Delhi - The Highway
Akhil dialed Mihir's number, concern etched deep across his face. The eclipse darkened the sky, and the strange silence that accompanied it only heightened his unease.
But Mihir, speeding along the empty highway in his sports car, rejected the call. Again. And again.
"Ugh, why is chachu calling me again and again?" he muttered, his hands gripping the steering wheel tighter.
The phone lit up again. Sighing in frustration, Mihir finally answered. "What, chachu?"
Akhil's voice was sharp. "Mihir, why did you keep rejecting my calls? Your mom is worried sick about you. Come home immediately. Do you understand?"
Without another word, Mihir ended the call and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. His voice was bitter, muttered under his breath. "What drama is Mom putting on? When she never cared properly for me as a kid, why bother now?"
His eyes remained on the road, but his mind swirled with old resentments-wounds he never voiced, shadows he never shed.
Bandhap Village - The Kakkars' Household
The air inside the Kakkars' home was thick with the tension of old fears. The eclipse had cast an ominous hue over everything. Lamps flickered. Hushed prayers floated from the elders.
But in the midst of the superstitious dread, Ojas moved with purpose.
She approached Tejaswini, her eyes fierce with determination. "Teju, this is the perfect time for you to leave. Don't let fear hold you back. Not even this eclipse can harm your spirit."
Teju's lips trembled, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Will you... help me?"
Ojas nodded and pressed a small roll of cash into her palm. "Take this. You'll need it. Remember, you're strong, and you deserve a chance at happiness."
Teju clutched a small bag-clothes, her medical books, a photo of her late grandmother-and nodded. The eclipse outside felt like a veil she had to run through.
"Take the back door, quickly," Ojas whispered.
Just then, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
"Papa must be coming," Teju whispered, panic rising.
"In the washroom. Now. Turn on the tap," Ojas instructed calmly.
Teju obeyed just in time. Sarkar entered, his face stiff. "Where's Teju?"
Ojas met his gaze. "She's in the washroom."
"The priest said the wedding can proceed once the eclipse passes," Sarkar said firmly.
Ojas simply nodded, heart pounding.
Delhi - Sharma Residence
Kailashi's voice was grim, ancient knowledge etched into each word. "In order to free Mohana, the daayans will target only one family... the Kashyaps."
Maira sat frozen, her eyes locked onto her Nani's.
"Nani, you told me Mohana can only be freed with the sons of Kashyap... You mean-Sahir and Mihir?"
Kailashi's silence was all the confirmation she needed.
A cold dread seeped into Maira's bones.
"We have to warn them," she whispered.
Back on the Highway
Mihir's phone buzzed again.
Annoyed, he glanced at the screen-ready to silence it-until the name flashing stopped him.
"Bevkoof."
A smirk curled on Mihir's lips. Of course, Dev.
He picked up the call. "Bevkoof," he drawled, dragging out the syllables. "Oops, sorry... I meant Dev. Why are you calling me?"
Dev's voice was tense, low. "Mihir, you shouldn't have done that."
Mihir chuckled. "You mean calling you Bevkoof?"
"Don't play games. You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Mihir's amusement faded. "If you're gonna waste my time with cryptic drama, I'm hanging up."
Dev's voice exploded with rage. "You kissed my girlfriend, Mihir! You made out with Khushi!"
Mihir's eyebrow quirked. "Wait, you actually have a girlfriend? Since when?"
"Don't act dumb. Someone sent me a picture. You and Khushi. You know what you did."
Mihir fell silent. For a moment, his mind drifted. The candlelight. The momentary heat. Khushi's whispered flirtation. He had dismissed it as meaningless.
"Khushi?" Mihir said slowly, teasing back into sarcasm. "Oh. That gold digger."
Dev growled. "You think you're funny? You'll regret this. I swear I'll make you pay. Get ready to go to hell."
Mihir's voice dropped, cold as the eclipse-dark sky. "I am hell."
The line disconnected.
Somewhere Else
Dev's next call went out immediately.
A gruff voice answered.
Dev's tone was sharp and icy. "Run him over. Now."
A pause. Then: "Understood."
At the Cave of Shadows
Far from city lights and tangled emotions, a circle of daayans gathered once more. Their cloaks fluttered like torn shadows. The lunar eclipse reached its peak.
One daayan raised her hands. A ripple spread across the rocks. Symbols glowed faintly. The darkness answered.
