The cursed island greeted them with a darkness that felt alive.
Kiara stepped forward, her long gown sweeping over the cracked, dead earth. The air tasted of metal and rot, but her expression didn't waver. Determination sharpened every line of her face.
"Dad," Kiara said quietly, her voice steady. "This place isn't just cursed. It's watching us."
Vikram tightened his grip on his gun.
"I know. Stay alert."
A faint rustling snapped through the silence.
Then another.
Then a low, guttural snarl.
Kiara and Vikram slowly turned toward the sound—
And from the thick, crawling fog, the creatures emerged.
Dozens of them.
Bodies twisted… limbs bent the wrong way… skulls cracked open with green fire seeping through.
Cursed beings, cursed souls, cursed protectors of the island.
Their growls vibrated in the air like the island's heartbeat.
Kiara didn't flinch.
Vikram lifted his gun.
"They're surrounding us. Get ready."
Before he could fire—
One creature lunged straight at them.
Kiara moved first.
She snatched the small pouch of Rudramani dust from Vikram's belt.
"Dad, duck."
Without waiting for a response, she flung a handful of the dust into the air.
The golden particles ignited mid-air—
FWOOOOM!
A blazing wave blasted outward, burning through half the cursed creatures instantly.
The remaining ones shrieked—an unearthly, bone-scraping sound—but they kept advancing, climbing over the ashes of their fallen.
Vikram glanced at her, breath heavy.
"Kiara… they're not stopping."
Kiara's eyes gleamed with fierce resolve.
"I'm not stopping either, Dad."
More creatures crawled from the shadows, their claws scraping the ground.
Kiara stepped forward, shoulders squared, the trident-shaped birthmark on her back glowing faintly beneath the gown's fabric.
"This island can throw everything it has at me," she said, her voice cold, unbroken.
"But I'm getting to Yuvaan."
She raised her hand—gold light flickering at her fingertips.
The creatures shrieked again.
The first trial of the cursed island… had truly begun.
The Pratap Singh mansion shook with a low, unnatural hiss.
Aranya — now fully transformed into the spider witch — dropped from the wall, landing on all fours. Her limbs were long, jointed unnaturally, her fingers sharpened into black claws that scratched deep grooves into the marble floor.
Her eyes glowed a poisonous yellow.
"Step out of my way," Aranya snarled, her voice layered with a demonic undertone. "I won't hesitate to slaughter every single one of you. My king must die."
The family instinctively stepped closer around Yuvaan, forming a human shield.
Varun stepped forward, bow raised, expression sharp and fearless.
"If you want to touch Yuvaan," he said, "you'll have to go through me."
Aranya tilted her head, smirking.
"Oh… I love challenges."
Before anyone could blink, she flicked her wrist—
THWIP!
A thick strand of spider silk shot toward Varun.
Varun dove to the side just in time, the sticky web slicing past his shoulder and slamming into the wall with a loud crack.
"You're fast," Aranya hissed. "But not fast enough."
Varun rolled to his feet and fired an arrow in one smooth motion.
THUNK!
The arrow buried into Aranya's upper arm.
She hissed in pain but only for a second.
Her skin bubbled—then knitted back together instantly.
Aranya looked at the healed wound and smirked.
"Bad boy," she purred. "That tickled."
Before Varun could move again—
Aranya grabbed a heavy couch with one hand, lifting it as if it weighed nothing.
She hurled it straight at him.
WHOOSH—CRASH!
Varun leapt aside, but the impact of the couch exploding against the floor threw him off balance. He hit the ground hard, gasping.
Aranya didn't wait.
She launched forward, landing on top of him with terrifying speed.
THWIP-THWIP!
Strands of spider silk wrapped around Varun's arms and legs, binding him tightly to the floor.
He struggled—but the silk only tightened.
Aranya crawled closer, her face inches from his, her fangs glinting.
"You should've stayed out of this," she whispered. "Now I'll kill you first… and then your precious king."
The family screamed Varun's name as the monstrous witch loomed over him—
And the battle inside the mansion truly began.
Meanwhile… On the Cursed Island
The ground trembled beneath Kiara's feet as more cursed creatures crawled out from the cracks in the earth — twisted shadows with burning blue veins and hollow, shrieking mouths.
Vikram fired arrow after arrow, each strike ripping through a creature, but more kept coming.
"Kiara, behind you!" he shouted.
But Kiara was no longer afraid.
She stepped forward, her gown billowing like a storm cloud around her, eyes glowing with molten determination.
She spread her arms wide, palms facing the sky.
Her voice dropped into a divine chant, steady and powerful:
"Om… Namah… Shivaya…"
Over and over.
Her breath deepened.
The air crackled.
The rocks around her began to tremble—
then lift—
then spiral upward as if pulled by an invisible vortex of divine force.
Vikram paused mid-shot, stunned.
"K-Kiara…" he whispered, awe replacing fear.
The cursed creatures hissed and charged toward her—
But Kiara's eyes snapped open.
The Trident mark on her shoulder blazed with golden fire.
She took one fierce step forward, raising her hand like a warrior calling judgment.
And she roared:
"JAI BHOLENATH!"
Her command exploded through the island like thunder.
The levitating rocks shot forward at impossible speed—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Each rock struck a cursed creature, shattering them into ash.
A shockwave of divine force rippled outward, sending others tumbling back, screeching.
Kiara stood in the center of it all, chest heaving, hair whipping wildly, divine energy crackling around her like a living aura.
She looked nothing like a frightened girl searching for her husband.
She looked like a wrathful goddess marching into war.
Vikram lowered his bow, awe-struck.
"Kiara… you're unstoppable," he whispered.
Kiara didn't look back.
Her eyes were fixed on the path leading deeper into the cursed island.
"Dad," she said softly, voice steady and icy with resolve,
"no creature born of darkness… will stop me from reaching Yuvaan."