The Night of Possession
Mumbai – Borivali, Western Suburbs.
The city that never slept was now screaming.
From the crowded tracks of Borivali station to the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, alarms echoed and floodlights blinked frantically. Families clutched bags, dragging children toward bunkers. Rickshaws and bikes lay abandoned in the middle of the roads.
Above it all, the Arabian Sea glowed an unholy red. A massive rift pulsed above the horizon, veins of crimson lightning streaking the sky. The very air tasted metallic, like blood in the mouth.
And then the shadow descended.
---
The Arrival of Kaalrath
He emerged from the rift like a nightmare tearing itself free from the womb of the void.
Kaalrath, the 4th Rank Upper Demon.
His horns spiraled upward like jagged scythes, his body cloaked in molten cracks that glowed crimson beneath obsidian skin. Two vast wings stretched from his back, tattered but heavy with ash, each beat scattering fire across the night.
When he opened his mouth, his voice rolled over Mumbai like thunder across the monsoon sky.
"Ah… this land is heavy with life. Fear. Desire. Perfect fuel."
The weight of his aura crashed down.
High-rise windows shattered in Andheri. Water tanks burst open on rooftops. Hundreds dropped to their knees choking, clutching their throats.
And from the folds of his wings, legions spilled forth—not just snarling beasts but ritual demons marked with glowing runes. Their long fingers gleamed like bone needles. They darted down the lanes, slipping between buildings, crawling across compound walls like shadows come alive.
---
The Bunker in Borivali
In a modest housing society near Borivali West, the underground parking lot had been converted into a bunker. Families crammed inside, their prayers blending with sobs.
Children whimpered. Old men clutched trembling hands together, muttering gods' names under their breath.
At the front stood Ishita's parents.
Her father, an accountant by trade, had always been calm, steady. Even now, as the walls shook from distant explosions, his voice carried authority.
"Stay calm. Everyone inside. This place will hold."
Her mother, her sari pulled hastily around her shoulders, guided the last of the neighbors in. She forced a smile for the children, even as her own hands trembled.
"Just a little longer. Ishita will come. My daughter… she'll protect us."
But then the bunker lights flickered. The emergency bulbs sputtered to red.
The air thickened.
Two shadows seeped through the half-sealed steel gate.
They were tall, cloaked, their movements slithering. Not the feral beasts clawing at the city above. These were different. Ritual demons, their bodies etched with burning red glyphs.
One hissed, its mask of bone splitting into a grin.
"This family… strong aura. The girl's bloodline hums."
The other chuckled, voice sharp like glass.
"The parents will suffice as vessels. She will break when she sees them."
Before anyone could scream, tendrils of black aura lashed out.
---
The Transformation
Her father gasped as a tendril stabbed into his chest, eyes rolling back. He fell to his knees, clawing at his shirt.
"Stay… back…!" he rasped.
Her mother shrieked as another tendril pierced her stomach. Neighbors tried to pull her away, but the demon's aura had already taken hold.
The ritual wasn't instant. That was the cruelty of it.
They convulsed violently, skin cracking with glowing veins. Their screams twisted into guttural howls. Her father's jaw split unnaturally, jagged teeth forcing their way out. His hands bent backward, snapping into claws. Her mother's eyes glowed a sickly yellow, her hair burning at the edges as black veins crept across her face.
And then—silence.
They stood there, trembling. No longer human.
Her father growled, low and animalistic. Her mother tilted her head, lips curling back in hunger.
The bunker families shrank against the walls, sobbing. Some prayed louder. Others simply fainted.
---
Ishita's Arrival
The bunker door screeched open with a metallic groan.
"I'm here!" Ishita stumbled inside, scarlet aura sparking faintly around her arms. Sweat soaked her face, dust clung to her clothes. She'd run all the way from the Council's teleport hub into her old neighborhood.
"Mom? Dad?" Her voice cracked with desperation.
People turned to look at her—but none spoke. Their eyes were locked on the far end of the chamber.
Her heart sank. Slowly, she turned.
And the world broke.
Her parents—her anchors, her reason to keep fighting—stood hunched, snarling, claws scraping against the concrete. Their faces, twisted into demonic hunger, were still theirs. She could see the memories in them—her mother's soft smile while cooking, her father's steady hand on her shoulder before school.
Now nothing but hunger.
"...No," she whispered. Her knees buckled. "Not you… not them..."
Her mother hissed, saliva sizzling against the floor. Her father hunched low, preparing to pounce.
---
The Collapse
Her chest tightened, breaths ragged.
"I fought so hard… I trained every day…" Her voice was raw, her aura sparking uncontrolled around her. "Amélie, Sophia, Maria, Klaus, Dmitri—they all died. And now… even you?"
She saw flashes—her father helping her with homework at the dining table, her mother singing old film songs while making rotis. Their laughter. Their warmth.
All erased in front of her eyes.
"I wasn't strong enough to save anyone!"
Scarlet fire licked at the bunker walls, scorching steel. Families screamed and pressed back, shielding children.
Her parents advanced, step by step.
Something inside Ishita snapped.
---
The First Scarlet Form
Her scream tore through the bunker like thunder.
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!"
Scarlet flames erupted from her body, no longer sparks but a storm. The walls glowed red, air shimmered with heat. Crimson wings of aura burst from her back, stretching wide as her eyes blazed blood-red.
Her parents lunged.
Scarlet fire consumed them instantly, their bodies disintegrating into ash before they could touch her.
The bunker shook. Steel warped. People fell to the ground, shielding themselves as crimson light burned their vision.
At the center of it all, Ishita stood transformed—hair lifted by aura winds, her body radiating raw power. The first Full Scarlet Awakening.
But her knees buckled, and tears poured down her face.
"…I killed them. I killed my own parents…"
The aura flared hotter, wild, threatening to incinerate everyone in the bunker.
And then the steel door slammed open again—
"ISHITA—STOP!"
Rehan burst inside, his aura igniting as he threw himself toward her, desperate to pull her back from the abyss.