Chandra lay on his bed, thinking, What the hell did I agree to do?
"I said I wanted to get ready for it," he sighed heavily, looking uncertain. "Ahhh... I didn't wanna do it."
He sat up, opened his laptop, and searched for a porn site. He glanced toward the door, narrowing his eyes as he confirmed that no one was watching. He unzipped his pants.
Sitting on the chair at his study table, he began relieving himself, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Suddenly, a paper ball hit him.
"Fuck!"
Startled, Chandra stood up aggressively, and the chair scraped across the floor. He quickly zipped up his pants and looked around.
Then he noticed the window on his right was open.
Through the window, he saw Samiksha standing at the window of her own house. Their houses were close enough that she had been able to see straight into his room through his open window.
She was staring at him, her face turning bright red.
She immediately realized what he had been doing.
"Idiot," she muttered under her breath before running downstairs.
Chandra stood frozen in his room, completely baffled and flustered. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but the words died in his throat.
He hid his face in his hands and groaned in frustration.
"Fuuuck... what's she gonna think about me now?"
Unable to bear the embarrassment, he left the house for a walk to clear his mind.
He walked through the small streets between the houses. The neighborhood was interconnected, with every street leading into another narrow lane between the houses. It was almost like a web, and eventually, all those little streets connected to the main highway, where large vehicles passed through and the road continued deeper into the city.
Chandra sat down on a bench in a nearby garden. While trying to clear his mind, he overheard a conversation between a few people that immediately caught his attention.
"Yeah, after that policeman encountered DaDa, his two subordinates got into a fight," a middle-aged man told his friend.
"Isn't Fisherman Anna the one who killed Rokda and took over Mazegaon Dock?" his friend asked curiously.
The man leaned closer to him and lowered his voice.
"Yeah, exactly. That's what happened. But Fisherman Anna also lost his son. Since then, he's been killing people randomly. Just a few days ago, he killed that wrestler who lived near Petrol Pump Road."
Chandra listened carefully, his brow furrowing.
That's the same road.
He turned toward the men.
"Um... excuse me. Exactly when did that happen?" he asked with a nervous smile. "I mean... I live nearby, but I didn't hear anything about it."
The men turned around and looked at Chandra.
"What world do you live in, kid?" one of them said. "It hasn't even been a week since it happened. And then yesterday, that poor man died on that road."
His friend nodded in agreement.
"Look, kid, that area must have become haunted by that man's soul. You shouldn't go there."
Chandra recalled the conversation as he walked.
Exactly what is going on along that road? I know it's haunted, like that mysterious girl with Vikram said. But what exactly happened to that wrestler's soul?
He stopped and looked up at the sky, as if trying to find an answer.
Meanwhile, Vikram lay on his bed, yawning as he scrolled through his phone. Power was clearly not happy about it.
"Have you truly no sense of shame? To squander your precious time before a Heavenly Queen of the highest order, one such as I?"
Vikram didn't listen. He laughed at something on his mobile.
Power, pissed off, snatched his phone.
"Are you truly such a great sloth? Very well, then. I shall not return your phone to you at all."
Vikram sat upright on his bed in protest.
"Hey, not fair. My job is going to start at night, remember?"
Power poked a finger into his cheek.
"That does not grant you leave to rot away in your bed all day. Go, do something productive. If you truly have nothing else to attend to, then turn your attention toward your personal affairs—the matters you cannot continue to neglect amidst all this chaos."
Vikram rolled his eyes, clearly not in the mood to listen to a lecture.
"And what exactly do you suggest I do? I can't go to college because of my stupidity. You know I skipped it, and now I went to cancel my admission. Guess what? They asked me to pay the 50k fees, which I don't have."
Power clicked her tongue, folded her arms beneath her chest, and narrowed her eyes.
"It was a consequence of your own foolishness and indolence. I have observed that you are forever inclined to postpone your duties until the very hour of their reckoning. Such a habit is utterly unbecoming and must be corrected, for your own sake."
Vikram, now pissed off, said,
"If you want to lecture me, you can just go back to your coin castle."
Power hissed.
"You..."
She stopped herself, then turned away and returned to Mayasabha without another word.
Vikram looked at the now-empty room. His anger faded momentarily, though he remained stubborn.
"Hmph. Whatever."
He lay back down on the bed and pulled the bedsheet over his head.
Meanwhile, Power paced around Vaijanti's room, huffing over her argument with Vikram.
She stopped and looked at Vaijanti, who was sitting beside the river that flowed through her room.
"Are you certain Vikram has truly passed your Test of Responsibility? He hardly appears to possess even a trace of responsibility."
Vaijanti looked at Power. Unlike Power, she remained calm and composed.
"You ought to sit and compose yourself. Even if he has passed the test, it does not mean he shall immediately inherit those virtues. They shall undoubtedly develop with time, as he continues to live and experience the world. At present, his mind appears to be little more than a labyrinth of obstacles. You must guide him toward becoming a better man, but you must also grant him the time necessary to grow."
Power listened to her and sighed.
"Very well. Yet we have other matters to attend to as well. He had best be prepared. He is the Supreme King, after all, and soon he shall ascend as the King of Earth."
Vikram pull out head out of blanket " she took my phone "
It was around 9 p.m.
Chandra warmed up in his room before heading out. Meanwhile, Vikram and Power were also making their way toward that road. Power was wearing a red hoodie and jeans.
None of them knew that someone else was heading there as well.
The police station, as usual, was neither particularly quiet nor energetic. The constable who had controlled the crowd on Petrol Pump Road that day, holding the reporters back, was finally heading home after a long day.
"Pandurang Vitthal Hari," he mumbled to himself.
Before he could leave, his phone rang. It was his superior.
"Hello?"
"I need you to send me a photo of Petrol Pump Road before you go home."
The constable's mood immediately dropped.
"But, sir, I was about to go home."
His superior clearly wasn't in the mood to argue over the phone.
"Just one picture. You only need to take it while you're on your way home."
He hung up.
The constable sighed and started his bike.
He arrived at the exact location where the outline of the dead body, drawn with chalk, was still visible on the road. He took a few pictures and sent them through WhatsApp.
"That should do."
He turned his bike around and was about to leave when he suddenly got startled.
"Hey! What are you doing here this late at night, wearing nothing but that small piece of cloth around your groin?"
The constable shouted at the strange man standing nearby.
"Sorry, sir. It's just... if you have a lighter, could you give it to me for a second? I need to light my cigarette."
From a distance, Vikram, Power, and Chandra watched the scene unfold.
Power was the first to speak.
"Greetings, Chandra. There is no need for you to offer yourself as bait."
Chandra clenched his fist triumphantly.
"Yes! Finally, something good happened. Now I can forget that my friend saw my six-inch sword."
Vikram narrowed his eyes.
"Must've been five inches."
Chandra looked at him.
"It doesn't matter. Focus on the task at hand. Look, that man is transforming."
Power looked confused.
"Whatever are you two discussing regarding inches? Regardless, that man has transformed into a Khais. If you wish to grant his soul peace, you must defeat him."
The constable was unable to speak.
His face went pale as he watched the man's body twist and transform into a Khais. His legs trembled, and he eventually pissed himself. He was on the verge of crying, completely unable to move or speak.
The Khais reached toward him with its enormous, dark hands.
"God, help me!"
Just as the Khais was about to grab the constable, someone suddenly tackled it.
It was Vikram.
The impact sent the Khais flying several feet away.
The Khais managed to regain its footing. It exhaled heavily like a wild animal before locking eyes with Vikram.
With a terrifying roar, it charged straight at him.
Vikram simply smirked.
"Well, shall we begin?"