Sleep never came.
Kunal lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, the events of the evening playing in a continuous loop—the collapse, the figure in the alley, the whisper that hadn't come from a mouth yet still rang like a bell in his skull.
Kunala. The destiny has found you.They are closing up on you. Accept it. Or else things will fall apart. Again.
His body was exhausted, but his mind… his mind was a battlefield. Questions flooded his mind. What's this destiny thing? And who is closing up on him? What's going on here. His mind is running scenarios on many things and each time it was reaching to a worse conclusion than the previous one. He wished that he could consult with someone about it.
He threw off the blanket and sat up. The air in the apartment felt heavy, like it was holding its breath along with him. He needed to move. To breathe. To think. He needed a smoke to calm his nerves now. Now cigarettes have become his partners in every unnerving situations since his last break up 3 years ago.
Grabbing his lighter and a half-empty cigarette pack, he slid on his slippers and quietly stepped outside.
---
Mumbai at 3 AM was a different city. The chaos dimmed to a low, distant hum. The air was cooler, the streets quieter. It was the kind of silence you could think in.
He lit a cigarette and started walking.
Smoke curled around his face, warm and familiar. He tried to push the madness away—the collapse, the whisper, the name Kunala. He pulled his thoughts toward something real. Something he could control.
His project.
Vedic Sanskrit as a base structure for quantum coding. Translating the logic of Vedic math into quantum-compatible syntax. A language for the next age of computation.
It was wild. Brilliant. Maybe even insane.
But it was the only thing grounding and distracting him right now.
Focus. Build. Work. He took another drag.
Then he heard it.
A low murmur. Rhythmic. Not from a window. Not from the street.
From behind him.
He turned. Nothing.
Empty street. Distant lamps. Shifting leaves.
He chuckled nervously. "Get a grip, man. You are going insane"
He turned back, took two steps—and froze.
The whisper returned.
Clearer this time. A strange language. Not Hindi. Not Sanskrit. Something older. It felt ancient, like it belonged to the bones of the earth.
He turned again.
They were there.
Two figures stood where he'd been just moments before.
The first was tall, broad-shouldered, built like a warrior monk. Bald. Golden bronze-skinned. Robes draped over a powerful frame. His eyes were shut. Hands folded in namaste. The air around him vibrated, as if even the space dared not touch him, leaving a hollow of untouched air around him.
Beside him stood a woman.
She didn't walk. She was floating above the ground. Her bare feet never touched the earth as it was not worth her feet's touch. Her hair spilled like ink down her back, eyes glowing gold in the darkness. She was too beautiful, graceful and flawless in a way that made the world around her feel unreal. And in her smile, there was something commanding and a dignity. Not cruel. Not warm. Just… regal.
The street seemed to pause around her. And he felt spellbound to her.
She tilted her head, her eyes locking onto Kunal.
When she spoke, her lips barely moved—but her voice came straight into his mind. Soft. Clear. Unfathomable.
Kunala… your destiny has found you. You can no longer hide in the shadows. They will find you. You must come with us. It is our duty to guide you.
He understood every word. Not through language, but resonance. It rang like temple bells in his soul.
He tried to speak. To ask who they were. Who will come for him. What guidance they meant for him. And why him.
Nothing came.
His throat was frozen. His limbs locked.
The woman stepped closer. Her golden eyes never blinked.
Still, her feet didn't touch the earth.
His heart thundered. Panic surged. He wanted to scream. Run. Move. Anything. He kept shouting in his mind. Run. Run. Run, dammit!
But he couldn't.
Then—she stopped.
Her gaze softened. Not with kindness, but with understanding.
"You are not ready yet," she said. "Your mind still resists. You still haven't accepted your destiny. Take your time, Kunala… but stay alert. However keep in mind that time waits for no one. You will have to come to a decision soon. They have eyes and ears in every shadow. They are coming for you with every breath."
She began to fade. The image shimmered, blurring. Her golden eyes were the last to vanish, like embers dying out.
Kunal's body jolted back into motion.
He gasped, stumbling backward, feet tangling beneath him. He turned to run—and slipped.
He hit the pavement hard.
And then, from the corner of his eye, he saw it.
Above the skyline, clear and cold in the early dawn, a single red star pulsed in the sky.
It was the same one he'd seen before. Still. Watching.
But now, next to it—fainter, but unmistakable—hung a second.
Same glow. Same impossible hue.
Only this one was darker. Crimson. Like blood lit from within.
And then came the pain.
White-hot, behind his eyes. Like a needle of fire jammed into his skull.
He screamed—or tried to—but the world was already falling away.
---
He stood in a grand hall. Ancient. Regal. The air thick with incense and power.
Pillars rose around him, carved with golden symbols he understood without knowing how. A court of hundreds looked on—warriors, sages, emissaries—all facing the central throne.
His throne.
He sat upon it, older, stronger. Armored. Crowned.
Yuvraj Kunala! a voice roared. Cheers thundered. Banners waved.
The scene shifted.
Now he sat on a different throne — older, harder, more dangerous — and this throne was bigger, darker, and made the last one feel almost small.
Now—fire. Smoke. Ash. The aftermath of war.
Now—chains. Shadows. Whispering mouths in the dark.
Now—a flash of light. A blade. A whisper in the dark.
Then—the slash.
A clean cut across his throat.
And everything went black.
---
Kunal woke with a violent gasp.
He was drenched in sweat, his body shivering, his breath ragged.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand, the alarm screaming.
7:00 AM.
He was back in his flat.
Alive.
But for him from today onwards nothing will ever be the same.
To be continued...