The sound echoed through the underground room.
Step.
Aarav couldn't move.
His own voice had just come from the darkness.
“You should have remembered me three years ago.”
Kabir grabbed Rhea's arm.
“What is happening?”
“I don't know,” Rhea whispered.
Vihaan was still holding Aarav's wrist.
“Listen to me,” he said. “Whatever you hear, don't answer.”
Aarav pulled his hand away.
“Why should I trust you?”
Vihaan's expression became serious.
“You shouldn't.”
Before Aarav could respond, Joon suddenly stepped between them.
“Stay away from him.”
Vihaan laughed quietly.
“You're still protecting him?”
Joon's eyes became cold.
“I always will.”
Aarav stared at him.
“Always?”
Joon looked at Aarav.
For a second, his expression softened.
Then the darkness behind them moved.
A figure stepped into the faint light.
Aarav froze.
It looked exactly like him.
Same face.
Same hair.
Same eyes.
But there was something wrong.
The other Aarav was wearing old-fashioned clothes, and blood covered his white shirt.
Rhea screamed.
Kabir stepped backward.
“No. No way.”
The figure looked directly at Aarav.
“You finally came back.”
Aarav couldn't breathe.
“Who are you?”
The figure smiled.
“You.”
Then everything went black.
---
Aarav opened his eyes.
He was standing in a different place.
There was no underground room.
No Rhea.
No Kabir.
No Vihaan.
Only Joon.
They were standing beside a lake.
The sky was orange, and thousands of small lights floated above the water.
Aarav looked at himself.
He was wearing different clothes.
“Where are we?”
Joon didn't answer.
Instead, he reached for Aarav's hand.
Aarav didn't pull away.
Something about Joon's touch felt familiar.
Too familiar.
“I've seen this place before,” Aarav whispered.
Joon looked at him.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
Aarav's heart began pounding.
Then the memory came.
A boy laughing beside the lake.
Joon.
Aarav.
They were holding hands.
They were happy.
And they were in love.
Aarav's eyes widened.
“We…”
Joon nodded.
“Yes.”
“We were together?”
Joon's eyes filled with tears.
“You promised you would remember me.”
Aarav stepped closer.
“Then why don't I remember?”
“Because you asked me to make you forget.”
“Why?”
Joon looked toward the lake.
“Because you were dying.”
Aarav froze.
“What?”
“Three years ago, you were supposed to die.”
Joon's voice trembled.
“I couldn't accept it.”
“So what did you do?”
“I made a deal.”
“With whom?”
Joon didn't answer.
A dark shadow appeared across the lake.
Joon whispered,
“With something that was never human.”
The entire lake suddenly turned black.
Aarav saw flashes of memories.
Fire.
Blood.
Joon crying.
Aarav lying unconscious in Joon's arms.
Then a voice echoed through the darkness:
“One life for another.”
Aarav looked at Joon.
“What did you give them?”
Joon's eyes filled with tears.
“My life.”
Aarav shook his head.
“No…”
Joon smiled sadly.
“You weren't supposed to remember.”
The world around them began disappearing.
Aarav reached for Joon.
“Joon!”
Joon grabbed his hand.
“Whatever happens next, don't trust Vihaan.”
“Why?”
Joon looked terrified.
“Because he was the one who made the deal.”
Aarav's eyes widened.
Suddenly, he woke up.
He was back in the underground room.
Rhea and Kabir were beside him.
Vihaan was standing across the room.
But Joon was gone.
Aarav immediately looked at Vihaan.
“You made the deal.”
Vihaan's face went completely still.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Then he smiled.
“You remembered.”
Aarav stepped forward.
“What happened to Joon?”
Vihaan didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the black mark on Aarav's palm.
It was glowing brighter than ever.
“You have 98 days left.”
Then every light in the room went out.
And from somewhere in the darkness, Joon screamed—
“AARAV, DON'T LET HIM TAKE YOUR SOUL!”
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