The eastern forest began where the mountains ended.
For two days, Tez and his companions had followed a narrow trail through thick trees. The mountains were now behind them, but the feeling of being watched had not disappeared.
If anything, it had become stronger.
The forest was unlike any Tez had seen before.
Tall trees rose high above them, their branches joining together like the roof of a great temple. Sunlight came through the leaves in thin golden lines. Strange flowers grew beside the path. Some opened when the group passed, while others closed as if they were afraid.
Birds called from hidden branches.
Sometimes Tez heard the sound of running water.
But whenever he tried to find it, the sound disappeared.
They were following the second symbol on his Guardian Seal.
A river.
A symbol that had appeared after they escaped Girivana.
Tez kept looking at it.
The small mark on the metal seemed ordinary during the day.
At night, however, it glowed faintly.
Maitreyi believed it was pointing toward the second hidden Guardian city.
She had found its name in one of the old records recovered from Girivana.
Jalapuri.
The City of the River Guardians.
But nobody knew where it was.
Not even Aryan.
That made Tez uneasy.
The Question That Would Not Leave Him
They stopped beside a large tree in the afternoon.
Devadatta ordered everyone to rest.
Aarav sat against the trunk and carefully checked his injured arm.
Bhaskar prepared water.
Maitreyi spread an old map across the ground.
Vaidehi sat a little away from the others.
Tez noticed that she had been unusually quiet since they had left Girivana.
He walked toward her.
"Are you all right?"
She looked up.
"Yes."
Tez smiled.
"You have said that three times today."
"And?"
"And every time you say it, I believe you less."
Vaidehi looked down.
For a moment she said nothing.
Then she touched the pendant around her neck.
"My mother knew your mother."
Tez sat beside her.
"I know."
"She knew about you."
"I know."
"She knew about the Guardians."
Tez nodded.
"Yes."
Vaidehi looked at him.
"And your mother knew me."
Tez remembered the message from his mother's memory.
Trust her.
He still could not understand why she had said those words.
"My mother knew something about you," he said.
Vaidehi frowned.
"What?"
"I don't know."
"Then how can you say that?"
"Because she told me to trust you."
Vaidehi became completely still.
"When?"
"In the memory."
"What exactly did she say?"
Tez repeated the words.
"Tez... if you are seeing this, then Vaidehi is with you."
He paused.
Then continued:
"Trust her."
Vaidehi looked away.
Her eyes became wet.
"Why would she say that?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe she knew something would happen."
"Maybe."
Vaidehi touched her pendant again.
"My mother always told me that some people enter our lives for a reason."
Tez smiled slightly.
"Do you believe that?"
"I don't know."
She looked at him.
"Do you?"
Tez thought for a moment.
"I didn't before."
"And now?"
"Now I don't know what to believe."
Vaidehi smiled faintly.
"That is probably the most honest answer you've given."
They sat silently.
Neither noticed Devadatta watching them from a distance.
Devadatta's Confession
That evening, they made camp near a small stream.
The fire burned brightly.
Everyone gathered around it.
Maitreyi was reading from the old Guardian records.
"The river city should be somewhere beyond this forest."
Aarav looked at the map.
"How far?"
"Maybe one day."
"Maybe?"
Maitreyi smiled.
"Ancient maps are not very good at giving directions."
Bhaskar laughed.
"That is a polite way of saying you don't know."
Maitreyi ignored him.
Tez looked at Devadatta.
"You said you would tell me more."
Devadatta became silent.
"About our mothers."
Everyone looked at him.
Devadatta took a deep breath.
"Your mother and Vaidehi's mother were once part of the same journey."
Tez waited.
"Where?"
"To Anantapura."
Vaidehi's eyes widened.
"Together?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To protect something."
"What?"
Devadatta looked toward the fire.
"A child."
Tez's heart stopped for a moment.
"Me?"
Devadatta nodded.
"You were very young."
"How young?"
"Less than a year."
Tez stared at him.
"Why did they need to protect me?"
Devadatta looked at him.
"Because Vardhan had discovered that the Heart had chosen you."
