The mountains of Kolakham stood eerily silent that night.
A stillness that felt unnatural, like something was holding its breath.
When Aarvika had discovered that cursed map and the chilling note from Aarush's room, she had known immediately—Tanishka didn't have much time.
She had to get her out of this place.
Now.
But time was running out. Fast.
---
10:00 PM
Tanishka stood quietly by the balcony.
Her eyes were closed, lips moving in a low murmur.
It wasn't any language Aarvika recognized—it sounded like an incantation in tongues not meant to be spoken.
Aarvika asked softly,
"Friend… are you okay?"
Tanishka turned her head slowly.
Her eyes gleamed with an unnatural shine.
"He's calling me, Aarvika… Aarush is calling. He wants me to come with him. There's light in him.
The light of the dark."
Aarvika's entire body shivered.
Her phone, still clutched in her hand, had the video recording running silently.
And then…
Tanishka began walking—leaving the room through the back gate of the hotel, heading toward the forested edge of the mountain.
Aarvika ran after her.
---
They reached it.
Adhwan Tala.
The cursed zone.
Scattered stones. No trees. No sounds.
Not even the chirp of a bird. Only… silence.
On the ground, a large triangle had been drawn—an ancient ritual circle.
And in the center of it stood Aarush.
He raised both hands and said:
"It's ready. She will come.
Through her, the message will be delivered.
And the path to immortality will finally open for us."
Tanishka, like a sleepwalker, began stepping into the circle.
Aarvika ran forward, standing in front of her, screaming:
"Tanishka! Friend—please, please don't do this!
Aarush isn't who you think he is—he's not even human!
He's a servant of something evil!"
But Tanishka… wasn't listening.
Her eyes were closed.
The chant continued.
Aarvika collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
Aarush looked at her calmly.
"She's not your friend anymore, Aarvika.
She belongs to the one who waits.
Through her body, the message will reach this world."
---
And then it happened.
Tanishka's body began shaking violently.
Her throat let out a twisted, broken scream.
Blood poured from her eyes.
Her limbs trembled.
Aarvika screamed and ran to her—
"Tanishka! STOP! Aarush, STOP THIS!!"
But Aarush stood still, eyes closed, chanting in flames of ancient sounds.
No remorse.
No pause.
And then, Tanishka collapsed—her body thrown back from the force.
She lay still.
Her face frozen.
Eyes shut.
No breath.
Tanishka… was dead.
---
Aarvika fell to her knees, clutching Tanishka's lifeless body to her chest.
Tears streamed down her face as she screamed into the cold mountain wind.
Behind her…
Aarush slowly faded into the mist.
No shadow.
No sound.
Just one whisper that drifted on the wind—
"You will never stop me…"
---
📸 Three Days Later — Kolkata
Police confiscated the hotel room, Aarvika's mobile, and Tanishka's DSLR camera.
In the memory card of the camera, they found everything.
Tanishka's final moments inside the ritual circle.
Aarush chanting.
Aarvika's desperate cries.
The truth—captured in a single frame.
Now locked away in police evidence.
But… what about Aarush?
He vanished.
No records.
The ID he submitted at the hotel?
Fake.
And no one knows…
where he is now.
---
To be continued…