Paraedons: A War beginning

**Chapter 6: The Return to the Present 1947**

MacMillan stood in Mayi Ji's humble abode, feeling a surge of relief after successfully bringing back the ancient power from the past. He looked down at the child he had rescued, grateful to see him safe and sound. But as he prepared to celebrate this small victory, he noticed an uneasy expression cross Mayi Ji's face. She had a sharp, knowing look in her eyes, and MacMillan could tell that something was wrong.

Mayi Ji quietly observed the child and then turned her gaze towards MacMillan. Without uttering a word, she seemed to have sensed that he had not returned alone. There was another presence-something dark, something sinister-that had traveled back with them from the past. It was the spirit of a Paraedon, a malevolent entity that had latched onto MacMillan during his journey.

Instead of alarming MacMillan, Mayi Ji simply gestured for him to follow her. She led him to a place he didn't recognize-a sacred site that was both a mausoleum and a mosque. MacMillan, having little knowledge of such places, was unfamiliar with its significance. Yet, he trusted Mayi Ji and followed her without question.

**The Ritual Cleansing**

As they stepped inside the mosque, MacMillan began to feel a strange sensation ripple through his body. There was a movement, almost like a battle within his own soul, as if forces he couldn't control were at play. His breath grew shallow, and he felt a heaviness pressing down on his chest. The air around him seemed to shimmer with an unseen energy.

Without warning, Mayi Ji began to recite something. It was neither a mantra nor a spell, but a prayer-a powerful invocation that reverberated through the air like a chant. As she spoke, MacMillan felt his feet lift off the ground, his body rising into the air as if suspended by some invisible force.

A respected elder, the Maulvi Sahab, was summoned to the mosque. Together with Mayi Ji, he performed a spiritual cleansing, an ancient ritual meant to drive out the darkness that clung to MacMillan. As they chanted and prayed, a thick, black smoke began to pour from MacMillan's mouth, swirling in the air before being trapped inside a glass bottle by Mayi Ji.

The moment the smoke was contained, MacMillan's body fell back to the ground, limp but safe. He lay there for a moment, gasping for breath, feeling the heavy weight of the darkness lift from his soul. The bottle, now sealed tight, contained the trapped spirit of the Paraedon, which Mayi Ji had carefully captured to prevent it from causing any further harm.

Mayi Ji explained to MacMillan what had happened: the spirit of the Paraedon had followed him from the tabut, hitching a ride with the powerful energy he had brought back. She handed him the sealed bottle, instructing him to keep it close, for it might prove useful in the battles that lay ahead.

**The Journey to the Present**

With their mission in the past complete, it was time for MacMillan to return to his own time, a hundred years into the future. As Mayi Ji prepared the ritual to send him back, she offered him a small smile-a sign of encouragement and faith in his strength. She packed his belongings, including the bottle containing the dark spirit, and wished him luck for the challenges to come.

In a flash, MacMillan was hurtling through time once more. His surroundings blurred, the years rolled past in an instant, and he felt the familiar pull as he was drawn back to the present. He opened his eyes and found himself back in the laboratory, sitting in front of the professor.

**The Revelation in the Present**

As MacMillan's vision cleared, he realized that the professor was watching him intently, a strange, almost sinister energy emanating from him. There was a heaviness in the room, a sensation that made MacMillan's skin crawl. He felt an invisible weight pressing down on his shoulders, a sense of dread that he couldn't quite shake.

He glanced to his side and saw the child he had rescued from the past, still lying unconscious but now in the present time. MacMillan's mind raced with thoughts of the journey they had just completed, the battles they had fought, and the secrets they had uncovered.

The professor's eyes seemed to glint with a hint of something dark, and MacMillan couldn't help but wonder if the presence of the Paraedon's spirit in the bottle might have somehow affected him. He felt a growing suspicion that the professor knew more about this ancient power and the dark forces at play than he had let on.

As MacMillan stood there, holding the child and the bottle containing the trapped spirit, he realized that his journey was far from over. The past might have given him clues, but the true battle was just beginning. He would need to unravel the mysteries that connected the ancient war with the present day and find a way to finally break the curse that bound the Jaba tribe to the Paraedons' fate.

And as he looked into the professor's eyes, he knew that the next step in his quest would be even more dangerous and uncertain than the last.