Chapter 52
Then, very slowly, Yug lifted his head, and the moment his face finally came into view, the entire dining hall fell into such a deep and unnatural silence that even the faint sounds of the servants moving somewhere outside seemed to disappear completely, because the eyes that looked back at them no longer belonged to the Yug they knew.
His entire eyes had turned pitch black.
There was no white left in them, no familiar warmth, no recognition, nothing except a deep, unnatural darkness that seemed to have swallowed everything, and for several horrifying seconds nobody moved because their minds simply refused to understand what they were seeing right in front of them.
Then all the chairs moved backward almost at the same time as everyone immediately stood up.
Shanti gasped loudly and covered her mouth with one trembling hand while Rajnath instinctively moved closer to her, his own expression frozen somewhere between shock and disbelief, and even Harinarayan, who had witnessed and understood things far beyond what the rest of them could imagine, stared at Yug with an expression that made the fear inside the room grow even stronger.
Aariv remained standing beside him.
His wrist was still trapped painfully inside Yug's grip, but for several seconds he did not even seem to notice the pain because his horrified eyes remained fixed entirely on Yug's face.
"Yuggie..."
His voice came out barely above a whisper.
Yug did not respond.
His black eyes remained fixed somewhere ahead, his body completely rigid while his fingers continued tightening around Aariv's wrist with enough force to make Aariv wince.
"Y-Yuggie..."
Aariv tried again, his voice trembling more noticeably this time as confusion and fear slowly replaced the shock on his face.
"Y... ye kya ho raha hai tujhe?"
For one second, nothing happened.
Then a deep, painful groan escaped Yug's throat.
His entire body jerked violently as his free hand suddenly grabbed the wrist of the hand holding Aariv again, and everyone froze when they realized that Yug was not trying to strengthen his grip.
He was trying to pull himself away.
His fingers dug harshly into his own wrist as he desperately tried to force his hand away from Aariv, but the other hand refused to move, almost as if one part of his body belonged to him while the other was being controlled by something entirely different.
Aariv stared at him in horror.
"Yug..."
Another groan tore from Yug's throat as his shoulders began trembling violently, his free hand pulling harder and harder at his own wrist while his fingers remained locked around Aariv with unnatural strength.
Veeransh moved immediately.
"Aariv, peeche hato."
He stepped forward and grabbed Yug's wrist firmly, trying to force his fingers away from Aariv, but the moment Veeransh touched him, Yug's entire body jerked so violently that Shanti screamed.
"YUG!"
Veeransh tightened his grip.
"Leave him!"
But Yug did not even look at him. His black eyes remained fixed ahead while his body continued fighting itself, one hand holding Aariv and the other desperately trying to stop it.
"Yug, chhod Aariv ko!"
Veeransh pulled harder but Yug's fingers did not move. Rudra had remained frozen until then because for the first few seconds he had been unable to recognize the person standing in front of him.
This was Yug , his Yug. The same person who laughed too loudly, argued unnecessarily, got annoyed by him and somehow always found a way to get on Rudra's heart.
But the person standing in front of him now looked nothing like him.
And yet Rudra knew. Somewhere inside that terrifying darkness Yug was still there.
Rudra immediately moved forward.
"Move."
Veeransh looked at him.
"Rudra.."
"bahi please."
Something in Rudra's voice made Veeransh look at him for a second before shifting slightly, although his hand remained firmly around Yug's wrist.
Rudra stepped directly in front of Yug.
For the first time since the strange transformation had begun, Rudra looked directly into those completely black eyes.
His heart hammered painfully against his chest but he did not move away.
Instead, he slowly lifted both hands and gently cupped Yug's face between his palms.
"Hey..."
Yug's body continued trembling and his eyes remained fixed ahead.
Rudra swallowed , then he moved closer.
"Baby..."
The word came out softer this time.
Yug's eyes moved until they stopped directly on Rudra.
Rudra froze, for several seconds, neither of them moved. Those completely black eyes stared into his face, and although there was no visible recognition inside them, Rudra somehow felt that Yug could hear him.
