UNITED AGAIN BY LOVE.

46.

The night air was colder than usual, unnaturally still—as if the darkness itself was watching.

Darsh, Arjun, Rocky, and Anu were halfway through the Kalyana Mandapam when the first sign appeared.
A sudden jerk.
A grinding sound.
And then—silence.

"Arjun... brake!" Darsh yelled.

"I'm trying!" Arjun's voice cracked. The pedal had sunk completely. The car wasn't slowing down.

Anu gasped. "The brake... It's not working!"

Rocky turned back. "This is Baba's doing. I guess."

The car sped dangerously fast toward a road bend. In that split second, Arjun made a decision only he could make.

"Hold tight!"

He swung the steering sharply left. The car veered off the road and crashed nose-first into a tree with a deafening thud.

For a moment, everything froze.

One breath...

Two breaths...

Then all four stumbled out of the car.

Darsh's jaw tightened. "This is my battle," he said, voice low but fierce. "I will end this tonight. All of you leave."

Rocky stepped forward immediately. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Same here," Arjun said firmly.

Even Anu shook her head. "We didn't come this far to run away."

Darsh clenched his fists. "I don't want any of you to get hurt."

Arjun placed a hand on his shoulder. "We won't leave. But... I will do one thing."
He looked at Anu. "I'll drop her at the temple. The shortcut road is near. She'll be safe there with others. I'll return immediately."

Darsh hesitated but nodded. Rocky positioned himself beside him, ready.

Arjun hurried Anu through the shortcut route.

Dark shadows moved toward them. Baba's goons—strong, merciless, and filled with the same evil aura Roshini carried.

Rocky cracked his knuckles. "Let's end this."

The goons attacked with iron rods and knives. Darsh and Rocky fought back, blocking, punching, kicking—every move fast and desperate. The pressure was overwhelming, but they held their ground.

Anu reached the temple steps, breathless. Everyone turned toward her—Srinila, Shreya, their families.

"DARSH IS IN DANGER!" she shouted.

A wave of fear rippled through the crowd. Srinila stepped forward instantly, eyes wide with panic.

Arjun ran in seconds later, panting. "They're fighting the goons. Roshini is behind this."

Srinila's heart dropped. everything around her blurred, voice fading into the thin air. she gazed at the idol of lord shiva in the temple.

Arjun looked at Shreya before leaving. She met his eyes, her own trembling, but she nodded slowly.

"Go," she whispered. "Protect them."

That one look gave him courage. He turned and sprinted back down the hill.

Darsh and Rocky were fighting with everything they had, but the goons were growing in number. Three men held Rocky down. Two pinned Darsh's arms behind him.

That was when the air changed.

A cold, dark energy crept in, chilling them to their bones.

From the shadows...
She emerged.