When Ram woke up, he realized that they were in an old bedroom. He could still see the multicolored light crackling all around them.
He ignored it and moved to help Em and Bhumi, who were still unconscious. He tried to wake them up, but he couldn't. Finally, he decided to study their surroundings.
The first thing he noticed was the scent of stale air inside the bedroom. It was so nauseating that Ram blocked his sense of smell for now. He proceeded to observe the room in much detail.
The bedroom looked ancient the more he observed. There was a single bed large enough for two that was torn at many places. The bed was supported by wooden legs, the ones from his world, but it was scratched and chipped at many locations. Ram was afraid that if he were to lay on top of it, it couldn't support his weight.
The mirror by the side of the bed was cracked at the corners, but it was mostly intact.
In fact, he was even able to see his reflection.
What he saw didn't give him courage though. He Soulfire was dim, with cracks all over his body.
He shouldn't have used Potent Soulva Replica too many times with less breaks in between them. He had to get the help of Aunt Sheila or Bharghav.
He turned his gaze away from his reflection and towards the shelves that were filled with various beauty productions from wide variety of worlds. They were obviously women's products and Ram didn't know how a being of Soul World or any other world could use products from other worlds. Provided they are not the same as Em, who can now exist in other worlds as the being native to that world.
He shook his head and was not surprised to see a closet full of clothes that contains armor and clothing from various worlds as well. He saw the normal clothes from his world, followed by robes that would be preferred by martial arts practitioner, clothes worn by kings and queens.
The owner of this room seemed to be a very ambitious person and Ram didn't know whether her dreams came true or not.
The wall around them seemed to be cracked at several places. This place seemed abandoned for a long time.
As he surveyed the whole room, he saw a giant portrait of the family of three.
It was that of a man in the middle, followed by woman on both of his side. He had his arms around the torso of the two women.
The portrait seemed to be alive, as if it were telling him a story. That the three of them were in relationship and the two women were fighting each other over for the man in the middle.
It also seemed like a warning to his situation with Bhumi and Em.
Ram shuddered and moved closer to the portrait. He was able to see only one of the three clearly. Images of the other two others were obscured from him.
The women to the left closely resembled Chitra. Now that Ram thought about it, he felt that the women who sent them had a more mature voice than that of Chitra.
He also remembered the voice saying them that Bhumi was her enemy's daughter. Bhumi's enemy was Chitra.
Since the person in the portrait closely resembled Chitra, she must be Chitra's mother?
Ram shook his head. They seemed to be inside the house that belonged to Chitra's parents. Who was the other person then?
Ram didn't know. He wanted Bhumi and Em to wake up as soon as possible before they could get out of here.
When they woke up, they also noticed the portrait and discussed about the women's words.
"What did she meant that we were chosen as her successor?" Ram asked.
Bhumi frowned. "I don't know. Anything related to Chitra is bad news," she said.
Em nodded. "I hate to agree with you. Let's get out of here as soon as possible," she said.
Ram nodded.
Bhumi shook her head. "Not so soon. We came inside the abandoned house of Chitra's mother. This is such a golden opportunity. I believe this will have all the information about the bases of Chitra and we have to search it as thoroughly as we can," she said.
Ram didn't know whether he should praise her for knock some sense into her. "This is obviously a trap. We have to get out of here as soon as possible," he said.
Em frowned. "I have to agree with Bhumi's opinion. And with me by your side, we can complete this even quicker," she said.
Bhumi glared at her. "Don't think that I will agree to your earlier suggestion just because you agreed to mine now," she said.
Em shrugged. "You will have to come around the fact that both of us were his soulmates," she said.
Ram was about to interrupt when multicolored light rose around them and when it died down, they found themselves in another room.
It belonged to a women and it was even mire damaged than the previous one. They were also able to see the same portrait as they saw earlier, but someone intentionally obscured it so badly that they are not able to see even Chitra from this. The only thing they were able to see was an outline of three people.
Multicolored light rose around them once again and they were transported to another room. That of a male. It was least damaged one smongst the three of them. It also has a single portrait with a man holding two babies in his arms. This time also, they were able to see only the outline and not the actual image.
