Episode------- 38
Thunder rolled over the Hooghly, low and endless, as if the sky itself braced for blood.
Inside the crumbling safehouse, breath misted in cold air; fear and resolve tangled together, sharp enough to taste.
Raian stood near the broken window, shoulders tense, hand wrapped around the pistol at his side.
Across the dark room, Aria caught his gaze — a single heartbeat of silent promise: Together.
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Ayan leaned against a cracked column, leg still weak but gun steady.
Lina gripped her iron rod so hard her knuckles blanched, rainwater dripping from her hair onto broken stone.
Outside, shadows shifted — torchlight flickering off wet walls. Rajveer's men, faceless in darkness.
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Then: the door shuddered. Once. Twice.
A pause — cruel, deliberate.
Then it exploded inward in a hail of splinters.
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The first man surged through, blade flashing. Raian fired — the shot echoing like thunder — and the man fell, body twisting onto wet stone.
Another charged. Ayan's pistol barked, muzzle flash painting scars and fear in white light.
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Aria's breath tore through her chest, heart pounding so loud she barely heard the fighting.
She stepped behind Raian, hands shaking but eyes fierce.
"Stay close," Raian rasped, voice ragged. "Don't run."
"And you stay standing," she breathed.
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The doorway darkened — and Rajveer himself stepped inside.
Rain clung to his scarred face; torchlight made the old wounds look fresh.
At his side, a curved blade gleamed black as oil.
"Raian," he drawled, voice smooth as poisoned silk. "Still hiding behind softer things?"
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Raian stepped forward, every movement dragging fire through his ribs.
"I'm not hiding," he rasped. "I'm choosing."
"Poor choice," Rajveer murmured. "Now watch her die for it."
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Two men lunged toward Aria. Her breath caught — but Lina moved first, iron rod crashing into one man's knee. He fell, cursing.
The second swung for Lina — but Ayan's shot caught him in the shoulder, spinning him backward.
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Raian's voice cut through the chaos, raw and sharp. "This ends now, Rajveer."
Rajveer smiled, stepping closer, blade lifted. "Yes," he purred. "It does."
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They clashed.
Steel hissed against steel, sparks flaring and dying in the wet air.
Raian's blade met Rajveer's, each strike sending pain lancing through his side. His breath burned in torn lungs — but he pressed on.
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Rajveer moved like old nightmares: fast, precise, merciless.
A twist, a step, a strike — Raian barely blocked, steel sliding inches from his throat.
"Still too slow, boy," Rajveer mocked, breath steady.
Raian's jaw clenched. "Still too cruel, old man."
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Behind them, Ayan fought off another attacker, blood staining his sleeve. Lina swung again and again, fear turned into fury.
Aria pressed her palm to Raian's back, steadying him without words.
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Rajveer's blade swept low, catching Raian's side. Blood blossomed fresh, hot and slick.
Raian staggered, vision spotting black.
Rajveer stepped closer, voice soft: "All your love. All your mercy. And still, you bleed."
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Raian's knees buckled — but Aria's voice cut through the darkness:
"Raian, look at me!"
He lifted his gaze — pain, guilt, and something rawer: hope.
"Don't fight him," she whispered, voice shaking but fierce. "Fight for us."
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Rajveer lunged for the killing blow —
—but Raian twisted, blade catching Rajveer's wrist. Steel met bone; Rajveer hissed, stumbling back.
"You taught me to kill," Raian rasped, breath ragged. "But you never taught me why to live."
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Rajveer's eyes flashed, hate breaking through calm. "Love makes you weak."
Raian's voice cracked. "No. It makes me stronger than you ever were."
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They moved again — swords clashing in savage rhythm.
Raian's arm burned; every breath felt stolen. But behind him, Aria's presence burned hotter than pain.
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A scream ripped through the room — Lina, knocked down, rod skittering away.
Ayan fired, bullet catching her attacker in the chest. The man fell, breath gurgling out.
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Rajveer roared, rage twisting his scarred face. "You would die for them?" he spat.
"I would live for them," Raian rasped.
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One final heartbeat.
Rajveer raised his blade, ready to cut through flesh and hope.
Raian stepped in, pain forgotten, and drove his blade home — deep into the man who had shaped his nightmares.
Rajveer's eyes widened — disbelief, fury, and something almost like pride.
"You… learned…" he gasped.
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Raian whispered, voice trembling: "Not from you."
He twisted the blade free.
Rajveer crumpled to the wet floor — breath leaving him in a final, ragged sigh.
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Silence crashed down, heavy and sharp.
Raian staggered, sword slipping from bloody fingers. Aria caught him, arms trembling under his weight.
"It's over," she whispered, voice breaking.
"For now," Raian rasped, breath raw.
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Ayan limped over, gun still raised. "Any left?"
Lina, chest heaving, shook her head. "They ran. Or they're bleeding on the stones."
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Raian's gaze fell to Rajveer's still body — the man who had built him from scars and fear.
"I thought killing him would feel like freedom," he murmured, voice hollow.
"And does it?" Aria asked softly.
"It feels…" His voice cracked. "…empty."
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She touched his cheek, gentle but firm. "Then we fill it. With something better."
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Outside, rain eased, turning from sheets to silver mist.
Inside, four broken souls stood among fallen enemies — alive, bruised, but unbroken.
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Raian turned, blood dripping down his arm, and looked at Aria — really looked: not as shield, or cost, or weakness… but as the reason he had chosen to fight.
"I'm still afraid," he whispered.
"So am I," she breathed. "But we're still here."
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Behind them, Ayan slipped an arm around Lina's shoulders. She leaned into him, tears and rain streaking together.
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Raian's chest rose, breath raw and ragged. "Then let's see what tomorrow costs," he murmured.
"And pay it together," Aria whispered.
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Outside, dawn threatened the horizon — the promise of light beyond ruin.
Inside, hope stirred, fragile but alive.
For tonight, they had survived.
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Teaser for Episode 39:
Blood spilled but debts remain. As police close in and allies turn restless, Raian must decide if redemption is worth the price… and if Aria's love can truly outlive his past.