The moment Arjun and Meera stepped into the fire, the world vanished. Heat roared in their ears, not burning their flesh but consuming something deeper—their very souls.
The golden flames swirled around them, alive with whispers that carried neither comfort nor malice. The voices spoke in languages ancient and forgotten, as though the temple itself judged their worth.
Meera's grip on Arjun's hand tightened. "Arjun! Where are we?"
He turned to answer, but his voice caught in his throat. Meera was there… and yet she wasn't. Her form flickered like a mirage, the fire bending her outline. Then, suddenly, Arjun's feet no longer touched solid ground.
They were falling.
Arjun's chest seized with panic as the golden void stretched infinitely around them. The sensation was disorienting—weightless yet suffocating. He wanted to scream, but the flames swallowed sound.
And then it stopped.
The fire pulled back like a receding tide, leaving Arjun standing alone in a space unlike any he had ever known. The ground beneath him was smooth and reflective, like an endless sheet of polished glass. The air was still, heavy with an unseen presence. Around him, golden flames hovered in the distance, their light casting strange shadows on the reflective floor.
"Meera?" Arjun called, his voice echoing endlessly.
No answer.
A shiver crept down his spine. He wasn't alone—but whoever, or whatever, shared this space with him remained unseen.
Suddenly, the glassy ground beneath his feet rippled. Arjun stumbled back as his reflection came to life, stepping out of the mirror-like floor with fluid grace. It was him—every detail identical, except for one thing: the reflection's eyes glowed with a fiery golden light.
"Who… are you?" Arjun whispered.
The reflection tilted its head, a sinister smile spreading across its face. "I am you, Arjun," it said, the voice smooth yet hollow. "I am everything you hide from. Everything you fear."
Arjun's breath caught as his reflection began to shift. The figure's body distorted, warping into shadowy tendrils that moved like smoke. When it solidified again, Arjun recoiled.
The reflection now wore the face of his father.
"Why didn't you save me?" the figure accused, its voice thunderous and dripping with pain.
Arjun staggered back. "You're not real! My father—he died in the fire! I couldn't—"
"You let me burn," the figure interrupted, its face twisting with grief and rage. "You ran, Arjun. You ran."
"I was a child!" Arjun shouted, fists clenched. "I couldn't do anything—I couldn't save you!"
The flames around them flared violently, and the figure began to dissolve, its form shifting again. When it reappeared, it was no longer his father.
It was Meera.
Arjun froze. This time, her face was not angry—it was broken, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You're going to fail me too, aren't you?" her voice trembled, echoing in the emptiness. "You'll let the fire take me. Just like it took him."
"No!" Arjun cried, reaching out to her. "I would never—Meera, I swear!"
"Then prove it," the voice echoed, now layered with countless others.
The mirrored ground cracked beneath his feet. A storm of fire and shadow swirled around him, and the golden flames leapt higher, as if feeding on his fear. Arjun fell to his knees, clutching his head.
"Enough!" he shouted into the void. "I know what you are. You're not them. You're me—my doubt, my guilt, my fear."
The storm paused, as though the fire itself were listening. Arjun looked up, his voice steady despite the trembling in his limbs.
"I will not let my past control me," he said, his words firm. "I loved my father. And Meera… I will protect her, no matter what. I am not defined by what I've lost, but by what I can become."
The reflection hissed, its form wavering, weakening. The fiery light in its eyes dimmed.
"You cannot deny me forever," it whispered as it began to fade. "I will always be a part of you."
Arjun stood, his fists still clenched. "I don't need to deny you. I need to accept you."
With those words, the reflection shattered like glass, scattering into countless shards of light. The flames roared one final time, then vanished, leaving behind silence.
---
Meera's Trial
In another part of the void, Meera faced her own demons. Her trial unfolded in whispers—voices of those she had failed, faces of those who had doubted her.
"You are weak," the shadows taunted. "You are nothing without him."
Meera's jaw tightened as she gripped the hilt of her blade. "I don't need anyone to make me strong. My strength is my own."
Her blade blazed with golden light, cutting through the shadows until the voices fell silent.
---
Reunion
Arjun opened his eyes, gasping as the golden flames receded. He was back in the chamber, the Trial of Truth now behind him. Meera lay a few paces away, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.
"Meera!" Arjun crawled toward her, shaking her shoulders gently. "Are you okay?"
Her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly. "I'm fine… I think."
They exchanged a look—each of them changed in ways they couldn't yet understand. The Trial of Truth had tested the deepest parts of their souls, but they had survived.
As they stood, the massive stone door began to glow brighter, its surface shimmering with golden fire. The Keeper's voice echoed in the chamber.
"You have faced the Truth. Now, you may step into the Flame."
Arjun and Meera exchanged a determined glance. Together, they stepped toward the door, ready to face whatever lay beyond.