The rain started with no warning. One moment, the sky was a pale silver; the next, it cracked open like a bruised fruit. Thunder growled low, and wind swept across the medical college like a forgotten curse.
Parth, Aarav, and Neel were heading back to their dorm after a tense day. The earlier incident—saving Aarav from the danava—still hung between them like static in the air. None of them dared to speak of it out loud, but they felt it in their bones. Something had changed.
Just as they crossed the main courtyard, they heard it—
"Are you blind or just incompetent?"
A girl's voice, sharp as a shard of glass. Parth turned just in time to see someone nearly crash into him. A flurry of curls, a furious gaze, and a flaring umbrella too late to be useful.
She looked up. He scowled.
"Watch where you're going," they both snapped at once.
The girl blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You nearly stabbed my eye with that umbrella," Parth said, voice level.
"You were walking like a zombie with no GPS. Are you sure you belong in a medical college?" she shot back.
"I'm sure I don't need life advice from a hurricane with lip gloss."
Aarav coughed loudly to hide his laugh. Neel, meanwhile, raised a brow.
Parth sighed, adjusted the strap of his satchel, and walked away without another word.
The girl muttered behind him, "Unbelievable. Forest prince attitude. Maybe he thinks he's auditioning for an ancient epic."
Parth pretended not to hear. But his ears were red.
---
"Brooo…" Aarav sing-songed the moment they were out of earshot. "You just fought with a girl. Who spoke back. I'm shocked. Is this character development?"
Parth gave him a look. "She was insufferable."
"And you were—how should I put it—dramatic?"
"Enough," Parth muttered, but Aarav grinned.
---
Across the campus, the rain intensified. Students ran for cover, but one boy remained rooted in the open lawn, face turned to the sky. His eyes were wide, mouth slightly agape.
"Hey!" Aarav called out. "You okay?"
The boy didn't respond.
Then Neel frowned. "His shadow…"
Parth followed his gaze. The boy's shadow wasn't moving. In fact, it… stretched.
Without thinking, Parth stepped forward. The air buzzed around him.
"Stop!" he shouted. The boy's body jerked violently, then collapsed.
Parth reached him. "Are you alright?"
The boy's eyes snapped open. "He's watching," he whispered. "The one with the burnt crown."
Then he passed out cold.
---
That night, Aarav couldn't sleep. Rain beat against the dorm window. Lightning flashed like memories.
He dreamed—
A bloodied man with ash smeared over his face. A jewel embedded in his forehead, glowing.
Ashwatthama.
"You three… not ready," the voice echoed. "He walks again."
Aarav woke with a gasp, heart hammering. In his room,Parth was already awake, seated by the window, watching the sky like he expected answers to fall from it.
Aarav barged into his room.
"Did you dream of him too?" Aarav asked.
Parth didn't reply.
---
Across the girls' dorm, Soudamini Bose—Sia to the world—slept soundly in her bed.
But in her dream, she stood before an old, rusted temple bell.
It began to ring.
Sia stirred in her sleep.
"Ki chhilo eta? (Translation:was that?)" she whispered, eyes fluttering.
No answer came.
Only the caw of a single crow perched outside her window.
Its eyes glowed.
---