Aarav slowly opened his eyes.
For a moment he simply stared at his hands, feeling the strange new energy flowing through his body. It moved like a quiet storm inside him—calm yet overwhelmingly powerful.
A wave of excitement spread across his face.
Then he suddenly burst into laughter.
"Yes! I finally did it!"
His eyes sparkled as realization filled his mind.
"Of course… different fantasy worlds, different realms, different timelines… which means different essences!"
He stood up energetically, his voice full of excitement.
"Indian fantasy requires Indian cultivation. That's why I couldn't recreate this power in those other universes."
"How could I forget something so obvious?"
He clenched his fist tightly.
"But this technique… this one is different."
"It's basically a soul cultivation technique."
"So even if I transmigrate again… I'll still have power to rely on."
A wild grin spread across his face.
"That's the true essence of bending the universe!"
He threw his head back and started laughing loudly toward the sky.
"Hahahahaha!"
---
Meanwhile…
Kirti and the others had already climbed onto the roof.
They stood there silently, watching Aarav laugh like a madman.
A few seconds later Aarav noticed them.
His laughter instantly stopped.
Embarrassment spread across his face.
Kirti crossed her arms and commented casually,
"Looks like Vanshika's spirit has possessed my brother."
Aarav rolled his eyes.
"Shut up, idiot brain."
Kirti smirked.
"Maybe not a spirit… but he definitely went mentally unstable."
She turned toward the others.
"Should we take him to a doctor?"
Aarav sighed in frustration.
"I'm just happy because I gained a new power, alright?"
The moment everyone heard the word power, their expressions changed.
Kirti's eyes widened.
"Power?"
Aarav paused.
He had been thinking about this already.
The world had changed a lot… and now everyone had seen things that normal people weren't supposed to see.
There was a good chance he might have to use his abilities in front of them someday.
So he decided to give them a small hint now, just so they wouldn't ask too many questions later.
Aarav looked toward a small flower pot placed nearby.
He slowly raised his hand.
The pot trembled slightly…
Then it began floating in the air.
Everyone gasped.
A moment later Aarav lowered his hand and the pot returned to its place.
He immediately wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead, acting tired.
"For now… this is the best I can do."
"But one day…"
He looked toward the sky dramatically.
"I'll become as powerful as Superman!"
Then he started laughing like a lunatic again.
"Hahahahaha!"
Seeing this, everyone simply ignored him and started walking downstairs.
Aarav panicked.
"Hey! What happened? Don't you believe me?"
"I can really become powerful! Hey—listen!"
But no one paid attention.
---
A little later…
Shakshi and Venkatesh were sitting alone in a room.
Shakshi looked at him thoughtfully.
"What do you think?"
Venkatesh frowned.
"What do you mean?"
She sighed.
"I mean Aarav."
Venkatesh nodded slightly.
"Oh… Aarav."
He shrugged.
"He seems a little crazy from the outside, but he's actually very smart."
Shakshi shook her head.
"That's not what I meant."
"I was talking about his powers."
Venkatesh shrugged again.
"What powers?"
"He just lifted a flower pot with his mind."
"Come on… compared to Vanshika's dark powers, that's nothing weird."
Shakshi looked worried.
"I know… but I'm scared something might happen to him because of all this."
She lowered her gaze.
"I think we should return to the city."
"I shouldn't have come here in the first place."
"We should go back… and you can return to your work again."
She stopped speaking midway.
The word divorce suddenly came to her mind.
Her expression softened.
"I'm sorry."
Venkatesh looked confused.
"For what?"
Shakshi sighed.
"For everything."
"I should have tried to understand you too."
"I still regret some of my decisions."
"This trip… gave me a chance to understand you again."
She smiled faintly.
"Even if we're no longer in love… you're still a good father."
"And you always will be."
"No one can replace you in their lives."
Venkatesh smiled with a slightly smug expression.
"I know."
"And don't worry… I don't blame you."
"I was at fault too. I never gave you enough time."
He leaned back slightly.
"This trip showed me a completely different world as well."
Then he asked casually,
"You'll take care of the kids, right?"
Shakshi immediately frowned.
"What do you mean? Don't you have any responsibility?"
Venkatesh quickly shook his head.
"No, that's not what I meant."
