Chapter 2: The Prophecy's Echo
Ruhan's Hostel Room
A voice, ancient and grave, echoed through the dream:
"You must find the sacred conch, Rudra... and you must blow it. You must free the people from Raktim's hypnotic control. Awaken your powers, use your siddhis. Go, Rudra... save them all."
Ruhan (in dream): "But Baba, how can I do this? How can I save people from Raktim's control? I'm just a student..."
Voice: "You don't yet know your own siddhis, Rudra, but I have faith in you. Go... save everyone. End Raktim's reign. Only you can destroy him with the mystical skull. Go, Ruhan... Go!"
Suddenly, a shadowy figure emerged and slit Baba's throat with a swift sword stroke.
Ruhan (screaming): "NO! Wait... BABAAAAA!!"
Nirav (shaking him awake): "Hey, Ruhan! Bro, what happened? Which Baba? That dream again?"
Ruhan (gasping, drenched in cold sweat): "Yes... he... he killed Baba. Nirav... they're dead... I couldn't save them..."
Nirav: "Bro, it was just a dream. No one died. Look, I'm right here. Everything's fine. Here, have some water."
Ruhan (wiping tears): "But... it felt so real this time..."
Nirav: "I don't know what's been happening to you lately. Come on, get up. We have Prof. Sharma's first period—if we're late, we're dead."
Ruhan: "Yeah... okay."
Ruhan dragged himself out of bed, the dream's horror clinging to him like a shroud. The shower did little to wash away the image of Baba's murder. As he dressed mechanically, he couldn't shake the feeling that the voice in his dream knew something he didn't.
Twenty minutes later, he walked with Nirav toward the mess, the prophecy about the conch, the skull, and his "siddhis" repeating in his mind like a forgotten prayer.
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