Hirday stood frozen like stone for a moment. He knew this request to see the mirror was no ordinary curiosity—it was the result of Alisa's poisonous whispering. If he stopped Sunlight from looking now, the seeds of suspicion would sink even deeper into her mind. And if he allowed it… even he did not know what the mirror might reveal.
With slow, measured steps, Hirday walked forward and drew aside the large silk curtain covering the mirror.
"If this is what will calm your heart, then look," he said quietly.
Trembling, Sunlight climbed down from the bed and stood before the mirror. In the dim glow of the candle, she saw her own reflection. For the first few seconds, everything seemed normal—her pale face, her disheveled hair.
But suddenly, she felt that the reflection was no longer moving in sync with her.
Sunlight stood perfectly still, yet inside the mirror, her reflection began to smile faintly.
She stepped back in terror. Then she saw her own pupils slowly changing color—not blue, not gold. From within the mirror, two blood-red eyes stared back at her. Exactly like the ones Hirday had seen in the corridor.
Sunlight tried to scream, but the 'other her' inside the mirror raised a hand and pressed its index finger against the glass. A misty vapor spread across the surface of the mirror, and a single word appeared:
"SCHULDIG" (Guilty)
With a scream, Sunlight spun around and clutched Hirday's hand.
"My lord! Who is that in the mirror? That's not me! That's not me!"
Hirday quickly looked toward the mirror—but everything had already returned to normal. Only Sunlight's terrified reflection remained. At that moment, Hirday understood: Alisa had begun to play directly with Sunlight's mind.
He covered the mirror again with the curtain and pulled Sunlight into his arms, pressing her against his chest.
"There's nothing there, Sunlight. It's just your imagination. You're very tired," Hirday said—though his own hands were trembling.
Just then, from outside the bedroom window, the shadow cat let out a soft meow again, just as it had in the dining room. The cat sat on the window ledge, staring sharply at them. Its green eyes burned in the darkness like balls of fire, as if it were savoring Alisa's victory.
Burying her face in Hirday's chest, Sunlight cried,
"She's calling me guilty, Hirday. Guilty to whom? I haven't killed anyone!"
Hirday gave no answer. He only stared at the black cat outside the window. He knew this night was only the beginning. Alisa had not merely returned—she had begun using Hirday's most precious possession against him.Hirdoy could not bear Sunlite's sobbing and her piercing question—"Why is this happening to me?"—it felt like an arrow through his heart. He couldn't answer because the truth was a mountain of guilt he carried alone.
As she wept, Sunlite's body went limp, and she fainted again in Hirdoy's arms. Hirdoy carefully picked her up and laid her on the bed. He sat beside her, holding her ice-cold hand. After a while, exhausted by mental strain, Hirdoy himself fell into a deep sleep beside her.
As the room fell into a heavy silence, something changed outside the window.
The black cat was gone from the ledge. In its place stood a shadow. It had a human form but was as translucent as the wind. The moonlight passed through the shadow and hit the floor.
That shadow was none other than the restless soul of Alisa.
But strangely, the vengeful mask Alisa wore in the corridor was gone. This shadow stood by the window, watching the sleeping Hirdoy and Sunlite.
Suddenly, a single tear rolled down from the shadow's misty eyes.
Was she crying for her own pain? Or was it pity for Sunlite, the girl whose life she was about to destroy? Or perhaps she was crying for Hirdoy—the man she once loved with all her soul, but who now wished to erase her very existence?
Alisa's shadow reached out to touch the glass but couldn't. Her tear left a cold mark on the window frame. She let out a long sigh that blended with the night wind, echoing like a faint scream in Hirdoy's sleeping ears.
She knew that when the sun rose the next morning, Hirdoy and Sunlite's world would never be the same. Whether these tears would fuel the fire of revenge or seek a path to forgiveness, only this dark night knew.A few days had passed. Since that horrific night in the Nexus fortress, the atmosphere of the palace had remained frozen.
A grey afternoon. The curtains of the bedchamber were half-open. Sunlite sat on the couch like a stone statue. Her well-groomed appearance was gone—her hair was messy, scattered disheveledly over her shoulders. Her gaze was fixed on the void outside the window, as if she were seeing something there that no one else could perceive. The familiar kindness in her eyes had vanished, replaced by deep melancholy and emptiness.
Lying tiredly beside Sunlite on the bed was Hirdoy. There was no trace of royal pride on his face; instead, he looked utterly defeated and devastated. He kept one hand over his forehead, staring at the ceiling for a long time.
Unable to bear the silence of the room, Hirdoy let out a deep sigh. Then, in a choked voice, drowned in guilt, he spoke up:
"I made a grave mistake, Sunlite..."
Sunlite didn't move, nor did she even look at Hirdoy. Her face was partially hidden behind her messy hair.
Hirdoy spoke again, "I thought that by breaking the Nexus Law and making you Queen, everything would be alright. I thought that by loving you, I could erase Alisa's memory. But I was wrong. By placing you on this cursed throne, I have turned your life into a living hell."
Hirdoy sat up and tried to take Sunlite's hand, only to find it unnaturally cold.
"Forgive me, Sunlite," Hirdoy whispered. "I knew that Alisa's spirit roamed within the walls of this fortress. I knew she would seek revenge. Yet, for my selfish love, I dragged you here. Death would have been better for me than seeing you in this state today."
Sunlite slowly turned her head now. Through the gaps in her messy hair, she looked into Hirdoy's eyes. Did a flash of red light flicker in her gaze just then? Or was it just the play of the setting sun?
In a strangely cold voice, Sunlite replied, "You didn't make a mistake today, Maharaja... You made the mistake the day you thought blood-stained history could be erased with love. There is no way back now."
Hirdoy's blood ran cold at her words. He realized that his confession had come perhaps much too late.The ice-cold wall of distance between them seemed to shatter for a brief moment. When Hirdoy sat there, destitute after admitting his mistake, Sunlite's cold words made him even more desperate. Driven by a surge of guilt and an overwhelming attraction, Hirdoy could no longer stay away.
Hirdoy moved slowly and sat before Sunlite. Reaching out both hands, he gently brushed away her messy hair. Sunlite's vacant gaze now locked deep into Hirdoy's eyes. Hirdoy took her frozen hand into his own.
The light in the bedroom had faded by then, with only the last traces of twilight playing in the room. This time, Sunlite did not pull away. The turmoil within her mind and the terror of Alisa's shadow seemed to dim slightly under Hirdoy's warm touch.
Hirdoy whispered, "I know I have erred, but I do not have the courage to lose you."
Sunlite offered no reply, merely keeping her melancholic eyes fixed upon him. Hirdoy leaned in closer, inch by inch. Their breaths began to mingle. All the laws of the outside world, Alisa's vengeance, and the history of blood seemed to come to a standstill for that singular moment.
The camera slowly panned away from them. The silken curtains of the window swayed gently in the breeze, gradually closing and veiling their private moment. Behind the curtains, only their two blurred shadows could be seen merging into one. Amidst the mysterious silence of the Nexus fortress, the two of them drew close—where there was no sound, no law, only a melancholic and dangerous surrender.