"I'm just busy most of the time… so it's better if they stay with you."
"And don't worry—I'll support them."
Shakshi chuckled lightly.
"No need to worry about that."
"I'll take care of them."
"Just send the monthly expenses."
They both looked at each other.
Slowly… they moved closer.
Shakshi whispered softly,
"This will be our last…"
---
Meanwhile…
Under the dark sky illuminated by moonlight, Aarav walked through the forest.
Soon he arrived at the banyan tree again.
The same tree where Vanshika had been imprisoned.
A voice echoed in the area.
"Hello… little boss."
Aarav looked at the tree.
A powerful sealing formation still surrounded it.
He raised his hand and began altering the sealing patterns.
A moment later—
A dark figure slowly emerged from the trunk of the tree.
Vanshika floated in the air, staring at her hands in shock.
"I'm… free?"
"How is this possible?"
Aarav smiled confidently.
"I told you before."
"Freeing you is just child's play for me."
---
Meanwhile…
Not far away, a young man around twenty-five was walking along a forest path while humming happily.
"Yahan wahan ghoome dhundhta phire hai dil…"
He was wearing a flower-print shirt and yellow pants.
Suddenly his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
"Jaan" was calling.
He picked up immediately.
"Hey babe, I'm here already. Why are you so nervous?"
A frightened voice came from the other side.
"How can I not be nervous?!"
"Don't you know about Vanshika? If she catches us, we'll meet in Yamlok!"
The young man laughed.
"Relax. She only hunts men anyway."
"And besides, the big master already sealed her."
"What can she possibly do now?"
He laughed again.
"I'm almost there."
Within a minute he reached a pond.
A girl was sitting near the water.
He grinned excitedly.
"Teri meri, meri teri… prem kahani hai mushkil…"
But the girl didn't react at all.
She just sat there silently.
Confused, he walked closer and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong? Why are you so quiet—"
His words suddenly stopped.
The girl's body fell sideways into the pond.
Her head rolled off separately, slowly sinking into the water.
The man's entire body began trembling.
He slowly stepped backward.
But suddenly he bumped into something behind him.
He looked up.
Standing behind him was a horrifying creature.
Its nose was long and crooked downward.
Its face looked like rotten flesh.
Long tangled hair hung over its shoulders.
It wore sticky black clothing that covered its entire body.
In its hand was a massive axe-like weapon.
Before the man could react—
The creature swung the weapon.
A terrifying scream echoed through the forest.
---
Far away in the forest…
Aarav suddenly froze.
He heard the scream.
His eyes narrowed.
"What was that?"
Vanshika's expression turned pale.
"That… was a demon."
Aarav frowned.
"But the demon is sealed inside a cave."
"Then this must be one of its pawns."
Without wasting another second, Aarav dashed toward the direction of the scream.
Vanshika floated quickly behind him.
The hunt had begun.
A few moments later, Aarav and Vanshika arrived near the pond.
Aarav scanned the area carefully, his eyes moving across the dark forest.
But there was no one there.
Only silence.
Suddenly, Vanshika sniffed the air.
Her expression changed.
"The smell of blood…"
She slowly moved toward the spot where the two people had been killed earlier.
Aarav followed her and soon noticed the dark stains on the ground.
The air around the place felt heavy and cold.
Vanshika's voice deepened.
"The sacrifices haven't stopped."
"The demon is still offering blood sacrifices to free himself."
Hearing this, Aarav's mood immediately darkened.
Right now, he simply didn't possess enough power to fight a true demon.
He raised his head and looked at the moon hanging in the sky.
"I'm not that afraid of the demon itself," Aarav said quietly.
"What I'm afraid of… is the Hell Gate opening."
His eyes narrowed.
"If Satan can send his pawns here already… imagine what will happen when the Hell Gate actually opens."
His voice turned cold.
"We must kill Satan before that happens."
He looked directly at Vanshika.
"And for that… you'll have to become the Hell Queen."
Vanshika frowned.
"My power source isn't like Satan's."
"These killings… they were my source of strength."
She sighed.
"That's how dark entities obtain power."
Aarav stared at her strangely.
"That's because all of you are idiots."
Without explaining further, he tossed a scroll toward her.
Vanshika caught it and opened it.
