The silver doors closed with a whisper that echoed like a scream in Lakshya's mind.
He stood inside a vast chamber carved of smooth black stone. Circles upon circles glowed faintly across the walls, as though the entire hall was a single Mandala. Shadows slithered within those circles, not alive, not dead — simply waiting. The only light came from thin veins of silver running across the floor, converging at the center where the masked figure waited with his bone staff.
Lakshya's footsteps rang louder than they should have. Each step was judged, measured, weighed.
The masked figure tilted their head slightly. The staff's spinning ring slowed, then stopped. "The fragments you carry have awakened the Circle. By right of burden, you may speak. By right of choice, you may refuse."
Lakshya's jaw tightened. "I don't refuse. If you've been waiting for me, say what you want."
The figure's masked face inclined. "Boldness — or ignorance. Both are useful."
From the walls, the circles shifted. Five of them detached, glowing brighter until they descended and floated like halos above the floor. Each bore a symbol — a serpent, a flame, a crown, a mirror, and a broken chain. They pulsed faintly, alive with an energy older than words.
The Hunter's voice echoed suddenly from the far end of the chamber. Lakshya turned — the man had followed him, though he kept a distance, his bow lowered but ready. His presence was dimmed here, as though the Circle weighed even him down.
The Hunter's eyes were grim. "The Silent Circle does not bargain freely. Every oath here is chained with blood."
Lakshya looked back at the floating halos. His chest tightened with the same dread he'd felt beneath the roots of the Forgotten War, the same whisper that had followed him since awakening in Mahakaal Lok. "Then let them chain me. I didn't come here to turn back."
The masked figure struck the staff against the ground. Silver veins flared, running through the floor like lightning. The halos descended closer, circling Lakshya. Their light bathed him, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"The Circle offers you the Oath of Passage," the voices intoned as one.
"You will hunt what we name. You will bleed where we command. And in return, we will place in your hand the first key to truth."
Lakshya narrowed his eyes. "And if I refuse?"
The circles froze. The air thickened. For a moment, it felt like the entire hall leaned in toward him.
"Then the fragments you carry will consume you. Your path will end here, buried in silence."
The Hunter spoke sharply, his voice carrying urgency. "Lakshya, think. The Circle binds with more than words. Once you accept, every step will drag a shadow behind you. This is not a burden you throw away."
Lakshya turned to him. "Hunter. You've been guiding me, testing me, even threatening me. Why?"
The Hunter's jaw clenched. He didn't answer at once. When he did, it was low, as though speaking pained him.
"Because I once swore the same Oath."
The revelation hung in the air like a blade.
Lakshya stared. The Hunter — the man who had walked unseen between forests and wars, who had taught him the bow's silence and the path's patience — had been bound to the Circle.
"What happened to your oath?" Lakshya asked slowly.
The Hunter's gaze was unreadable. "I broke it. And the debt has followed me ever since."
The masked figure's staff struck the ground again. "The debt of the Hunter is not yours. Choose now."
The halos pulsed brighter, spinning faster. Lakshya felt them tugging at him, pulling at the fragments within him — the serpent's scale, the Mandala's blessing, the whispers of the storm. His very bones seemed to hum in answer.
His fists clenched. "I don't run from chains. If the Circle wants me to hunt, then I'll hunt. But understand this—" his voice rose, sharp as steel, "—I don't kneel. Not to gods. Not to fragments. Not to you."
The chamber shook. For a heartbeat, the shadows in the circles trembled as if stirred by his defiance.
The masked figure raised their staff. The halos shot upward, embedding themselves back into the walls. The glow across the chamber flared once, then dimmed.
"Then it is sworn. You are bound by the Circle's Oath."
A searing pain slashed across Lakshya's palm. He hissed and looked down — a perfect circle had burned itself into his skin, glowing faintly before fading to black. Blood dripped from the wound, vanishing before it hit the floor.
The Circle had taken its due.
The figure's voice carried, softer now. "Your first Hunt begins at dawn. The prey awaits in the Valley of Echoes. Fail, and you will not return."
The silver doors opened behind the figure, spilling pale light.
Lakshya turned slightly toward the Hunter. "You said you broke your oath. Why stand with me now?"
The Hunter's expression was unreadable, but his voice carried weight. "Because maybe… if you succeed, my debt will finally end."
Lakshya nodded once, firm. "Then let's settle both our debts."
He stepped forward toward the light. Behind him, the gates of the Silent Circle groaned shut, sealing the oath into silence.
The Hunter followed — but in his eyes, a flicker of fear remained.
For he knew what prey awaited in the Valley of Echoes.
It was not a beast.
It was not a man.
It was something that had once been both — and had been broken by the Circle itself.
And now, it waited for Lakshya.
To be continued....