Kai stood in the shadows of present-day Shambala, his stolen diamonds pulsing faintly at his chest.
His Calculations:
The prophecy's date (tonight at midnight)Arjun's continued ignorance of his destinyThe dead parents and Ram ensuring no interference
His Satisfaction:
The male dragon's corpse still lay where it fell Seraphina remained frozen in her watery tomb The heir's soulless body showed no signs of awakening
Arjun's Ordinary Life
Unaware in Hyderabad:
Working a night shift at a call centerHis only peculiarity: recurring dreams of a blue gemstoneNo knowledge of his dead family's true fate
The Only Anomaly:
His morning chai sometimes formed dragon-scale patterns before he stirred it
The Approaching Moment
As midnight neared:
The frozen Pool of a Thousand Dawns developed hairline cracksKai's diamonds warmed against his skinFar away, Arjun's birthmark itched for exactly seven minutes
Final Lines:
Kai smiled as the stars aligned.
Arjun yawned at his computer.
And deep in the pool's ice,
one blue shard finally...
...twitched.
THE ORPHAN'S PATH
July 8, 2008 - Days After the Tragedy
The stench of blood still hung in the Hyderabad apartment when 16-year-old Arjun returned from his cricket match. His cricket bat slipped from numb fingers as he took in the scene:
Father's body slumped over the static-filled TV, his watch forever stuck at 7:07Mother's lifeless hand still clutching a wooden spoon, her unfinished haleem burning blackRam curled around his glitching PlayStation, the screen frozen on a dragon statue
The Aftermath
No Kin Would Claim Him Relatives whispered the family was "cursed" after seeing the dragon-scale lividityon the bodies The landlord threw out all belongings, keeping only Ram's mysteriously unscorched hospital braceletStreet Survival Days: Attended school in bloodstained clothes until a teacher bought him uniforms Nights: Slept near Charminar, where stray dogs with oddly blue-tinged furguarded him The Only Clue
In Ram's pocket, Arjun found: A melted Nokia chip with one saved contact: "D7" The screen always showed 77% battery, even when dead
Arjun's Resilience
2009-2027: The Hard Years
Education - Top of his class at Nizam College, though professors noted his dragon-shaped doodles during examsWork - Night shifts at Cyber Towers, where all computers glitched blue when he passedSolitude - Spent Sundays at Hussain Sagar Lake, staring at reflections that sometimes showed winged silhouettes
The Unexplained
His left arm itched where scales had appearedthe night his family died All his saved passwords somehow contained "D7" The call center's night manager reported hearing "someone whispering equations"in Arjun's empty cubicle
Kai's Oversight
From his temporal hideout, Kai monitored:
The soulless heir dragon's unchanging comaShambala's frozen pool showing no cracksBut missed:Arjun's college thesis on "Quantum Resonance in Ancient Architecture"The stray dogs that followed Arjun were the same ones from 2008All CCTV footage near Arjun contained 7-frame dragon glitches
TIME'S RECKONING
3122 BCE - The Temporal Collapse
Kai's temporal hubris finally exacted its price.
The Unraveling
Bodily Betrayal His stolen lifespans slipped through his fingers like sand, each barcode scar fading The three embedded diamonds (Brown, White, Yellow) turned to leadin his chest Time's Retaliation The Hyderabad massacre's ripple effects rewrote his personal history: His 2008 victories became phantom memories The Godsbane Spear in his hand rusted mid-swing Ancient Shambala's ruins rejected his presence, burning his feet with blue fire The Coma His body collapsed near the dried Pool of a Thousand Dawns His consciousness splintered across 7 timelines Only his left eye remained active, pupil still displaying "2030"through centuries of stasis
The Consequences
For Shambala:
Seraphina's frozen form developed new cracks without Kai's interferenceThe heir dragon's soulless body began growing after 4,000 years of stasis
For 2008 Hyderabad:
Ram's unsent text message finally delivered to Arjun's Nokia 19 years lateThe murdered parents' wedding photo regained its true background - a dragon silhouette
For 2027 Arjun:
His scale birthmark itched violently the day Kai fell comatoseAll devices near him displayed "D7" simultaneously for 7 seconds
THE WEIGHT OF LONELINESS
2028 - Arjun's College Years
The fluorescent lights of the university library hummed as Arjun traced the dragon-scale birthmark on his wrist—the only inheritance his family had left him.
A Fragile Stability
The Girlfriend Who Almost Stayed Priya had been drawn to the quiet intensityin his eyes She didn't flinch when nightmares made him wake up whispering "D7" But the day she asked about his family, and he had no photos to show—that was the beginning of the endThe Breaking Point "You're like a ghost living in a house with no doors," she told him before leaving That night, his birthmark burned blue for exactly seven minutesThe Hollow Routine Mornings: Coffee at the same stall where the vendor never asked about his scars Nights: Coding in the lab until security kicked him out, his screens always glitching with dragon-wing artifacts
The Unseen Signs
Even in his loneliness, the universe whispered:
Library Books on ancient civilizations fell open to pages about "blue gemstone worship"His Spotify Wrapped inexplicably listed "Shambalan Lullabies" as his top genreThe campus stray cat—the one with oddly reflective eyes—followed him like a shadow
Kai's Unseen Influence
Though comatose in 3122 BCE:
Arjun's nightmares sometimes featured a man with barcode scarsHis thesis on quantum mechanics accidentally recreated Seraphina's prison equationsThe date July 7, 2027 appeared in his notes 77 times without explanation
UNEARTHED PURPOSE
2028 - The Dig Site at Golconda
The desert sun burned Arjun's neck as his trowel scraped against ancient stone. Three months into his archaeology internship, dirt had permanently lodged under his fingernails—a welcome replacement for grief.
The Turning Point
First Discovery A pottery shard with dragon-scale patternsidentical to his birthmark The professor dismissed it as "Pallava-era decoration" But the museum's X-ray showed layers of blue mineralbeneath the glaze Night Work While others slept, Arjun cross-referenced artifacts with his "D7" files The site's stray dog (always watching with reflective eyes) led him to: A buried stepwell where the water swirled counterclockwise A single Nokia battery still at 77% chargeafter centuries The Thesis
His paper "Prehistoric Gemstone Cults in Deccan Trade Routes" earned: Academic praise for groundbreaking connections A mysterious email from "[email protected]"that vanished when opened
The Slow Awakening
Signs He Missed
His birthmark itched less when handling certain artifactsDreams now featured a frozen woman whispering coordinatesThe stepwell's water sometimes showed his reflection with slit pupils
Kai's Unconscious Influence
Though still comatose:
The three corrupted diamonds in 3122 BCE pulsed when Arjun touched related artifactsA shadow resembling Kai appeared in dig site photos—but only in Arjun's copies