The moment she looked at it, her eyes widened.
"Are you making fun of me?"
Aarav blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Vanshika raised the scroll.
"It's written in Chinese."
"I don't know Chinese."
Aarav scratched his head awkwardly.
"I thought they taught all languages in Hell."
Vanshika gave him a strange look.
"I haven't been to Hell for five hundred years."
"And back then… Chinese wasn't exactly common there."
Aarav coughed awkwardly.
"Right… fair point."
He quickly pulled out another scroll and began writing again.
This time he created a new demonic cultivation technique and tossed the scroll toward her.
Vanshika opened it.
This time the scroll described methods of absorbing dark energy and cultivating it through a structured system.
Her brows furrowed.
"You're saying… we can gather dark energy like this?"
She looked thoughtful.
"I've heard about chakras before… but can something like that work for beings like us?"
Aarav shrugged.
"Why don't you try it and find out?"
"In theory, it should work."
Truthfully, Aarav had used a similar technique in the past.
But this time he had made several modifications.
For example:
The technique would naturally bind Vanshika to follow his commands.
And he had also adjusted the energy essence so it would match this universe's rules.
His cultivation framework was almost like open-source architecture.
Each technique could adapt to different systems and energy structures.
As far as Aarav understood, every universe had different energy signatures.
But all of them followed the same fundamental rule:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
It can only change form… be compressed… or expanded.
After reading the scroll carefully, Vanshika frowned again.
"But dark energy usually requires ritual sacrifices."
"That's why Tantric rituals and offerings exist."
"How can we cultivate dark energy without sacrifices?"
Aarav smiled slightly.
"Who said you couldn't?"
Then he said calmly,
"What if I gave you an entire village full of dark energy?"
Vanshika immediately looked at him with interest.
Aarav continued,
"There's a village in South India."
"Durgavalli."
"That village is filled with cannibals."
"Every single person there feeds on human flesh."
"And they're all followers of Satan."
He looked at her calmly.
"I think that should be enough energy to turn you into an immortal Hell Queen."
He paused.
"But before that… you'll need a human body."
Vanshika's eyes immediately sparkled.
"You mean—"
But Aarav raised his hand and interrupted her.
"No."
"I'm not telling you to take over Anaya or Aliya's body like you originally planned."
Vanshika froze.
"How did you—"
She hesitated before finishing the sentence.
Aarav chuckled lightly.
"Is it really important how I know?"
He looked at her calmly.
"You planned to possess your own daughter's body."
"You even marked her for it."
"And if something happened to her… your backup plan was Aliya."
Vanshika lowered her head in shame.
Aarav spoke calmly.
"I'm not judging your character."
"But you should establish some boundaries."
"Boundaries help keep your mind stable."
"Otherwise… there's no difference between you and Satan."
Vanshika remained silent.
Her head stayed lowered.
After a moment Aarav said,
"I wasn't talking about stealing someone else's body."
"I meant your own body."
Vanshika looked confused.
"But it was burned."
Aarav raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure?"
Vanshika fell silent.
She began recalling the day she died.
"I'm sure," she said slowly.
"I was burning… and then I died."
Aarav tilted his head.
"But you had Satan's blood in your veins."
"So tell me…"
"Can mortal fire really burn the body of a demon?"
Vanshika's eyes widened.
"But I died…"
"That means my body burned… and when I entered the human world I became a normal human."
Aarav chuckled softly.
"Maybe Aliya became human."
"She reincarnated as one."
"But you…"
"You came directly from Hell to find your sister."
"So how did you convince yourself that you became human?"
Vanshika answered quietly,
"I couldn't use my powers."
Aarav nodded.
"That's because dark entities use environmental dark energy directly."
"You don't cultivate it."
"So when the environment lacks dark energy… you become weak."
"That's exactly why Satan is spreading his influence here."
"He's preparing this world so it becomes suitable for him."
Vanshika was stunned.
"Then… where is my body now?"
Aarav smiled.
"In the mansion."
Vanshika immediately looked toward the direction of the haveli.
Aarav continued calmly.
"Suraj's father… the one everyone calls the Big Master…"
"He did kill you."
"But your body wasn't destroyed."
"When he saw that, he secretly took it to the mansion."
