Chapter 8 — Something Feels Off
The night felt unusually quiet.
Not calm—
just… different.
Kai sat in the living room, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
The ticking clock echoed louder than usual.
8 PM.
Dev leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching him.
"You've been like this for a while," Dev said.
"What's going on?"
Kai didn't answer immediately.
"I can see it," he said quietly.
Dev frowned.
"See what?"
Kai's gaze shifted slightly, as if trying to focus on something invisible.
"I don't know how to explain it…"
he muttered.
"But something feels off."
Silence followed.
Dev straightened.
"Since when?"
Kai exhaled slowly.
"Since… yesterday."
The word lingered in the air.
Dev's expression hardened just a little.
Yesterday.
That was when everything started changing.
From the kitchen, Nikora's voice echoed—
"Dev, Kai, Nilesh—come. I've served the food."
Kai didn't move.
Dev noticed.
"Hey," Dev said,
"you coming?"
Kai glanced toward the hallway, then back at the clock.
8:01 PM.
"…You go ahead," he said.
Dev narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You sure?"
Kai gave a small nod.
Dev didn't push further.
He turned and walked toward the kitchen.
Kai remained seated.
The ticking continued.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
Then—
he stood up.
Slowly.
He walked toward his room.
The door creaked open.
Inside, everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Kai stepped in and closed the door behind him.
For a moment, he just stood there.
Then his gaze shifted—
toward the corner of the room.
Nothing.
And yet—
he felt like something was there.
Watching.
He clenched his fist slightly.
"This doesn't make sense…" he whispered.
A faint chill ran through him.
Then—
his phone buzzed.
Kai blinked.
He pulled it out.
A message.
Unknown number.
He hesitated… then opened it.
"Come to the grave."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
No name.
No explanation.
Just that line.
He stared at the screen.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
a second message appeared.
"Krishna."
Kai's grip tightened.
The room felt colder.
He looked up again—
toward the same empty corner.
This time—
he didn't feel alone.
Silence settled.
Heavy.
Kai took a slow breath.