Near the mansion's main gate stood a small storage room. Sitting on its roof, the watchman was fixing some electrical wiring. Muttering to himself, he said, "Because the two connections are separate, I have to fix this every four or five days." He continued stripping the plastic coating off the wire while grumbling under his breath.
High above the mansion, a purple hawk had been circling in the sky for quite some time. Faint violet sparks flickered across its body, as if the friction between its wings and the rushing air was generating energy.
Suddenly, the hawk tilted its head downward. Its sharp eyes caught the tiny sparks coming from the wires in the watchman's hands. Reflections of rapidly shifting images flashed across its retina. In the next instant, its gaze sharpened—like a predator that had finally found its prey.
With incredible speed, the hawk dove straight toward the ground. It swooped past the watchman's hands, letting out a sharp "shii…" sound, and then flew back up into the sky before landing on a distant tree.
Startled, the watchman dropped the wires from his hands. They fell to the ground, crackling with electric sparks. As he bent down to pick them up, his phone suddenly began to vibrate.
He pulled out his old keypad phone and glanced around cautiously. Once he was certain no one was watching, he left the sparking wires on the ground and quietly slipped inside the storage room.
Forty-seven kilometers away from Patna, on that same dirt road that was usually deserted, several motorcycles and a Black Bentley Arnage RL[1]were now parked.
Inside the car, a man sat waiting for someone. He took out his phone and dialed a number. After two rings, a voice answered from the other side.
"Yes, boss."
"What's the update?"
"Boss, everything is perfectly calm. Sir has been working since morning."
"Good. Let him continue his work."
Ending the call, the man smiled and turned to his driver.
"Viraj, start the car. Today is going to be a very special day… after which the entire world will be in my fist."
With those words, the car and the bikes sped down the dirt road and disappeared into the forest.
Slowly, the day began to fade, and night prepared to spread its dark blanket across the sky.
Soon, the convoy reached the mansion gate.
The watchman had been standing there for a long time, waiting for someone to arrive. The moment he saw the car approaching, he quickly opened the main gate of the mansion and ran toward the vehicle.
He stopped beside the window of the Bentley, his face glowing with excitement—as if today he was finally about to receive the reward for his actions.
The window of the Bentley Arnage RL slowly rolled down. A hand emerged from inside the car, gesturing for the watchman to come closer.
As the watchman leaned in to look inside, the man in the car raised a pistol with his other hand and fired.
The bullet struck the watchman in the head, and he collapsed instantly onto the ground.
The man calmly inhaled the faint smoke rising from the barrel of his pistol, then turned to his driver.
"Viraj, tell the men to leave the vehicles here and move toward the mansion under cover."
The bikers opened the side bags attached to their motorcycles and took out their weapons. Leaving the vehicles behind, they slowly began advancing toward the mansion.
Completely unaware of what was happening above them in the sky, they continued moving forward.
High above the mansion, two half-transparent, shadowy figures suddenly appeared in the air. Both wore long overcoats, their heads hidden beneath deep hoods.
Different kinds of energy radiated from them.
From one figure flowed a dark black energy, carrying an aura even more terrifying than death itself. A black hawk sat on his shoulder, and black smoke continuously drifted from both the man and the bird, dissolving into the wind behind them.
From the other figure emanated a golden energy—warm and radiant, the kind that made anyone near it feel alive and filled with joy. A golden hawk perched on his shoulder, glowing with soft golden light.
For a few seconds, the two figures stared silently at each other.
At that very moment, dark storm clouds gathered in the sky. With a deafening crack, lightning struck somewhere deep within the forest—as if the very fabric of existence rejected the presence of both beings standing together in the same place.
With the thunder's roar, the two shadows launched into battle.
Their hawks clashed fiercely in midair.
The figures vanished from one point in the sky and reappeared at another, striking each other with blinding speed. As they fought, trails of golden and black light streaked across the sky behind them.
Inside the mansion kitchen, Priya was preparing dinner with the servants when the sudden change in the weather caught everyone's attention. She walked to the window with them and looked up at the sky.
The armed men approaching the mansion also noticed the strange disturbance above them.
Seeing his men staring upward in confusion, their leader shouted angrily,
"You idiots! Stop looking at the sky and move toward the mansion! Whether the heavens split open or the earth shatters today—nothing will stop me from achieving my destiny!"
Priya, still gazing at the sky, slowly lowered her eyes and looked out through the window toward the open field outside the mansion.
In the darkness, she began to notice shadowy figures moving between the trees—slowly, carefully, hiding behind trunks as they advanced toward the mansion.
[1] Well, I personally have no knowledge about cars; however, I did consult a friend of mine, Digvijay, regarding this matter. Based on the suggestions he offered, the Bentley Arnage RL struck me as the most suitable car for the novel, considering the context of that specific era.