"To understand the end, you must first witness the first spark."
The spiral trembled — not with sound, but memory. And through the mirror, Aarohi was pulled not forward, but backward. Back to a time before her, before Vrinda, before even Ishaan.
A time when the first Kalchakra had just been born.
📜 The Origin of the Spiral
The spiral wasn't built — it was discovered.
A young sage named Raghuveer found the first fracture in time beneath the trees of Nidhivan. Time dripped slowly here, like syrup from broken bark. He called it "Kaalbindu" — the droplet of time.
Raghuveer was gifted. He could feel the past and taste the future.
And one night, while meditating beneath the moon, he saw a vision — of a girl with lotus eyes, standing between two mirrored versions of the world.
"One where the world burned.
One where it bloomed."
That girl… was not born yet. But Raghuveer began building the spiral. Stone by stone. Prophecy by prophecy.
"One day, a vessel will arrive.
Not born of this timeline.
She will carry the thread of balance —
Or cut it forever."
🕉️ The First Guardian
Raghuveer chose a disciple — a fierce warrior with knowledge of scriptures and scars from battle. His name?
Viraat.
He became the First Guardian of Kalchakra.
But even Viraat could not resist the pull of alternate versions.
He fell in love… with someone he should never have met — a version of Vrinda from a forgotten time.
Their union broke the spiral's rhythm.
From it was born a child — half-real, half-prophecy.
That child… was Ishaan.
🌑 Aarohi Watches the Truth
Aarohi's hands shook as she watched all this unfold.
Ishaan — her Ishaan — wasn't just a guardian.
He was the product of a forbidden union, a being who was never meant to exist.
And yet… he was the key.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.
Ishaan, standing behind her, his eyes shadowed, finally spoke:
"Because I was never allowed to. If you knew the truth too early…"
He looked toward the mirror.
"…you'd become her."
Aarohi turned to the mirror. The version she feared most — the one cloaked in black — smiled back.
🔱 Last Page Reveal
Back in the real world, Vrinda placed something on the stone floor of the sanctum.
A locket. Old, rusted, and humming with energy.
Inside it… a painting. Faded but visible.
Aarohi and Ishaan — as children. Together.
Even before time tried to separate them,
they had been together.
Not lovers. Not enemies.
But threads of the same fate.