''Khushi!''

In that one moment, what Arnav felt could never be put into words.

If there was an emotion named with the combination of euphoria, shock, pain, vulnerability, as well as courage, it would have all been confined in the tiny second of what that moment was when his eyes met with hers.

.

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As he saw her tired face, her long wavy hair disheveled because of her run and the battle against the fire, he felt a pang in his heart, and that's when realization dawned on him.

''No!''

He shook his head as he watched her enter into the space he was in, with Meredith standing in one side of the massive area, and his heart thudded, as he begged her in his mind to go away, but he knew she was a different Khushi right now, he looked at him with both anger and love, and also pain perhaps, because she knew he had misguided her.

He didn't know how she had still managed to arrive here, when he had guided her through a different course, but before he could even manage to spare a second to think about it, he heard Meredith's extremely daunting tone of voice.

''Why are you here, Khushi?''

The calm in her voice was extremely fishy yet nerve-wrecking, because the same woman had been screaming like a psychotic sometime ago, and one look at her, followed by looking at Khushi, made him gulp at the sight.

They were a thorough replica of each other, when it came to their looks.

Except for the length and pattern of their hair, there was nothing different, and so striking was the resemblance, that for a second, Arnav felt like he was trapped in a delusion.

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''I won't let you make the wrong use of that bracelet, Meredith.''

Khushi replied, reciprocating the same calm tone of Meredith, before the latter flashed a wide smile and looked at the bracelet in her hand and finally looked up to meet Khushi's eyes as she averred,

''Oh! You are sad that this is gone from your wrist and now sits on mine? I can make a complete replica for you Khushi, if you want. But this is MINE.''

The warning in her tone didn't go unnoticed by Arnav and he constantly switched his gaze between Khushi and Meredith to make sure Khushi wasn't harmed.

He had vowed to protect her no matter what and he would do anything to keep that word.

''Neither do I want that bracelet, nor do I want any other Meredith. This world has witnessed enough of your games. Now no more!''

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.

As soon as the words escaped Khushi's mouth, Meredith's insane laughter once again echoed in the air, making even Khushi narrow her eyes at the madness the woman in front of her held.

''What is it with you both, HUH?''

Meredith looked at Arnav and then at Khushi, as she screamed out loud.

''DID YOU BOTH MEET EACH OTHER IN A PHILOSOPHY CLASS FOR THE FIRST TIME?''

She mocked as she circled a little area, holding the bracelet tightly in her hand, as she continued,

''BOTH OF YOU WILLING TO MAKE ME A GOOD WITCH! SEEMS LIKE YOU TWO ARE GOOD AT PHILOSOPHY BUT FORGOT TO DIG INTO THE HISTORY OF YOUR OWN WORLD—WITCHCRAFT! IT'S STILL NOT LATE! DIG IN! YOU CAN READ A LOT ABOUT MY DEEDS. ABOUT WHO I AM! HOW I AM!''

The dangerous tone of hers along with her words made Arnav's blood boil as he remembered in its entirety the reality of what she was saying.

Yes, he had grown up hating her, because he knew almost all of the ill-deeds, the sins she had committed during her mortal life, and the recollection of that made him take a step forth, all set to bring that witch down, when Khushi's thoughts intervened him, stopping him in his tracks.

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''Arnav, Alexandra wasn't an immortal. Which means, the knife still has its power. You can use it to kill Meredith.''

She conveyed it to him through her mind, while Arnav's eyes widened in shock at the revelation and with one deep breath, his right hand went inside his pocket, where he could still feel the sharp silver knife.

He had initially thought there was no need of carrying this knife since it was already used on Alexandra, when Khushi's words from that night, where with a flicker of hope she had mentioned how they could still at least try the power of the knife for one more time, had made him stop to think and he had carried this knife with him in the morning nonetheless.

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''I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS DAY SINCE AGES! AND NOW I WILL HAVE IT! AND IF YOU BOTH TRY TO BE A HINDRANCE, I WON'T HESISTATE TAKING BOTH OF YOU DOWN!''

Meredith warned, oblivious to the fact that Arnav was no longer standing where he previously was. Her eyes were set on Khushi, who looked at her silently, in far sight, her vision witnessing Arnav walking close to Meredith's back.

Khushi knew the knife was meant for an immortal and Meredith hadn't attained it yet, but given the vivious creature she was, Khushi wanted to make sure that if they had to take her down, it had to be with a powerful object, so there was nothing dubious about her end.

