"You can steal a name. But not the intent behind it."— Vihaan Mehra, Confidential Journal
Location: Aab-e-Hayat Cemetery, Outer Bangalore – 11:39 PM
Rain again.
Always the rain.
Kabir walked past the gravestones, pausing at a simple unmarked slab surrounded by four others — all tied to the Mehra family estate.
This wasn't for mourning.
It was for message drops.
And tonight, he wasn't disappointed.
Under a loose brick near the oldest tombstone, a sealed envelope waited.
Inside:
A scorched chip
A hand-drawn map
And a torn page from a ledger… with the words:
"He didn't jump. He was pushed. Find the clinic."
Meanwhile – Shivajinagar Market
Zayen moved through the crowd like fog through ruins. Gone was the hoodie. Now, he wore the clothes of the invisible — brown shirt, dust-stained jeans, no logos.
He stopped at a small food stall, placing an order he never picked up.
It was a code.
The vendor nodded subtly and passed him a rolled-up napkin with a time and address.
Someone had been watching the new murders too.
Someone who remembered how he used to mark them.
Kabir's Apartment – 2:11 AM
The burnt chip revealed a screen full of audit logs.
A date popped out:
TWO YEARS BEFORE ZAYEN'S FIRST "KILL"
The log showed the deletion of security footage — before a warehouse fire. That fire was officially ruled an accident. But Kabir remembered it. He had worked in the adjacent intel division when that fire killed Vihaan Mehra.
Except now?
He wasn't dead.
Which meant either the logs were real…or someone was rewriting every origin in the RED X case.
Zayen's Destination – 3:15 AM – Abandoned Veterinary Clinic
He entered through the back. It was gutted. Stripped. Only the metal table remained.
And on it: photos.
Photos of him.
Of the new kills.
Of the difference.
The original RED X mark had always been chalk — curved slightly at the end.
The new ones?Straight. Sharp. Burnt into surfaces.
A mimic.
But not just a copycat.
Someone wanted the world to believe RED X had returned… and evolved.
And that terrified him.
Because he never wanted to be worshipped. Or worse…
Used.
Back at the Safehouse – 4:00 AM
Kabir received a text from a long-dead contact.
"Stop chasing ghosts. Start looking at the Crown."
He stared at it for a full minute.
The Crown.
The last face on the decrypted vault.
He thought it was symbolic.
But what if… it wasn't?
What if there was a third player?
One who orchestrated Zayen's fall… then framed him again?
Unknown Location
A man sits in front of a mirror.
A phone rings.
He answers.
"Phase Two is complete. Let the Crown claim the city."
He hangs up and draws a red checkmark on the mirror.
This time — it bleeds.