Free us…We don't want to kill anymore…Please… free us…Kill me… free me…
The whispers crawled through Pranith's head.
He flinched, panic rising in his chest. For a moment he felt as if the voices were clawing at his thoughts, pulling him apart from the inside.
"What is happening to me…?" he muttered.
He shut his eyes and forced himself to breathe.
Calm down, Pranith. Listen carefully. What are they saying?
He steadied his mind and focused.
Kill me… free me…
Pranith's eyes widened.
"I've heard these words before…" he whispered. "Yes. From the soldiers. They begged Dhruva to end their lives."
But back then, he had heard those voices inside Dhruva's mind.
So why were they echoing again now?
Pranith looked down at the battlefield.
Silas's attacks were sharp, accurate, perfectly timed.Dhruva's attacks were powerful, but they lacked precision. They missed by inches, struck too wide, came too late.
Something was wrong.
"Wait…" Pranith murmured. "I saw those soldiers through Dhruva's mind. What if… the connection between us is still there?"
If that was true, then Dhruva's hesitation, his imbalance, his unfocused attacks—
It was because of the voices.
Pranith clenched his fists.
"I need to help him…"
But Tarkshya's warning echoed immediately.
Do not enter another mind without my permission.
Pranith bit his lip.
Below him, Rudra had also noticed Dhruva's condition. Yet he remained where he was.
"Dhruva must overcome it by his own will," Rudra muttered to himself. "I should not interfere."
The battle continued.
Dhruva slashed again and again with his wind blade, but Silas read every move. The fight dragged on, and Dhruva's mind grew heavier.
Pranith floated above, torn.
"I can go in and come back," he argued with himself. "Tarkshya said it's dangerous if I lose my way… but I can't just watch when I might be able to help."
He raised a finger to his lips, thinking deeply.
"I need answers," he whispered."Why can I enter people's minds in the first place? And why did I feel nothing after Rudra… but with Dhruva, the memories stayed?"
A sudden realization struck him.
"What if… Dhruva's mind is still connected to mine?"
If so, he didn't need to enter again.
He could speak through the link.
Pranith closed his eyes.
Darkness swallowed him.
Then he saw it.
A thin yellow thread of light stretched through the void, pulsing gently—carrying fragments of Dhruva's memories.
"There," Pranith breathed. "That's it."
He reached toward the thread.
The moment his fingers brushed it, memories burst into him like a flood.
Pain.Fear.Voices screaming for release.
Pranith staggered.
"This is dangerous," he realized. "If this continues, Dhruva might lose himself… or I might drown in it."
He forced himself to think.
How do I stop this?Dhruva must wake up. He must choose to stand.
Suddenly, he remembered how he had saved Rudra.
Encouragement.
A push.
Not control.
"Alright," Pranith whispered. "I'll try it… but differently."
Gathering his will, he spoke into the glowing thread, sending his voice back along the connection.
"All is finished now," he said firmly."It's up to you, Dhruva. Use your memories and overcome this trial… or fall asleep forever with your regrets."
The thread trembled.
Pranith released it and opened his eyes, returning to the sky above the battlefield.
"I've done what I can," he whispered.
Now he could only watch.
Below, Dhruva suddenly stopped.
The wind around him shifted.
Then, slowly… he smiled.
"I think," Dhruva said quietly, "I understand now."
A warm current of air wrapped around him, gentle, almost comforting—like an old friend returning.
Silas noticed immediately.
"…Something changed," he muttered.
High above, relief filled Pranith's face.
"Finally," he whispered, "hope has returned."