Vaidehi whispered,
"Then my mother helped hide Tez."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she was the Keeper."
Vaidehi closed her eyes.
"She never told me."
"She wanted you to have an ordinary life."
Vaidehi gave a bitter smile.
"None of us had an ordinary life."
Devadatta lowered his head.
"No."
Tez's voice became quiet.
"What happened after they came to Anantapura?"
Devadatta hesitated.
"They discovered that the Guardians were divided."
"Some wanted to protect you."
"Others wanted to use you."
Tez clenched his fist.
"Why me?"
"We still don't know."
"Then why call me the key?"
Devadatta looked at him.
"Because the Heart responded to you differently."
"How?"
"It did not simply choose you."
"It changed when you were born."
Tez felt a cold sensation.
"What does that mean?"
Devadatta shook his head.
"I don't know."
Tez became frustrated.
"Everyone knows something except me."
Devadatta looked directly into his eyes.
"I am sorry."
Tez stood.
"I don't need your apology."
He walked away from the fire.
Vaidehi watched him.
Then she followed.
The River
The next morning, they continued deeper into the forest.
By midday, they heard it.
Water.
A strong, endless sound.
Tez stopped.
"There."
They pushed through the trees.
Then the forest opened.
A massive river flowed before them.
It was wider than any river Tez had seen.
The water moved slowly, but its current was powerful.
Mist floated above the surface.
No boats.
No villages.
No fishermen.
Nothing.
Maitreyi stared at it.
"This is not on our map."
Devadatta looked at the river.
"Then we found the right place."
Maitreyi opened one of the old records.
She read carefully.
"The Nirantara."
Tez looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
"The Endless."
"Why?"
"Because ancient texts say the river has no beginning and no end."
Aarav frowned.
"That's impossible."
Maitreyi smiled.
"Many things we have seen were impossible."
Nobody argued.
Tez walked closer to the water.
His Guardian Seal became warm.
He touched it.
The river suddenly became still.
Completely still.
No waves.
No current.
Nothing.
Everyone stared.
Then the water began moving again.
But now it was moving toward Tez.
Vaidehi stepped closer.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
The river touched the shore near his feet.
Tez saw something beneath the surface.
A face.
He stepped back.
The face disappeared.
"Did you see that?"
"See what?" Aarav asked.
"A face."
Maitreyi looked into the river.
"There is nothing."
Tez stared.
He knew what he had seen.
The Inscription
They followed the riverbank.
After several hundred steps, they found a huge stone pillar.
It had been almost completely covered by vines.
Maitreyi cleared the surface.
Ancient writing appeared.
She translated slowly.
"The river remembers what the heart has forgotten."
Tez read the words again.
"The heart has forgotten."
Maitreyi nodded.
"Perhaps this river carries memories."
"Can it show the past?"
"According to the old stories."
"Whose memories?"
"Those who enter its waters."
Tez looked at the river.
"Then maybe it can show me mine."
Vaidehi immediately said,
"Don't."
Tez looked at her.
"Why?"
"We don't know what it can do."
"I need to know."
"You don't know what you might see."
Tez's voice became softer.
"That's exactly why I need to see it."
Vaidehi looked at him.
She understood.
There were parts of his childhood missing from his memory.
Someone had taken them.
Someone had wanted those memories forgotten.
The river might be the first place capable of returning them.
The First Vision
That night, Tez could not sleep.
The others were resting.
The river flowed quietly beside the camp.
Tez closed his eyes.
He saw Suryanagari.
Not the burning village.
The village before the destruction.
Children were running through the streets.
Women were preparing food.
Men were returning from the fields.
His mother stood outside their house.
She was younger.
Happy.
Tez watched her kneel beside the floor.
She removed a small stone.
Beneath it was a hidden space.
Inside was something wrapped in cloth.
Tez tried to see what it was.
His mother heard something.
She quickly closed the space.
Then someone entered.
Devadatta.
His mother whispered,
"They are coming."
"Who?"
"The Black Eclipse."
Tez's mother looked frightened.
"We cannot stay here."
Devadatta nodded.
"What about the child?"
"He must go."
"Where?"
