Twins of Tatva

The Temple of Ayudhya was bathed in twilight. As the sun dipped below the crimson horizon, the twin moons rose—one glowing blue, the other flickering orange—casting dual shadows behind the twin sisters standing on opposite sides of the sacred mirror.

The Mirror of Myths, a relic forged by the first elemental sages, stood tall between Devsena and Avantika. Its surface shimmered not with reflections, but with truths—buried, broken, and long denied.

Avantika clutched the Songstone pendant, now glowing faintly in her palm. It pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat, revealing fragments of her vision again—the battle, the fire, the scream.

"Why did you bring me here?" Avantika asked softly, her voice barely a whisper.

"Because this mirror," Devsena replied, her eyes never leaving the surface, "doesn't show lies. And we've been fed too many."

As they both stepped closer, the mirror stirred.

It showed an image—Vrinda, their mother, standing at the gates of an ancient palace, holding both babies. A voice echoed, faint but resolute.

"One shall wield flame.

One shall command the tides.

But if ever they clash,

Tatva shall fall in ruins."

Avantika gasped. The Prophecy of Dvandva.

"Arjuna was right," she murmured. "We're the prophecy. We're the Dvandva."

Suddenly, the mirror shifted again.

This time, it revealed Samridhi, their maasi, speaking to a hooded figure.

"They must never find each other… not until the seal is broken."

Dev's jaw clenched. "She knew. She knew all along."

But before she could react further, a loud crack echoed through the temple. The mirror splintered—not broken, but awakened. From its heart emerged a silver scroll, floating mid-air.

Avantika reached for it, and the scroll unrolled itself in her hands. The script was ancient, but her fingers moved instinctively.

"It's a blood oath," she whispered. "An agreement… bound by Vrinda… and someone else."

Just then, a windstorm surged into the temple, circling them like a cyclone. Out of it stepped Arjuna, his clothes tattered, his arm bleeding—but his eyes ablaze with discovery.

"I found the Seal," he said, panting. "It's beneath the Valley of Skandh. Hidden inside the tomb of the Fifth Elemental."

Dev's brows furrowed. "Fifth elemental?"

"Yes," Arjuna said, locking eyes with both of them.

"There's a fifth element beyond Fire and Water. Something that can end the war—or destroy us all."

Suddenly, a distant horn blared.

Devsena's blade ignited. Avantika's pendant glowed violently. Outside the temple, black-armored soldiers from the Kingdom of Vritra, sworn enemies of Tatva, approached.

"They're here," Devsena growled.

"And the Mirror has revealed our path," Avantika whispered.

The storm of fate had begun.

And they—flame and tide, sisters and opposites—were about to face a truth even the mirror couldn't fully show.