After hearing the mysterious voice, Dev began looking around in all directions. Darkness surrounded him completely—there was no sense of direction, no awareness of place. Nothing made sense. After a moment, in a trembling voice, he spoke,
"Who are you? And more importantly… where are you? And where am I?"
After a brief silence, the same grave voice echoed once again,
"Who I am and where I am is not important. What matters is who you are, Dev. The person you believe yourself to be—that is not who you truly are. And the dreams you are seeing… they are not ordinary dreams."
Dev's breathing grew rapid. A mix of anger and fear crept into his voice as he replied,
"What are you talking about? And how do you know about my dreams? Did you kidnap me? Look, kidnapping me will get you nothing. I'm already very poor, and there's no one in my life who would pay you ransom. So just let me go."
Before Dev could even finish speaking, the voice returned—this time deeper, colder, and far more intimidating,
"For now, it is enough that you know this much. With time, you will learn everything—just trust yourself. And now listen to me carefully. Your first task is to find a bracelet. Only after that will I be able to tell you what comes next."
Confusion and shock filled Dev's eyes. Almost shouting, he said,
"A bracelet? What kind of bracelet? And where am I supposed to find it?"
Suddenly, it felt as if the ground beneath Dev's feet vanished. His head spun violently, and he collapsed hard onto the ground. In an instant, everything around him began to swirl—then, all at once, everything went completely still.
When Dev opened his eyes, he was back in his own room. He sat up in panic, drenched in sweat, and muttered in disbelief,
"What… what was all that just now? Was I dreaming again? No. This time, it felt different. What kind of voice was that, telling me to find a bracelet? And how did it know about my dreams? What is happening to me?"
He sat there silently for a while, lost in thought. Then he whispered to himself,
"What if… if I find that bracelet, these dreams stop coming?"
Suddenly, he stood up and began searching the room frantically. He turned everything upside down—piles of books, old clothes, broken items—but found nothing.
Exhausted, Dev said aloud,
"I remember… I did have a bracelet. It was quite old. But now it's nowhere to be seen. Where could it have gone?"
After a few moments, something struck him. His eyes widened slightly as he murmured,
"Oh right! I gave that bracelet to Uncle Suresh. A few months ago… as an apology for coming late. I'll have to ask for it back tomorrow."
As this thought settled in his mind, a faint smile appeared on Dev's face. Overcome by exhaustion, he collapsed onto the bed. Slowly, his eyes closed.
The next morning, Dev woke up early. Sunlight filtered into the room through the cracks in the broken walls. He got ready quickly and headed toward the work site. For the first time, he arrived on time.
As soon as he reached there, he began looking for Suresh. He scanned the area, but Suresh was nowhere to be seen. Turning to a worker nearby, Dev asked,
"Brother, have you seen Uncle Suresh? I can't find him anywhere."
The worker replied,
"No, brother. He probably hasn't arrived yet. Wait five minutes—he should be here soon."
Dev muttered to himself quietly,
"Look at that—yesterday I was late and got an earful. Today he's late himself. But what can I do? I can't even say anything."
Just then, a heavy voice thundered from behind,
"Why are you standing here? Go do your work! Are you getting paid to stand around doing nothing?"
Startled, Dev turned around quickly and said,
"Y-Yes, I was just going. I just needed to talk to you about something."
Suresh raised an eyebrow and said sharply,
"What is it?"
Hesitating slightly, Dev replied,
"The bracelet I gave you… I need it back."
A mocking expression appeared in Suresh's eyes.
"Why should I give that bracelet back to you? Have you forgotten? You gave it to me as an apology for coming late."
Taking a deep breath, Dev said,
"Yes, I remember. But now, that bracelet is very important to me."
Disdain filled Suresh's voice as he replied,
"If you want the bracelet, then take back your apology as well."
Dev frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Suresh smiled coldly.
"I mean, if you want the bracelet, you'll have to quit your job. Do you agree?"
Dev's fists clenched tightly. Months of suppressed anger flickered in his eyes. In a cold, steady voice, he said,
"I've tolerated enough. I don't need your pathetic job anymore. Give me my bracelet—and this month's salary as well."
Furious, Suresh pulled out the bracelet and threw it into Dev's hand.
"Take it and get out of here!"
Dev replied calmly,
"First, give me my salary."
Suresh roared,
"You won't get anything! Mukesh, Jignesh—throw this insolent man out!"
Two heavily built men rushed forward and grabbed Dev. He struggled to free himself, but during the scuffle, Jignesh's metal bangle caused a small cut on Dev's hand. Blood began to flow.
Dev stopped resisting. His eyes burned red with rage, but without saying another word, he walked away.
After reaching home, he sat down on the bed—exhausted, broken. Yet something inside him felt restless. Slowly, he picked up the bracelet and examined it closely.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock.
"These markings… they weren't here before! And this symbol… it's the same mark that's on my back. How is this possible?"
He stared at the bracelet for a long time. Then, with a strange sense of calm, he said softly,
"Whatever this is… now I have to find out."
He slipped the bracelet onto his wrist.
The moment the bracelet touched his blood, it began to glow with a brilliant white light. The entire room filled with blinding radiance. Shielding his eyes, Dev shouted in disbelief,
"What—what is happening? Why is the bracelet glowing?"
And then, a powerful, commanding voice echoed through the room,
"Dev. You have done very well. Well done."