"And stored it in a coffin inside a hidden basement."
Vanshika clenched her teeth.
"That bastard landlord."
"He pretended to be a saint outside… but he was a filthy pervert."
"He had been eyeing me for a long time."
"When I rejected him, he decided to eliminate me."
"That's why the first person I killed… was him."
Aarav waved his hand casually.
"Alright."
"I've shown you the path."
"Now it's your job to walk it."
His voice suddenly turned cold.
"And remember…"
"If you ever try to double-cross me…"
"You'll see my Satan form before you ever face Satan himself."
The threat was bone-chilling.
Normally Vanshika wouldn't take such threats seriously.
But today…
Something about Aarav's words made her feel a genuine chill.
As if he truly possessed the power to do it.
In the next moment—
Aarav disappeared from her sight.
Vanshika stared at the empty space for a moment.
Then she turned toward the direction of the haveli.
And flew into the night.
When Vanshika finally arrived at the mansion, she silently entered the abandoned warehouse hidden behind the main building.
The moment her gaze fell upon the structure inside, her eyes widened in realization.
A coffin.
But not an ordinary one.
The entire coffin had been carefully carved out of pure silver.
Vanshika stared at it in shock before murmuring slowly,
"So that's why… I couldn't sense my body."
Her voice turned colder.
"It was sealed inside silver."
In this world, silver was a natural resistor to dark energy. Any dark entity sealed inside a silver structure would find it extremely difficult to sense or reconnect with their body.
No wonder she had been unable to locate it for so long.
A faint killing intent flickered inside her crimson eyes.
Without wasting another second, Vanshika raised her hand.
A ripple of dark energy spread from her palm.
Crack.
The coffin lid slowly lifted into the air as if pulled by an invisible force.
And then…
She saw it.
Her body.
The moment Vanshika saw her own corpse lying inside the coffin, a terrifying rage surged through her.
Her body had been completely naked.
Not a single piece of clothing covered it.
For a moment, Vanshika's expression turned extremely ugly.
Her teeth clenched tightly as a horrifying thought crossed her mind.
The body had not simply been sealed here.
Someone had definitely touched it.
Someone had kept it here like some twisted treasure.
Her fists slowly tightened.
But instead of exploding in rage, Vanshika closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Then she exhaled slowly.
When she opened her eyes again…
They were glowing with a bone-chilling red light.
Her voice echoed inside the silent warehouse.
"I will burn this entire mansion to ashes."
The next moment—
Her spirit instantly merged with the body inside the coffin.
For a brief second, the corpse remained still.
Then suddenly—
Thump.
The body inside the coffin opened its eyes.
A crimson glow exploded out of her pupils.
Dark energy surged violently through the room as her body slowly rose from the coffin.
Crimson light began forming around her body like threads of fire.
Within seconds, the energy shaped itself into clothing.
A long crimson robe.
Black pants beneath it.
Her long hair floated slowly as if moved by invisible winds while her body levitated out of the coffin.
Crimson energy flickered in her palm like living flames.
Her eyes glowed like two burning rubies.
Without saying another word, Vanshika raised her hand slightly.
The next moment—
BOOM.
Dark crimson flames erupted across the mansion.
Unlike normal fire, these flames carried a strange coldness within them.
Walls caught fire.
Wood burst apart.
Hidden passages ignited.
Within seconds, the entire mansion began burning like a sacrificial altar.
Vanshika calmly floated out of the mansion while the flames spread behind her.
She didn't even bother looking back.
Her revenge had only begun.
Meanwhile—
Inside the mansion, Suraj was fast asleep in his room when suddenly his nose twitched.
A strange smell reached him.
Burning.
His eyes snapped open.
"What…?"
He sat up in confusion.
"What is that burning smell?"
At the same time, Rasika also woke up because of the same smell.
Both of them quickly walked toward a wall where thin smoke was leaking through the cracks.
Rasika frowned.
"What kind of smoke is this? What's behind this wall?"
Suraj shrugged.
"I don't know—"
Before he could finish—
BOOM!
A loud explosion erupted from the other side.
Cracks instantly spread across the wall.
And the next moment—
Flames burst through it.
Suraj's eyes widened.
"Fire! Fire!"
He immediately started shouting.
"Bring water! Quick!"