✦ 3rd Person POV
The camp woke to fog and fireflies.
The air shimmered with quiet divinity. Parth stood outside again, this time calmer, watching the world breathe. He had not slept. Neither had Aarav. Or Neel.
Something was changing. The air tasted... charged.
A slow wind tugged at the edges of the canvas, and then—
> "He's here," said Neel suddenly.
Parth turned. "Who?"
> "I don't know his name," Neel murmured. "But he's not like us. And yet... he is."
---
✦ Scene Shift: At the Village Edge(The next morning)
He arrived on foot.
A young man, maybe 23, barefoot despite the heat of the road. Clad in a white kurta and long shawl, eyes the color of the midday sky — not blue, not grey. Just something endless. His hair was dark and tied back, his steps silent.
He looked ordinary.
He felt like forever.
The children by the roadside stopped laughing. Even the birds grew still. And the air bent just slightly, as if it knew it was being watched by someone older than time.
> "You're far from home," said a villager.
The man smiled — kind, gentle.
> "Home finds me," he replied, voice like a conch echoing in water. "And I have some old friends to meet."
---
✦ Camp Entrance
Parth, Aarav, and Neel stood facing the entrance when he walked in.
No one had told them.
And yet, all three took a step forward, as if pulled by an invisible string.
He raised a hand in greeting.
> "You've all grown up well," he said softly.
Parth frowned. "Who are you?"
The man paused, as if amused by the question.
> "Anant," he replied. "Just a friend. But I've known you all for longer than you think."
---
✦ Elsewhere, in a Forgotten Room
Black oil oozed from the cracks of a mirror.
A shrine somewhere in a closed-down temple had cracked.
The priest was missing.
And deep in the shadows, a shape began to take form. Horned. Crooked. Laughing.
> "So," the voice hissed. "Even Vishnu sends his pawn."
> "Let the game begin."
The first danava of Kaliyug was no longer hiding. And his master — Kali himself — was waking into flesh.
---
✦ Back to Camp
Aarav sat beside Anant later that evening, feeling oddly calm.
> "So you're… like us?" he asked.
Anant smiled. "I'm older."
> "Reborn?"
Anant shook his head gently. "No. Just... returned."
Neel said nothing, but his gaze didn't waver.
Parth finally sat across from him. "Why now?"
> "Because you're not children anymore, Arjun," Anant said, using the name deliberately. "And because he is waking."
> "The one who broke time. The one who devoured the end of Dwapar. You call him Kali. But he has many names."
Parth clenched his fist. "And you?"
Anant smiled — kind, tired.
> "I've been many things too. But in your stories, I was once your guide."
> "Call me what you wish. But when the end arrives… I will be the last one standing between him and your world."