And this silver knife, it was an extremely powerful object that held the capability of killing an immortal and hence, regardless of Meredith attaining immortality or not, her end had to be through that object.

Khushi counted the numbers one by one as she watched Arnav rise extremely close to Meredith, while the latter still went on ranting looking at Khushi, having no idea of a missing Arnav who was now behind her.

Khushi's heart pounded inside her ribcage, knowing very well that this moment, the magnitude of which was giving her a whiplash, could make or break their lives as she held her breath and knew that with one stab of that knife on Meredith, this nightmare was going to be all over.

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But her little anticipation was short-lived as the next thing she knew and saw was Meredith turn back, her eyes staring into Arnav's right away, making him flinch, as she snatched the knife from his hand and threw it into the raging fire, and with one clip of her finger, Arnav was brutally thrown, flying in the air to the other corner, making him hit his head hard on the wall as he fell down on the floor, with blood oozing out from his wounds.

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''ARNAV!''

Khushi screamed out loud at the sight of a wounded Arnav, while the flames rose higher, and she witnessed the silver knife melt into nothingness, and right then she saw Meredith come close to her, and her voice resonated dangerously loud,

''YOU THINK I CAN'T READ YOUR MIND KHUSHI? YOU THOUGHT THAT YOU UNDID THE SHIELDING SPELL FOR ARNAV, AND ONLY HE COULD HEAR YOU? LOOKS LIKE, YOU DIDN'T STUDY WITCHCRAFT ENOUGH, YOU FOOL! YOU UNDID THE SHIELD SPELL FOR JUST HIM, BUT YOUR MIND IS READABLE TO YOUR BLOODLINE EVERY TIME YOU UNDO THE SHIELDING SPELL!''

Khushi shuddered at the shock of that revelation while her eyes unblinkingly watched the evil and indefinably powerful woman in front of her, and before she could even anticipate it, she was pushed by a strong force, as her back hit the wall of the space brutally, making her wince in pain and blood began to drip out from her forehead.

''Khushi!''

Arnav screamed as he watched her cry out in pain, and tried desperately to rise from his spot, but his wounds were constantly making him weak.

''Arnav!''

Khushi uttered his name as she saw the miserable condition he was in, and seeing his helpless state, he tried to get up, holding the walls for support with frail attempts as she slowly managed to stand on her feet, but the sight in front of her, made her shake her head in denial, as she screamed,

''NO!!!''

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Both Arnav and Khushi stared in thorough horror as a chill ran down their spines, seeing Meredith holding the bracelet, letting it blend with her blood, as she began to utter verses within her mind, and that very instant they knew, all of it had slipped out of their hands.

Khushi could see the course of air around her change as the flames began to dance, sometimes going down, only to rise again, and sometimes looking like they had become stagnant, all conveying it to her that nature was being defied, and someone was trying to breach its making.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she saw a wide smile tug at Meredith's lips, indicating her vicious victory and Khushi's failure, and before she knew it, she heard Arnav's mind tell her.

''Meredith had never uttered the verses of the spell when she undid Aloysius' immortality, Khushi. I am sorry. I wish she would have, so that I could have memorized the verses.''

Khushi looked at a wounded Arnav on the other side and shook her head, telling him to not be sorry, since Meredith was more powerful than they could ever possibly imagine, and with that, she used the shielding spell again to shield her thoughts and so did Arnav, lest Meredith played them again.

.

.

As the flames returned to normal, indicating the spell was complete, Khushi stared at Meredith with baited breath, her mind warning her that what was going to happen next was not going to be pleasant.

As Meredith finally opened her eyes, her insides as well as everything around her, looking different than what she had ever possibly felt, an evil grin surfaced on her face, as she studied her own hands, her fingers, her body, and said with an inexplicable pride and shock,

''I have it! I finally have it!''

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Khushi cursed herself for failing Amelia, who had entrusted her with this one task of never letting that bracelet go in the wrong hand.

She hated the fact that Meredith had turned the tables and it had been a deep ploy of hers all along, when she had thought it was Aloysius she was dealing with.

When she had made up her mind to give away the bracelet to Aloysius, her only motive was saving her family, her friends, and she knew she won't be able to undo Aloysius' immortality, since she never got to know that spell, which apparently only Meredith knew, and it was now buried deep in her mind, which she would never let another soul now.

But here, not only did she lose the bracelet, but now it belonged to the evilest person she knew in history, and not just that, the Avizhas, majority of them were always secretly Mereith's followers.

