The air inside Pratap Singh Mansion was still heavy with the residue of Taamsi's departure. Her dark energy lingered, clinging to the walls like smoke that refused to clear.
Kaal — Yuvaan no more — stood silently in the center of the hall. His eyes, once deep brown and warm, had turned into stormy pits of black-red light. Slowly, his dragon-like wings folded back into nothingness, dissolving as he exhaled, his face momentarily expressionless.
Kiara took that single fleeting silence as her chance.
She leaned close to Bhoomi, her voice trembling but determined.
"Mom, we have to leave… now," she whispered. "Before he—before whatever's inside him—realizes we're still here."
Vinod caught her glance and gave a small nod. The family began moving quietly toward the door — their steps light, their breath heavy. Chandrika held Riddhi close, Susheela clutching her mangalsutra as if prayer alone could open the path.
But before their fingers could touch the door handle—
SLAM!
The main doors shut with a thunderous crash. Every window in the mansion sealed itself tight. A gust of cold, unnatural wind swept through, snuffing out the lamps.
A chilling voice echoed behind them.
"My dearest family," Kaal drawled, his tone calm yet dripping with menace. "Where are you heading… leaving me alone?"
The family froze.
He took a slow step forward, eyes glinting in the dim light.
"Is this what you call love? Running away from your own blood?"
Vinod shielded Bhoomi instinctively, but Bhoomi shook him off and stepped forward, tears welling in her eyes.
"Yuvaan!" she cried. "You are my son. My beta! You could never harm your mother… no matter what darkness clouds you!"
For a moment, his expression softened — the faintest flicker of emotion breaking through. Then his lips curled into a cruel, distant smile.
"You're right, Mom," he whispered. "Yuvaan… could never hurt his mother."
He looked at her, eyes shimmering with a sudden tear — then hardening into black fire.
"But I am not Yuvaan."
His voice deepened, echoing unnaturally. "I am Kaal."
Before Bhoomi could move, his hand shot forward — pressing against her chest — and with a violent burst of dark energy, he shoved her back.
"Mom!" Kiara screamed, rushing to catch her before she fell. Vinod and Chandrika hurried to support Bhoomi, who gasped, clutching her heart in shock.
Kiara looked up at Yuvaan—no, at the monster in his body—rage and heartbreak colliding inside her. She rose, trembling, her hand lifting before she could think.
"How dare you—"
But before her palm could reach his cheek, her wrist froze mid-air. A swirl of black energy coiled around it, binding her in mid-motion.
Kaal smirked.
"Do you truly believe," he said softly, almost playfully, "that a mortal woman like you can lay a finger on the Dark Lord?"
The invisible force flung Kiara backward, throwing her into her family's arms. She hit the floor, breath knocked from her chest.
"Naïve," Kaal said coldly, his voice a velvet whisper laced with venom. "Utterly naïve."
He extended his hand, and the family photo on the mantel lifted into the air. The smiling faces of happier days glowed for a brief, heartbreaking instant—
Then a ball of black fire erupted from his palm.
The photo burst into flames, the glass cracking as the laughter of memory burned to ash.
Kiara's heart clenched. Bhoomi sobbed, her hand reaching toward the photo as if she could pull those faces back from the fire.
Kaal turned, eyes gleaming as he watched the flames dance.
"Your dark time begins now," he said, his tone final — like a sentence passed by the universe itself.
The shadows around him rippled, swallowing the last trace of warmth in the mansion.
And for the first time, home no longer felt like home… but a cage ruled by darkness.
The crackle of the burnt photo still lingered in the air. Smoke drifted lazily through the mansion hall, mingling with the family's fearful silence.
Kaal—once Yuvaan—stood tall, his aura pulsating like a living storm. The darkness around him was alive, crawling over the marble floor like ink.
"Moti Baa…" Chandrika's trembling voice broke the stillness. She stepped forward slowly, clutching her rosary, her eyes moist but unwavering.
"Yuvaan beta… don't let this darkness consume you. I've seen you grow from a child to a man of light. You are not this—this monster. Don't let Kaal win."
For a fleeting second, Kaal's head tilted — as if her words touched something buried deep within him.
Then, his lips curved into a slow, cruel smirk.
"Moti Baa," he repeated, his voice soft but venomous. "You still dare speak to me like the old days?"
In a blink, he appeared before her. The air around Chandrika shifted, her saree's end fluttering in the force of his energy. He grabbed her wrist—not harshly, but with deceptive grace—and spun her around like she was part of a sinister dance.
"You're quite old now, aren't you?" he murmured near her ear, his breath cold as frost. "Don't you wish to meet Grandfather in heaven?"
Chandrika gasped, struggling to pull away.
"How about I give you a direct ticket?"
A dark sphere of power began forming in his palm, humming with deathly energy. Bhoomi screamed. Vinod rushed forward—
But before anyone could react, a sharp voice pierced the tension.
"Yuvaan!"
Kaal froze.
Kiara stepped between them, standing firm though her hands trembled. Her tear-streaked face glistened under the flickering light.
"Then do it," she dared, her tone steady yet breaking at the edges. "Strike me. Let me see if your love was truly that weak."
The room went utterly still.
Even the shadows seemed to hesitate.
Kaal's expression hardened, but his eyes flickered for a heartbeat — a trace of Yuvaan beneath the abyss. Then he laughed. Low. Mocking. Dangerous.
"Love?" he said with a smirk. "Yuvaan's emotions have been sealed away. His love, his guilt, his tenderness… all gone."
He stepped closer, his gaze locking onto hers.
"Only Kaal's darkness remains."
Kiara's breath hitched as he stopped inches away, his aura brushing against her skin like fire and ice.
"But still…" he whispered, his tone shifting into something disturbingly intimate, "…you are my wife."
His hand snaked forward, gripping hers tightly — not lovingly, but possessively, like a claim.
"So come," he said, his voice low, echoing with authority. "Fulfill the dues of a wife."
He yanked her toward the staircase. Kiara stumbled, her hand trying to pull away, but his strength was inhuman. Bhoomi cried out, "No! Kiara!" while Angad and Vinod rushed forward, only for an invisible force to throw them back.
The family watched helplessly as Kaal dragged Kiara up the grand stairs — his dark aura trailing behind him like a black flame.
Bhoomi clutched her heart, tears spilling down.
"Don't hurt her, Yuvaan… please…"
But Yuvaan was gone.
Only Kaal's hollow laughter echoed through the mansion as the shadows swallowed them whole.