"Yeah..."
Rudra whispered, nodding slowly while keeping his hands around Yug's face.
"That's it."
His thumbs gently brushed against Yug's cheeks.
"Look at me."
Yug stared and his breathing became heavier.
"Bas mujhe dekho."
Rudra's voice trembled despite how hard he tried to control it.
"Main yahin hoon."
Suddenly something dark appeared beneath Yug's eyes. At first Rudra thought it was a shadow.
Then it moved, a thick black tear slowly escaped from the corner of Yug's eye and travelled down his cheek.
Everyone froze that black tears slowly began running down Yug's face, leaving dark trails across his skin while his completely black eyes remained fixed on Rudra.
Aariv stared at Yug with tears forming in his own eyes but Rudra did not look away.
He couldn't because he can see something behind that darkness and that something was pain...
"Baby..."
His voice broke, yug's lips trembled slightly.
Rudra immediately moved closer.
"Calm down."
His thumbs wiped the black tears from Yug's cheeks, but more continued falling.
"Nothing is wrong."
Yug's breathing became heavier, his body jerked again.
Rudra tightened his hold.
"Hey... hey... look at me."
Yug's eyes remained on him.
"Come back to me."
Rudra's voice cracked completely this time.
"Please."
Another black tear fell , Rudra shook his head desperately.
"Please, Yug..."
His forehead almost touched Yug's.
"Come back to me."
Yug's body trembled violently.His hand around Aariv's wrist tightened again.
Veeransh immediately tried pulling it away but Rudra never looked away from Yug.
"Baby, listen to me."
His voice became desperate.
"Tum mujhe sun sakte ho."
Yug's lips parted.
Rudra nodded quickly.
"Yes."
He moved even closer.
"I know you're there."
Another violent tremor passed through Yug's body. His free hand pulled harder against his own wrist.
Rudra looked at him and suddenly understood. Yug was fighting whatever was happening, whatever had taken control , Yug was still fighting it.
Rudra's eyes filled with tears.
"Bas thoda aur..."
He whispered.
"Fight it."
Yug groaned painfully.
"Come on, baby."
Rudra pressed his forehead against Yug's.
"Come back."
For one terrifying second, Yug became completely still. Then his lips moved and a broken whisper escaped his throat.
"...Ru..."
Rudra froze.Yug's fingers around Aariv's wrist trembled.
"...Rud..."
Rudra's eyes widened.
"Yes."
He immediately nodded.
"Yes, baby, main yahin hoon."
Yug's face twisted painfully. His entire body began trembling again.
Rudra held him tighter.
"I'm here."
The black tears continued running down Yug's face.
"Main kahin nahi ja raha."
Yug stared at him and his body was still trembling, his breathing remained harsh and uneven, and his fingers were still wrapped around Aariv's wrist, although the grip no longer seemed as impossibly strong as it had been only moments ago.
Then, slowly, something began to change. The darkness inside Yug's eyes seemed to move.
At first, Rudra thought he had imagined it because the change was so slight that nobody else reacted, but then the unnatural blackness covering Yug's eyes slowly began to fade from the edges, retreating little by little as if whatever had taken control of him was finally being forced backward.
Rudra's breath caught in his throat.
"Yeah..." he whispered immediately, his hands tightening slightly around Yug's face as hope and fear collided painfully inside his chest. "That's it, baby... come back to me."
Yug blinked then the blackness continued disappearing until, finally, the familiar colour of his eyes slowly returned.
Rudra froze.
"Yug..."
There was no unnatural darkness left inside his eyes, no terrifying emptiness and no strange recognition that belonged to someone else, because the person looking back at Rudra now was frightened, confused, exhausted and completely overwhelmed.
But it was Yug, his Yug.
Rudra's lips parted slightly, but before he could say anything else, Yug's fingers finally loosened around Aariv's wrist.
