The Guardian Authority didn't ask permission.
It took.
Bharat's hand was still wrapped around the priest's withered wrist when the System display updated—cold, clinical, indifferent to the screaming.
╔═══════════════════════════════════╗
║ HOSTILE BINDING TERMINATED ║
║ TEMPLE AUTHORITY: OVERRIDDEN ║
║ GUARDIAN RANK: TIER 2 ACTIVE ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════╣
║ WARNING: ENERGY DEPLETION ║
║ CURRENT AUTHORITY: 14/100 ║
║ RECOMMENDED: IMMEDIATE RETREAT ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════╝
Fourteen points left.
Barely enough to get them out.
Maybe.
The other two priests were already running—robes flapping, sandals slapping against stone, voices raised in a chant that made the air taste like copper.
"Bharat—"
Mira's voice. Weak but urgent.
He turned.
She was sitting up on the altar, one hand pressed to the cut on her wrist, the other reaching for him. Her face was pale—too pale—but her eyes were sharp. Focused.
"Can you walk?"
"Can you?"
Fair point. His legs felt like water. His vision kept fracturing into layers—physical reality, contract overlays, system readouts—all competing for attention while the bells in his skull got louder.
GONG.
GONG.
GONG.
"We need to move," he managed.
"Where?"
"Anywhere that isn't here."
He pulled her off the altar. She stumbled—caught herself against his chest. For a moment they just stood there, breathing hard, her blood soaking into his shirt.
That's when the temple guards arrived.
Not two.
Six.
All armed.
All wearing script-covered armor that glowed with binding energy.
The lead guard smiled.
"Guardian or not," he said, "you're still in our temple."
"Not for long."
Bharat's hand shot out—not to attack, to analyze.
The Contract Vision exploded into focus, showing him the guards' bindings—weak points, power sources, the exact nodes where their armor drew strength from the temple itself.
TACTICAL ANALYSIS COMPLETE.
IDENTIFYING OPTIMAL STRIKE POINTS...
The display flickered:
╔═══════════════════════════════════╗
║ ENEMY COUNT: 6 ║
║ THREAT LEVEL: HIGH ║
║ BINDING STRENGTH: 62/100 (AVG) ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════╣
║ RECOMMENDED ACTION: ║
║ [1] SEVER (Cost: 8 per target) ║
║ [2] BARRIER (Cost: 12 total) ║
║ [3] COLLAPSE (Cost: ALL) ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════╣
║ CURRENT AUTHORITY: 14/100 ║
║ WARNING: INSUFFICIENT FOR COMBAT ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════╝
Fourteen points.
Not enough to fight.
But enough to run.
Maybe.
"Mira," he said quietly. "When I say go, you run. Don't look back. Don't stop."
"What are you—"
"Go."
He chose BARRIER.
[BARRIER ACTIVATED]
[12 AUTHORITY SPENT]
[REMAINING: 2/100]
The air around them crystallized—invisible but absolute. The guards' weapons hit it and stopped, blades screeching against something harder than steel.
"Now!"
Mira ran.
Bharat followed—or tried to. His legs weren't obeying properly. The bells were so loud now they felt like physical pressure, crushing his skull from the inside.
GONG. GONG. GONG.
Behind them, the guards were shouting. Trying to break through the barrier.
It wouldn't hold long.
Maybe thirty seconds.
Maybe less.
The corridor twisted ahead—narrow, dark, lined with script that pulsed like a heartbeat. Mira was faster, her dancer's legs carrying her forward while Bharat stumbled, vision blurring.
That's when she stopped.
Turned back.
Grabbed his hand.
Her fingers wrapped around his—small, cold, shaking.
"Don't die," she said.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just a whisper.
Like a fact she needed to confirm.
"I'll try," Bharat managed.
"Try harder."
She pulled him forward. Her hand in his—warm despite the cold, real despite the chaos.
And something in Bharat's chest tightened.
Not pain.
Something worse.
Hope.
They burst through a doorway into night air—humid, thick with incense smoke. The temple courtyard spread before them, empty except for shadows.
And cameras.
Bharat saw them too late.
Phones. Raised. Recording.
Tourists? Reporters? Didn't matter.
What mattered was the angle—Bharat bloodied, Mira in her white ritual sari, their hands locked together as they ran from the temple like criminals fleeing a crime scene.
The story would write itself.
"Car," Mira gasped. "This way."
She led him through narrow streets—away from the main road, toward a parking area Bharat didn't recognize. A black sedan waited, engine running.
Ayesha.
She was leaning against the driver's door, smoking a cigarette, face expressionless.
"Get in."
No questions.
No explanations.
Just—get in.
Bharat collapsed into the back seat. Mira slid in beside him, still holding his hand.
The car was moving before the door fully closed.
"Where to?" Ayesha asked.
"Anywhere," Mira said. "Anywhere that isn't—"
Her phone buzzed.
Then buzzed again.
And again.
Like a machine gun.
She pulled it out. Stared at the screen.
Her face went white.
"What?" Bharat asked.
She turned the phone toward him.
The screen showed:
Trending #1: #ScandalousinTempleTrending #2: #MiraKapurTrending #3: #SecretLover
The top post was a video. Already had 200,000 views.
The thumbnail showed them running.
Hands locked.
Blood on his shirt.
Her in white.
The caption:
"BREAKING: Mira Kapur caught fleeing temple with mysterious man after midnight ritual. Family sources claim marriage is a sham. Full investigation demanded."
Below it—
A statement.
Official.
From Rajan Kapur.
