Ayani can feel the ground tremble. She feels the presence of heavenly energy. She is no longer wrapped with illusions. Her way is now clear, so she heads forward to reach Ahmaya.
Ayani searches through the winding paths of the cave impatiently, her heart pounding, calling out for Ahmaya. The deeper she goes, the louder she witnesses the sound of clashing energy. Suddenly, she stumbles upon a wide chamber hidden within the rock; her breath catches as she beholds the battle. There, right before her, Ahmaya and Gyanwati are locked in a brutal battle.
Gyanwati's eyes widen the moment she sees Ayani entering; with a snarl, she lifts her arm and hurls a spear of green light straight at her, and Ayani freezes.
But before the blast can strike her, Ahmaya leaps between them with her two radiant golden swords, shimmering with divine force. She crosses them in front of her just in time, the green energy clashing into her blades. The impact shudders through her body as she grits her teeth, struggling to hold Gyanwati's energy. Her arms are shaking.
Ayani grasps the situation. She begins to awaken her own power, rising from within like a wolf. But as she watches Ahmaya holding back a force and fighting Gyanwati, she wonders how Ahmaya managed to evoke her energies?
Ayani and Ahmaya standing side by side, attack Gyanwati together.
A small but fierce group of Gyanwati's followers twisted with shadows enter the chamber, dark-eyed men and women with dark auras. The fight expands instantly; Ayani turns to face the approaching warriors, and Ahmaya continues her clash with Gyanwati. Both surrounded with power and chaos.
Ahmaya and Gyanwati, endlessly fighting, their weapons ringing and power clashing, shaking the cave, dust falls from above.
Time blurs. An hour passes. Ahmaya and Ayani both are tired but are still barely fighting and not giving up.
.
Ayani's father, mother, and all her friends and cousins have been on the battlefield, locked in combat with Gyanwati's forces for the past sixteen hours. Meanwhile, Ahmaya and Ayani have been away from Pataallok for the same duration—but time flows differently across realms. Although only a few hours may have passed for Ahmaya and Ayani, significantly more time might have elapsed on Earth. Everyone is exhausted, worn down by the relentless battle that has stretched on for sixteen gruelling hours.
.
In the middle of the fighting, Gyanwati's body begins to fade; a thread of green energy is pulling her away, her eyes become bright, and she smirks with something cunning.
And just like that, she vanishes from the cave.
Her soldiers, too, begin to vanish into the shadows with a hiss, their forms dissolving as if they were never real at all.
Ayani lowers her glowing hands, panting, "What just happened?"
Ahmaya strolls at a leisurely pace, her gaze fixed on the location where Gyanwati disappeared. Her blades dissolve back into her skin, still warm with battle. "This…was her game…she is not finished."
Both looking at each other, afraid, standing in the silence that feels too planned.
Ayani now tries to summon the portal back to Earth, but it requires a lot of energy, and she is now drained; she poured too much of her power into the battle with Patallok warriors.
She grits her teeth, trying again and again, but nothing opens.
She collapses forward, panting, "I ... I can't. I am too drained."
Ahmaya stands beside her with worry. "But… we need to get back", she says softly but urgently.
.
On earth, the battlefield is scorched and restless. Ayani's father, mother and all their kin, cousins and uncles stand bruised and breathless. Their clothes are torn, their hands are blistered, and their energies are running thin. Ayani's father, moving with his blue serpent energy, every breath he takes is heavy, every strike is slower than the last, but his spirit refuses to fall. Ayani's mother is fighting like storm clouds refuse to break.
The air grows heavier and strange. A chill slides across the field.
Then they see it.
A great black wave of shadows is coming towards them. A massive army of dark figures. The army is led by a radiant, magnificent figure, glowing, almost divine.
As the army approaches, the light reveals her face.
It's Gyanwati, leading the dark shadows.
Ayani's mother's heart drops. "If she's here…" she whispers. "Then where are Ahmaya and Ayani?"
Around them, the family holds their ground—but fear begins to settle in. The sky darkens. The main fight will now happen.
Ayani's father staggers back a step. Gyanwati emerges at the front, radiant and terrible, leading a vast army that far outnumbers their own. Men and women in black and negative shadow surge behind her, their weapons gleaming, their power pulsing like thunder ready to break. A heavy silence falls inside him, deeper than fear—his intuition roars.
Something shifts in his core, cold and certain. This moment cannot be avoided. Something terrible is about to happen. He looks around at his family—his kin, exhausted and bloodied, barely standing—and knows the truth. Gyanwati hasn't come to fight. She's come to end everything.
Gyanwati descends from the sky like a blazing silver fire and shadow, her robes billowing around her, her eyes sharp with cruel delight. Her army lands behind her, a thunderous wave of dark energy crashing onto the battlefield. Dust swirls as her feet touch the ground with chilling grace; she stands tall before Ayani's father, unflinching, smirking.
"What stupidity! You endangered your friends, your kin, your entire bloodline, just to protect your precious daughter." She steps closer, tilting her head with venomous amusement. "Well, thank you… for making it so easy for me to claim the power of so many Aokmas at once." Her words hit him like a sword to the chest; he stands still, unable to move, as guilt and fear clutch him. The ground beneath them seems to tremble as her army begins to stir behind her.