Ashtabhuj: Advent

Chapter 1 - The Orientation

Jay thrashed his fingers across the strings of his bass guitar, the basis notes reverberating through the dimly lit club. The crowd pulsated with energy, their bodies moving in sync with the relentless rhythm of the music. As a member of the hard rock band "Mrityu," Jay was no stranger to the stage, but tonight, something felt different.

Unbeknownst to him, two figures sat in the shadowy corner of the club, their eyes fixed on Jay. Sharanya, with her piercing gaze and Prithvi, with his stoic demeanor, watched intently as Jay unleashed his raw talent upon the unsuspecting audience.

"He's the one," Sharanya whispered, her voice barely audible over the cacophony of sound.

Prithvi nodded in agreement, his gaze unwavering. "Yes, he possesses the potential we seek. We must approach him before it's too late."

Meanwhile, Jay's fingers danced across the fretboard with practiced precision, each note carrying a piece of his soul. Little did he know that his fate was about to take an unexpected turn.

After their performance, Jay returned to his apartment. As he sifted through the pile of mail on the kitchen table, his eyes fell upon a mysterious package addressed to him. Intrigued, he tore open the package to find a mobile phone and an address written on a piece of paper.

Jay read that paper carefully. He looked at the address. It was of a University in Kalpa village in Himachal Pradesh. He switched on the mobile phone and as soon as the mobile phone booted he saw he recieved a text on it. It read, "You have been seeking truth all your life Jay, do you want to know the truth? If you do, meet us at the address you have recieved. Keep the phone handy."

Jay didn't know what to do, but the opportunity of knowing the truth aas a hard one to pass. He put the contents of package back in the package and kept it in his cupboard. He then went to the coffee machine to make himself a coffee. His room was littered with esoteric books. He had developed interest in the esoteric even since he had a particular out of body experience last year and he wanted to know the causes of it. He had just finished his Bachelor's in Zoology. He wanted to be a primatologist but since the experience he had, he had given up on the idea to study further. His band played in cafes and bars of Indraprastha City and he was living in the moment at the present. His band consisted of Bhavesh who was a DJ and Keyboardist, Vasu who was the guitarist, Aman who was the Drummer, and Ali who was the vocalist and him who was the bassist. The band earned enough to support a meagre living through all his band members except him had day jobs to support themselves.

Jay started packing, the band would've to hire and external bassist, but he knew in his heart that this thing, whatever it was, was more important than the band. It was Saturday today and Kalpa was 250 kilometre away from Indraprastha City. It was Friday today and if he starts early morning tomorrow he would be able to reach Kalpa by afternoon.

He went to the coffee machine and made himself another cup of coffee. He had kept his clothes in his rucksack and was making a note of things he would need on the trip. There wasn't much. Clothes, phone, especially the phone he had received today and his wallet. He was packed and ready to go. He opened his cupboard and took out the package. He kept the piece of paper which has the address in his wallet and kept the phone he had received in the package on the table. He then took out his own phone and messaged his bandmates and a few other people that he had to go out of town for a very important work.

He lay down on the bed and wondered what the message was all about. He had already lost all hopes in humanity and it doesn't seem real that someone who had no incentive from him would try to contact him. Maybe they he was profitable to them in some manner, maybe there was some incentive to them in contacting him. Thinking all these things he drifted into sleep.