The crimson glow in Aanya's eyes burned brighter.
For the first time—
She wasn't afraid of it.
She could feel the darkness breathing with her.
Every heartbeat.
Every whisper.
Every shadow around them.
Arjun noticed it instantly.
His gaze didn't leave her face.
"You can feel it now, can't you?" he asked softly.
Aanya looked at her hands.
A thin line of crimson smoke curled around her fingers.
Alive.
Listening.
"Yes…" she whispered.
Before she could say anything more—
The villain stepped closer.
Its voice smooth and cold.
"Beautiful."
Arjun's expression darkened.
He moved in front of her again.
"Don't look at her."
The villain smiled faintly.
"You sound almost jealous."
Arjun's jaw clenched.
His shadow rose sharply behind him.
"Say one more word," he said coldly.
Aanya gently touched his arm.
"Arjun…"
The moment her fingers brushed his skin—
A pulse of energy rushed through both of them.
They both froze.
Suddenly—
A flood of emotions passed between them.
Not words.
Feelings.
His fear of losing her.
His guilt.
His obsession.
His love.
Aanya's breath caught.
She could feel everything he was hiding.
"Arjun…" she whispered, looking up at him.
He looked away for a second.
Rare vulnerability flickering in his eyes.
The villain watched silently.
Almost amused.
"So the bond is complete," it said.
Aanya turned sharply.
"What do you want from us?"
The villain's voice dropped lower.
"To remind you what you really are."
The space around them suddenly changed.
The darkness shifted into a room.
An old bedroom.
A broken window.
Moonlight pouring in.
Crimson.
Aanya froze.
She knew this room.
"No…" she whispered.
Arjun turned to her.
"What is it?"
Her breathing became uneven.
"This is the room…"
A pause.
"…from that night."
Silence.
The villain stepped closer.
"Look carefully."
Aanya's eyes moved toward the bed.
And her entire body went cold.
There was a girl lying there.
Still.
Pale.
Long dark hair spread across the pillow.
It was her.
Arjun's expression changed instantly.
"No…"
Aanya took a shaky step forward.
Then—
She saw another figure near the window.
A man.
A silhouette.
Watching.
Slowly—
The figure turned.
Arjun.
But not the Arjun standing beside her.
This one looked colder.
Broken.
His eyes already touched by darkness.
Aanya stared in shock.
"What is this?" she whispered.
The villain answered.
"The truth."
Arjun stepped forward.
"This is fake."
But Aanya couldn't stop looking.
In the memory—
That version of Arjun moved closer to the girl on the bed.
To her.
He leaned down and whispered something near her ear.
Too soft to hear.
Then—
Her body moved.
Slowly.
As if waking.
Aanya's heart stopped.
"Wait…"
She looked at the villain.
"You mean… he was there before?"
The villain smiled.
"He was always there."
Aanya slowly turned to the real Arjun beside her.
His silence said everything.
Her voice trembled.
"You lied to me…"
Arjun stepped closer instantly.
"No, listen to me—"
But she pulled away.
"Were you there that night before the call?"
Silence.
Arjun's eyes darkened.
Painfully.
"Yes."
The word hit like glass.
Aanya's breath broke.
"Why?"
He looked at her.
Raw.
Honest.
Dangerously intense.
"Because I knew what was coming."
The villain laughed softly.
"Tell her the rest."
Arjun's voice dropped.
"I went there to save you…"
A pause.
"…and I was too late."
Aanya's tears filled her eyes.
"But I'm alive."
His expression broke.
"You weren't."
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
The room felt colder.
Aanya stared at him in disbelief.
"What do you mean?"
Arjun stepped closer.
His hand slowly reaching for hers.
"The girl who woke up that night…"
A pause.
"…was not entirely the same girl."
Her breath stopped.
The villain whispered near her ear.
"You died that night."
Aanya staggered back.
"No…"
Arjun caught her before she fell.
Holding her tightly.
"I brought you back."
Her heart raced.
"At what cost?" she whispered.
Arjun looked into her eyes.
Dark.
Obsessed.
Terrified.
"At the cost of my soul."
"Because now Aanya had to face the truth—the boy who loved her had already crossed death once just to keep her alive."