A shuddered breath escaped Kajal as she stared at Yuvaan—this boy she had hunted, hated, blamed for every wound carved into her past. Her lips trembled, and before anyone could stop her, she stepped forward.
"Let me do it," she said softly.
Everyone stiffened.
Yuvaan's head jerked up in shock.
Kajal's eyes glistened with a fierce, broken resolve.
"I… I will make the sacrifice," she whispered.
"I will create the Jeevan Mani."
Silence fell so sharply it felt like the air itself froze.
Vikram's eyes widened.
Varun took a stumbling step toward her.
Bhoomi gasped, clutching Kiara closer.
Even the magical serpents slackened, sensing the shift in their mistress's heart.
Kajal continued, voice cracking.
"I am her mother. She is my child. This poison runs because of me. This fate came through my rage."
She held out her trembling palm.
"Let me give up my powers. Let me pay the price. For Kiara."
But Yuvaan stood up so suddenly everyone flinched.
"No," he said, his voice firm but filled with a gentle, heartbreaking sincerity.
Kajal blinked at him, stunned.
Yuvaan stepped closer, shaking his head.
"If a serpent forfeits her powers for human emotions…"
His voice softened painfully.
"…she becomes cursed, Kajal. Stripped of divinity. Cast out of Naaglok. Condemned to a half-existence."
Her breath caught.
"And I," Yuvaan whispered, "will never let my mother-in-law take that curse."
Kajal's lips parted, but no words came.
Yuvaan looked at her—really looked—past her fury, her grief, her hatred… straight into the shattered mother beneath.
"You lost one child because of a chain of events that started with me," he said gently.
"I was the reason Taamsi hunted you all. I was the reason danger followed your family."
He lowered his gaze.
"If not directly, then indirectly… I was connected to your loss."
Kajal pressed a hand to her chest as if her heart was tearing.
Yuvaan stepped closer, his voice a soft, trembling promise.
"But now… I will save your second child."
He placed a hand over Kiara's fading form.
"I will give you back the daughter you're losing because of this hatred."
His voice broke.
"Let me do this. I owe you that much."
Kajal's knees buckled, and she clutched the nearest pillar, eyes flooding with tears—not anger this time, but something deeper, something devastating.
Everyone watched as the impossible happened:
The Swarnnaagin who had sworn to kill Yuvaan…
…was suddenly the one shaking in fear and regret.
---
Vikram wiped his tears with the back of his trembling hand. He forced himself to stand straight, even though grief and fear weighed heavily on his shoulders. His eyes flickered from Kiara's fading form… to Kajal's shattered expression… to Yuvaan, who stood firm despite the blood at his temple and the bruises across his chest.
Vikram swallowed hard.
"I will explain," he said softly, though his voice trembled. "But know this… the ritual is dangerous. And the price is irreversible."
Yuvaan nodded once. "Tell me."
Vikram breathed in slowly, gathering strength.
"To create the Jeevan Mani," he began, "one must summon all the power within themselves and compress it into a single crystal. The person creating it must willingly give up every ounce of their strength… every ability… every gift."
He looked straight at Yuvaan.
"It will empty you."
The room fell silent.
Vikram continued, his voice low and heavy.
"This ritual does not merely take away supernatural power. It takes away your core. The energy inside you will collapse into the gem. And once it does… you will never regain it."
He paused.
"Not in this life… not in the next."
Kajal staggered a step back, gripping her head in disbelief.
"This is madness… madness…" she whispered.
Varun's voice broke. "Dad… there must be another way. Please—tell me there is another way."
Vikram closed his eyes for a moment, pained beyond words.
"There is not," he said.
Yuvaan remained still, strangely calm.
Vikram's voice softened even further, almost cracking.
"Yuvaan… the one creating the Jeevan Mani must place their hand over the dying person's heart."
He glanced at Kiara, whose body had faded past her knees now.
"Their life energy must mingle with yours. Your power will flow into her. Her life will be restored… but yours will dim."
He struggled to speak the next words.
"And when the ritual ends… you will fall unconscious. Perhaps for hours. Perhaps for days."
His voice broke.
"And when you wake… you will be ordinary. Mortal. Vulnerable."
Yuvaan inhaled sharply, but there was no fear in his eyes.
Only love.
Vikram added, more quietly now:
"And if your body cannot endure the power extraction… there is a chance…"
His breath caught.
"…that you may not wake up at all."
The words crashed over the room like a storm.
Bhoomi clutched Kiara tighter and sobbed.
Varun's legs almost gave way.
Chandrika covered her mouth.
Vinod closed his eyes in anguish.
Kajal looked like the ground had just shattered beneath her.
Yuvaan simply nodded.
"Fine."
Everyone stared at him in disbelief.
"I'll do it," Yuvaan whispered.
His gaze fell on Kiara, whose breath was shallow, whose body flickered like fading light.
"For her… I'll do anything."