Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
For several long moments, the only sound inside the abandoned house was the storm outside.
Rain hammered the broken windows.
Thunder rolled across the coastline.
And in the middle of it all, Wick stood perfectly fine with the Emerald Pendant hanging around his neck.
Aryan was the first to break the silence.
"Okay."
A pause.
"That's impossible."
---
"Thank you, Aryan."
Deep rubbed his forehead.
"Very useful observation."
---
"I'm serious!"
Aryan pointed dramatically.
"That's literally the cursed object. The entire reason we're here."
---
"Unfortunately, he's right."
Dipanshu muttered.
---
Everyone looked at Wick.
Waiting.
Expecting something.
Anything.
---
Nothing happened.
---
Wick looked down at the Emerald Pendant.
Then at Shristi.
Then toward Sonal.
His expression remained unreadable.
---
"How do you feel?"
Deep finally asked.
---
"Normal."
---
"That's concerning."
Aryan replied immediately.
---
"No, what's concerning is the fact that he's actually normal."
Dipanshu answered.
—
Meanwhile...
On the Other Side.
The battle hadn't ended.
Prishka breathing was ragged.
Blood stained the corner of her lips.
The golden rings around her wrists flickered weakly.
Across the shattered ruins, the Lady of the Sea watched her.
No longer amused.
No longer smiling.
Only furious.
"You sent him away."
Its countless voices echoed across the dead ocean.
Prishka wiped the blood from her nose.
"Yeah."
A tired smile crossed her face.
"You're welcome."
The spirit roared.
The entire sea rose behind it.
Towering walls of black water rushed toward her.
Prishka instinctively raised both hands.
A golden shield bloomed into existence.
The collision shook the entire realm.
Cracks spread across the shield instantly.
Her knees buckled.
"...Okay..."
she muttered through clenched teeth.
"...that one actually hurt."
The barrier shattered.
The shockwave hurled her across the ruins.
She rolled to a stop beside a broken pillar.
The spirit advanced slowly.
Certain.
Victorious.
"You are alone."
Prishka forced herself back onto trembling legs.
"Technically..."
She coughed.
"...you're alone too."
The creature frowned.
Then—
Something changed.
Far away...
Beyond the endless sea...
A silver light ignited.
The necklace.
Back in the real world...
Wick had placed it around Shristi's neck.
The silver thread connecting the spirit to its host suddenly glowed.
The Lady stopped walking.
Confusion crossed every face it wore.
"No..."
The whisper carried genuine fear.
The silver light spread rapidly through the thread.
Like fire racing along a fuse.
The spirit screamed.
Dark cracks appeared across its shifting body.
Black smoke poured from every wound.
Prishka stared.
"It worked..."
The Lady clawed desperately at the glowing thread.
Trying to tear it away.
Trying to escape.
Too late.
The necklace didn't destroy the Lady.
It imprisoned it once again.
The silver thread tightened.
The Lady fought desperately against the seal.
It was winning.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Back in the abandoned house…
Wick stared at the cursed emerald pendant in his hand.
The room had gone silent.
His eyes remained fixed on the emerald.
Prishka had said the protective necklace never failed.
The spirit came through this pendent.
And Shristi was running out of time.
A slow breath escaped him.
"If this works..."
He looked at his friends one last time.
"...then she lives."
"If someone has to become its host..."
A faint smile crossed Wick's face.
"...I'd rather it be me."
He had promised to protect her.
If that promise demanded his life…
Then so be it.
Wick tightened his grip on the emerald.
His heartbeat echoed in his ears.
He already knew what everyone else was thinking.
Once the pendant touched him...
There would be no coming back.
He accepted that.
Without another word...
Wick slowly lifted the cursed emerald pendant...
...and placed it around his own neck.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
On the Other Side—
The Lady of the Sea smiled.
Then laughed.
"So..."
"Another vessel."
"Another soul to claim."
It tried to reach Wick.
Then—
The laughter died.
Its smile vanished.
Its countless eyes widened.
"No..."
The emerald pendant resting against Wick's chest began to glow.
Not with darkness.
With gold.
The Lady trembled.
"What... are you...?"
Golden flames erupted across its body.
Not ordinary fire.
The same protective energy flowing through the necklace.
Even stronger.
The spirit shrieked.
Its entire form began burning from the inside.
Prishka felt the pressure crushing the realm disappear.
The whispers faded.
The black ocean calmed.
For the first time since arriving...
She could breathe.
The Lady collapsed to one knee.
Still burning.