Khushi held her breath for a little too long as she recalled a little incident from last night, that she did while she was on her way to practice her skills in the woods before getting trapped by Judith. But before she could ponder much about that incident and the aftermath it was now going to have, her senses alarmed her as she witnessed the thoroughly unexpected sight in front of her, and yelled on top of her lungs,

''NO!! DON'T DO IT!!''

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But she was too late as she saw that ornament, which had been her comrade for a long time now, the bracelet that was an asset of her lineage, float in the air, and the next second it exploded into pieces, making Khushi shut her eyes tight, as she felt goose bumps rise on her skin despite the fire all around.

.

.

It was over.

Her battle, her efforts, her trial.

All of it was over.

And she had lost.

The bracelet was the only thing that could bind or unbind the immortality spell, and now Meredith had destroyed it.

Apart from its power, it was also a close object of sentiment for Khushi, because Amelia had left it for her, but now it was all gone.

She could never have it back, and that also meant, she could never in a million years by being alive or dead undo Meredith's immortality, even if she did manage to find out the verses of the spell by any means.

Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks as she opened her eyes, and saw the sight of a victorious Meredith, while on the other hand, Arnav looked at her with a same helplessness reflecting on his face, comprehending the implication of this scenario that unfolded right in front of them.

They could not undo Meredith's immortality ever.

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''My! My! Are those tears in your eyes?''

Meredith's deadly voice broke Khushi's silent reverie as her deathringer who was sadly her ancestor mocked her, stepping forward, while Khushi spoke nothing and held the wall as she stood silently, her face too blank to showcase her inner battle.

''You really thought I would let the bracelet remain in this world as a little souvenir? Hmm?''

She grinned with utmost pride, as she spared a glance at Arnav before looking at Khushi once again, as she said,

''Don't think I do mistakes like Aloysius did, Khushi. He was a fool to keep the bracelet even after attaining immortality as a little token of memory since I wore it while I was alive. He knew the bracelet could unbind his immortality, but felt complacent that the other ingredient, that is Meredith Vermount, would never come back! But look? Before I could even come back, nature made you! My lookalike, haha!''

She once again giggled like a madwoman before adding,

''So in this one case, I do agree with your nature theory my naïve little girl. Nature created you to undo Aloysius' immortality perhaps, but you had to try further since you didn't know the unbinding verses now, did you?''

Khushi looked down helplessly, every word of Meredith being a constant reminder of her failure, and how much she had undermined the devilish depths of dark magic that both Meredith and the Avizhas had possessed, when suddenly the next words from her made her alert, and she looked at her with eyes popping out of their sockets.

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''Now that the drama is over, I am going to celebrate my revival! My friends from the Avizhas has made this possible by their undivided dedication and my first reward to them would be a little token of immense power of dark magic! A sacrificial one that is!''

.

.

Arnav's jaw dropped in horror as she mentioned a sacrificial spell and he immediately stood up, throwing away the endless pain he felt from all corners of his body, when suddenly he saw a different rage take over Khushi's face and she fought back with her words, throwing a dangerous remark at Meredith.

''I won't let you drip even a drop of another innocent blood, you bitch!''

.

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The tenacity in her voice was unmatched as Meredith looked at her with puzzled eyes, and replied,

''Who will stop me? You? You fragile little witch! The only reason I haven't killed you yet, is because you are a Vermount witch, you know. But don't test my patience.''

Khushi rolled her eyes, as if she had no interest in her little sparing-you theory, and she gave an intent look to Meredith, as she said,

''I don't fucking care of the Vermount legacy, Meredith! I never wanted any of this! But dare you hurt any innocent and I will do whatever it takes to take you down!''

.

.

Her words were poison on Meredith's vindictive mind and not able to take another second of that repelling feeling greet her, she shot rage from her eyes, as she let a spiraling force attack Khushi, making her recklessly hit the ground hard, so badly, that her neck started bleeding along with her head, and before she knew it, Khushi was constantly fluctuating between darkness and light, her skin stinging as her wounds deepened by the second, leaving her restless and helpless.

''KHUSHI!!!''

Arnav screamed out loud, as he tried to run towards her direction, but a similar force of attack greeted him, as he fell on his knees, and an indescribable excruciating pain shot from within him, rendering him immobile.

