Days passed slowly during the journey.
The further they traveled from civilization, the stranger the world around them became. Forests gradually transformed into harsher terrain filled with steep cliffs, abandoned ruins, and valleys untouched by ordinary travelers for generations. The roads disappeared entirely after the third day, forcing the group to rely mostly on Arin's instincts and the fragmented visions connected to Vijaya.
And somehow—
those instincts always guided him correctly.
Even when no visible path existed.
Even when the terrain itself looked impossible to cross.
Something inside him always knew which direction to move toward next.
The closer they came to the fragments, the stronger the connection became.
At first it only appeared as occasional pressure in the back of his mind. A faint pull guiding him unconsciously whenever he hesitated between paths. But now, after nearly a week of traveling, the sensation had become impossible to ignore.
Vijaya was calling him.
And the weapon was growing more restless with every passing day.
The others noticed it too.
Sometimes Arin would stop walking suddenly as though hearing distant voices nobody else could perceive. Other times golden energy flickered faintly around his hands without him realizing it. Even the atmosphere around him had begun changing subtly.
Older.
Heavier.
As though fragments of Karna continued surfacing more strongly the closer they moved toward the weapon.
Still—
despite everything, the journey itself remained strangely peaceful for several days afterward.
Not easy.
Never easy.
But peaceful enough for them to slowly adjust to each other again.
The group had changed after the memories returned. Everyone felt it. Conversations carried more weight now. Silences lasted longer. Even simple moments around campfires felt different because all of them understood their lives were no longer ordinary.
And yet somehow…
that normality still survived in small ways.
Aira still complained every time Riven made terrible jokes.
Selene still worried over everyone more than herself.
Kael still stayed observant and quiet during most conversations before suddenly saying something unexpectedly sharp.
Darin still acted calm even when clearly stressed beyond reason.
And Arin…
Arin slowly started feeling human again around them.
Not Karna.
Not the man burdened by endless lifetimes.
Just Arin.
At least for brief moments.
The mountain range finally became visible on the seventh day.
Massive black peaks stretched across the distant horizon beneath dark clouds, towering high enough to almost disappear into the sky itself. Snow covered the upper sections while deep forests surrounded the lower cliffs. Even from far away, the place felt ancient.
Wrong somehow.
The moment Arin saw the mountains, he stopped walking immediately.
The others noticed at once.
"…that's it, isn't it," Darin asked quietly.
Arin nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The pressure inside him intensified instantly after looking toward the peaks. Not painful. Familiar. Like standing near something that had been waiting for him longer than human history itself.
Liora stepped beside him quietly afterward.
"You can feel it."
Not a question.
Arin nodded again.
"…it's there."
Another silence followed while everyone stared toward the mountains.
Even from this distance, the atmosphere surrounding the place felt unnatural. The wind itself sounded different there. Heavier. Almost hollow.
Riven stared upward uneasily.
"…why does every ancient place connected to your life look like it wants to kill us?"
"Because it probably does," Kael answered calmly.
"…great."
The group continued moving afterward, though more cautiously now. The closer they approached the mountains, the stranger the surroundings became. Ancient broken statues appeared scattered along the paths. Symbols carved into stone pillars resembled the markings on the fragment Arin carried. Sometimes distant whispers echoed faintly through the wind despite nobody being nearby.
And worst of all—
the dreams had started returning again.
Not only for Arin and Liora this time.
Everyone.
Fragments of unfamiliar memories haunted their sleep each night near the mountains. Visions of endless wars, collapsing kingdoms, and shadows moving beneath burning skies. None of them understood what the dreams meant exactly, but all of them woke exhausted afterward.
The mountain affected them somehow.
Or perhaps the fragment did.
That evening they stopped beside an abandoned stone structure partially hidden beneath overgrown trees near the base of the mountains. It looked ancient beyond measure, barely recognizable as human architecture anymore. Broken pillars surrounded the area while faded carvings covered the walls.
The atmosphere remained unusually quiet during dinner.
Not tense.
Thoughtful.
Everyone sensed they were getting close now.
Very close.
And deep down, all of them understood something dangerous waited ahead.
Aira sat beside the fire quietly while staring toward Arin and Liora for several moments before finally speaking.
"…can I ask something without everyone getting dramatic again?"
Riven immediately looked offended.
"When am I ever dramatic?"
Six people stared at him silently.
"…okay fair."
Even Arin almost smiled faintly at that.
Aira hesitated briefly afterward before looking toward Arin carefully.
"It's about Karna."
The atmosphere shifted slightly immediately.
Arin looked toward her quietly.
"…what about him."
Aira crossed her arms slowly.
"I remember stories."
Another pause.
"Didn't Karna have two wives?"
Silence settled instantly across the campsite.
Riven blinked.
"…that's your question?"
"What?" Aira frowned defensively. "We literally have the reincarnation of Karna sitting in front of us. Obviously I'm curious."
Selene sighed softly.
"She's not wrong."
Kael looked toward Liora carefully afterward.
"…actually…"
A pause.
"…which one were you?"
The question lingered quietly between them.
Arin's expression changed slightly.
Not discomfort exactly.
Memory.
Because suddenly Kurukshetra resurfaced clearly in his mind again.