Bharat's vision swam as he read:
"In light of recent events and my niece's disgraceful behavior, I am calling an emergency board meeting to review her position in the company. A married woman conducting secret affairs is not fit to hold shares in our family business. Effective immediately, I am moving to revoke her voting rights and transfer her assets to responsible family management."
Mira's hand went limp in his.
"He's taking my shares," she whispered.
Not angry.
Not scared.
Just... empty.
Like someone had pulled out her spine.
"The shares are your protection," Ayesha said from the front seat. "Without them—"
"Without them, I'm nothing," Mira finished. "Just another daughter they can sell. Another vessel they can use."
Silence.
Just the sound of the car engine.
And rain starting to fall.
Soft at first.
Then harder.
Like the city was crying.
Bharat tried to think.
Tried to plan.
But the bells were so loud now he could barely hear his own thoughts.
GONG. GONG. GONG.
And beneath them—
Voices.
Screaming.
Arjun's voice, clear and desperate:
"She can't fight them without power. Can't protect herself. Can't—"
"Shut up," Bharat muttered.
"What?" Mira looked at him.
"Nothing. Just—"
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Mr. Bharat Singh."
The voice was smooth. Professional. Familiar.
Mr. Voss.
The lawyer.
"We need to talk," Voss said. "About your contract. And the... complications that have arisen."
"What complications?"
"The board meeting is scheduled for 9 AM tomorrow. If Mira loses her shares, your marriage contract becomes void. And if the contract is void—"
"My mother doesn't get the antidote."
"Correct."
Silence.
Just rain on the windshield.
And bells in Bharat's skull.
"What do I do?"
"Attend the meeting," Voss said. "As her legal spouse, you have the right to speak on her behalf."
"They'll destroy me."
"Probably."
"Then why—"
"Because," Voss said quietly, "the contract binds both ways. If you can prove Rajan is acting in bad faith—manipulating the scandal, fabricating evidence—you can invoke Clause 89."
"What's Clause 89?"
"Family betrayal nullification. If proven, all his claims become void. His shares transfer to Mira. And he loses everything."
Bharat's pulse kicked.
"How do I prove it?"
"That," Voss said, "is your problem. But I suggest you bring evidence. And witnesses. And pray the board doesn't kill you before you can speak."
The line went dead.
Bharat looked at Mira.
At her pale face.
At the way she was staring out the window like she was watching her whole life dissolve in the rain.
"We're going to the meeting," he said.
"Bharat, they'll—"
"I know."
"You can barely stand. You haven't slept. The bells—"
"I know."
He squeezed her hand.
"But if we don't fight, they win. Your uncle gets everything. The temple gets you. And my mother dies."
"And if we do fight?"
"Then maybe—"
GONG.
The bells cut through his words like a blade.
He gasped.
Tasted copper.
"—maybe we survive."
Mira looked at him.
Really looked.
"You're insane," she said quietly.
"Probably."
"And you're going to die."
"Maybe."
"Why are you doing this?"
Good question.
Why was he?
The contract? The antidote? The promise to his mother?
Or—
He looked at their joined hands.
At the way her fingers fit between his like they'd been designed that way.
"Because," he said slowly, "someone has to."
Silence.
Then—
Mira's other hand came up.
Touched his face.
Gentle.
Like handling something precious.
"Don't die," she said again.
"I'll try."
"Promise."
"I—"
GONG. GONG. GONG.
The bells exploded.
Bharat's vision went white.
When it cleared—
He was somewhere else.
Not the car.
Not the city.
The temple.
But not the physical temple.
The contract space.
Where binding meets reality.
Where the bells lived.
And standing in front of him—
A young man.
Mid-twenties.
Wearing a groom's traditional clothes.
Covered in blood.
"You're Arjun," Bharat said.
Not a question.
"Yes."
"You're not dead."
"No. Just... trapped."
"In the bells."
"In the contract. They took me three years ago. Made me Guardian. But I failed the trial. Lost myself in the noise."
"How do I not fail?"
Arjun smiled.
Sad.
Broken.
"You don't."
"What?"
"No one survives the Guardian's Oath intact. You just choose what you lose."
"I can't lose—"
"You already are."
Arjun stepped closer.
"The bells take your sleep. Then your silence. Then your sanity. By the third day—"
"I'll be like you."
"Yes."
"Unless?"
"Unless you finish what I couldn't."
"Which is?"
"Break the temple's binding. Free the vessels. Stop the harvesting."
"How?"
"The source is in the sanctum. Where they keep the blood. Where the contract was first made. Destroy it—"
"—and the temple falls."
"And everyone trapped in it gets free."
Bharat looked at him.
"Including you?"
"Including me."
"Why should I trust you?"
Arjun's smile widened.
"Because you're in love with my sister."
"I'm not—"
"You are. You just don't know it yet."
The bells got louder.
GONG. GONG. GONG.
"Time's up," Arjun said. "Go back. Survive the meeting. And when the third day comes—"
"What?"
"Choose."
"Choose what?"
"Who you save."
The world tilted.
Bharat slammed back into his body.
Into the car.
Into rain and bells and Mira's terrified face.
"Bharat!"
"I'm here."
"You stopped breathing."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You're—"
"We have six hours until the meeting," he interrupted. "I need you to tell me everything about your uncle. His allies. His weaknesses. Everything."
Mira stared at him.
"You really think we can win?"
Bharat looked out at the rain.
At the city lights blurring into rivers of gold.
"No," he said honestly.
"Then why—"
"Because losing isn't an option."
He turned back to her.
"Now talk."