
She shook her head, still breathing hard. "No… but I saw something. In the mirror. In the dream. I hurt you."
He looked down. "You remember that?"
"I think so. You said if I killed you, the world would burn."
"It did."
The words hit her like a blade. "What… what are you saying?"
He looked at her, eyes deep, endless.
"You were the Flame, Aarohi. The one who could end or save everything. And I—"
He paused, his voice breaking.
"I was the Guardian meant to stop you. But I couldn't. Because I loved you more than I loved the world."
The room fell silent except for the sound of rain.Aarohi's eyes burned with tears. "So I destroyed everything."
"We both did."
He reached out, his hand brushing the side of her face — hesitant, reverent.The moment his skin touched hers, her mark flared, and for a second she saw flashes again — their past lives, their war, their love that defied gods.
She gasped, gripping his wrist. "Why am I back? Why are we back?"
"Because the cycle never ends. Until one of us breaks it."
"By dying?"
"Or by remembering everything."
The Warning
He stood, glancing at the window.
"They'll come again. The remnants, the seekers, the ones who hunt the Flame."
"Why?"
"Because if you fully awaken, you can unmake reality again."
Aarohi's voice trembled. "I don't want this."
He smiled sadly. "Neither did you, the first time."
As he turned to leave, she grabbed his hand."Don't go."
He stopped — that faint smile returning, softer this time.
"You forget, Aarohi… when I'm not with you, I still see you. Everywhere."
And then he vanished — leaving behind only a trail of black feathers and the faint scent of rain.
Aarohi sat alone in the flickering candlelight, staring at the mark glowing on her skin.The whispers had stopped, but one line still echoed in her mind — Arin's voice, gentle and sorrowful:
"Stay alive this time, Aarohi… before love kills us again."