Still trying to crawl toward the darkness.
Then...
Beyond the burning ruins...
Prishka saw her.
Shristi.
Curled up beneath a dead tree, wrapped in silver chains of mist.
Unconscious.
Waiting.
Prishka ran.
She slid to her knees beside her sister.
"Shristi..."
No response.
The chains tightened.
Prishka placed one glowing hand against them.
The golden light spread slowly.
One chain snapped.
Then another.
Then another.
The last restraint shattered into silver dust.
Shristi stirred.
Slowly opened her eyes.
Confused.
"...Di..."
Prishka laughed despite the tears in her eyes.
"There you are."
Behind them...
The Lady let out one final scream.
Prishka looked over her shoulder.
The ancient spirit was barely holding itself together.
Its body continued burning.
Breaking apart.
She helped Shristi to her feet.
Then faced the creature one last time.
A final golden shield formed around her fist.
Smaller than before.
But perfectly stable.
She smiled.
"No sequel."
The Lady lunged one final time.
Prishka stepped forward.
The Lady lunged.
Prishka didn't move.
She waited.
One step.
Two.
Then she drove her glowing fist straight through the center of its burning chest.
The golden shield collided with the burning spirit.
The impact exploded across the Other Side.
Golden light consumed the darkness.
The ruins trembled.
The ocean split apart.
The Lady shattered into countless fragments of black ash that dissolved into the wind.
Prishka lowered her hand.
A long breath escaped her.
"...The bitch ends here."
The dead sky began to crack.
The Other Side collapsed around them.
Silver light engulfed both sisters.
Then...
Everything faded to white.
---
Back in the abandoned house...
For a brief moment, the tension eased.
Only slightly.
Then something changed.
Prishka's body moved.
At first it was subtle.
A twitch of her fingers.
Then another.
Deep saw it first.
"Guys."
Everyone turned.
Prishka's breathing had changed.
The color was slowly returning to her face.
A second later—
Her eyes opened.
The room collectively exhaled.
"Welcome back, nerd."
Dipanshu said immediately.
Prishka blinked.
Stared at the ceiling.
Then at the room.
Then at Dipanshu.
"I leave you people alone for ten minutes..."
Deep laughed despite himself.
"Good. She's still annoying."
Prishka slowly sat up.
Then froze.
"Wick."
Something in her voice immediately caught everyone's attention.
She was staring directly at the Emerald Pendant.
"Wick..."
Her expression changed.
"What did you do?"
"It was a very reasonable decision."
"No."
"It wasn't."
Deep interrupted.
"Not even slightly."
Before the argument could continue—
Another movement drew everyone's attention.
Shristi.
The room instantly went silent.
Her fingers twitched.
Then again.
Slowly...
Painfully slowly...
Her eyes opened.
For a moment she simply stared at the ceiling.
Confused.
Disoriented.
Lost.
Then her gaze found Wick.
And everything else disappeared.
"Wick?"
The single word nearly broke him.
Because for the first time in days—
It sounded like her.
Not the spirit.
Not the possession.
Not the voice from the darkness.
Her.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
"You came."
Wick smiled.
"Took you long enough."
His voice was softer now.
The tension finally leaving it.
Shristi sat up slowly.
Still confused.
Still weak.
"What happened?"
Nobody knew where to begin.
"You missed a few things."
Aryan said.
"A few?"
Dipanshu stared at him.
"Brother, she missed an entire horror movie."
For the first time, Shristi smiled.
A small one.
But real.
And everyone felt it.
The pressure was gone.
The darkness.
The weight.
The constant feeling that something was watching.
Gone.
Deep looked toward Prishka.
Prishka looked toward Wick.
And both reached the same conclusion.
The sea spirit was gone.
Finally.
Then Sonal laughed.
The room froze.
Because the laugh wasn't hers.
Not completely.
A cold silence spread through the room.
Sonal's expression twisted.
Just for a moment.
Then returned to normal.
Nobody liked that.
Not one bit.
Prishka immediately stood.
"That's not over."
Wick nodded.
"I know."
Deep looked between them.
"Please tell me we're not doing this again."
"We are."
Prishka answered.
Deep closed his eyes.
"Fantastic."
Sonal slowly looked around the room.
Confused.
Then frowned.
"Why is everyone staring at me?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody wanted to be the one to explain.
The silence lasted several seconds.
Then Wick finally looked toward the storm outside.
"We leave."
Everyone blinked.
"What?"
Varsha asked.
"The spirit attached to the Emerald Pendant is gone."
