The hotel in Kolakham was quiet—too quiet.
Outside, the hills slept under a blanket of thick fog, and inside, Tanishka felt like a dormant volcano—on the verge of awakening.
Each passing day, her behavior grew more erratic.
Darker.
Stranger.
Arvika was trying to understand it all.
Alone.
But no piece seemed to fit.
Nothing made sense anymore.
---
That evening, as she sat quietly on the balcony, lost in thought, Aarush appeared beside her.
His presence startled her.
> "You're worried about your friend, aren't you, Arvika?"
His voice was soft, but it carried a strange chill—a cold that clung to the skin.
Arvika didn't respond.
> "Tanishka will be fine," Aarush continued, calmly. "Some people… their bodies just can't handle certain places. The cold. The altitude. The energy."
> "Do you know what's really happening to her?"
Arvika finally asked, her voice firm.
Aarush gave a quiet smile.
> "Can everything be explained that easily?"
There was something unreadable in his eyes.
Something that made her insides twist.
---
That night, Tanishka tried to go outside again.
Arvika stopped her, frightened.
But Tanishka turned, her voice unusually calm and cold—
> "You'll never understand, Arvika. I'm answering his call… he's close. So close."
Arvika grabbed her wrist, shaking.
> "Who? Who's calling you?"
Tanishka stared at her.
> "Aarush."
---
Later that night, Arvika secretly watched Tanishka through the slightly ajar door.
She was standing before the mirror—whispering in a twisted tongue, her eyes unblinking.
On the floor, a symbol drawn in copper—a precise ancient circle—glowed faintly.
Just then, outside on the balcony… Aarush stood.
Bathed in moonlight.
But he cast no shadow.
---
The next morning, Arvika sought out an old man she'd seen once in the hotel lobby.
The man, hunched and wrapped in worn shawls, told her something she wasn't ready to hear:
> "Aarush is a disciple of dark rituals," he whispered.
> "He is human… but his soul is tied to something… unholy. He looks for those who are 'special.' If your friend is one of them, Aarush will offer her to the force he serves."
Arvika's blood ran cold.
> "You're saying… he's going to sacrifice her?"
The man's silence was louder than words.
> "That's why they came to Kolakham. You were never meant to know."
---
When Arvika returned to the hotel, she found Tanishka even weaker than before.
Her skin had lost all color.
Her eyes looked hollow, like deep, dark wells.
Then Aarush walked in.
A smirk touched his lips.
> "Her time has come, Arvika. She will come to me—willingly."
Arvika finally stood her ground.
Her fear gave way to fury.
She understood now—Aarush was no mere human.
He was a vessel.
A messenger for something dark, ancient, and inhuman.
And the ritual he was preparing?
It needed either Tanishka… or Arvika.
One "pure soul."
One willing or unwilling offering.
---
Final Scene of the Chapter:
That night, Arvika broke into Aarush's room while he was gone.
What she saw froze her blood.
On the walls:
Ritual inscriptions in black ink. Symbols that pulsed like veins.
In the corner:
Distorted figurines—part human, part beast.
On the table:
A half-burnt map with one location marked in blood:
> "Adhwan Tala" — The Passage of the Departed.
Beneath it, a folded note:
> "He who offers, survives.
She who is pure, will carry the message of the Fallen."
Arvika stared at the words, her hands trembling.
Tears welled in her eyes.
She realized—Tanishka doesn't have much time left.
---
(To Be Continued...)