Chapter 8: The Astradhari Who Betrayed Time
Location: Varanasi – The Labyrinth of Time
The ghats of Varanasi were unusually quiet. Time, here, did not flow like a river — it spiraled, twisted, and paused in places known only to those who had walked the edge of Dharma.
Guruji led Aarav and Anaya through hidden alleys, past ancient ashrams where no shadows moved, and finally into a ruin beneath the Vishwanath Temple.
> "This is the Labyrinth," Brihaspati said, brushing cobwebs off a pillar shaped like an hourglass. "Only those cursed by time may enter."
Aarav paused. "What do you mean 'cursed by time'?"
> "You'll see," Guruji said with a half-grin. "But I warn you — inside, you'll meet someone who never forgave you."
---
The Labyrinth Opens
Anaya placed her hand on the carved yantra. The wall dissolved into mist. Inside, a tunnel of mirrors twisted in all directions, each reflecting a different timeline — some where Aarav died as a child, some where Anaya never awakened, and one… where the world was already ash.
A voice echoed, low and venomous:
> "Why did you come back?"
A woman stepped from the shadows — tall, fierce, her armor made of broken clocks and blackened Vedas. Her weapon was a glaive etched with lunar sigils.
> "Hello, Aarav," she sneered. "Or should I say, Rishan the Oathbreaker."
---
Revelation – The Fourth Astradhari
Her name was Revati — the Astradhari of Time. Once, she had been Rishan's closest ally, even rumored to be his consort in a forgotten lifetime. But when he broke the Astradhari Code to wield forbidden power, he had used her seal without consent — shattering her soul in the process.
> "You tore the fabric of time to save your pride," she hissed.
"I was trying to stop the war," Aarav pleaded.
"You are the war!" she snapped.
Anaya stepped forward. "The Fifth Yuga has begun. If we don't gather all the seals, the Rakshasi Queen will ascend."
Revati narrowed her eyes.
> "And why should I trust you, Devakanya? You disappeared the moment the Gate collapsed."
Silence.
Aarav looked at her.
> "Because this time, we won't betray you. This time, we fight as one."
---
The Test of Kala
Revati raised her glaive. "Prove it. Face the Kala-Kshetra, the Realm Between Seconds. If you survive, I'll lend you my seal."
She struck her weapon to the ground. Time fractured.
In a blink, Aarav and Anaya were standing in a world of frozen moments — raindrops hanging mid-air, birds unmoving, even their own reflections distorted.
Then came the shadows — echoes of every moment they ever failed.
Anaya saw her younger self, kneeling beside her fallen mother during the Purge of Ayodhya.
Aarav saw the battlefield where his Astradhari brothers and sisters turned against him.
They fought — not with weapons, but with memory, will, and forgiveness.
> "I'm not here to erase the past," Aarav said aloud, tears in his eyes. "I'm here to heal what I broke."
The frozen world cracked.
---
Return to the Present
Revati stood in silence.
Then she placed her hand on Aarav's chest.
A glyph of the moon bloomed, joining the others. The Fourth Seal was now awakened.
> "If you fall again," she said coldly, "I will be the one to end you."
Brihaspati grinned from behind a pillar. "Ah, the sweet warmth of forgiveness."
Revati glared. "Shut up, Guruji."
---
In the Dark Halls of the Underworld
Far from the world of men, in a cavern beneath Mount Mandara, a being stirred.
Her throne was made of serpent bones. Her crown, a broken Astradhari sigil.
The Rakshasi Queen, Karakali, watched a vision of Aarav and his allies.
> "The Seals gather. The traitors awaken. But they forget... it was I who whispered the first mantra of rebellion."
Her hand caressed a cursed fetus floating in dark water — the unborn Eighth Gate.
> "Let the next seal rise. Let the world burn before the Saptarishis find him..."
---
End of Chapter 8
---