When Ayra heard that she was no longer an ordinary girl, but the Queen from a hundred years ago, something inside her collapsed with a hollow roar. The royal splendor around her, the bowed maids, and the deep longing in Hridoy's eyes did not comfort her—instead, they terrified her even more.
She shook her head wildly, tears streaming down her face, and screamed,
"No! I am not a queen! I am not Sunlight! I am only Ayra. My mother is at home right now, crying for me. She's waiting for me. I want to go back to my mother!"
King Hridoy took a few steps forward, trying to reach for her hand, but Ayra recoiled in fear. She looked down at her torn dress and broke down sobbing.
"I don't want your palace or your gold," she cried. "I want to return to the mother whose lap I slept in. Let me go!"
As Ayra rushed toward the door, the head maid Ena stepped in her way and said in a sorrowful voice,
"If you leave, Your Majesty, this five-month-old child will die again. This palace will turn to ashes once more. You are the last flame of this bloodline. If you go, the King will fall back into a hundred years of loneliness."
Ayra froze at the doorway. Turning back, she saw the baby in the cradle crying desperately, as if it understood that its 'mother' was about to abandon it. And King Hridoy—those once-heroic eyes now carried the shadow of helplessness.
Ayra stood torn. On one side was her ordinary mother, who had raised her, for whom her heart ached unbearably. On the other side stood a century-old history, a starving child, and a lonely king.
She looked at the wall and whispered,
"Mother… you told me I was entrusted to this bloodline. But how can I leave my own mother and stay in this illusion?"
Suddenly, a thin veil of mist drifted in through the window and formed her mother's face before her. It felt as if her mother were whispering from afar,
"Go, Ayra. Fulfill your destiny. I live within your heart."
As Ayra screamed over and over, "I want to go back to my mother," a shadowy figure slowly emerged in the corner of the room. Ayra stumbled back in fear and asked in a trembling voice,
"Who's there?"
The misty form gradually became clear. Standing there was the mysterious woman with black hair and blue eyes—the same one from the portrait. She wore a deep blue gown, and yet her face was as calm and tender as Ayra's mother's.
She approached Ayra gently. Ayra pressed herself against the wall in fear. In a soft voice, the woman said,
"Do not be afraid, Ayra. I am your past—and your present. Do you not recognize me? I am the one who has been your mother for a hundred years, protecting you in this world."
Ayra froze in disbelief.
"Mother? You are my mother? But my mother is at home—"
The woman smiled and placed her hand on Ayra's forehead. Instantly, a century of memories flashed before Ayra like a film. She saw the destruction of Nexus Fortress, and how this black-haired woman had used her magic to save Sunlight's last descendant—Ayra—bringing her into the ordinary world. She herself had lived as a human, raising Ayra as her 'mother,' waiting for the moment Ayra would reclaim her true identity.
"Ayra," the woman said gently,
"the mother you seek is me. I am a part of your soul. I am the bridge between this palace's magic and the tenderness of your human world. You are not leaving anywhere, my child—you have come home."
Ayra sobbed uncontrollably.
"Then my ordinary life… my small home… were they all lies?"
Hridoy stepped forward and took Ayra's other hand.
"Nothing was a lie. That life was your preparation. Today, your two selves—Ayra and Sunlight—have become one. Look—the baby is smiling. It has recognized its mother."
Ayra felt her white dress glow again. All her fear dissolved in an instant, replaced by a deep, unfamiliar peace. She realized she had not lost anything—she had become whole.
Overwhelmed, Ayra clutched the mysterious woman's hand just as she used to cling to her birth mother.
"If you truly are my mother," she cried, "then come with me! I don't want this palace or this illusion. I want to return to that small house where you fed me with your own hands. I want to remain your ordinary daughter!"
Her cries made the palace walls tremble. When her tears fell onto the woman's hand, something miraculous happened—the woman began to cry as well. Embracing Ayra, she said,
"My child, be calm. I never left you. But look at this baby—if you go, it will die. You came here today because a hundred years ago you tried to save it."
Ayra looked from the baby to the door. She felt split between two worlds—one of simple childhood memories, the other of an empire's responsibility.
Hridoy, standing at a distance, spoke softly through tears,
"If you truly wish to leave, I will not stop you. I can endure another hundred years of darkness. But can you abandon this child? Can you leave with the heart your mother gave you?"
Ayra turned to her mother and saw that their blue eyes were identical. She understood then—her mother had not abandoned her; she had brought her home.
In a broken whisper, Ayra asked,
"Mother… will I ever sit with you on our little balcony and talk again?"
The woman wiped her tears and replied,
"Wherever you are, in whatever form, I will be your shadow. This palace is now your home, and I am your eternal mother."
Ayra cried out and clutched her mother's veil in desperation.
"Don't leave me, Mother! I don't want to be queen! If you're not with me, I cannot breathe!"
Her mother held her tightly and kissed her forehead.
"My foolish child… I left the palace a hundred years ago to save you. Now that you have returned, why would I leave you? I will remain beside you—as your shadow and your strength."
Then a miracle occurred. She led Ayra before a vast mirror. In it, Ayra saw three figures—Sunlight on one side, the black-haired mother on the other, and herself between them—all merging into one.
Whispering, the woman said,
"I am the motherhood of Sunlight that raised you. We are not separate. Your small house may be gone, but your mother will always be with you."
Ayra finally calmed, breathing in the familiar scent that had comforted her since childhood. Hridoy joined them, placing one hand on Ayra's shoulder and one on the mother's.
The baby laughed from the bed. Ayra felt, perhaps for the first time, that this was her true family.
"Will you really stay, Mother?" Ayra asked softly.
"As long as you breathe," the woman replied.
But then, slowly, the black-haired woman dissolved into mist. Ayra reached out in terror, but her mother faded like a cool breeze through the window.
Ayra collapsed to the floor in silence.
At that moment, the baby began crying loudly.
Ayra crawled to the cradle, lifted the child, and held it tightly as she cried.
"Are you alone too, my love? Has your mother gone as well?"
When her tears touched the baby's cheek, it stopped crying and gazed at her with wide blue eyes—the same calm gaze as her mother's.
Ayra felt warmth return to her chest. Her condition awakened again. She understood—her mother had not left; she had merged into this child and into Ayra herself.
Sitting on the floor, Ayra fed the baby, whispering,
"If Mother is gone, it doesn't matter. I'm here. I will never let you be alone."
Hridoy watched silently from the doorway, tears in his eyes. He knew—a queen had departed, but a mother had taken the throne.
He approached and wrapped Ayra in a gentle embrace.
"Do not cry, Ayra. Your mother trusted you with this love."
He kissed her forehead softly.
"I am here. Whether you choose to be queen or not, you are my guiding star. You will never be alone again."
The baby slept peacefully against her chest. Ayra rested her head on Hridoy's shoulder, realizing she was no longer torn between Ayra and Sunlight.
As dawn painted the palace walls gold, Nexus Fortress finally welcomed a new beginning—after a hundred years of waiting.