"What is the meaning of all of this?" Bhumi asked.
Em chocked and she started to sob.
"What happened to you?" Ram asked.
Em shook her head. She composed herself. "It's proof that Soulmate bond between three exist. Not the mythological proof of Shiva, Parvathi and Ganga, but the real one. And they also have children," she said.
Bhumi growled. "Did you forget the fact that their relationship seemed to be not going well? And they had two kids? One of the was obviously Chitra. What about the other one? What happened to the three of them?" she asked.
Em shook her head. "I think we will find it out as we were transported to other rooms," she said.
Multicolored light came once again and they were transported to the room that belonged to children. Nothing was damaged and it seemed like the two children were very close to each other.
Were they from same mother? Or the man raised them in such a way that no hatred exist between the children?
Before he could ponder any further, multicolored light rose around them once again and when it died down, they were inside a white room with a podium at the center.
It was not damaged just like the children's room.
As soon as they moved, the podium glowed. The face of a bald person emerged on top of the podium and it was made entirely of white. Ram didn't know whether it was male or female until it spoke to them in a robotic female voice.
"I congratulate the three of you for successfully establishing the sacred bond of Merged Souls between the three souls. All you have to do was acknowledge it and merge with one another and I am tasked with guiding you along the way. If you have any doubts, I can help you," it said.
Ram frowned. Since when did they established their bond?
Bhumi gripped Ram's hands while Em seemed ecstatic.
Before Ram could talk, they were surrounded by a multicolored light once again and he was transported into an empty Mind World alone.
Ram was panicking as Em and Bhumi still didn't appear. He turned all around until he saw a strip of Orange Soulfire with black scripts floating in front of him.
The strip seemed as if it was alive and immediately flew towards Ram entered him through his forehead, into his Mind World.
Another room appeared beside the skills related to Portal and Soulfire Mastery inside of his Mind World and the skill seemed as obscured to him like others when they were originally formed.
Ram wanted to pour Soulfire to observe what it was, but he was worried about Bhumi and Em. Since he was inside of his Mind World, he came out of it to see Bhumi and Em glaring at each other.
When they saw him, they both flew towards him, each taking his hand that was close to them and pulled him towards themselves.
Ram realized how serious both of them were and if he couldn't escape from their hands, he would be split apart.
He turned himself into an ant and flew over them, turned into a much smaller version of himself with wings. He tried to regain his normal size, without wings, but he couldn't.
"Can both of you stop fighting against each other?" Ram asked.
Bhumi shook her head.
Em sighed. "She was just angry to learn that both of us were your Soulmates," she said.
Ram groaned. "What I saw didn't prove your claims," he said.
The robotic female voice interrupted them. "What she said is true. Both of them saw the proof that they are your Soulmate while you saw the technique you have to use to active the Soulmate bond and Merged with each other," she said.
"Where's the proof of your claims?" he asked.
"You wouldn't have entered here if that were not the case. I am specifically designed to only allow the beings with Soulmate bond that exists between the three," she said.
Ram looked and Em. Em nodded enthusiastically.
He turned towards Bhumui, who nodded reluctantly. "But I still stand on my opinion. I am not willing to share you with others," she said.
"But you have to share him wit me," Em protested.
Ram groaned. "I think all of this is an illusion by the one who sent us here. We might have been hypnotized," he said and studied his emotions.
He didn't find anything strange.
"Are you talking about the previous soul, Chandi, the only one amongst them who still communicates with me from time to time?" the robotic voice asked.
"Chandi? Is that her name? Was she the one who transported us here?" he asked.
The robotic voice shook her head. "She teleported the three of you into this lab, not transported," she said.
Teleportation? It seemed similar to portal, but much cooler. He wished he has teleportation power to exit out of here. But right now, they have what seemed to be basic model of an A.I. who was tasked with guiding the three of them in their bond. And she seemed to be working for Chandi, Chitra's mother. They had to extract as much information from her as possible.
"Is Chandi, Chitra's mother?" Ram asked.
"Yes."
"Do you know Chitra?"
