Darkness wrapped around Ravi Mohan like a suffocating blanket.
For a long time, there was nothing but silence and pain.
Then slowly… painfully… consciousness returned.
Ravi groaned as he opened his eyes.
A sharp ache ran through his shoulder where the bullet had struck him earlier.
Every muscle in his body screamed in protest as he tried to move.
"How...How can i leave this place…?" he whispered weakly.
His voice echoed strangely around him.
The sound felt too large for the small breath he used to speak.
He forced himself to sit up.
Dust fell from his clothes as he leaned against cold stone.
The air smelled ancient… damp… almost rotten.
A faint red glow illuminated the cavern.
Not bright enough to see everything.
But enough to reveal shapes.
Ravi looked around slowly.
And what he saw made his stomach tighten.
He wasn't in a pit.
He was inside a hidden underground chamber.
The ceiling rose high above him like a buried cathedral carved into black rock.
Ancient pillars surrounded the chamber in a circular formation.
But the most disturbing thing… was the floor.
A massive star-shaped symbol had been carved into the stone.
Deep grooves formed a pattern that looked ritualistic… deliberate.
It was far too precise to be natural.
The lines of the star spread outward like veins.
Each branch ended in circular symbols that Ravi couldn't understand.
They looked ancient… and wrong.
"Who… made this place…?" Ravi murmured.
Fear slowly crept into his voice.
He tried to stand.
Pain shot through his body.
But somehow he managed to rise.
As he stepped forward carefully, something crunched beneath his foot.
Ravi froze.
Then he slowly looked down.
A human skull stared back at him.
The hollow eye sockets looke
Each branch ended in circular symbols that Ravi couldn't understand.
They looked ancient… and wrong
Dust coated the bone.
But the skull sat perfectly centered inside the star symbol.
Ravi stepped back immediately.
"No… no… this is bad…" he muttered.
"This place… this place is wrong."
Just as he turned away—
A voice echoed through the chamber.
It wasn't loud.
But it wasn't soft either.
It sounded ancient.
Heavy.
Almost amused.
"Ravi Mohan…"
Ravi's heart nearly stopped.
He spun around wildly.
"Who's there?!"
His voice trembled now.
But no one stood in front of him.
Only darkness.
The voice returned.
Calm.
Patient.
Almost pleased.
"You survived the fall."
"That means fate has chosen correctly."
Ravi backed away slowly.
"Show yourself!" he shouted.
"I know someone is here!"
From the far side of the chamber… a massive stone door stood embedded in the wall.
Ravi hadn't noticed it before.
The door was sealed with strange carvings.
From behind that door…
The voice spoke again.
"You are standing at the gate."
"The gate that has waited centuries."
Ravi swallowed.
"What gate…?"
A faint rumble shook the chamber.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
"The gate beneath the world."
"The gate that imprisons kings."
"The gate that demands a keeper."
Ravi's breathing grew faster.
"I don't understand…"
The voice chuckled softly.
A dark, unsettling laugh.
"You will."
"Because you were chosen."
Ravi clenched his fists.
"Chosen for what?"
Silence lingered for several seconds.
Then the voice answered slowly.
"To become the Gatekeeper of Hell."
The words echoed across the chamber like thunder.
Ravi stared at the door.
Fear flooded through him.
"I'm not doing this!" Ravi shouted.
"You think I'm crazy?!"
The voice remained calm.
Too calm.
"Look at your life, Ravi Mohan."
"You stole."
"You killed."
"You betrayed."
Ravi froze.
The voice continued.
"You already belong to darkness."
"All I am offering…"
"…is power."
Ravi's eyes slowly drifted toward the skull at the center of the star.
The voice spoke again.
"Place your hand upon the skull."
"Let your blood feed the seal."
Ravi hesitated.
His wounded shoulder throbbed painfully.
Blood still soaked his sleeve.
"Why…?" he whispered.
"Because the gate must open."
"And only the chosen may open it."
Ravi looked around the chamber again.
There was no escape.
No exit.
Just the door.
The skull.
And the voice.
Slowly… reluctantly…
Ravi stepped toward the center.
Each step echoed loudly in the chamber.
He knelt beside the skull.
His injured arm trembled.
"Place your entire hand," the voice commanded.
Ravi took a deep breath.
Then he pressed his bleeding palm against the skull.
For a moment…
Nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
The skull began to tremble.
A red glow flickered inside its hollow eyes.
The bone slowly lifted from the ground.
Floating.
Ravi stared in horror.
"What the—"
The red light burst outward.
Beams shot from the skull's eye sockets.
They traced along the carved lines of the star symbol.
The entire symbol ignited with crimson energy.
The star glowed brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter.
The chamber shook violently.
Cracks spread across the massive stone door.
The voice laughed.
A deep, monstrous laugh.
"The seal breaks!"
"At last!"
With a deafening crack—
The door exploded open.
Beyond it…
Only darkness existed.
But inside that darkness…
A massive silhouette stood.
The shape was enormous.
Horned.
Towering.
Ancient.
A Giant crimson blade in his shoulder
Ravi fell backward in terror.
"What… are you…?"
The creature's laughter filled the chamber.
Wild.
Demonic.
Almost joyful.
"You opened the gate."
"You freed the imprisoned king."
The silhouette slowly stepped forward—
Then suddenly vanished.
Gone.
Ravi blinked.
"What…?"
But the darkness behind the gate began moving.
Red shapes poured out like smoke.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Creatures made of crimson light.
They rushed past Ravi.
Some flew.
Some crawled.
Some slithered.
None of them attacked him.
They simply passed through him.
Ravi's body stiffened suddenly.
His muscles locked.
A strange energy wrapped around him.
Red and black.
Cold and burning at the same time.
His body began twitching violently.
His veins pulsed with dark power.
"AAAAAAAHHH!!"
Ravi screamed.
Above the chamber…
At the temple above ground—
A beam of crimson energy exploded upward.
The beam tore through the roof of the cursed temple.
It shot into the sky like a pillar of fire.
Unblinking.
Endless.
Outside the temple—
Inspector Aravind froze in shock.
"What the hell is that?!"
The police officers stared upward.
The red beam lit the night sky like a wound.
Ananya clutched her father tightly.
"Appa… I'm scared…"
The father stared at the temple.
His voice trembled.
"That… that can't be real…"
Meanwhile…
Miles away…
At the Jallikattu festival grounds.
The crowd roared with excitement as bulls charged across the arena.
Students cheered loudly from the stands.
The festival atmosphere was alive with energy.
Shiva sat among his friends.
Riya, Aljasheem, and several college students watched the event.
Suddenly…
Shiva felt something strange.
A pressure in the air.
He slowly turned his head toward the horizon.
Then he saw it.
A massive red beam piercing the sky.
Shiva stood up slowly.
"What is that?"
Riya followed his gaze.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh my god…"
Students around them began pointing.
"Guys look!"
"Is that lightning?!"
"No way!"
"We are in Fantasy world?"
Some people laughed.
Some cheered.
Some recorded videos.
But Shiva didn't move.
His eyes stayed fixed on the distant beam.
Then suddenly—
Red lightning cracked across the sky.
The clouds turned dark.
The wind grew colder.
For a moment…
The entire sky looked blood red.
Shiva's grip tightened slowly.
Something deep inside him stirred.
Something ancient.
And far away…
Inside the temple…
Ravi Mohan's transformation continued.
The gate had opened.
The demons had escaped.
And something far worse had begun to awaken.