Agnivesh led Aarav deeper into the hall. The carved constellations above shifted as if following them, casting moving light across the floor. The others gathered in a circle, murmuring.
The delivery woman spoke first. "He doesn't remember yet. Not fully."
"He will," said the bespectacled man. "It always comes back… in fragments first, then all at once."
Aarav raised a hand, voice trembling. "Look—I don't know what any of you think I am, but I'm not your warrior. I can't even hold a job. I'm just—"
The floor shook.
A deep, guttural rumble rolled through the hall, rattling the pillars. Dust fell from the ceiling. The constellations flickered, breaking their slow, graceful orbit.
Agnivesh snapped his head toward the doors. "No… they shouldn't have found this place so soon."
The delivery woman cursed under her breath. The tailor unrolled his measuring tape — and as it unfurled, the fabric glowed, stiffening into razor-thin whips of light.
The doors burst inward.
Shadows spilled through like smoke, twisting, writhing. Then eyes opened in the dark — dozens of molten, hateful eyes.
Rakshasas.
They poured into the Sabha, their forms half-animal, half-nightmare. One with a jackal's skull. Another with a body made of ash and charred bone. Their growls filled the hall like thunder.
Agnivesh struck his staff to the ground. "Defend the refuge!"
The hall exploded into chaos. The tailor's glowing tape lashed out, cutting through a beast's arm. The delivery woman hurled a steel tiffin box, which split mid-air into a spinning chakram of fire. The bespectacled man's laptop glowed, projecting sigils that turned into shields.
Aarav stood frozen in the middle, sketchbook pressed to his chest, his legs refusing to move.
A rakshasa broke through the line and charged straight at him, its claws raised. Aarav stumbled back, flipping open the sketchbook without thinking. His pencil scratched across the page — a jagged line, a desperate curve.
A bow and arrow shimmered into his hands, rough and glowing like graphite still wet on the page. His fingers knew what to do even though his mind screamed otherwise. He raised it. Drew back.
The arrow flew, slamming through the creature's chest in a burst of light. The rakshasa collapsed into ash.
Aarav gasped, heart hammering. His arms shook violently, but he was still alive.
The delivery woman glanced at him in the chaos, a small, grim smile cutting across her face. "Welcome back, Arindya."
Agnivesh's voice thundered across the hall as another wave of rakshasas poured in:
"They've breached the refuge. The war is here."