The mansion was wrapped in stillness, the faint hum of the night lamps echoing through its corridors.
As Charvi walked down the dim hallway, her footsteps soft against the marble floor, she suddenly bumped into someone. Startled, she gasped — her eyes flickering as a series of strange, fragmented visions flashed before her eyes.
A hooded figure, a dagger dripping with darkness, a flash of red light—
and Vihaan collapsing.
She blinked hard, the vision fading as quickly as it came. Her heart pounded.
"Hey, hey, easy… it's just me," came a calm, familiar voice.
It was Veer.
Charvi steadied herself, realizing she had bumped into him. His expression was soft, almost apologetic.
"Sorry, Charvi. I didn't mean to scare you."
"No, it's fine," she replied quickly, brushing her hair aside. "I just—" she hesitated, "I thought I saw something weird for a second."
Veer gave a small chuckle, his tone steady.
"The house is old; shadows play tricks at night."
"Maybe," Charvi said faintly. "Where were you coming from, this late?"
"Couldn't sleep," he replied casually, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Went outside for a stroll. Needed some air."
Charvi glanced at his hoodie again, unease creeping back.
"At this hour?"
"Sometimes, silence clears the mind," he said lightly.
"Right…" she murmured, brushing off her thoughts. "I was just heading to the kitchen to get some water."
"Then don't let me stop you," Veer replied, stepping aside with a faint nod. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Charvi said quietly, walking past him.
As she reached the kitchen, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. The moment replayed in her mind — the touch of his arm, the glint of the hood, the image of that dagger.
She opened the refrigerator to distract herself and nearly jumped as Yug appeared beside her, holding a tub of ice cream.
"Yug!" she exclaimed. "You scared me!"
"What? I was just… testing the flavor," he said with an innocent shrug.
"At midnight?"
"Hey, Diwali prep stress needs sweet therapy," he grinned.
Charvi sighed and smiled faintly.
But as she turned to leave, her gaze drifted down the corridor where Veer had gone.
He was gone now — only the faint creak of the door echoed.
Yet, the image of that black hood refused to leave her mind.
Still lost in her thoughts about Veer, Charvi turned to leave the kitchen, her mind miles away. She barely noticed her foot brushing against the edge of the carpet until she stumbled forward —
Before she could hit the floor, Yug caught her swiftly, his arm circling her waist.
For a moment, the world froze.
The faint glow of the Diwali lamps flickered against their faces — his hand firm at her back, her heartbeat thundering against his chest.
"Careful," Yug whispered, his voice low, teasing. "You always find new ways to fall into my arms, don't you?"
Charvi's lips parted, caught between embarrassment and the warmth rising in her cheeks.
"I… I wasn't watching my step," she murmured.
Yug leaned a little closer, his breath brushing against her ear.
"Funny thing," he said softly, "every time we meet like this, my heart races…"
He smiled, gazing into her eyes.
"And right now—yours is keeping up with mine."
Charvi's breath caught, her face turning crimson.
"Yug…" she whispered, unable to look away.
He grinned, still holding her close.
"Tonight, during the Diwali celebration… I'll finally tell you everything that's in my heart."
Their eyes lingered for a heartbeat longer before Charvi gently stepped back, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"We'll see," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper, and turned away.
As she walked down the corridor, her cheeks still flushed, she couldn't help but smile — unaware of the faint shadow watching her from the staircase above.
Veer locked the door behind him, shutting the world out. The silence in the room was heavy—almost suffocating. He walked toward the mirror and stared at his reflection for a long, hollow moment before slowly removing his shirt.
Under the faint light, his body gleamed with the shadows of old scars — deep, pale, and brutal reminders of pain long buried. He dragged his fingers across one that stretched along his shoulder and let out a bitter laugh.
Then his expression hardened.
"Every time I look at these scars," he muttered, voice trembling with rage, "my hatred for you deepens, Vihaan."
His fist crashed into the mirror, and shards scattered across the floor, glinting like tiny fragments of his broken past. Blood trickled down his knuckles, but he didn't even flinch.
"You stole everything from me," he whispered to his reflection. "My mother. My family. My childhood. I thought running away would free me from your shadow… but even that wasn't enough. You still ruined my life."
His voice cracked—raw, trembling between fury and pain.
The memories flooded back uninvited.
He saw himself again—sixteen, angry, and lost—storming down a dark road with tears burning in his eyes. He'd barely taken a few steps before masked men appeared from the shadows. Rough hands grabbed him. A cloth muffled his scream. The world turned black.
When he woke, he was surrounded by strangers—the Naashaks. Men who called themselves the guardians of balance, the destroyers of evil. But what they truly were… were monsters in human skin. They trained him, broke him, rebuilt him.
Days blurred into years of agony—endless fights, torture masked as discipline, dark mantras chanted under moonless skies. Every scar etched into his flesh was a mark of their making.
And at the end of it all, they gave him his purpose.
"The first Sarvansh must die," their leader had said. "That boy is your destiny."
That boy — Vihaan.
The name alone made his blood boil.
Back in the present, Veer looked at his bleeding hand, the shattered mirror, and the reflection of a man who had forgotten what it felt like to be whole.
"I'll kill you, Vihaan," he vowed softly, a cruel calm in his tone. "It's not just my duty as a Naashak… it's personal."
His voice echoed in the room like a curse. Then, with a deep breath, he wiped the blood from his hand, his eyes cold and determined. Outside, fireworks from the approaching Diwali celebration painted the night sky in gold and crimson — a cruel contrast to the darkness now burning inside him.