Scene: DDS Studio - Outside Mihir's Office
After the soundcheck wrapped up, Mihir strode down the hallway, his jacket slung over his shoulder, a faint sheen of effort still clinging to his skin from the intense session. Maira stood outside his office, tablet in hand, already anticipating his instructions.
He stopped in front of her, his voice firm but low.
"Maira, listen carefully. I don't want anyone entering my office. No one. I don't care if it's the director, a sponsor, or even Pushkar. Understood?"
Maira looked up at him, her expression calm and professional.
"Understood, sir. I won't let anyone in."
Mihir's eyes narrowed slightly, scanning her face for any sign of hesitation - but there was none. Her stance was composed, her tone crisp.
He gave a short nod of approval. "Good. I have some... personal work to handle." With that, he turned and entered his office, the door clicking shut behind him.
Maira stared at the closed door for a beat, her eyes narrowing just slightly.
"Personal work, huh?" she muttered under her breath, not with suspicion - but with quiet awareness. She had taken the job to watch over Mihir Kashyap, and something told her that moment had just begun.
Scene: Mihir's Office - DDS Studio
Mihir locked the door behind him with a deliberate click, shutting out the world. The moment the lock turned, his confident facade began to crack. He staggered slightly, gripping the edge of his sleek desk for support, his breath ragged.
With trembling fingers, he peeled off his shirt, revealing his bare back in the faint light streaming through the tinted windows. Just at the nape of his neck, a mark pulsed - a fiery, arcane symbol, etched in blistered red, shaped like a crescent wound circled in dark veins. The Mark of Doom.
It glowed brighter now, pulsating like a living curse, and the pain hit him like a wave.
"Aghhh!" Mihir grunted, teeth clenched as he dropped to one knee, sweat beading at his brow.
His nails began to lengthen, unnaturally darkening, claws threatening to break through. He gripped his hand tightly, trying to suppress the transformation, his chest heaving.
"Not now... Not here... Control it, Mihir..." he muttered, veins bulging at his temples.
He crawled to the mirror on the far wall, staring at his reflection. His eyes flickered for a second - the deep brown replaced by a glowing amber, almost serpentine. He shut them tightly, pounding a fist on the cold floor.
The mark glowed furiously, then began to dim, as if something - or someone - was forcing it back into submission.
Outside, Maira sat alert, unaware of the silent war raging within the room - or perhaps not entirely unaware.
Inside, Mihir collapsed on the carpet, the curse temporarily subdued. He lay on his side, exhausted, chest still rising and falling rapidly.
"Whatever you are," he whispered under his breath, eyes half-lidded with defiance, "you won't win."
Maira sat still, organizing Mihir's files, when a faint blue shimmer pulsed from her pendant, casting eerie shadows across the desk. She looked down sharply, eyes narrowing at the light now glowing steadily from the crescent-shaped charm.
Her heartbeat quickened.
"Why is it glowing now?" she murmured, reaching to touch it. The moment her fingers grazed the pendant, a chill surged through her.
She stood up, alert, scanning the hallway. The air was still. Too still.
A sudden heaviness gripped her chest - not fear, not anxiety... something else.
A deep, piercing ache bloomed near her heart, as if someone had silently cried out in agony - someone tethered to her by fate.
She gasped softly, pressing her hand to her chest.
"What is this... pain?" she whispered. Her voice trembled slightly.
"It's... not mine. It feels like... someone close to me is hurting."
Her eyes drifted to Mihir's office door - shut tight, as instructed.
But something about the air around it felt wrong.
Twisted. Heavy. Burning.
The pendant pulsed again, faster now.
"A dark aura... right here?" Maira's eyes narrowed.
"But this... this doesn't feel ordinary. It's powerful."
She took a cautious step toward the door, the ache in her heart still lingering - as though a hidden bond was tugging her forward, warning her... or pulling her into something she wasn't yet ready to see.
Maira's brows furrowed as the pendant glowed more intensely, its light now flickering as though reacting to something inside Mihir's office.
She stepped forward.
Each footfall felt heavier, as if invisible hands were trying to pull her back. She reached the door, her fingers hovering just above the handle. The ache in her chest hadn't subsided-if anything, it had deepened.
She wrapped her hand around the doorknob.