Inside the cave, the air thickened with ancient power. The stones themselves trembled as though remembering a name long buried.
Mohana.
The highway stretched before Mihir like a black serpent, its asphalt glinting under the strange, half-light cast by the solar eclipse. His car sliced through the road, tires humming, engine purring like a predator stalking its prey. But then, out of the eerie light, a massive truck veered into his lane.
A twisted grin curled Mihir's lips. "Interesting, very interesting."
He didn't brake. Instead, he floored the accelerator. The roar of his engine rose in challenge to the blaring horn of the oncoming truck. For a breathless moment, time slowed. The world narrowed to headlights, metal, and inevitability.
Then-impact.
Steel collided with steel in a cacophony of shattering glass and screeching metal. Mihir's car spiraled off the road, flipping once, twice, before landing on its side in a heap of twisted wreckage. The airbags burst forth, a final gasp of protection, as silence fell. Only the faint hiss of leaking fuel and the slow crackle of fire remained.
---
Back in Bandhap, at the Kakkar household, tension brewed thicker than ever. Sarkar had just exited the room, his footsteps echoing in the corridor. Teju emerged from the washroom with a storm in her eyes. The filtered eclipse light turned everything ghostly, otherworldly-as though time itself had paused for her rebellion.
She rushed into her mother's arms, clinging tightly. Ojas held her close for a heartbeat, memorizing her daughter's warmth.
Ojas whispered, "Go. Now. Before someone sees."
Teju nodded, her eyes glistening, and slipped out the back door with nothing but a small bag and her mother's blessing. The air outside was strangely cold, almost like the day itself held its breath.
In a cave hidden in the depths of an ancient forest, shadows stirred. The witches had gathered-cloaked figures murmuring in languages long forgotten. A hush fell as Mohana stepped into view.
Chains still bound her wrists and ankles, but she walked like a queen. Her presence filled the chamber with ancient power.
The witches bowed low. Mohana's eyes, silvered by the eclipse's glow, scanned her followers. "Find my sons," she commanded, her voice as sharp as obsidian. "Search every shadow, every alley, every palace and pit. And when you find them-bind them. Not with rope, but with magic. I want their minds fogged, their hearts broken, their loyalty mine."
The witches dispersed like mist, vanishing into the dark to fulfill her bidding.
At the Sharma residence, Kailashi stood beside Maira, her expression grim.
"The eclipse has begun. And so has the hunt," she said, her voice tight with dread.
Maira's breath caught. "You said they'll target the sons of Kashyap. You meant Sahir and Mihir?"
Kailashi nodded. "Mohana wants to turn them into Purn Davanshes. If she succeeds, she'll devour them under the next Red Sun and become the Maha Ekaayan Daayan. A force of destruction the world hasn't seen since the ancient curses were cast."
Maira stared into the darkened sky through the window. "She killed my parents. She won't take them too."
Kailashi stepped closer. "Then you must protect them. Your duty as a Reevavanshi begins now. Infiltrate the Kashyap household. Guard them. Especially Mihir. His path may already be... complicated."
Maira's jaw tightened. "I'll do whatever it takes. For my parents. For them. For all of us."
---
On the highway, the inferno raged. Flames coiled around Mihir's ruined vehicle, engulfing it in a hungry blaze. The truck had already sped away, its driver dialing a number.
"Dev," he said, his voice tense. "It's done. His car's totaled. No way he made it out alive."
But he was wrong.
From the heart of the fire, a figure emerged-unscathed. Mihir's eyes glowed red, and his body radiated an unnatural heat. His shirt hung in tatters, his skin darkened but untouched. With a flick of his hand, the flames vanished, swallowed by invisible force.
Then, with another motion, the car stood whole once more-gleaming, untouched by the accident.
Mihir looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror. His eyes still held that crimson glow. He smirked.
He picked up his phone, dialed. Dev's face popped onto the screen-a video call.
Mihir tilted his head. "Hi, idiot. Miss me?"
Dev's jaw dropped. "You... you were burning... you should be-"
"Dead?" Mihir's smirk widened. "I told you not to mess with me, Dev."
Dev's voice trembled. "What... are you?"
"I'm hell," Mihir whispered.
He hung up.
The eclipse darkened further. Across villages and cities, animals grew restless. Priests rang bells to ward off evil. And in the silence between heartbeats, something ancient stirred.
From the ashes of betrayal and fire... a new darkness had risen.
And it wore Mihir Kashyap's face.