Would Trikalyagya accept the truth?
Had Siya's harsh words opened his eyes… or had they only fed the inferno already raging within him?
Siya could not quiet the storm in her own mind. Her voice had been steady, her gaze unshaken—but what effect had her words truly had on him?
She walked toward his chamber.
She did not enter.
Instead, she stood outside, her presence concealed in silence. Through the slight opening of the door, she looked in—and her breath stilled.
Trikalyagya lay sprawled across the stone floor.
Unmoving.
Unconscious.
For a fraction of a second, something sharp pierced through her composure.
She rushed inside.
Kneeling beside him, she extended her hand cautiously. The moment her fingers brushed his aura, awareness flowed through her.
He was fine.
Perfectly conscious beneath the act.
A flicker of irritation crossed her face. She turned to leave.
Suddenly—
His hand clasped her wrist.
The movement was swift, possessive—but it lasted only a second.
Because Siya looked at him.
Just one look.
Cold. Sovereign. Absolute.
That was enough.
He released her instantly.
"You were worried," he said, rising slowly. "For the first time, you showed concern for me."
His voice dropped, edged with dangerous softness.
"Will you still turn away from the truth, Siya? That you want me too?"
She pulled her hand back as if his touch were ash.
"When will this delusion of yours finally shatter?" she said, her voice sharp as steel. "I do not want you. I am helping you out of humanity—nothing more."
Her eyes burned now.
"You are not evil, Trikala. That is why I chose to help you. But if you continue forcing yourself upon my existence, twisting your obsession into proof of truth—then you are wrong."
She stepped closer.
"Not in this lifetime. Not in any lifetime."
The words struck harder than any weapon.
For a moment, something cracked behind his gaze.
Yet he whispered, "I am a deity… and still I bow before you."
Siya let out a dry laugh.
"Oh? So even gods carry ego now? Then why not leave a simple woman like me alone?"
He folded his hands before her.
"Simple?" His voice trembled—not with anger, but reverence. "You mock yourself, Devi. I do not even possess the courage to think ill of you."
Her expression hardened again.
"I am a mystic soul. Nothing more. I was born with a purpose—to protect this world. I began from the One who created me… and in Him, I shall end."
The air around her shifted.
"Sit," she commanded. "Now. We begin meditation. I will remove the energy you stole from within yourself without my consent."
For once, Trikalyagya did not argue.
He saw her weakness. He felt it.
"You are already fragile," he murmured.
"My weakness lasts moments," she replied. "Your madness, even a moment, I cannot endure."
They sat facing one another.
Without hesitation, Siya entered deep meditation. Her aura flared—not violently, but with precise control.
She reached into him.
The foreign energy he had pulled from her—raw, untempered, uncontrolled—was extracted like a burning shard from flesh. Trikalyagya's body convulsed briefly as the unstable current left him.
Then, gently—by her own will—she placed a different energy within him.
Balanced.
Measured.
Permitted.
His breathing steadied.
His eyes opened.
Before he could speak, Siya asked the question that had haunted her.
"Where is George?"
No anger. No hesitation.
Just truth.
Trikalyagya met her gaze and answered plainly.
"The day you touched him… he merged into you."
Silence fell heavy.
"I was already within his body. When my powers awakened, his soul was displaced. As your energy entered me… he entered you. It happened simultaneously. That is why you felt nothing."
Her voice lowered.
"So he wasn't evil?"
Trikalyagya's expression darkened.
"He was worse than you realize. The cruelty within him would not have ended even with your death."
His tone carried no jealousy—only grim reality.
"The words he spoke to you… though they came through me… were his. His resentment. His twisted desire. He witnessed every brutal experiment in that lab. Every murder. Every scream. He could have helped those innocents."
A pause.
"But he did not."
Siya felt the weight of it.
The laboratory.
The screams.
The helpless.
Neither of them had acted.
They had watched.
That truth shook her more than anything else.
Without another word, she rose and walked out.
Ali and Andy had seen enough.
Ali caught her before her knees buckled.
"You were wrong, Siya," he said quietly. "His obsession is changing. It's turning into something else."
Andy clenched his fists. "There's still something he's hiding."
Siya tried to look back at Trikalyagya.
Her vision blurred.
Darkness swallowed her.
She collapsed.
They carried her to her chamber.
Her skin burned as if fire coursed beneath it. Andy paced, helpless, fury blazing in his eyes.
Trikalyagya entered.
Andy struck him without warning.
"You did this!" he shouted. "Stay away from her!"
Trikalyagya absorbed the blow but did not retaliate.
"I know how to heal her."
"Get out!" Andy roared.
Ali stepped between them. "We have no other way. Let him try."
Reluctantly, they left.
Trikalyagya approached Siya slowly.
He knelt beside her.
Placed his palm upon her forehead.
And began chanting softly:
"Om Tryambakam Yajamahe
Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanan
Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat."
The sacred vibration filled the room.
Each syllable carried energy.
Each repetition steadied her breath.
As he completed the chant 108 times, the heat within her began to recede.
Her fingers twitched.
Her eyes fluttered open.
Without waiting for acknowledgment, Trikalyagya stepped out and informed Ali quietly, "She is conscious."
He did not wait for thanks.
Inside, Ali and Andy rushed to her side.
"You could have slipped into deep stasis," Ali said softly. "Your body cannot endure such strain."
Siya gave a faint smile.
"I am fine. See? I did not fall into stasis."
But outside—
Trikalyagya stood alone.
A realization dawned upon him.
If his obsession truly harmed her… she would not willingly hurt herself just to free herself from him.
Her gaze met his from across the corridor.
For a heartbeat.
Then he turned away.
The fire within him had not died.
But it had changed.