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''YOU KNOW WHAT? I HAD THOUGHT THE SACRIFICAL SPELL TO COMPRISE OF YOUR BLOODY WITCH AND WARLOCK FRIENDS TRAPPED SOMEWHERE IN THIS CASTLE BY THE AVIZHAS, BUT YOUR LITTLE REBELLION HERE MAKES ME RETHINK MY CHOICE! WHY NOT I START THE FIRST SACRIFICAL SPELL WITH ARNAV?''

.

.

The moment Khushi heard Arnav's name, her eyes shot open as she breathed hard and tried to look at Arnav, but her body was too fragile to even make a movement, and she frantically shook her head in horror, as she cried,

''No! No! Don't hurt him!''

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But all her pleas fell on deaf ears as she watched in sheer shock Meredith flash a winning smile at her before turning her back, as she now began to take slow but steady strides towards the point where Arnav was laying helpless.

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''NO! NO! NO! THIS CANNOT HAPPEN! NO!!''

Khushi screamed like a maniac, as her breathing almost stopped, making her question her own existence, as she banged her fists against the floor, looking at the Satanic figure of Meredith take dire steps towards Arnav, and with all her might the only thing she could manage to do was, scream out loud in her mind,

''AMELIA! HELP ME! HELP ME! PLEASE! I BEG YOU!''

Her tears knew no bounds as they blurred her vision and her head started feeling heavy, her limbs giving up, as the pain in her body intensified, making her feel like she was slipping into a deadly oblivion, where it was only darkness that was waiting for her, when suddenly her eyes fell on something lying next to her, an object that had been so close, so known, so familiar to her, yet it now looked so different.

.

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She narrowed her eyes, as she held the object close to her hand that had fallen from her neck due to the force with which she had collided against the wall, making the little red locket it had, break, and the next thing that greeted Khushi's sight, made her heart skip a beat and her eyes widened in inexplicable shock.

.

.

Conquer vos

Quae tua est in saeculum

Parva est pretiosa

Et inveniamus jacentem in caede

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Her hands shaking as she held her necklace, the simple silver necklace with a red pendant that had accompanied her since childhood, which was a gift to her from Amelia, she uttered in horror, the little phrases that had endlessly given her sleepless nights.

''Conquer you must, what is yours forevermore. Petty is precious, you shall discover lying in the gore.''

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Her eyes twinkled as she now held the broken red pendant, the inside of which held a part of something that had also accompanied her in the last 8 months of her life post the revelation of who she really was.

''Conquer you must, what is yours forevermore.''

''The necklace has been mine. From the time I was born, it has been mine forevermore. But it says 'conquer' because what was inside the pendant, a part of that bracelet, a stone, was always unknown to me.''

''Petty is precious, you shall discover lying in the gore.''

''It is a simple silver necklace! It's worth is nothing compared to all the other jewels in the world, yet what it holds within, the part of the bracelet, makes it precious, and I discovered it.. lying in..''

Khushi looked at her herself covered in blood, her wounds hurting her constantly, and she didn't need another second to figure out, what ''Lying in gore'' referred to.

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With the newfound revelation, she still stared in utter shock at the little pendant in her hand, that consisted of a stone from the bracelet, which meant..

''It means I still have the unbinding object in my hand! The bracelet is destroyed, but Amelia had always stored a part of it in this necklace, and that's why she had said, Witchcraft had been my reality since always. This was a part of me since the time I was born.''

And with that discovery, Khushi tightly held the precious object in her fist, her mind reaching an uncanny peace on finally deciphering Amelia's riddle, and mustering courage and strength from all of it, she finally managed to stand up, looking at a puzzled Arnav staring at her from the other side, while Meredith still continued to contemplate what she wanted to do with him and how she wanted to begin her sacrificial spell.

Khushi was panting, as blood continued the ooze out from her wounds, making her feel dizzy, but there was nothing in the world that could stop her now.

She sighed in both pain and the realization of the power in her hands now, as she looked at the retreating back of Meredith, but her mind only screamed for one thing, and that was,

''HOW THE HELL DO YOU FIND OUT THE UNBINDING VERSES OF THE IMMORTALITY SPELL?''

But it looked like the course of everything had changed once and for all, as the next thing she did without a thought was open her fist, and the moment she did it, she saw that the pendant was now covered in the blood from her hands, and in that very instant, she was transported to a different era in her vision, an era which was beyond her understanding or knowledge.

It was 1414.

And there she saw her.

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Hazel eyes, porcelain white skin, long wavy hair, and a selfless smile tugging on her lips.

But it wasn't her.

It was Sophronia.

**

https://youtu.be/-T5eYF9WiRI