And then—
The Ghosts of Hell — the secret group once bound to Maya's past — stirred from the crowd. Some were there, hidden among the guests. Their eyes gleamed with recognition and fury. To them, Nahir was not an intruder — he was a rival.
Within moments, chaos erupted.
"Don't interfere!" Rahi shouted — but it was too late.
Several of the Ghosts lunged forward, forming a loose circle around Nahir and Maya. Their movements were sharp, disciplined — but Maya didn't flinch. Her eyes darted once toward Rahi — an unspoken warning — before she turned back to the fight.
Nahir laughed under his breath. "Looks like everyone wants to fight with you, 17B."
"And you," she said, her voice calm, "still talk too much."
Then she moved.
She vanished — a blur of black and silver. When she reappeared, it was behind one of the Ghosts, her heel driving into his ribs. He flew across the room, crashing into a marble pillar. Another charged at her, blades drawn, but Maya caught the weapon between two fingers and twisted — disarming him without effort.
Nahir joined the fray, striking at her again, faster now, his energy blazing. His aura flared crimson — the mark of the experimental surge that once linked them. He ducked, swept, and countered — but she moved like smoke, her form shifting with inhuman grace.
Every strike she threw rippled through the air, bending it, warping it. Her power was no longer restrained — it sang.
The chandelier above them cracked, a rain of crystals falling like frozen tears.
Mahi screamed. Fahad pulled her back. The servants scattered.
T,he grand hall had become a storm.
Nahir spun midair, delivering a kick that sliced through the marble floor where Maya had stood. She reappeared behind him, her hand brushing the back of his neck. The contact alone sent a surge of energy through his spine — enough to make him stagger.
He coughed blood, but he was laughing.
"That's it… That's the girl they couldn't contain."
Maya's voice dropped to a whisper.
"They didn't contain me. They created me."
Then she unleashed herself.
The ground split.
Every light in the mansion flickered, dimmed, then burst.
A wave of darkness rolled outward from her, swallowing sound, swallowing light. It wasn't mere energy — it was raw will. The air itself obeyed her.
The Ghosts of Hell faltered, some collapsing, others struggling to stand. Nahir alone stood firm, though his legs trembled beneath the pressure.
She raised her hand, and the darkness coiled around her wrist like a living serpent. The shadows pulsed — deep, alive, hungry.
Rahi's voice broke through the storm.
"Maya! Stop! You'll kill them!"
Her head turned slowly toward him.
Her eyes — twin mirrors of night — flickered with something unreadable. For a heartbeat, her expression softened.
Then Nahir moved again.
He lunged, his hand glowing red, striking for her chest — a blow meant to end it.
Maya caught his wrist mid-air.
The impact sent a thunderclap through the hall, shattering every remaining window.
Their eyes locked — light against shadow, fury against restraint.
Mahi screamed from the stairs, "Stop this madness!"
But no one could.
The fight was no longer just physical. It was memory unraveling — the lab, the cages, the blood, the number carved into the wrist. Subject 17-B.
Nahir's voice rose through the chaos. "You still don't understand, do you? They built us to fight — to feel fear !"
Maya's reply came with the force of a blade slicing the air. "Then let me prove them wrong."
Their fists collided. The shockwave shattered every glass window in the hall.
Light burst outward — white and searing — then dimmed.
For a moment, everything stopped.
Dust settled slowly, like falling snow.
And in the center of it all, Maya stood, her breathing uneven, her hair wild, her eyes blazing with quiet fury. Across from her, Nahir knelt, blood trickling from his lip, but his expression was… proud.
"You've grown more cold ,"he said softly. "The girl they called broken — now the weapon they fear."
She shook her head, her voice low but firm. "I'm not their weapon."
He smiled faintly. "No. You're something worse. You're free."
Nahir's knees gave way. He sank to the floor, panting, blood trickling from his lip.
He looked up at her — and smiled. "You win."
Maya stood motionless. Her chest rose and fell in slow, measured breaths. The darkness around her began to fade, melting back into her skin.
He rose slowly, pain flickering through his movements.
Then the dust settled. The air hung thick with heat and static.
Everyone was staring — brothers, guards, strangers — their eyes wide with disbelief what they had seen earlier .