Page 145 of The Surviving Sky
And in despair, Ahilya cupped Iravan’s face with her hands, pressed her forehead to his, and poured all of her will and desire and being into one thought.
I will not let this happen.
The images in the vortex changed.
Superimposed on the stars of Iravan’s consciousness was herownconsciousness—itsmaze complex and complete.
The cosmic creature hesitated, curious at her interference.
Then it pushed against her.
Ahilya screamed. She had never experienced such pain. Her flesh sloughed off her skin, burning. Her bones cracked. Thorns grew inside her brain, and her muscles crushed under her. It was too much, she would not be able to bear it, death would bebetter—
Again and again, the creature attacked.
The blackness receded from Iravan’s eyes; he blinked and shook his head in shock; he could see her pain, sheknew—
Fire incinerated her veins. Ahilya saw Oam die again. Nakshar disintegrated, and Tariya said,What would you understand of this?Bharavi exploded into light, dying, while Dhruv patted her hand;You two deserve each other. The images grew over the vortex so she lay witness to all her shame, all her hurt, an open wound, condemned to watch this forever.
And in that moment of poised torture, Ahilya understood.
The creature could not erase her like it had attempted with Iravan. It could only inflict pain. Unlike Iravan, she had not split to form a yaksha. She had not broken.
Iravan could not touch the creature.
But she could.
As long as her will was strong, as long as she haddesire, her existence was inevitable.
Holding the line, her own consciousness forming a protection for Iravan and the world, Ahilya screamed, in agony and release, forming a shield in the Moment.
The cosmic being could do its worst.
She would not break.
50
IRAVAN
Ahilya would hold the earthrage back alone, in eternity, in agony.
Horrified, Iravan knew this.
Within the Etherium, his collapsing consciousness was replaced byhers—unflinching,exquisite, flawless.
He froze, amazed at her beauty,wanting. He felt every part of her, her breath, her heartbeat, her memories. He had never seen such wholeness; he could never have imagined it. Tears filled Iravan’s eyes asloveblossomed in her Moment like the raga of completion. He saw himself as she saw him, flawed yet somehowperfect.
He knew what he had to do; the Etherium was showing him yet again.
He was an architect.
He had to build himself.
A billion constellation lines emerged from him, and he unleashed them with the force of a storm, interlacing between his own stars and those of the falcon in the Moment, spinning in and out endlessly, remaking himself as best he could, copying Ahilya’s consciousness. Old lines split apart, but he locked the stars with new ones, expanding his possibilities, giving himself,themselves, one final chance to do better, to be better. His body lurched and changed; his mind exploded into a million shards, then returned to shape, this time uniting with the yaksha; the falcon was a part of him; they had once been one being.
Mazes snapped together, took on their flavor.
The lines glittered. A raga sounded, the raga of harmony. Iravan’s body reknit itself, healing, unlike anything he’d been before; stronger, magnificent, perfectly poised.