His hand fell weakly to his side. Aariv immediately stepped backward, and Veeransh pulled him close against himself while quickly examining the dark red marks that had already started appearing around his wrist, but Aariv barely seemed to notice because his tear-filled eyes remained fixed entirely on Yug.
"Yuggie..."
The moment Aariv's trembling voice reached him, Yug looked toward him.
His eyes moved down to Aariv's wrist.
He saw the marks and something inside him broke. His face immediately lost whatever little colour remained in it.
His lips trembled.
"I..."
His voice failed ,he looked at his own hand.
Then back at Aariv.
"Maine..."
Yug's breathing suddenly became uneven again.
Rudra immediately noticed.
"Hey."
Yug looked at him.Rudra gently held his face again.
"Don't."
Yug's eyes filled with tears.
"Rudra..."
That was all he managed to say.
The next second, whatever strength had kept him standing disappeared completely.
Yug moved forward suddenly and wrapped both his arms tightly around Rudra, burying his face against his chest as if he wanted to hide from the entire room, from everyone staring at him, from what had just happened and perhaps even from himself.
Rudra froze for barely a second before his arms immediately closed around him.
One hand wrapped around Yug's waist while the other moved to the back of his head, pulling him closer until there was absolutely no space left between them and then Yug started crying..
Not the restrained tears he usually tried to hide whenever something hurt him. He completely broke down.
His entire body shook violently inside Rudra's arms while broken sobs escaped him one after another, his fingers clutching Rudra's shirt desperately as if he was terrified that the moment he loosened his grip, something would drag him away again.
"R...Rudra..."
"I'm here."
Rudra's answer came instantly.
Yug pressed his face deeper against his chest.
"M...mujhe kuchh samajh nahi aa raha..."
Rudra closed his eyes briefly and his hold tightened.
"Shhh... it's okay."
Yug shook his head desperately.
"N...nahi..."
His voice broke between sobs.
"Maine Aaru ko..."
"Yug."
Rudra's voice became firmer, although the hand moving slowly through Yug's hair remained impossibly gentle.
Yug continued crying. Rudra lowered his head and pressed his lips softly against Yug's hair.
"My baby..."
The words left him so quietly and with so much relief that for a moment, even Yug's sobs seemed to soften.
Rudra closed his eyes and held him tighter.
"My baby"
He repeated again, almost to himself this time, as if he still needed to reassure his own heart that Yug was really standing here in his arms.
"You're okay."
Yug shook his head again.
Rudra pulled him closer.
"You're here."
His hand continued moving gently through Yug's hair.
"Tum mere paas ho."
Yug's fingers tightened around his shirt.Rudra lowered his face slightly until his cheek rested against the top of Yug's head.
"And I've got you."
For several moments, nobody else inside the dining hall spoke. Shanti stood beside Rajnath with tears silently running down her face, while Aariv remained close to Veeransh, one hand unconsciously holding his injured wrist as he watched his best friend completely break down inside Rudra's arms.
Veeransh's expression remained unreadable, but his arm stayed firmly around Aariv's waist. Even Harinarayan had gone completely silent because everyone had witnessed the same thing.
They had seen Yug's eyes turn completely black.They had seen something take control of his body.
They had seen him fight against his own hand and they had seen Rudra somehow bring him back.
But while everyone else remained frozen by questions and fear, Rudra cared about only one thing.
He slowly moved one hand beneath Yug's knees and the other around his back before lifting him into his arms without warning.
Yug did not protest, he did not even look up. He simply wrapped his arms more tightly around Rudra's neck and hid his tear-stained face against him.
Rudra looked down at him. His expression softened painfully.
Then he pressed another quiet kiss against Yug's forehead.
"Bas..."
He whispered.
"No more questions right now."
Yug closed his eyes, Rudra held him closer and without waiting for anyone to stop him, Rudra turned away from the dining table and carried Yug out of the room, leaving behind a family that finally understood one terrifying truth whatever had been haunting the haveli was no longer hiding in the shadows, It had found a way inside one of them.
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