The desert had never felt so silent.
Arjun Rathore remained pressed against the cold trench wall, every muscle in his body taut as footsteps approached through the sand.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Measured.
Careful.
Two people.
No—three.
His eyes narrowed in the darkness.
Victor Han's voice drifted closer, sharp and low.
"He can't have gone far."
A pause.
Then Lin Meiyue.
"He's trained. Don't underestimate him."
The words should have sounded like concern.
Instead, they sounded like an assessment.
Like a hunter discussing prey.
A bitter smile touched Arjun's lips.
"Wah", he thought, "kitna achha actor tha main."
What a fool I was.
The moonlight stretched long shadows across the excavation site. Lanterns flickered between the tents, their pale yellow glow trembling in the wind. Workers had mostly retreated, exhausted after the tomb incident, leaving the camp unnervingly quiet.
Perfect for betrayal.
Perfect for murder.
Arjun slowly reached for the tactical knife strapped inside his boot.
Years of special forces training took over.
No panic.
No rage.
Only clarity.
The moment his fingers touched the hilt, another voice sounded nearby.
Professor Chen.
"Miss Lin? Is everything alright?"
Victor answered before she could.
"Captain Arjun seems to be missing. We think the tremor may have disoriented him."
Arjun almost laughed.
The smoothness of the lie was almost admirable.
Professor Chen hesitated.
"At this hour?"
Meiyue's voice softened, almost worried.
"We're just looking for him."
A familiar tone.
The same warmth she had once used on him.
Now it sounded like venom wrapped in silk.
The footsteps moved past the trench.
Arjun waited.
One breath.
Two.
Three.
Then he silently climbed out and slipped between the supply tents.
The desert night swallowed him whole.
The camp perimeter was poorly secured.
Amateurs.
A single portable floodlight near the western edge.
One blind spot near the generator.
An open line toward the dunes.
Arjun moved fast.
Low stance.
Silent steps.
Every shadow became cover.
Every crate became concealment.
But something was wrong.
Too easy.
His instincts screamed.
Trap.
He stopped.
A faint metallic click sounded behind him.
Too late.
A sharp pain exploded at the back of his head.
"Saala—!"
The world spun.
His vision blurred.
He stumbled forward, dropping to one knee.
A dark figure emerged from the shadows.
Victor Han.
In his hand was a heavy metal rod.
The bastard smiled.
Victor Han
"You really are difficult to kill."
Arjun forced himself upright.
Blood ran warm down the back of his neck.
His vision doubled for a moment.
Then steadied.
Victor twirled the rod casually.
"Where is it?"
Arjun spat blood into the sand.
"Jahannum mein."
In hell.
Victor's smile faded.
Before he could move, another figure stepped into the light.
Lin Meiyue.
Her face was pale beneath the moonlight.
Unreadable.
Arjun stared at her.
For one impossible second, a part of him still hoped.
Still waited.
Still wanted an explanation.
But her eyes held none.
Only cold resolve.
"Arjun", she said softly, "don't make this harder."
His chest tightened.
"Harder?"
His voice came low and sharp.
"You lied to me."
She looked away.
For the first time, something flickered in her expression.
Guilt?
Regret?
He couldn't tell.
Victor stepped forward impatiently.
"The pendant."
Arjun's silence was answer enough.
Victor swung.
Arjun moved on instinct.
Even half-dazed, his body reacted faster than thought.
He ducked beneath the rod, stepped in close, and drove his elbow into Victor's ribs.
A sharp crack.
Victor cursed and staggered back.
Arjun pivoted, delivering a kick straight to Victor's knee.
The man collapsed with a shout.
Years of battlefield reflexes still ruled his body.
Even betrayed.
Even wounded.
He was still Captain Arjun Rathore.
Victor lunged with the rod again.
Arjun caught the wrist, twisted hard, and slammed him into the side of the generator.
Metal rattled.
Sparks flew.
For a moment, victory seemed possible.
Then—
A voice behind him.
"Arjun… stop."
Meiyue.
He turned.
That moment of hesitation cost him.
Victor drove the rod into Arjun's back.
Pain erupted through his spine.
His breath left him in a violent gasp.
He dropped to one knee.
"Damn…"
Victor panted, rage twisting his features.
"You should have died quietly."
Arjun glared upward.
"Come closer," he said coldly.
Victor hesitated.
Good.
Fear.
At least the bastard understood what kind of man he had betrayed.
But Meiyue stepped forward.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Where is the pendant?"
Arjun looked at her.
Really looked.
The woman he had loved.
The woman for whom he had crossed borders and risked his life.
Gone.
Or maybe she had never existed.
His lips curved into a bitter smile.
"You'll never find it."
Victor snarled.
"We'll see."
The next thing Arjun felt was cold air against his face.
His hands were bound.
Rope.
Thick.
Rough.
His head throbbed violently.
When he forced his eyes open, darkness surrounded him.
Trees.
Branches.
Moonlight filtering through leaves.
Forest?
No.
This wasn't the excavation site.
He blinked hard.
Then his stomach dropped.
He was hanging.
Suspended from a tree branch by a rope tied around his wrists.
Beneath his feet—
Nothing.
A deep gorge opened below.
At least five hundred feet down.
Jagged rocks waited like the jaws of death.
The desert had given way to the rocky forest ridge near the excavation's western cliffs.
The wind howled upward from the abyss.
For the first time that night, genuine danger crawled up his spine.
Victor stood on the branch above him, holding the rope.
Meiyue stood a few steps behind.
Silent.
Arjun let out a dry laugh.
"So this is the plan?"
Victor smirked.
"Accidental fall."
"Convenient."
Arjun's eyes moved to Meiyue.
She wouldn't meet his gaze.
That hurt more than the ضرب.
"Look at me," he said.
Slowly, she did.
Moonlight touched her face.
Her eyes trembled.
A crack in the cold mask.
"Why?" he asked quietly.
The question hung in the wind.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then—
"Because I had no choice."
Arjun laughed again.
This time it was hollow.
"Sab ke paas choice hoti hai."
Everyone has a choice.
Victor rolled his eyes.
"Enough."
He raised a knife.
Arjun's muscles tensed.
The rope creaked above him.
Victor smiled.
"Goodbye, Captain."
The knife flashed.
The rope snapped.
For one frozen second, Arjun felt weightless.
The world tilted.
Sky above.
Darkness below.
The wind was screaming in his ears.
As he fell, his gaze locked on Meiyue one last time.
No hatred.
No rage.
Only heartbreak.
His final thought before darkness swallowed him was painfully simple.
"Yeh pyaar bhi kitna ajeeb hota hai…"
Love is such a strange thing.
Then the abyss took him.