She looked toward the sleeping infant.
"To the mountains."
Tez suddenly woke.
He sat up.
His breathing was heavy.
The fire had almost died.
He looked around.
Everyone was asleep.
Then he noticed something.
The ground near the river was wet.
There were footprints.
Human footprints.
They began at the water.
And ended beside his sleeping place.
Tez stood.
His hand went to his weapon.
He followed the footprints.
They led toward the river.
The Woman in the Water
The moon was bright.
The river reflected its light.
Tez stood at the edge.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Then a woman appeared.
She stood in the middle of the river.
The water reached only her ankles.
Her clothes were white.
Her hair was long and silver.
She looked very old.
But her face was peaceful.
Tez stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The woman looked at him.
Her eyes widened.
"Tez."
He froze.
"How do you know my name?"
She smiled.
"I knew you before you knew yourself."
Tez's heart began pounding.
"What does that mean?"
She moved closer.
"You are searching for your memories."
"Yes."
"You are searching for your mother."
"Yes."
"And you are searching for the truth."
Tez tightened his grip.
"Who are you?"
The woman whispered a name.
"Niraja."
Tez had never heard it before.
"Are you a Guardian?"
She shook her head.
"Not anymore."
"Then what are you?"
"A keeper of what the river remembers."
Tez stepped into the water.
The moment his feet touched it, hundreds of images flashed through his mind.
His mother.
His father.
Devadatta.
Anantapura.
The Guardian Seal.
Vardhan.
And Vaidehi.
He stepped back.
"What did you do?"
"I showed you what the river remembers."
"Show me everything."
"I cannot."
"Why?"
"Because some memories are locked."
"Who locked them?"
The woman's expression changed.
"Someone who loved you."
Tez stared.
"My mother?"
The woman did not answer.
Instead, she said:
"The boy who survived Suryanagari was not the child who was born there."
Tez felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath him.
"What does that mean?"
Niraja stepped backward.
"Ask your father."
"My father doesn't know."
"He knows more than he has told you."
"Tell me!"
The woman began fading.
"Wait!"
Tez ran toward her.
But the river rose between them.
"Niraja!"
She smiled.
"You will understand."
Then she disappeared.
The Pendant
Tez stood alone in the river.
Something touched his foot.
He looked down.
A small pendant floated beside him.
He picked it up.
It was old.
Silver.
A lotus was carved on one side.
On the other was the symbol of the River Guardians.
Tez stared at it.
Then he noticed something.
The symbol was almost identical to the one on Vaidehi's pendant.
He immediately returned to the camp.
Vaidehi was awake.
She saw the pendant in his hand.
Her face changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"The river."
She took a step toward him.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
She removed her own pendant.
She placed them together.
They fit perfectly.
Like two halves of the same object.
Everyone woke.
Maitreyi stared at them.
"The two pendants..."
Tez looked at Vaidehi.
"They were made together."
Vaidehi whispered,
"Then our mothers knew more than we thought."
The Gateway
At sunrise, the river began to change.
The water moved backward.
The current reversed.
Then, slowly, the river began moving upward.
Everyone stepped back.
A deep rumbling sound came from beneath the water.
The river split.
A massive stone structure rose from its centre.
First a pillar.
Then another.
Then a gateway.
Ancient symbols covered its surface.
Maitreyi stared.
"The second door."
Tez's Guardian Seal began glowing.
The river symbol became bright.
But then Tez saw something above the gateway.
His blood ran cold.
It was not the river symbol.
It was the symbol of the Black Eclipse.
Vaidehi looked at it.
"They were here."
Tez nodded.
"Yes."
Devadatta raised his weapon.
"Then we should be careful."
Tez looked at the gateway.
The stone doors slowly opened.
Darkness waited beyond them.
Then a voice came from inside.
Not like Aryan.
Not like the Guardian of Girivana.
This voice sounded almost like the river itself.
"The one who remembers may enter."
Tez looked at Vaidehi.
She stepped beside him.
Together, they crossed the threshold.
Behind them, the river began to rise.
And somewhere beneath its waters, something ancient opened its eyes.