Tanvir couldn't sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes—The symbol appeared.
Not just as an image…But as something alive.
Breathing.
Watching.
Calling him.
He sat on his bed, staring at his hands again.
Still clean.
Still normal.
But the feeling remained—
Like blood was there, just invisible.
Then—
A knock.
Soft.
Precise.
Three times.
Tanvir froze.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
He walked slowly to the door and opened it.
And there she was.
A girl.
Standing still.
Eyes locked on him.
Unblinking.
"I was looking for you," she said softly.
Her voice didn't match the world around her.
Too calm.
Too certain.
"Do I know you?" Tanvir asked.
She tilted her head slightly.
"You will."
Something about her presence disturbed him…Yet pulled him closer at the same time.
"What's your name?"
She smiled faintly.
"Tanzila."
The moment her name left her lips—
Tanvir felt it.
That same voice from the alley.
But this time—
It wasn't threatening.
It was… curious.
Tanzila stepped closer.
Too close.
"You touched it, didn't you?" she whispered.
Tanvir's breath hitched.
"How do you—"
"I've been waiting," she interrupted.
"For you to remember."
"Remember what?"
Her eyes softened.
And for a moment—
There was something human in them.
"Us."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Tanvir felt his heartbeat rise now.
Not from fear.
But something else.
Something dangerous.
"Why do I feel like I already know you?" he asked quietly.
Tanzila stepped even closer.
Close enough that he could feel her breath.
"Because," she said—
"You never forgot me."
And then—
She reached for his hand.
The moment their fingers touched—
Tanvir saw it.
Flashes.
Blood.
Fire.
Himself—
Standing over countless bodies.
Smiling.
Not scared.
Not guilty.
Powerful.
And beside him—
Tanzila.
Looking at him not with fear—
But love.
Tanvir jerked his hand away.
"What… am I?"
Tanzila didn't answer immediately.
She just looked at him.
Softly.
Almost painfully.
"You're the end of something," she said.
"And the beginning of everything."