The dining room of the Kashyap mansion buzzed with warmth and chatter as the family gathered around the long, polished wooden table. Moti Baa sat at the head, regal as ever, with Sapna to her right. Uma and Akhil occupied one side, Tia bouncing slightly in her chair on the other. Sahir sat calmly, adjusting his glasses as he waited, while Mihir lounged lazily in his seat, eyes glinting with unreadable amusement.
The kitchen doors swung open as Maira and Teju entered, each carrying their lovingly prepared dishes. The rich aroma of the aloo-palak and dal tadka wafted through the room, earning appreciative murmurs.
"Ah, look at them," Sapna said proudly. "Our new daughters bringing their first offering to this home."
Moti Baa nodded approvingly. "Beta," she said to Teju and Maira, "as tradition demands, first serve your husbands. Their words will be the first blessings for your efforts."
Maira and Teju exchanged quick, nervous glances before stepping forward.
Maira approached Mihir with her dish, setting a small portion of dal tadka and aloo-palak on his plate. "Here you go," she said, trying to mask her anxiousness with a smile.
Teju mirrored her action, serving Sahir with quiet reverence. "I hope you like it," she said softly.
Mihir picked up his spoon first. He tasted the dal, letting the flavor linger on his tongue. Outwardly, he gave a satisfied nod.
"Perfect," he said smoothly, flashing Maira an approving smile. "Truly perfect, Mrs. Kashyap."
But beneath the table, his hand curled into a fist, and his lips twitched into a hidden, sinister smirk. His crimson gaze, veiled to the others, flicked briefly to Sahir, anticipation sparking in his mind.
"Go on, brother," Daavansh whispered silently. "Eat. Let the seed take root."
Sahir took a careful bite of the dal. He chewed thoughtfully, nodding once. "The flavor balance is... excellent," he began, but then his words faltered.
His eyes widened.
He dropped his spoon, clutching at his throat as a faint blue glow began to emanate from his skin.
"Sahir?!" Teju exclaimed, alarm flooding her voice as she reached for him.
Before anyone could react, his body convulsed, and with a force like an unseen wind, Sahir was ripped from his chair, levitating several feet above the table.
Gasps and cries erupted around the room. Tia screamed, clutching Sapna's arm. Akhil and Uma scrambled to their feet in shock.
A strange, deep hum filled the air as Sahir's eyes snapped open-glowing a fierce, unnatural dark blue. Energy crackled around him, wrapping him in tendrils of sapphire fire that pulsed with an otherworldly rhythm.
"What... what is happening to him?!" Teju cried, tears streaming down her face as she tried to reach him, only to be thrown back by a sudden burst of energy.
Moti Baa's face had drained of color. "This is... this is a dark magic," she whispered in terror.
At the far end of the table, Mihir/Daavansh leaned back in his chair, utterly calm amidst the chaos. He watched with barely concealed glee as his brother writhed in midair, the dark enchantment unfolding exactly as planned.
"Yes... take it in, Sahir," Daavansh thought, his lips curling. "Let it burn you from the inside. Soon, you'll either be my weapon... or my ashes."
The room shook violently as Sahir's body arched, a guttural, inhuman roar ripping from his throat, reverberating through the entire house.
The room's tremors ceased as abruptly as they had begun. Sahir's levitating body dropped gracefully to the floor, landing on his feet with unnerving precision.
"Sahir!" Teju cried in relief, rushing toward him.
But as her hands reached for him, he shoved her back with a force that sent her stumbling into Akhil's arms. Gasps filled the room.
"Do not touch me," Sahir's voice thundered-not the gentle, analytical tone they knew, but a deeper, resonant voice layered with dark power. His glowing blue eyes swept over the stunned family, cold and unrecognizing.
"Sahir... what's wrong?" Sapna whispered, trembling.
He raised his head high, a cruel smirk forming. "Sahir is gone," he declared. "I am Daavansh Sahir-the heir of shadows, born of power none of you can comprehend."
The words struck the family like a blow. Teju's knees buckled, her heart shattering at the sound of her husband's voice twisted into something alien.
And then, to their collective horror, Mihir-calm, smiling-rose from his seat and walked toward the transformed Sahir.
"Finally," Mihir said softly, almost reverently. "My true brother has awakened."
Before anyone could react, he pulled Sahir into a tight embrace. For a fleeting moment, it looked like a brotherly hug-but then Mihir's eyes flared crimson, a malevolent light dancing in their depths.
Maira felt the world tilt beneath her. "No..." she breathed, stepping forward. "Mihir...?"
He turned his head slightly, still holding Sahir, and gave her a smile devoid of warmth.
"Daavansh," Maira whispered, her voice breaking with realization.
The two brothers-one glowing in dark blue, the other in blood-red-stood united at the center of the room, darkness radiating from them like a living thing.
"At last," Mihir/Daavansh said, his voice a chilling promise. "The Kashyap family's reckoning begins."
Deep beneath the earth, in the cursed cave of Bandhap Mohana, darkness reigned eternal. The air shimmered faintly with ancient wards-spells that bound something far too dangerous to be released.
At the heart of the cavern, seated on a throne of obsidian thorns, Mohana-the Mahādaayan herself-lifted her head. Her eyes, molten gold with flecks of black, burned with unholy delight as a tremor of power rippled through the cavern walls.
She inhaled deeply, as though savoring a long-awaited scent. "I feel it," she whispered, her voice a seductive hiss. "My sons... both of them... awake at last."
A figure emerged from the shadows-a lithe woman clad in crimson silks and bones, her beauty sharp and dangerous. Ruby Daayan, her most loyal disciple, bowed low.
"Mahādaayan," Ruby said, her tone reverent. "The moment has come. With the bloodline awakened, the bindings on this cave weaken by the hour. Soon, you will walk free again."
Mohana's smile widened, cruel and triumphant. She stood, her long black hair cascading like liquid night down her back, the cave itself seeming to tremble in response to her rising power.
"For centuries, these shackles have held me," she hissed, raising her clawed hands. Faint chains of spectral light flickered briefly around her wrists before vanishing. "But my sons have done what I could not. One wears the crimson fire, the other, the abyssal blue... together, they are the storm that will tear this world apart."
Ruby's lips curled into a wicked grin. "Shall I prepare the rites, Mahādaayan? When their powers fully merge, nothing-not even the gods-will be able to keep you bound here."
Mohana tilted her head back and laughed-a deep, resonant sound that echoed like a death knell through the cavern.
"Yes, Ruby," she said, eyes blazing with unholy hunger. "Prepare everything. Soon, I shall rise. And when I do... the world will kneel at the feet of Mohana and her Daavansh sons."
The cave walls pulsed with malevolent energy, the wards weakening, one crack at a time.