"Yes. We meet from time to time. I was tasked by Chandi to train Chitra about the ways of Soulmate bond that exist between three people."
"Who are the other two in her Soulmate bond?" he asked.
When she answered, a noise associated with it. So Ram didn't hear what she said.
"Can you repeat their names again?" he asked.
The result was the same.
He gave up.
"You implied that Chandi wanted Chitra to be her successor? Successor for what?" he asked.
"I am built by brilliant scientists to guide Souls just like you. The Dark Forces have been very active lately and one of the ways to defeat them was by having an army of Merged Souls. Even though Two Souls Merged together was common, but they have been hidden for their own safety. But they are not enough. There were legends about Merged Souls made out of three souls and that they are also soulmates. And I am responsible for finding them inside of Soul World," she said.
"Then why didn't you inform whomever has built you after you found Chandi and her Soulmates?" he asked.
She sighed. "They are not stable. One of them is pure evil and the other was pure good. The remaining one was so torn between the two of them that she made some bad decisions.
"So here I am, still on the lookout for the ideal one and you seemed to be an eligible candidate. Though you barely resembly your predecessor.
"One of you was an A.I. who evolved into living being. One of you was soul that belonged to both Soul World and Water World. I can't assess who you are.
"But it seemed like both of them have very strong Soulmate bond with you and at some elementarily level, the three of you have accepted it. But you still have some unresolved problems.
"I am happy to guide the three of you along the way. If you are succesful, then my work here would be concluded and I would transport you to my creator and disappear forever. Otherwise, I shall be on the look out for the ideal candidate," she said.
Ram took some time to process what he learned. He turned to others to see that they are also doing the same.
When it seemed like they processed the information, Ram cleared his throat. "It seemed like Em was telling the truth. That both of you are my Soulmates. But you saw the effect it had on Chandi, Chola and someone else. They are utter chaos and our situation was similar to them at the same time entirely different. If both of your actions for the past few days proved to be anything, I believe that we will also end up the same. Moreover, it seemed like your father waged a war against them. But from the way he talked, he seemed to be worried about them. Not angry. I believe if your father were to know the truth about us, then he might turn against us," Ram said.
Bhumi shook her head. "He waged a war, but he still cared about them. Even Chitra, who was Chandi's daughter. They might be friends and my father was waiting for Chandi and her partners to change themselves. He tried to convince me to stop going after Chitra's bases. If he learns about us, then he can help us," she said.
Em perked up. "Does that mean you agree with me?" she asked.
Bhumi nodded grudgingly. "I agree, but remember that if you plan to turn him against me, I will get him away from you," she said.
Em grinned at her. "Don't worry. I love him as much as you love him. I don't want to come in between the two of you and I expect the same from you," she said.
Bhumi nodded.
Ram groaned. "How come both of you patched up so quickly. What did you exactly see inside of The Mind World?" he asked.
"That's our secret," both of them said at the same time.
Ram thought about how they might turn against each other. He then thought about the mess they had seen from Chandi's house. The chances of them ending up like Chandi, Chola and the other one seemed more.
The way Bhumi and Em patched up so quickly seemed like it was fragile. Anything could happen to the two of them.
He cared about both of them and he didn't want anything to happen to them. Since he can't change their minds right now, he will do the same later.
"We can't inform your father for now. We will have to get more information before making any life altering decisions. Until them, it's better if both of you will not turn against each other," he said.
They nodded.
"Is there anything more you like to ask her?" he asked, pointing towards the bald head of robotic female.
Em nodded and she moved and talked with her. The robotic female voice didn't agree to Em's suggestions and finally, Em came back.
"What did you try?" he asked.
"I tried to see if I can access her memories, but it denied me," she said.
Ram frowned. "I thought you are going to ask her about Chitra and Chandi?" he asked.
Em sighed. "I did. It is tasked with protecting the soulmate of the three and was not willing to reveal anything to me," she said.
Bhumi interrupted them. "Then let's get the hell out of here," she said.
Em nodded.
Ram turned and asked teh robotic female voice the same.
Multicolored light rose all around them and it disappeared, they were met with a worried looking Bharghav and Aunt Sheila.