The night was colder than before.
Or maybe it was because of the words Master Arjun had left behind.
One day… You will return home.
I held onto those words like a small flame in the darkness.
The cliff above the sea had grown quiet.
The other masters had retreated deeper into the island, their silhouettes fading into the silver mist beneath the moonlight.
Only the sound of waves remained.
Steady.
Endless.
I sat where I had cried only moments ago, my fingers wrapped around the warm war token hanging from my neck.
Above me, the sky stretched endlessly.
Filled with stars.
So many stars.
It felt as if the heavens themselves were watching.
A soft sound of wooden beads clicking together reached my ears.
I turned.
The silver-haired elder approached slowly.
His long black robes moved with the wind, and the moonlight reflected in his calm, ancient eyes.
The other masters had called him elder.
But tonight, something about him felt different.
More mysterious.
More… important.
He stopped beside me.
Then, to my surprise, I sat down on the stone floor.
His gaze remained on the sky.
"You are looking at them."
His voice was soft.
Deep.
"The stars."
I looked up again.
"They're beautiful."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"They are more than beautiful, Mukul."
He lifted one long finger toward the sky.
"They are witnesses."
I frowned.
"Witnesses?"
"To destiny."
The words sent a strange chill through me.
For a moment, silence stretched between us.
Then he turned toward me.
"I am Acharya Raghunandan."
The moment he spoke the name, something stirred in my memory.
A face.
An old man in saffron robes.
The scent of sandalwood.
A large hall in Delhi.
Grandfather's deep laughter.
Then—
My eyes widened.
"You…"
The Acharya smiled.
"Yes."
His voice was warm.
"I am the same Acharya who came to your home the night you were born."
The world around me seemed to freeze.
A memory flickered.
A warm room.
Soft yellow lights.
My mother is holding a newborn child.
My father is standing beside her.
Both families gathered.
Grandparents.
Uncles.
Aunts.
Cousins.
And in the middle—
An old man studying a scroll.
My breath caught.
"That was you?"
He nodded.
Then slowly raised his hand.
A golden circle of light appeared above his palm.
Within it—
stars.
Twenty of them.
My eyes widened.
They shimmered in a perfect circle.
Then seven brighter stars appeared around them.
The sight was breathtaking.
The Acharya's voice became solemn.
"The night you were born, the heavens moved."
His eyes reflected the golden stars.
"A phenomenon that appears only once in generations."
He looked directly at me.
"The Twenty Stars Prophecy."
The words seemed to echo in the wind.
I stared at him.
He continued.
"That night, I cast your kundali."
His hand moved through the air, and the stars shifted.
Twenty stars formed a crown.
Seven brighter stars circled it.
Then one lone star in the centre.
"You."
I looked at the central star.
"Me?"
He nodded.
"You are the central star."
"The one around whom twenty legacies and seven destinies revolve."
A strange warmth spread through my chest.
I didn't fully understand.
But somehow, it felt true.
The Acharya's expression darkened slightly.
"There was more."
The wind suddenly grew stronger.
The stars flickered.
His voice lowered.
"This child will disappear."
"He will walk through darkness."
"He will be forged by twenty masters."
"And he shall return to unite what the world has forgotten."
My breath hitched.
Those words.
They sounded like fate.
Like everything happening right now had already been written.
I gripped the token tighter.
"What does it mean?"
For a moment, the Acharya remained silent.
Then he looked at the seven brighter stars.
"It means seven lives are tied to yours."
I frowned.
"Who?"
His smile returned.
"That…"
He gently tapped my forehead.
"…is for destiny to reveal."
My thoughts immediately went home.
To the girls I knew.
Faces flickered through my mind.
The royal girl who once cried when I defended her.
The quiet girl who loved books.
Samantha's healer friend, who always smiled at me.
I shook my head.
No.
This was too strange.
The Acharya continued.
"The seven stars represent seven women."
My eyes widened.
"Women?"
His lips curved.
"Seven wives."
"Seven pillars of your future."
"Seven destinies bound to your soul."
My face immediately flushed.
"I'm only five!"
For the first time, the Acharya laughed.
A warm, old laugh.
"Yes."
He nodded.
"You are."
Then his expression became serious again.
"But destiny begins long before the heart understands it."
Those words lingered in the air.
I looked back at the stars.
Twenty.
Seven.
One.
The central star seemed brighter now.
The Acharya's gaze softened.
"Do you know why the twenty masters waited for you?"
I shook my head.
"Because they too were named in the prophecy."
The words sent another chill down my spine.
"This island was prepared long before you arrived."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Every step you take now… was foreseen."
I looked at the sea.
The island.
The masters.
Home.
Was all of this truly written in the stars?
The Acharya slowly stood up.
Then placed his hand gently on my head.
"You may not understand now."
His voice was warm.
"But one day …"
He looked at the sky.
"…the twenty stars and the seven destinies will stand beside you."
I looked up.
The stars shone brighter than ever.
And for the first time—
I no longer felt lost.
I felt chosen.