Three years later...

I ran my fingers over the aged pages of the book, my eyes tracing the words that once held truth but now were nothing more than fiction.

A history that no longer existed.

Vyantara.

The kingdom that had once stood tall, powerful, unchallenged.

Now, it was gone.

Erased, like it had never even been there.

No records, no stories, not even a whisper of its existence remained in the archives of history.

No one remembered it.

No one, except me.

And, of course-

Him.

Three years had passed since that night.

Since he had set fire to his past and stepped into my world.

Since he had chosen peace over power, love over legacy.

He had walked away from the life of a king to become...

Just a man.

Just Rudraksha.

It hadn't been easy for him.

For the first year, he had struggled-not just with adapting to this world, but with the weight of his guilt.

He blamed himself for everything.

For the loop, for the destruction, for the pain he thought he had brought me.

For the kingdom he had burned with his own hands.

No matter how much I tried to tell him that he had done what was necessary, that he had saved his people, that he had saved me, it was never enough.

He still carried it with him.

But he wasn't lost anymore.

Not like before.

He had found something new.

A life.

A purpose.

He had chosen to walk beside me in this world, learning, growing, becoming someone new.

He had chosen to live.

And that choice, more than anything else, made me proud.

A soft knock pulled me out of my thoughts.

I glanced up, already knowing who it was.

"Come in," I called.

The door swung open, and there he stood.

Rudraksha.

But not the warrior king who once stood at the head of an empire.

Not the merciless ruler feared across lands.

Not the man who once sat on a throne of gold and blood.

The man in front of me now was different.

His once long, warrior-like hair was shorter now, slightly tousled from the wind outside.

His once heavily armored body was now dressed in a crisp black shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing the faint scars that time had not erased.

A watch sat snug around his wrist, something I had gifted him last year when he had finally stopped getting confused by time zones.

And yet-

Even though everything about him looked modern, his golden eyes still carried the same depth.

The same fire.

The same intensity that had once stopped my heart in another lifetime.

"Still reading that book?" he mused, stepping in and shutting the door behind him.

I raised an eyebrow. "You do realize this is my job, right?"

He smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned against my desk. "You don't have to read about history anymore. You have me."

I scoffed. "Oh, right. I forgot. You're a living artifact now."

He chuckled. "An ancient treasure, if you will."

I rolled my eyes. "You wish."

But I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips.

Even after three years, he was still adjusting.

Still learning, still teasing, still annoying me every chance he got.

And I loved every second of it.

He pushed off the desk and stretched. "Come on. Let's go eat."

I arched a brow. "You're not hungry. You just want an excuse to get out of here."

He sighed dramatically. "I'm an archeologist now, Aranya. It is my duty to explore, not sit in one place reading books all day."

I snorted. "You started studying archeology last year. You are still an apprentice."

"Details," he waved off. "I'm learning more than your professors ever could."

I rolled my eyes. "Because you lived through history, Rudraksha."

He smirked. "Exactly. And that's why I should be your professor."

I stood up, poking his chest. "You would be the worst professor in existence."

He gasped. "Excuse me, I was a king. I ruled an empire."

"And then you burned it down."

He scowled with a joking gaze . "You promised never to bring that up."

I grinned. "Oops." He chuckled.

We walked through the bustling streets, the city lights glowing bright as the night settled in.

Three years ago, he would have been lost in all this.

The cars, the technology, the fast-paced world.

But now-

Now, he fit right in.

He had become a part of this world, as much as this world had become a part of him.

"Did I tell you?" I started as we walked side by side. "Sandhya is coming over next week."

He groaned. "That means endless teasing, doesn't it?"

I grinned. "Absolutely."

He sighed. "Why did she have to accept me as her 'Bhai'?"

I laughed. "Because you're impossible to hate."

He looked at me, his smirk softening. "Only for you, Aranya."

Something warm spread through my chest.

I knew what he meant.

He had given up everything for me.

And not once had he regretted it.

I stopped walking and turned to him.

"Are you happy?" I asked softly.

His eyes shone under the city lights. "With you? Always."

I smiled, reaching for his hand.

And he squeezed mine in return.

Because no matter where we were-

No matter which time, which world, which life-

We always found our way back to each other.

And this time, we weren't running.

This time, we weren't fighting fate.

This time, we had truly found home.

Together.

Forever.