Sage Sandh looked up from his darkened thoughts and saw Ruchi sleeping peacefully on one of the branches of a flowering tree. The blossoms, vibrant and delicate, framed her face in a halo of colour that contrasted with the stark determination in his eyes. He cleared his throat, his voice carrying both menace and resolve as he addressed Sambh, who stood a few paces away.
"Sambh, if I can't kill you here, then I must take you to Golden Golf and finish you off,"he declared, his tone cold and unwavering.
Without waiting for a response, Sage Sandh opened a swirling portal behind Sambh. He sprinted toward the edge, intent on leaping into the portal alongside his intended victim.
Just as he neared Sambh, a sudden movement caught everyone's attention. Ruchi appeared in front of Sambh, a bucket clutched tightly in one hand. With her other hand, she pushed Sambh away, halting his advance with decisive force.
Sage Sandh, caught off guard by her intervention, stumbled and fell to the ground. Slowly rising, he spat out, "You have been hiding your power all along, but do not forget the prophecy—the one you protect will bring disaster to the entire Earth."
Ruchi's eyes flashed with defiance as she stepped forward. "We are all powerful in our land," she said firmly. "That is why we are the rulers here. I cannot fight you in Golden Golf, and you cannot win against me in the Golden City." Her tone softened as she added, "I feel too close to him—I will protect him at all costs."
Sage Sandh's gaze narrowed. "It is because, when he died, his father donated all his organs to new living beings in his lab and created entirely new creatures. That is why you feel so close to him—you must have remnants of his organs within you."
A faint smile crossed Ruchi's lips as she replied, "If you are right, then he was created in a lab on Earth while I belong to Divine Land. There should be no connection between us."
Sage Sandh's eyes glittered with a hint of malice as he countered, "If not you, then the one who forged you in Divine Land must have planted his organs in you." With that cryptic remark, he vanished into thin air, leaving only a final promise: "I will surely come back to you later."
The garden fell silent for a long moment before Ruchi's voice broke the tension. "I have also heard the legend of the Mirror of Fate in the underworld, though no one has ever dared to venture there. Is it merely a myth—or could it be real?"
Sambh's expression turned pensive. "Only the Mirror of Fate can answer all my questions," he murmured, his voice laced with longing for answers he had chased for so long.
Ruchi stepped closer, determination shining in her eyes. "I will help you reach it," she promised.
Sambh's voice turned bitter as he confessed, "I have never seen my father."
At that moment, Jagartala, who had been quietly observing the conversation from a shadowed corner, interjected, "Your father might have looked like you." He paused, then added in a low, introspective tone, "I have never truly seen myself."
The weight of unspoken truths hung in the air. Sambh looked up at Ruchi, who had long been regarded as "Her Highness" within these hallowed walls, and spoke with a mixture of hope and desperation, "I hope you can grant me permission to leave the palace."
With regal authority, Ruchi nodded and, without hesitation, opened a brilliant portal. In an instant, the familiar sights of the bustling city and the ornate palace vanished. In their place spread the untamed expanse of a wild desert, stretching out beneath a vast, unyielding sky.
Sambh and Ruchi began to walk through the endless sands. The heat shimmered in the distance, and the desert seemed both desolate and strangely alive with hidden possibilities. As they trekked, Ruchi explained their arduous path ahead.
"We cannot rely on artifacts here; we must cross this desert by foot," she said, her voice steady despite the harsh environment. "Beyond the desert lies a vast mountain range—a treacherous trail that we must follow.
But be warned: above the mountains dwell countless bandits and thieves. After we pass through that, we must traverse a dense forest until we finally reach the island at the forest's end."
Sambh listened intently, his mind racing with the implications of their journey. "So, you are saying that our path is one of constant trial—deserts, mountains, forests, and then an island?" he asked, his voice tinged with both anxiety and resolve.
"Yes," Ruchi replied. "Every step is a test, a piece of the puzzle that will lead us to the answers we seek—especially the truth behind the Mirror of Fate and the legacy of your father."
A heavy silence fell over them as the desert wind whispered secrets long buried beneath the sands. Sambh's thoughts churned, torn between the desire to unravel the mysteries of his past and the fear of what the future might hold.
The memories of his tumultuous journey—from the palace gardens to his recent confrontation with Sage Sandh—swirled in his mind like dust in the wind.
Then, unexpectedly, a voice from the depths of his heart echoed a question he had long suppressed, "What price must I pay to unlock the Mirror of Fate and discover the truth of my destiny?" The question lingered, hanging in the arid air like a fragile promise of answers yet to be revealed.
Ruchi reached out, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "We will find those answers, Sambh," she said softly. "I will stand by you every step of the way, no matter how treacherous the path may be."
Their eyes met, and in that silent exchange, both knew that their journey was far from over. The desert stretched ahead, an unforgiving expanse that promised both danger and revelation. With each step, the sands shifted beneath their feet, echoing the uncertainty of fate itself.
As they continued toward the distant mountains, a gust of wind carried a mysterious, almost imperceptible whisper—one that seemed to speak of ancient prophecies and the echoes of time. The words were lost on the wind, but their significance weighed heavily on Sambh's soul.
And so, with hearts steeled against the unknown, Sambh and Ruchi pressed on into the wild desert, their destination shrouded in mystery and the promise of a new beginning.
The path ahead was fraught with peril, yet in that uncertainty lay the hope of answers—and perhaps, the key to unlocking the true legacy of the time travellers.
The portal behind them closed with a silently.