Just as she was about to twist it open-
"Don't let anyone in. No matter who it is."
Mihir's voice echoed in her mind, stern and commanding. She froze.
Her grip tightened around the knob, torn between instinct and instruction.
"But something's wrong. I can feel it." Her eyes flicked to the glowing pendant once more, now beating like a heartbeat - frantic, urgent.
Still, her hand slowly slipped off the handle.
"I gave him my word."
She took a step back, visibly conflicted. Her heart still throbbed with that strange pain, but her mind wrestled with loyalty.
"Mihir... what are you hiding from me?" she whispered under her breath.
With one final glance at the locked door, Maira turned away - but the uneasy chill didn't leave her spine, and the glow of her pendant lingered like a warning yet to unfold.
Just as Maira turned away from Mihir's office, still troubled by the pain in her chest and the pulsing glow of her pendant, a sharp voice rang through the hallway-
"Do you even know who I am? How dare you stop me at the gate! I'll have your job by evening!"
Maira turned, startled.
At the reception area stood a girl in designer sunglasses, a cropped blazer over a branded dress, and heels that clicked with practiced superiority. Her attitude radiated entitlement as she berated a junior staff member, who looked flustered and on the verge of tears.
"You useless thing, just get out of my way," the girl huffed, flipping her perfectly curled hair.
Maira crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Rich brats," she muttered under her breath.
The girl-Urvi-stormed toward Mihir's office with her phone in hand. Her long manicured fingers reached for the doorknob.
Before she could touch it, Maira swiftly stepped between her and the door.
"You can't go in there," Maira said calmly but firmly.
Urvi's brows rose in disbelief. "Excuse me? Who are you to stop me?"
"Personal assistant," Maira replied without flinching. "Mr. Kashyap's orders. No one's allowed inside."
Urvi scoffed. "I'm not 'no one.' I'm Urvi Malhotra. Mihir and I go way back. I can walk into his office whenever I want."
Maira didn't budge. "Not today."
Urvi narrowed her eyes, stepping closer. "Look, sweetheart, don't make this messy. One call, and you're out of this building."
Maira held her ground, her voice like steel. "One call, and you'll still be on the wrong side of that door."
A tense silence crackled between them.
The hallway fell still except for the hum of tension building-Maira, calm but fierce; Urvi, furious and unaccustomed to being denied.
Inside the office, unseen by both, the glow on Mihir's mark intensified, pulsing like a warning bell-danger was inching closer.
Urvi's patience snapped.
With a sudden shove, she pushed Maira backward, making her stumble a step away from the door. "Get out of my way!" she barked, reaching for the doorknob again.
But before her fingers could wrap around it, Maira lunged forward and grabbed her arm, yanking her back with unexpected strength.
The moment her skin touched Urvi's, a strange sensation jolted through Maira - a sharp chill that ran up her spine, as if she had touched something unnatural. Her pendant flared faintly beneath her blouse, responding to the contact.
Maira blinked, unsettled, but didn't let go.
Urvi yanked her arm free with a furious glare. "How dare you touch me?" she hissed, her voice venomous. Without warning, she raised her hand to slap Maira across the face.
But Maira was faster.
Her hand shot up, catching Urvi's wrist midair with precision. Her grip was firm, unshaking.
"Don't," Maira said, her voice low and lethal. "Don't you dare lay a finger on me."
Their eyes locked - Urvi's wide with outrage, Maira's sharp with warning.
The air around them was tense, thick with unspoken challenge. For a brief second, something flickered in Urvi's gaze... not just anger, but something else. Something dark. But it was gone as quickly as it came.
Maira slowly released her grip, her eyes never leaving Urvi's. "This is your last warning. You're not going in. Walk away."
Urvi's chest rose and fell with fury, but she didn't respond immediately. Instead, she turned her gaze to the office door behind Maira, then back at her rival.
"This isn't over," she spat.
And with one last glare, Urvi spun on her heels and stormed off down the hall, her heels clacking like gunfire.
Maira exhaled, her heart still racing. She glanced down at her hand, recalling that strange sensation - like touching ice and fire at once.
"What... are you?" she whispered under her breath, staring after Urvi's retreating form.
Behind the door, the glow on Mihir's neck pulsed brighter - the darkness inside him restless.