Deepak and Kapil stepped back into the room, arms full of old books, loose papers, palm-leaf notes, and that strange red book they'd found locked away in Deepak's father's wooden box. The room looked more like a warzone of scrolls and books now than a living space.
They dropped everything onto the floor and sat down cross-legged, their heads already buzzing with questions. The hunt for answers had begun but they still had no idea what they were actually looking for.
"Okay," Kapil said, flipping open the red book, "we've got scribbled notes, torn maps, weird tribe names, and… what looks like someone's shopping list in Sanskrit."
Deepak chuckled under his breath, but his eyes stayed sharp. "There has to be something useful here. Something connected to the spiral mark."
The red book, though dusty and cracked, seemed to hold value. Its pages were filled with strange symbols, rough drawings of landscapes, and repeated mentions of a "vanished tribe". One phrase appeared again and again:
"Guardians of the Forgotten Flame."
They circled that.
"Look here," Deepak pointed, "Vanara army. That's directly linked to Lord Rama's war against Ravana."
Kapil nodded. "But this bit talks about a 'Lost Tribe that survived the end.' Could it be… some part of the Vanara army that didn't perish, but went into hiding?"
Deepak frowned. "If that's true, it changes everything. What if the spiral mark… is connected to that tribe?"
Kapil leaned forward, excitement building. "Bro, imagine! You could be a descendant. That mark it's not just a curse. Maybe it's… a key."
They both fell silent, staring at the swirling spiral drawn across multiple pages. Each time it appeared, the text nearby mentioned fire, awakening, or guardians.
But then reality hit.
"We're just guessing," Deepak muttered. "We don't know anything. We're not scholars. This script is half-broken, some of it looks coded and even if it's not, it's all over the place."
Kapil exhaled loudly. "This is driving me crazy."
Then, they both turned toward each other at the exact same time.
Kapil blinked. "Wait."
Deepak nodded. "You're thinking what I'm thinking?"
Kapil hesitated. "Lalit."
A beat of silence passed.
"He's the only one who could make sense of this mess," Deepak said quietly. "Remember college? He used to crack encrypted riddles for fun. Decoding weird stuff was like a hobby for him."
"Yeah…" Kapil admitted, "he even helped my cousin with some genealogy scrolls from our village once. He figured out who was faking an inheritance. But…"
"But he left," Deepak finished.
The air turned still.
Kapil stood and started pacing. "He just walked out, bro. After everything we went through… He said he was done, said he didn't want to risk his life anymore."
"He was scared," Deepak said. "We all were. That shadow… it shook us."
Kapil clenched his jaw. "But we're still here. Still fighting. If we call him now… he might hang up."
Deepak looked at the red book again, then at the spiral mark on his palm. "But if we don't try… we're stuck."
A long pause followed, filled only by the rustle of old paper and the hum of a ceiling fan.
Kapil sat down slowly. "You call him."
Deepak nodded. "I'll try. But he might not come."
Outside, the sky had begun to darken.
Far away, Lalit sat in silence, staring out a window haunted by memories he thought he'd escaped.
And the spiral's story was far from over.
Deepak sat on the floor, staring at the phone screen. The call to Lalit had gone unanswered twice. Then thrice. He tried messaging too. Nothing. Blue ticks, no reply.
His grip on the phone tightened.
"He's ignoring us," Deepak said, voice low and simmering. "He knows we need him. He knows we're in this mess together and he's still choosing to run."
Kapil stood near the window, arms crossed. His jaw was clenched. "I can't believe him. We almost died together. We saved each other. And now he won't even pick up the phone?"
The tension in the room began to thicken like smoke. The books around them forgotten. The red journal lying open. The pages seemed to hum with quiet energy.
Deepak stood abruptly. "I swear, if I see him again, I'll..."
He winced mid-sentence, clutching his hand. The spiral mark on his palm had started glowing. Slowly at first, then more rapidly pulsing like a heartbeat made of fire.
Kapil's eyes widened. "Bro… your palm…"
Deepak doubled over in pain, the glow growing brighter. He gritted his teeth. "It's burning again! Something's wrong "
Suddenly, the air in the room shifted.
