Kunal looked down at his hand, realizing that the sword he had been holding earlier was no longer there. It must have fallen somewhere in the room during the fight. He checked his watch — dawn was only a few hours away.
"The dice is gone too…" he muttered quietly.
He began searching the same room where the battle had taken place, with cub walking beside him.
As they walked through the gallery, his shoulder accidentally struck a wall painting. The frame fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.
Annoyed, he bent down to move the broken painting aside — but then he noticed something unusual.
Two folded pages had been hidden behind it.
Inside them was a small slip of paper.
It read:
Book Number: 375
Shelf Number: 195
Code Number: 276
Kunal silently slipped the paper into his pocket.
After searching a little longer, he finally found the room where his sword lying near a corner.
He picked it up and noticed something strange. When he had first seen it, the blade had been completely rusted and dull. Now, the rust had reduced significantly, and the edge felt sharper than before.
Without thinking much about it, he decided to keep it with him.
At that moment, cub's stomach growled.
Kunal paused.
None of us have eaten for a long time… he realized.
After all, we've been fighting the whole night just to survive.
He carried the sword with him to the ground floor, took some food from his bag and gave it to the cub. While eating, his thoughts kept returning to one thing — the spirits.
Last time I fought one… I barely survived, he thought.
I can't kill them… only defend myself.
Will they come again tonight?
After finishing his meal, his right hand wrist accidentally touched the sword.
He rolled up his sleeve and looked at the birthmark on his wrist. A faint sensation of warmth spread across his skin.
But his face remained completely expressionless — calm, controlled, and unreadable.
He then took out some clothes and a thick needle from his bag. Carefully, he stitched together a temporary cover shaped like a sword sheath and placed the weapon inside it.
Once everything was arranged, he leaned back against the wall.
Within minutes, exhaustion took over.
He fell asleep.
When he woke up again, sunlight was already entering through the broken windows.
It was afternoon — around 2 PM.
For a moment, confusion crossed his mind.
How did I sleep this long?
He immediately stood up and realize cub was not there.
He began searching for Cub, calling out throughout the mansion. His voice echoed through the empty halls, but there was no response.
Ground floor. First floor. Nothing.
A strange thought entered his mind.
While I was sleeping… did the spirits come here?
Did they take him?
His chest tightened.
His eyes filled with tears.
But he forced himself to stay calm and continued searching.
Finally, he reached the second floor again — near the gate that had previously been closed.
This time, it was open.
He slowly stepped inside the room.
Everything was destroyed.
The floor was cracked. Walls were fractured. Debris lay scattered everywhere. Apart from the damage, there was nothing unusual inside.
He turned to leave.
Then —
Clang.
A metallic sound echoed behind him.
He froze.
Slowly… he turned around.
A curtain was hanging near the wall.
As he pulled it aside, he discovered a narrow passage hidden behind it. Darkness filled the space beyond. He took out his torch and focused the beam forward.
At first, there was nothing.
Then…
Two faint red lights appeared in the distance.
Eyes.
They were moving.
Slowly approaching.
His muscles tightened.
The red glow intensified as the figure stepped closer, emerging from the darkness.
Kunal's expression did not change.
Without hesitation, he pulled out his sword.
A cold sensation crawled up his spine, yet his grip on the sword
In the next second —
He lunged forward at full speed.
The distance between them vanished in a single breath and swung the blade with maximum force toward the approaching figure...
© Kunal Singh
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