His hand moved to the pendant around his neck.
"But whatever is inside Sonal isn't."
Wick nodded.
"And I know someone who can deal with it."
"The Tantric."
Deep realized immediately.
"Exactly."
Outside, the storm had finally begun to weaken.
The rain was slowing.
The wind was dying.
And for the first time in hours, the path down the hill looked visible.
The group quickly gathered their things.
Nobody wanted to spend another minute inside the abandoned house.
Not after what had happened there.
As they prepared to leave, Shristi quietly stepped beside Wick.
Neither spoke at first.
They simply stood there.
Shristi's eyes slowly drifted toward the Emerald Pendant resting against Wick's chest.
She frowned.
"Wait..."
She looked back at Prishka.
Then at Deep.
Finally at Wick.
"...Why are you wearing that?"
Nobody answered.
The silence told her everything.
Her expression slowly changed.
"What did you do?"
Deep sighed.
"He thought the spirit would leave you and take him instead."
"He... what?"
Her voice barely escaped.
Dipanshu folded his arms.
"We tried to stop him."
"He didn't listen."
Aryan nodded.
"As usual."
Shristi looked back at Wick.
"You actually did that?"
Wick rubbed the back of his neck.
"It seemed like the fastest option."
"The fastest option?"
She took a slow step toward him.
"You were willing to die..."
"...for me?"
Wick met her eyes.
"If that's what it took. But does it matter now as everyone's fine"
For several seconds she simply stared at him.
Then...
A smile appeared.
Not a shy smile.
Not an embarrassed one.
A proud one.
"You absolute idiot."
Before anyone could react, she grabbed him by the shirt.
"You are impossible."
Around them, the room suddenly became fascinated with absolutely anything except the two of them.
Deep cleared his throat and looked at the ceiling.
Dipanshu studied a crack in the wall with great interest.
Prishka smirked.
"Cowards."
Nobody responded.
Their lips met.
Not hesitantly.
Not timidly.
Like someone who had already made up her mind.
The kiss lasted only a few seconds.
Gentle.
Quiet.
The kind of kiss that said everything neither of them could put into words.
The room fell completely silent.
Aryan's jaw dropped.
"I've been watching horror movies with these two for days..."
He looked around the room.
"...When did it become a romance?"
Varsha smacked the back of his head.
"Will you shut up for five seconds?"
When she finally pulled away, Shristi rested her forehead against his.
"That's for being my hero today."
She smiled again.
"And this..."
She leaned in and gave him one quick peck on the cheek.
"...is because I'm incredibly proud of you."
Wick blinked a few times, still processing what had just happened.
"...Worth it."
Shristi laughed.
"Don't let it go to your head."
"Oh, it's absolutely going to my head."
She rolled her eyes.
"I walked right into that one."
"I wasn't the only one."
He looked toward Prishka.
"If anyone deserves the MVP award..."
"...it's her too."
Prishka's eyes immediately lit up.
A slow grin spread across her face.
Without saying a word, she confidently walked over and opened both arms.
"Come."
Shristi looked at her.
Then at the open arms.
"...No."
Prishka blinked.
"No?"
"No."
"You're not getting a kiss."
A dramatic pause.
"You didn't almost sacrifice yourself."
Prishka placed a hand over her heart.
"I fought an ancient sea demon."
"I literally punched a god."
"I unlocked magical powers."
"I saved your soul."
Another pause.
"I feel like I've earned at least a forehead kiss."
Aryan nodded seriously.
"Honestly..."
"...she makes a compelling argument."
Varsha smacked him.
"Whose side are you on?"
"The funniest one."
Prishka sighed dramatically.
"Fine."
She folded her arms.
"I save my sister once..."
"...and suddenly there are budget cuts."
Shristi laughed.
"You are unbelievable."
She stepped forward anyway...
...and wrapped Prishka in a tight hug.
"There."
"You get the deluxe sister package."
Prishka hugged her back with a smug smile.
"Hah."
She looked directly at Wick.
"See?"
"I got the better reward."
Wick shrugged.
"I'll allow it."
For the first time all day, Wick laughed.
Dipanshu looked around the room.
"Can we leave before another ancient horror develops abandonment issues?"
A few minutes later, the group finally stepped outside.
The storm had passed.
The coastline stretched beneath a dark evening sky.
Fresh air filled their lungs.
Freedom.
Relief.
Survival.
As they walked down the hill, nobody noticed Sonal glance back toward the abandoned house one final time.
And for a brief moment—
Something glanced back.
To be continued…