Chapter 30
The night air was thick with the scent of earth and the lingering whispers of magic. Aaravi stood at the edge of the town, staring at the horizon where the sky still shimmered faintly with the hues of the Enchanted Realm. Though invisible to others, she could feel them—the remnants of a world they had fought for, a world that had not just changed them but had become a part of them.
It had been a week since they returned. A week of trying to adjust, of pretending that life was the same. But it wasn't. It could never be.
She tightened her fingers around the pendant hanging from her neck—the last fragment of the Veil, given to her as a reminder. It pulsed with a soft warmth, as if it, too, knew that their journey wasn't truly over.
"Still thinking about it?"
Aaravi turned to see Riya approaching, her arms crossed as she followed her gaze toward the stars.
"Can't help it," Aaravi admitted. "It feels like the world should have changed… but we're the only ones who know it did."
Riya nodded, exhaling. "It's weird, isn't it? Walking through school, doing homework, listening to teachers talk about things that don't matter—when we've seen things that no one else ever will."
Meera and Isha arrived next, both carrying snacks from a nearby stall, as if tonight was just another ordinary night. But there was nothing ordinary about the way they stood together. Nothing ordinary about the weight in their eyes.
"So," Meera said, tossing Aaravi a soda. "What now?"
Aaravi took a deep breath. That was the question, wasn't it?
They had saved the Enchanted Realm, restored the Veil, and brought balance back to a world that had nearly fallen apart. But that didn't mean their part in its story was over.
Because the magic hadn't faded. The connection hadn't severed. If anything, it had grown stronger.
"I don't think this is the end," Aaravi said finally. "I think we were chosen for a reason. And whatever that reason is… it's not done with us yet."
The others exchanged glances. Not out of doubt, but because deep down, they had all felt it too.
"Then we wait," Isha said, taking a sip from her drink. "Until the world calls us again."
The days passed, and life went on, but the magic never left them.
Small things. A flicker of color in the air when they laughed. A strange warmth in their palms when they held hands. Dreams that felt too vivid to be mere imagination.
They didn't talk about it often, but they all knew. The Enchanted Realm wasn't gone. It was waiting.
One evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting an orange glow over the rooftops, Aaravi sat on her bedroom floor, running her fingers over the pendant. It had been quiet lately, but tonight, something felt different. A shift in the air. A pulse in her fingertips.
Then—
A knock at her window.
She turned sharply, heart pounding. Standing on the fire escape was Meera, her eyes wide with urgency.
"You felt it, didn't you?" she whispered.
Aaravi nodded.
Moments later, they gathered in the park, the pendant in Aaravi's hand glowing faintly in the darkness.
"It's happening again," Isha murmured.
Riya frowned. "But we fixed everything. Didn't we?"
Meera exhaled. "Maybe fixing it wasn't enough."
Aaravi took a steadying breath. "Then that means our story isn't over yet."
She lifted the pendant, watching as the glow spread, casting colors into the night sky.
And as the hues of the Enchanted Realm shimmered once more, they knew—
This was not goodbye.
It was a promise.
A promise of forever.