Chapter 2 — The Flame That Refused to Die
Varanasi.
Manikarnika Ghat.
Night.
The body had been burning for four hours.
It should have turned to ash.
It did not.
The flames burned unnaturally steady — blue at the base, gold at the tips. No smoke. No crackling.
Priests stepped back.
The eldest among them whispered, "Agni is not consuming."
The fire shifted.
And the corpse inhaled.
Not revival.
Not life.
Something else.
The air temperature dropped.
Cameras from nearby tourists flickered simultaneously.
In Sriharikota, 1,400 kilometres away, an alert appeared on Arvind's private terminal.
Preta-Layer Stabilisation: Confirmed
He did not look surprised.
He activated Karmic Vision.
The world desaturated.
Golden threads emerged from Varanasi — spreading outward like cracks in glass.
Branch probability:
If ignored → Spirit cluster growth in 48 hours.
If attacked with ritual fire → Backlash.
If documented scientifically → Layer anchoring slows.
He narrowed his eyes.
So it required observation.
Not faith.
Not fear.
Measurement.
Back at the Ghat, the corpse sat upright.
Its eyes were not open.
But its mouth moved.
A low vibration escaped its throat.
Not words.
A mantra fragment.
Broken.
Distorted.
Nearby, a young priest collapsed, clutching his head.
He began repeating the same sound involuntarily.
The frequency spiked.
Across the globe—
In Athens, thunder rolled without clouds.
In Norway, northern lights formed a spiral shape.
In Cairo, a sealed sarcophagus lid shifted one inch.
Resonance bleed.
Arvind opened a new projection.
If Indian government intervenes militarily?
→ Panic
→ Viral footage
→ International myth-activation cascade
→ 3-day global instability spike
Rejected.
If local authorities seal the Ghat quietly?
→ Limited spread
→ 23 spiritual infections
→ Manageable containment
Accepted.
He made one anonymous call.
One line.
"Seal Manikarnika. Radiation leak suspected."
Within forty minutes, police cordoned the area.
News channels were fed a technical malfunction story.
But Arvind knew the truth.
This was not a leak.
It was a foothold.
Back in Varanasi, the corpse finally stood.
Flames still wrapped around it without burning flesh.
Its skin was grey — not rotting, not living.
Preta manifestation — Stage Two, Initiate.
But something else was wrong.
The golden threads around it did not connect upward.
They stretched downward.
Deep.
Far below Bhuloka's baseline.
Arvind felt it immediately.
Another interface alert:
▣ Cross-Layer Interference Detected
Asura-Loka Probability: 12%
Naraka Echo Signature: Trace
That was too early.
Far too early.
Someone was accelerating the bleed.
He ran a projection focused on a variable:
Unknown Human Agent in Varanasi
Timeline branched.
A shadowed figure watching from rooftop.
Ritual markings beneath clothing.
Pulse alignment with Asura resonance.
Probability match: 78%.
Arvind's expression hardened slightly.
So it had already begun.
Not spontaneous.
Guided.
He used a second projection.
If shadowed agent eliminated within 24 hours?
→ Asura response spike
→ Larger breach attempt
Rejected.
If agent monitored instead?
→ Network discovery within 3 days
→ Identification of sponsor
Accepted.
He leaned back.
He would not interfere yet.
Information compounds.
Emotion wastes.
At Manikarnika Ghat, the corpse finally split apart into ash.
But the fire did not extinguish.
It sank into the ground.
And for a brief second—
Those nearby heard a whisper.
Not Sanskrit.
Not Hindi.
Older.
Heavier.
Hungry.
In Sriharikota, Arvind watched seismic micro-variations ripple across Northern India.
Naga-Tala currents shifted slightly.
Preta-layer stabilised.
Asura probability rose to 19%.
Too fast.
Somewhere in India—
Someone was intentionally pushing resonance.
The global sky shimmered faintly.
Most humans did not notice.
But satellites did.
Seven harmonic bands pulsed simultaneously.
The world had crossed the first threshold.
Arvind checked his remaining uses.
Karmic Projection: 2 / 5
He would conserve them.
This was only Day One.
Three days ahead, he could see turbulence.
But beyond that—
Darkness.
And darkness meant variables.
He adjusted his glasses again.
Somewhere in Varanasi, a hidden observer smiled beneath ritual markings.
And somewhere far deeper than Bhuloka—
Something ancient turned its attention toward Earth.
The game had moved its first piece.
Arvind intended to see the board.
Before anyone realised they were playing.