The heavy doors of the university library clicked shut behind them, the sound echoing unnaturally loud in the stillness of the Mumbai night. Ananya pulled her shawl tighter, glancing warily at the shadows beneath the ancient banyan trees that lined the path.
"सच में, कुणाल... assassination?"
(Sach mein, Kunal... assassination?)
[Seriously, Kunal... assassination?]
Her voice was barely a whisper, heavy with the weight of his remembered death. "And that text… a 'shadow council' whose lineage persists?"
Kunal nodded grimly, the phantom pain at his throat still fresh. The humid air pressed against his skin like wet cloth.
"Ashoka warned me," he said. "Lingering forces. Watchers." He scanned the darkness around them. Was that flicker of movement just a stray cat… or something else?
भयम्
(Bhayam)
[Fear]
coiled low in his gut.
"If they killed me once because they feared me... and the prophecy says I'm destined to return..."
"...तो वो फिर से रोकना चाहेंगे,"
(...to wo phir se rokna chahenge,)
[...they'll try to stop you again,] Ananya finished. Her voice was low, eyes wide.
"ये सब ख़तरनाक है।"
(Yeh sab khatarnāk hai.)
[This is all dangerous.]
She pulled her shawl tighter.
They walked briskly toward the main road. The distant शोर
(Shor)
[noise]
of traffic felt like a thin veil over an otherwise unnatural silence. Kunal hailed a kaali-peeli taxi. The familiar black-and-yellow cab offered a strange comfort.
As they climbed in, he pulled out his phone. His thoughts raced. He needed his other anchor.
"Annie," he muttered, "मुझे अभिषेक से बात करनी है।"
(Mujhe Abhishek se baat karni hai.)
[I need to talk to Abhishek.]
Ananya nodded without hesitation.
"अच्छा सोचा। वो समझदार है।"
(Acchha socha. Wo samajhdār hai.)
[Good idea. He's sensible.]
"And we might need all the help we can get."
Kunal found Abhishek's number and hovered over the call icon.
"क्या बोलूंगा उससे?"
(Kya bolunga usse?)
[What will I even tell him?]
He inhaled, then hit call.
"हाँ, भाई?"
(Haan, bhai?)
[Yeah, bro?]
Abhishek's voice was more guarded than usual—Kunal must've sounded shaken in his earlier messages.
"अभी? मिलना है। ज़रूरी है।"
(Abhi? Milna hai. Zaroori hai.)
[We need to meet. It's urgent.]
There was a pause.
"सब ठीक है?"
(Sab theek hai?)
[Is everything okay?]
"बस आ जा। अपने usual spot पे। आधे घंटे में?"
(Bas aa ja. Apne usual spot pe. Aadhe ghante mein?)
[Just come. Our usual place? In thirty?]
"ठीक है। आ रहा हूँ।"
(Theek hai. Aa raha hoon.)
[Alright. I'm coming.]
---
The café was dimly lit, half-empty, smelling of cardamom and rain. Abhishek was already there, nursing a cutting chai. His casual demeanor shifted the moment he saw their faces.
"अरे, क्या हुआ यार?"
(Are, kya hua yaar?)
[What happened, man?]
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
Kunal slid into the booth opposite, face pale. "Something like that, Abhi."
He didn't bother easing in. He gave it straight. "Remember the dreams? The Kunala stuff?"
Abhishek nodded slowly.
"It's real," Kunal said. "All of it. We found texts. Prophecies. Warnings from Ashoka. And a vision... not just of being blinded. They assassinated me."
Abhishek froze. His chai sat forgotten.
"बाप रे..."
(Baap re...)
[Oh my god...]
He looked between Kunal's haunted eyes and Ananya's nod of confirmation.
"This is beyond crazy," he muttered. "But I know you. You wouldn't be this freaked out unless it was real."
He leaned in. "Okay. I'm in. So these… 'shadow council' people? You think they're still around?"
"The text implies it," Ananya replied quietly. "And Ashoka seemed to know they'd still be watching."
Abhishek's face hardened. "Alright. First things first—your security. If they're watching, digital is the easiest way. Phone. Laptop. I know a guy—cybersecurity expert. मैं कुछ चेक कर सकता हूँ।
(Main kuch check kar sakta hoon.)
[I can check a few things.]"
Kunal exhaled in relief. Finally—something tangible. "Yeah. Good idea."
"And the council?" Abhishek asked. "How do you even start tracing a 2000-year-old shadow lineage?"
Ananya pulled out her tablet. "The text I found references Jain and Ajivika sources. They were known for secrecy, especially post-Maurya. We dig there. Also… the prophecy mentioned a 'Crimson Star.' Maybe that's an astrological marker."
The three of them talked for another hour, hunched over tea-stained napkins and dim light. A fragile plan formed:
Ananya would pursue textual leads
Abhishek would check tech for surveillance
Kunal… would try to survive whatever memories were coming next
---
Later that night, Kunal stood at the window of his apartment. City lights blurred through rain-speckled glass. He lit a cigarette. The first drag didn't calm his nerves.
Ashoka's voice still rang in his head.
The blade.
The watchers.
The truth too big to carry alone.
He looked down at the street below. Headlights passed. A few late strollers hurried along.
Then he saw it.
An unfamiliar sedan. Parked in the shadows across the street. No lights. Still.
Probably nothing. Just someone waiting.
Then, a flicker.
A flash of metal—glass?
A lens?
अन्तरिताः पश्यन्ति।
(Antarhitāḥ paśyanti.)
[They watch while concealed.]
The line slammed into his mind like a gong. Kunal stepped back from the window, breath quickening.
They weren't just lingering.
They were here.
Watching.
---
To be continued...