Two Days Later ,
The gates of the college loomed ahead, familiar yet different somehow. Two days had passed since the hospital, since the battle, since… Him.
Two long days spent in hospital corridors, between oxygen alarms and discharge papers. But Aarav hadn't let a single night pass without sending some ridiculous meme to cheer him up. Neel had quietly forwarded notes from every class, along with EMF updates.Path never told them about the attack or the temple incident.
Parth adjusted his bag strap, his mind oddly light despite everything.
> "New world. Same old hell. But this time, I'm not alone."
The conversation with Krishna played like a song in his head, echoing softly with every step he took toward the campus.
> "Aarav is Sahadev."
"Neel is Yuyutsu."
He wanted to laugh. He wanted to scream.
Mostly, he just wanted to see them again.
---
Of course, fate had other plans.
Just as Parth turned the corner near the bio lab building, someone came out of nowhere.
WHUMP!
> "Ow—watch it, blind topper!"
Parth stumbled back.
> "Are you—?! Not again..."
There she was.
Hair tied in a half-messy bun, lab coat crumpled, clutching a yellow notepad like it was her lifeline.
Soudamini Bose.
Better known as… Sia.
> "You again?" Parth narrowed his eyes.
> "You again?" she shot back, dusting herself like he had contaminated her aura.
They stared at each other, silent for two seconds.
> "You seriously need to stop teleporting into me like this," she muttered.
> "You're the one who's built like a malfunctioning GPS," Parth replied. "Always in the wrong place at the wrong time."
> "Wrong? Excuse me? I was minding my own business trying to survive this wretched MBBS course."
> "And I was trying to survive my peace of mind."
> "Ugh! Why are you always so serious?" she snapped.
> "Because someone has to be."
> "Oh please. You look like the type who reads Bhagavad Gita for fun."
He gave a tiny smirk.
> "...You'd be surprised."
Sia paused, blinked.
> "You're weird."
> "You're loud."
> "Whatever, brooding Brahmin boy."
> "Whatever, chaotic cyclone girl."
They parted like bickering storms going opposite directions.
Neither looked back.
Both smiled quietly.
---
Inside the boys' hostel lounge, two familiar faces waited.
> "There you are!" Aarav called out dramatically the moment he saw Parth.
"Tell me the truth—was Ashwatthama a hallucination or did we actually get cursed by a two-thousand-year-old zombie?"
Neel muttered dryly, "Technically immortal, not undead."
> "Same difference!" Aarav cried. "He stared into my soul, Parth. My soul. I'm never sleeping in a dark room again."
Parth snorted. "You already sleep with a galaxy projector and two stuffed owls."
> "And now I'll add garlic and Hanuman Chalisa to the combo."
Neel let out a rare chuckle.
Aarav threw a pillow at him.
Parth looked at the two — not just friends anymore.
Brother.
Ally.
His expression softened without warning.
> "Why are you staring?" Aarav raised an eyebrow.
"You okay? Is this some post-trauma symptom?"
Parth just smiled — that same annoying, mysterious smile that made Aarav suspicious.
> "Bro, seriously," Aarav snapped his fingers in front of him. "You high or what?"
Neel finally asked, "Did something happen?"
Parth shook his head. "Nope."
> Just found out you were my past-life blood relatives, but sure, nothing happened.
Also, I met Madhav. Again.
He looked between the two of them and quietly added in his mind:
> "You chose light. Again. And I remember."
---
Of course, Kaliyug doesn't care for epiphanies.
In class, the professor was already halfway through a rant about mitral valve prolapse.
Parth sat between Aarav and Neel, trying to focus. But his mind was all over the place.
Aarav passed him a folded note:
"Do you think Ashwatthama has a passport?"
Parth bit his cheek to stop himself from laughing. Neel wrote back:
"Probably forged. Danava style."
Parth stared at the whiteboard.
> "I've spoken to Madhav. I've fought demons. But now I need to memorize 27 cardiac anomalies like my life depends on it."
> "Crap. Kaliyug sucks."
He blinked once.
Twice.
"Mr. Vardhan," the professor snapped.
Parth jerked upright.
> "Name the primary diagnostic criteria for—"
> "Uh… inner peace?"
The class laughed.Parth's first embarrassing moment.
Professor frowned. "Get out. And come back when you're ready to study medicine instead of metaphysics."
As Parth gathered his notebook and left the room, Aarav whispered:
> "You good?"
Parth turned and smiled.
> "I'm not just good. I'm finally where I'm meant to be."
---
Parth stood near the corridor window. Outside, the sky had darkened again — clouds drifting like danava shadows, or maybe memories.
He didn't know what was coming next.
But he knew one thing.
> "They're here. I'm not alone. And I remember everything now."
His phone buzzed.
A message from Aarav:
> "Movie tonight? Or EMF hunting with Ghostbuster Neel?"
He replied:
> "Both."
---