Vrushali.
Supriya.
And Mira standing somewhere between them across lifetimes.
Liora noticed the shift in his expression immediately before quietly answering herself instead.
"…both."
Everyone froze.
"…what?" Riven asked slowly.
Liora looked into the fire while the flames reflected softly in her eyes.
"When Karna lived…"
Her voice became quieter.
"I existed twice in his life."
Nobody interrupted now.
Because suddenly even the atmosphere around the fire felt older.
Ancient.
Liora continued softly.
"The first was Vrushali."
The name settled heavily into the night air.
Arin closed his eyes briefly hearing it again after so long.
Liora's expression softened faintly as memories continued surfacing inside her mind.
"She loved him before the war."
Another pause.
"Before destiny destroyed everything."
The fire crackled softly between them while the others listened in complete silence.
"Vrushali saw Karna before the world feared him."
Liora's voice carried emotion now.
"Before he became a legend. Before he became a king. Before Kurukshetra turned him into a tragedy remembered for thousands of years."
Arin stared quietly at the flames.
Because every word was true.
Vrushali remembered him as a human first.
Not as a warrior.
Not as a hero.
Not as a cursed man abandoned by fate itself.
Just Karna.
Liora continued softly.
"She stayed beside him even when the world insulted him."
Another pause.
"When people called him lowborn."
The firelight flickered faintly across her face now while memories surfaced deeper.
"She never cared where he came from."
Silence settled around the group.
Because even they could hear the pain hidden inside the story now.
Liora looked toward Arin quietly afterward.
"…and then there was Supriya."
The second name surprised several of them immediately.
Selene frowned slightly.
"I've never heard that one before."
Arin answered quietly this time.
"Most people haven't."
Because history rarely remembered every truth completely.
Especially truths connected to Karna.
Liora nodded softly.
"Supriya came later."
Another pause.
"She understood parts of Karna even Vrushali couldn't."
Arin's expression shifted slightly hearing that.
Because Supriya entered his life after the darkness already began consuming it.
After war became inevitable.
After fate tightened around him.
"She saw the loneliness inside him."
Liora's voice became softer.
"The side of him that believed he was born only to lose."
The words struck Arin harder than expected.
Because even after thousands of years…
that feeling never fully disappeared.
Riven stared between them carefully.
"…so you were both people?"
Liora nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Another pause.
"The cycle repeated us differently each time."
Aira frowned slightly.
"What does that mean exactly?"
Liora looked toward the mountains quietly now.
"Sometimes souls divide."
Silence followed instantly.
"Sometimes they return separately."
Another pause.
"And sometimes…"
She slowly looked back toward Arin.
"…they return as one person carrying pieces of both."
Everyone processed that quietly.
Because suddenly Liora made more sense now.
The warmth.
The calmness.
The understanding she carried naturally toward Arin even before remembering.
She wasn't merely Mira.
She carried fragments of every woman who loved Karna across the cycle itself.
Vrushali.
Supriya.
Mira.
Liora.
Different names.
Same soul.
Arin finally spoke quietly afterward.
"…every life found each other somehow."
Liora smiled faintly hearing that.
"Even when the world tried stopping it."
Silence settled softly around the fire afterward.
Not uncomfortable this time.
Emotional.
Because now the group understood something deeper than reincarnation itself.
This wasn't random fate.
These souls kept finding each other across lifetimes because something about them refused separation completely.
Aira eventually exhaled quietly.
"That's honestly beautiful and horrifying at the same time."
"…accurate," Kael muttered softly.
Riven shook his head slowly afterward.
"I still can't believe we're casually discussing Mahabharata reincarnations beside a campfire."
Darin sighed.
"At this point nothing surprises me anymore."
For a brief moment, the atmosphere almost felt peaceful again.
Then the mountain trembled.
Everyone froze instantly.
A deep vibration moved through the ground beneath them violently enough to shake the ruins surrounding the campsite. Dust fell from the broken pillars while distant echoes rolled across the mountains like thunder.
The fire flickered wildly.
Aira stood immediately.
"What the hell was that?"
Arin's expression darkened instantly.
Because he felt it too.
Not an earthquake.
Recognition.
The fragment inside his bag had started glowing faintly beneath the cloth covering it. Golden light pulsed through the cracks while the surrounding air grew heavier with every second.
And somewhere inside the mountains—
something answered it.
The second fragment.
Vijaya had reacted.
The ground trembled again.
This time stronger.
Massive cracks spread across distant cliffs while snow fell violently from the upper peaks. A low sound echoed through the mountains afterward. Deep. Ancient. Almost alive.
Liora immediately looked toward Arin.
"…it knows you're here."
Arin slowly lifted the glowing fragment from his bag.
The symbol carved into the stone burned brighter now than ever before.
And inside his mind—
he heard it clearly.
Not words.
A call.
The weapon calling its owner home.
Then suddenly—
far above them near the center of the mountains, golden light erupted briefly beneath the darkness before disappearing again.
Everyone stared upward silently.
Because for a fraction of a second—
they saw it.
A massive shape hidden deep within the mountain itself.
Something ancient waiting beneath stone and snow for countless centuries.
Waiting for Karna to return.