Chapter 54
The sun had begun its slow descent behind the distant trees when Harinarayan finally started preparing for the protection puja, and the entire haveli seemed to become unusually quiet as though even the walls themselves were waiting for whatever was about to happen.
The large living room had been cleared, the heavy curtains had been drawn back to allow the last rays of evening sunlight to enter, and a small sacred arrangement had been prepared in the centre of the room with lamps, flowers, vessels of water, incense,
and several ancient objects that Harinarayan had brought out from a locked wooden box that he normally never allowed anyone to touch.
Everyone had gathered around the room, although nobody was speaking much because the memory of what had happened to Yug earlier that morning was still fresh in everyone's mind.
Rudra had barely left Yug's side since the possession, and even after Harinarayan had assured him that Yug needed rest more than anything else, Rudra had remained restless, repeatedly checking the bedroom door as if some part of him expected something to happen again.
Aariv was sitting beside Veeransh, his injured wrist resting carefully in Veeransh's palm, while Shanti sat slightly behind them with Rajnath and Ridha, all of them watching Harinarayan as he arranged the final objects for the ritual.
Harinarayan lit the first lamp and began chanting softly.
The sound of his voice gradually filled the room, and for the first few moments nothing seemed unusual.
Then Aariv suddenly flinched.
His fingers tightened around Veeransh's hand.
Veeransh immediately looked at him.
"Kya hua?"
Aariv looked down at his wrist and his mark had begun to burn.
Not painfully at first, but with a strange warmth that seemed to spread beneath his skin in rhythm with Harinarayan's chanting.
Aariv stared at it in confusion.
"Veer..."
Veeransh followed his gaze.The mark appeared darker than it had been earlier.Veeransh immediately turned toward Harinarayan.
"ye kaise?"
Harinarayan looked at Aariv. The moment his eyes fell upon the mark, something in his expression changed.
He continued the mantra without stopping, but his gaze remained fixed on Aariv's wrist.
The mark pulsed once and Harinarayan noticed something that made his voice falter for the briefest fraction of a second. The symbol was reacting specifically to certain words in the ancient mantra. Every time he repeated one particular phrase, the mark became darker.
Every time he stopped it faded. Harinarayan understood immediately. He did not say anything. Instead, he deliberately continued the mantra while watching Aariv from the corner of his eye, because a terrible possibility had just entered his mind.
The mark was not merely connected to Aariv. It might be connected to the locked room before he could investigate further, a sudden scream tore through the haveli.
Everyone froze and the sound had come from upstairs.
"YUG!"
Rudra was already on his feet before anyone else had even understood what had happened.
Another scream followed and this one was louder and then came the sound of hurried footsteps running across the corridor.
Rudra rushed toward the staircase.
"Yug!"
The bedroom door flew open. Yug came running out.
His hair was dishevelled, his breathing was frantic, and his face was twisted with an expression of pure terror, as though he had awakened from a nightmare that had followed him into the waking world.
"Rudra!"
His voice echoed through the corridor.
Rudra immediately moved toward him.
"Baby, stop!"
But Yug didn't stop. He ran straight toward the living room and straight toward the puja.
Harinarayan's chanting suddenly became louder. "Yug!"
Rudra chased after him. "Yug, meri baat suno!"
Yug crossed the threshold of the living room and stopped.His body went rigid and his head slowly lifted.
And then his eyes changed. The familiar colour disappeared. Within seconds, his eyes turned completely white. Shanti gasped and Ridha immediately covered her mouth.
Rajnath stood frozen Aariv instinctively moved closer to Veeransh. Veeransh immediately wrapped both arms around him and pulled him firmly against his chest.
"Don't look," he whispered.
But Aariv couldn't look away. Yug's head tilted slightly. A strange smile slowly appeared on his face.
Rudra stopped several feet away from him. "Yug..."
His voice trembled.
Yug didn't respond Instead he laughed.
At first it was only a quiet chuckle.
Then it grew louder and louder. Until the sound echoing through the living room no longer sounded like Yug at all.
It was a deep, distorted laugh that made the air itself seem colder. Harinarayan immediately intensified the chanting. The flames of the lamps began flickering violently.
The incense smoke twisted upward in unnatural spirals. Yug suddenly looked toward the ritual.
His white eyes seemed to fix upon the sacred fire.
Then he smiled wider.
"Stop."
The voice that came from him was wrong.
Harinarayan continued chanting. Yug's smile disappeared. His head snapped toward him and before anyone could react Yug ran toward the wall.
Rudra's heart stopped.
