Mukul didn't sleep much that night. His mind kept replaying the dragon's roar, the black-suited men, and the strange power now flowing through him. By morning, he felt both exhilarated and exhausted.
He wandered into the heart of the city, drawn almost instinctively to a large hospital. Something tugged at him—he didn't know what—but it felt urgent.
Inside, the hospital was chaotic. Nurses rushed past with stretchers, monitors beeped incessantly, and doctors barked orders. Mukul's eyes caught a young woman slumped in the waiting area, pale and gasping for breath.
"Call a doctor!" someone shouted, but no one was immediately available.
Mukul's hands tingled. Memories he didn't consciously have—techniques, pressure points, remedies—flashed before his eyes. He knelt beside the woman, checking her pulse. It was weak, irregular.
"Stay with me," he whispered. Instinctively, he applied pressure to specific points on her wrist, massaged her temples, and adjusted her posture. It was subtle, careful, precise. Slowly, her breathing steadied. Colour returned to her cheeks.
Nurses and doctors arrived just in time to see her opening her eyes. "She's stable," Mukul said softly. No one asked how. No one could explain what they had just witnessed.
A tall doctor approached, eyebrows furrowed. "Who… how did you do that?"
Mukul shrugged. "I… I just knew what to do." His own words sounded strange, even to him.
The doctor studied him, suspicion and awe in equal measure. "You have a gift," she said finally. "A healer's instinct… and maybe more."
Mukul frowned. More? His thoughts drifted to the dragon. The creature had awakened something within him—power, awareness, intuition. Could this healing be part of it too?
As he left the hospital, Detective Meera was waiting outside, leaning casually against a wall. She smiled. "You just saved a life and didn't even flinch. I think I'm beginning to understand… you're not ordinary."
Mukul laughed softly. "I'm trying to figure that out myself."
Meera's expression softened, a flicker of admiration in her eyes. "Then maybe you should let me help. We're going to need allies if those men from last night—or whatever they are—come back."
Mukul nodded, sensing the truth in her words. He was stepping into a world of danger, mystery, and ancient forces beyond his comprehension. And yet… he felt ready.
As they walked away from the hospital, a shadow passed overhead. The dragon circled above, its golden eyes gleaming. Mukul glanced up and smiled. Somehow, he felt reassured. The path ahead was uncertain, filled with enemies, conspiracies, and challenges—but he wasn't alone.
He had the dragon, Meera, and now a power inside him that bridged the line between the ancient and the modern.
Somewhere in the city, a new danger stirred, waiting for the moment to strike. But for now, Mukul allowed himself a brief sense of calm. He had taken his first step into a larger destiny, and there was no turning back.