After escaping the devastating shadow of Omega City, the modern brilliance of Jamshedpur had faded into a distant memory behind them. Aanvi Singh, Bhagya Verma, and Neelima, standing firmly beside them, were now in a geographical region that did not exist on any official map. Before them stood the Invisible Ring. This forest was not merely a collection of trees, but a web of living consciousness that breathed between the gaps in time.
The instant they stepped across the Ring's boundary, the pressure in the air changed. It felt as though someone had stuffed cotton into their ears. The silence was so deep that Neelima could hear her own heartbeat pounding like a war drum. Blue veins glowed across the tree bark, exactly like the ones Aanvi had seen in the tunnel beneath the research center—a deadly fusion of ancient technology and biological magic.
“Ma'am, I don't feel well,” Neelima whispered, her hand trembling. “The air here... there's something in it. It feels like something is scraping the back of my brain.”
Aanvi looked at the small energy scanner in her hand. Its needles were spinning wildly. “Stay alert, Neelima. The electromagnetic field here is interfering with our neural activity. This forest is trying to format our memories.”
Bhagya Verma, who had been walking at the front, suddenly stopped. They pulled out their Scripture Codex, but their hands went slack. They turned toward Aanvi, yet there was no recognition in their eyes. “You... who are you?” There was a strange emptiness in Bhagya's voice. “What am I doing here? My name... what is my name?”
Aanvi's heart sank. “Bhagya! What are you saying? You're Bhagya Verma, a guardian of balance! We came here to reach Walders' Gate!”
Bhagya clutched their head and dropped to their knees. “Walders? Balance? Those words sound like a foreign language to me. All I can see is darkness. You... you must be an intruder.” They raised their staff, which now glowed a dangerous red.
“Sir, no!” Neelima cried, rushing to stand in front of Bhagya. “You can't forget us! You saved me from that Orb, remember? You said the mind of science and the heart of the system... remember!”
The tension in Bhagya's eyes intensified. “Jamshedpur. Steel. No, it's all being erased. You... girl. Why are you crying?”
Aanvi realized that if she did not act immediately, Bhagya would be lost in this mental swamp forever. She quickly pulled a nano-chip from her bag, one she had synced with the library's data. “Neelima, hold them! I have to give their consciousness an anchor.”
“Ma'am, hurry! The color of their eyes is changing!” Neelima gripped Bhagya's shoulders tightly while Bhagya struggled to break free.
Aanvi pressed the chip to Bhagya's forehead and shouted, “Bhagya! Remember the failure you're most afraid of! That pain is what will remind you who you are! Remember the night you first put on the Rudraksha!”
An explosion erupted inside Bhagya's mind. Fragments of their memories—codes of zeroes and ones, Sanskrit verses, Aanvi's laughter, and the black smoke over Omega City—all collided at once. Suddenly, they let out a long scream and fell silent. The same sharp gleam returned to their eyes.
“Aanvi. Neelima.” Bhagya gasped. “That... that was terrifying. It felt like something was demolishing my very existence like a mud wall. Thank you.”
Neelima let out a relieved breath and sat down right there on the ground. “Sir, you scared the life out of me. I thought I'd have to fight this forest alone.”
Bhagya stood and helped Neelima to her feet. “No, Neelima. We're together. That's this forest's attack—loneliness. It cuts us off from our identities and weakens us.”
As Bhagya fully accepted their identity, the dense trees before them began to part like a curtain. An enormous ancient stone gate emerged. The script carved into it now glowed like a digital display. It read: Only those who come to know themselves may proceed.