"YUG!"
But Yug didn't slow down.He reached the wall and instead of crashing into it his foot landed against it.
Then the other and suddenly he was standing on the wall.
Shanti screamed and Ridha also immediately closed her eyes and turned her face away, while Rajnath instinctively stepped in front of her.
Aariv's entire body stiffened.
"Veer..."
Veeransh tightened his arms around him. "I'm here."
Yug stood sideways against the wall as though gravity no longer existed, his white eyes staring down at everyone while his lips slowly curved into another unnatural smile.
Then he began walking.
His bare feet made no sound against the surface.
Rudra stared at him in disbelief.
"Yug..."
His voice broke.
"Baby, please..."
Yug stopped and is head turned slowly toward Rudra. For one fleeting second, something seemed to flicker behind those white eyes.
Rudra immediately stepped forward.
"Haan..." He swallowed hard. "That's it."His voice became softer. "Look at me."
Yug stared and Rudra forced himself not to show his fear.
"Main yahin hoon, baby, please."
The strange smile returned to Yug's face. He laughed again but this time beneath the laughter Rudra heard something else.
A faint sound almost like a sob.
His expression changed.
"Yug?"
The laughter suddenly stopped. Yug's body trembled.
His hand pressed against the wall and for one brief moment, his face twisted in pain. Rudra immediately understood.
Yug was still inside and was fighting.
"Come back to me," Rudra whispered desperately.
Yug's fingers curled against the wall.
Harinarayan continued chanting. The flames suddenly rose higher.
Aariv's wrist burned again. He gasped and grabbed it.
Veeransh immediately looked down.
"baby?"
The mark was glowing faintly beneath his skin. Harinarayan saw it.
His chanting stopped for half a second and is eyes widened.
Because at that exact moment Yug slowly turned his white eyes toward Aariv.
The smile disappeared from his face and for the first time since the possession began he spoke in a voice that sounded completely like Yug.
"Don't..."
Aariv froze.
Yug's face twisted with pain.
"Don't stop..." His body suddenly jerked. " OPEN THE DOOR."
The lamps went out simultaneously.
The entire living room fell into darkness and somewhere deep inside the haveli the locked room answered with a single, heavy sound.
The moment the final words escaped Yug's lips, his entire body suddenly went limp, and the unnatural whiteness in his eyes disappeared as his eyelids fell shut, making him lose his balance completely.
He began falling toward the floor, but Rudra reacted instantly and rushed forward, catching him in his arms before his head could strike the ground, and for a few seconds Rudra simply stood there holding him tightly against his chest,
his own breathing uneven as he looked down at Yug's pale and exhausted face.
"Yug..."
His voice broke as he gently touched Yug's cheek, but there was no response.
Harinarayan immediately turned toward him and spoke urgently.
"Ise yahin leta do."
Rudra looked up at him, his eyes already filled with tears.
"Nahi."His voice trembled with fear and anger. "Main nahi karunga."
Harinarayan tried to explain, "Rudra, abhi ise yahin rehna zaroori hai..."
"Nahi!" Rudra interrupted, tightening his arms around Yug. "Main ise room mein leke jaa raha hoon; ye bohot pain mein hai, aap dekh nahi rahe?"
His voice cracked at the end, and he looked down at Yug again, gently brushing the hair away from his forehead as tears finally slipped from his eyes."Dekhiye ise..." Rudra swallowed painfully. "Ye mera Yug hai, koi experiment nahi hai jise aap yahan floor par rakh kar dekhte rahenge."
Harinarayan's expression softened, but his voice remained serious. "Agar tum ise is waqt kamre mein le gaye, to ho sakta hai tum ise hamesha ke liye kho do."
Rudra froze. The words seemed to take away whatever argument he had left.
He stared at Harinarayan in disbelief before looking down at Yug again, and for several seconds he simply stood there, silently crying while holding him closer, as though he was desperately trying to decide between protecting Yug from the ritual and protecting him from whatever was still inside him.
Finally, Rudra closed his eyes.
A broken sob escaped him.
"Please..." He whispered, almost to himself. "Bas ise kuch mat hone dena."
With an unbearably heavy heart, Rudra slowly lowered Yug onto the floor where the ritual had been prepared, making sure his head rested comfortably before immediately sitting beside him.
He did not move away. Instead, he reached for Yug's hand and held it tightly between both of his palms.
His thumb slowly moved across Yug's knuckles. "I'm here, baby..."
His voice was barely audible now.
"Main tumhe kahin nahi jaane dunga."