Mumbai, Somewhere Else — Still Night
Arjun followed Maya, the woman with the glowing lines, and the silent man in the black coat. The hallway felt cold and quiet. The air smelled like old books and something sharp—like the air just after lightning.
The place was strange. The walls were bare. The lights were dim. The doors had no handles or locks.
Maya touched a spot on one door. It slid open without a sound.
"This is your room," she said.
It was small. A bed. A table. A closed cupboard. No windows. No noise. Arjun stepped inside. It felt safe—but also like a cage.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"A place where you'll be safe," Maya said. "A place to learn."
The man in black finally spoke. "Don't try to leave. This building is protected."
His voice was low and calm, but it held weight. Arjun didn't think he was joking.
"Rest now," Maya said softly. "Tonight was hard."
Arjun sat on the edge of the bed. His shirt was still stained with blood. His hands shook a little. His mind was full of questions.
"Why did it happen?" he asked. "Why me?"
Maya looked at him. The soft glow in her skin flickered in the low light. "We're not sure," she said. "Most people train for years. They go through rituals. Your Shakti shouldn't have awakened like that."
The man in black stepped forward. "We've never seen a case like yours. No teacher. No trial. No mantra. And yet—you woke it up."
"Maybe it was the girl," Maya added. "The moment. The fear. The feeling. That kind of emotion can sometimes break rules."
"So… you don't really know?" Arjun asked.
"We know what happened," Maya said. "But we don't know why you."
The man in black nodded. "That's what we'll find out. Starting tomorrow."
"What's your name?" Arjun asked him.
He looked at Arjun for a long second. "Dharan," he said. "Field Agent, Veilguard."
"Arjun," Maya said gently, "what you did at the hospital—it was not just rare. It was dangerous. Something woke up inside you, and something else tried to come through."
Arjun remembered the black thing that crawled from the girl's mouth. His stomach turned.
"Was it because of me?" he asked.
"No," Maya said. "But it came for you. That means something."
Dharan turned to leave. "Sleep. In the morning, we test everything—your energy, your limits, your mind. We need to know how much of a threat—or a hope—you are."
The door closed silently behind him.
Arjun lay down on the bed. The blanket scratched his arms. He stared at the ceiling.
Too much had happened. Too fast.
He thought about the girl. The burst of green light. The scream. The shadow.
He looked at his hand. Just for a second, something shimmered—faint and green, like a leaf in moonlight.
He closed his eyes. The mystery stayed with him.