The temperature dropped.
Wind whipped through the closed windows, the pages of old books flying in every direction.
A loud crack! echoed from the wall behind them then slowly, as if some ancient magic was breaking loose, a spiral-shaped portal began forming in the wall.
It glowed with light blinding and golden, spinning like a vortex. Strange whispers echoed from within, ancient and hollow.
Then a voice.
Faint at first.
Then louder.
"Help… Help me!"
Kapil's blood ran cold. "That's..."
"Lalit!" Deepak shouted.
Without thinking, they both rushed forward. A single glance between them was all they needed. No hesitation. No time.
Together, they leapt into the light.
A blast of wind hit them mid-air.
In the next breath they were somewhere else entirely.
They landed hard on a dusty wooden floor. The room around them was dimly lit, torn apart by chaos. Bookshelves overturned. Glass shattered. Furniture scorched.
It was Lalit's room.
And in the corner Lalit was crouched, shielding himself from something monstrous.
A massive shadowy figure towered over him it's now more rakshasa than a ghost. A grotesque beast pulled straight from the pages of the Ramayana. Its tusk-like teeth glinted, skin gray and cracked like ancient stone, and burning-red eyes pierced through the gloom.
It roared shaking the very walls.
Lalit screamed, "HELP!!"
Kapil froze for half a second—but Deepak stepped forward, as if pulled by something unseen. His arm lifted on its own.
The spiral mark on his palm ignited bursting with golden and crimson energy. Threads of glowing light surged from it like living flames.
With a sound like thunder cracking open the sky, a beam of divine light shot from his palm straight into the demon.
The creature screeched a sound not of this world.
Its body is convulsed. Steam burst from its chest. The ancient fire scorched through it, ripping the rakshasa's form apart like smoke scattered in a storm.
In seconds, the shadow was gone.
Only dust remained.
Silence.
Lalit sat trembling, staring at Deepak with wide, terrified eyes. "W-What was that…? That thing… it was going to kill me."
Kapil helped him to his feet. "It nearly did. And you nearly let us die by walking away."
Lalit looked ashamed but Deepak, still glowing faintly, didn't speak. He stared at his palm now calm once again.
But something deep within him knew...
This power wasn't his alone.
It had awakened for a reason.
And more would follow.
Lalit's breathing was still shaky. His hands trembled as he looked between Deepak and Kapil, confusion clouding his eyes.
Kapil stepped closer, still shaken. "How did it even find you, Lalit? How did that… that thing reach your house?"
Lalit shook his head slowly, swallowing hard. "I don't know. I swear, I don't."
Deepak watched him carefully, still catching his breath.
"When I left your place," Lalit continued, voice hoarse, "I thought I was done. I just wanted peace. But… something felt wrong the moment I got home."
"What do you mean?" Kapil pressed.
"I felt like I was being watched. Like… something was following me. I kept turning around, thinking I'd see someone. But no one was there." Lalit rubbed his arms like he was still cold. "It got worse when I stepped into my room."
He paused, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"The moment I shut the door… the lights flickered. Then—gone. Total darkness."
Kapil's eyes widened. "Like at the fort..."
Lalit nodded. "Then that thing just appeared out of nowhere right in front of me. No footsteps. No sound. Just its eyes… glowing in the dark."
Deepak's fists clenched.
"I tried to scream, to run but it grabbed me. I thought it was over. Then suddenly… a flash of light. You both were just there. Like magic."
Kapil handed Lalit a glass of water, his tone softer now. "Drink. Calm down. You're safe."
Lalit took it with a trembling hand. After a few gulps, his breathing began to slow. The fear was still there, buried in his eyes, but the shaking eased.
"I'm sorry," he said after a long silence. "I shouldn't have left. I thought running away would keep me safe."
Deepak finally spoke. "We're all part of this now. There's no walking away."
Kapil sat down beside them, the tension in the room slowly easing. "Yeah. Whatever this is it wants all three of us. Together."
They looked at one another. Still confused. Still afraid.
But now united again.
And somewhere outside, far beyond the quiet walls of the room, the darkness still stirred.
Waiting.