The drive back was quiet.
Not because nobody had anything to say.
Because everyone had too much to process.
The storm had finally passed.
Night had settled over the coastline, and the headlights of the bus cut through the darkness as they traveled along the empty road.
For the first time in days, Shristi sat awake beside Wick.
No whispers.
No blank stares.
No strange pauses.
Just Shristi.
Every few minutes she caught him looking at her.
Every single time.
Eventually she sighed.
"You're doing it again."
Wick glanced away.
"Doing what?"
"Checking if I'm possessed."
A few nearby people laughed.
Even Wick smiled.
"Can you blame me?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"Actually... no."
The answer earned another laugh.
For a little while, things felt normal.
Deep sat across the aisle with an ice pack pressed against his shoulder.
The injury from the abandoned house was starting to hurt properly now that the adrenaline had worn off.
Dipanshu looked over.
"How bad?"
Deep shrugged.
"I've had worse."
"You say that about everything."
"Because it's usually true."
Further back, Aryan was enthusiastically retelling the entire abandoned house incident.
For the fifth time.
And somehow making himself sound like the hero.
"I'd like everyone to remember that I bravely defended the group."
"You got thrown into a table."
Varsha replied.
"Details."
"You screamed."
"It was tactical screaming."
Nobody let him win that argument.
Prishka sat nearby, listening to the chaos with a small smile.
For the first time in days, she looked relaxed.
Exhausted.
But relaxed.
Every now and then she glanced toward Shristi.
Not because she was worried.
Because she wanted to make sure she was actually awake.
Still awake.
Still here.
Several hours later, the bus finally left the coastal road.
The town lights disappeared behind them.
The roads became quieter.
Lonelier.
Eventually...
They arrived.
The Tantric's residence stood at the edge of a small village surrounded by ancient trees.
Unlike the horror stories people imagined, it wasn't a creepy temple hidden deep inside a forest.
It looked surprisingly ordinary.
A large traditional house.
A quiet prayer hall.
Several oil lamps burning outside.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing theatrical.
Yet the moment Wick stepped out of the bus—
The Emerald Pendant turned ice cold.
Instantly.
His expression changed.
Prishka noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
The answer came too quickly.
Prishka narrowed her eyes.
"Liar."
Wick ignored her.
Because something else had already captured his attention.
An elderly man stood waiting near the entrance.
Not surprised.
Not curious.
Waiting.
As though he had known exactly when they would arrive.
The Tantric.
His gaze slowly moved across the group.
One person at a time.
Studying.
Observing.
Understanding.
Then his eyes settled on Wick.
And stayed there.
Longer than necessary.
The old man's expression shifted.
Only slightly.
But Wick noticed.
Recognition.
Not of his face.
Of something else.
Something far older.
Finally, the Tantric spoke.
"You took longer than I expected."
Deep blinked.
"Expected?"
The old man ignored the question.
His gaze shifted toward Shristi.
He nodded once.
"She's free."
Relief immediately spread through the group.
Even before he continued.
Then his attention moved.
Toward Sonal.
His smile vanished.
Completely.
Wick noticed instantly.
The others didn't.
The Tantric slowly approached her.
Sonal looked confused.
"Is something wrong?"
The old man studied her in silence.
Then sighed.
"Yes."
The single word killed every conversation.
The group froze.
"What?"
Deep asked.
The old man looked toward Wick.
Not Sonal.
Wick.
As though confirming something.
And Wick already knew.
He'd known since leaving the abandoned house.
The Tantric's voice became quiet.
"The sea spirit is gone."
Relief.
Then—
"But another remains."
The relief disappeared instantly.
Sonal's face drained of color.
"What does that mean?"
The old man gently placed two fingers against her forehead.
Closed his eyes.
For a brief moment—
The air inside the courtyard changed.
The temperature dropped.
The oil lamps flickered.
Several people instinctively stepped backward.
Then Sonal gasped.
A sound escaped her lips.
Not her voice.
Not entirely.
Something older.
Something tired.
Something frightened.
The Tantric opened his eyes.
"There you are."
The thing inside Sonal immediately panicked.
Everyone felt it.
The pressure.
The resistance.
The fear.
Unlike the Lady of the Sea...
This spirit wasn't powerful.
It wasn't ancient.
It wasn't dangerous anymore.
It was trapped.
The Tantric calmly sat down on the stone floor.
"Bring her."
That was all he said.
No dramatic speeches.
No rituals.
No concern.
As though this wasn't even difficult.
Prishka blinked.
"That's it?"
The old man looked at her.
"Would you prefer paperwork?"
For the first time all night, Dipanshu laughed.
Even Sonal managed a nervous smile.
The Tantric's expression never changed.
"Five minutes."
The confidence in his voice was absolute.
And for the first time since the nightmare began—
Everyone believed him.
The Tantric wasn't exaggerating.
That became obvious almost immediately.
For days, the group had been fighting things they didn't understand.
Ancient spirits.
Nightmare realms.
Possession.
Whispers.
Visions.
They had struggled for every answer.
Yet the old man sat cross-legged on the stone floor with the calm expression of someone preparing to drink tea.
Not battle a spirit.
Tea.
Aryan leaned toward Deep and whispered,
"Either he's incredibly powerful..."
"Or completely insane."
Deep finished.
"Exactly."
Prishka overheard them.
"To be fair, after this week those qualities aren't mutually exclusive."
Dipanshu laughed.
Even the Tantric's lips twitched slightly.
Meanwhile, Sonal sat opposite him.
Trying very hard not to panic.
"Am I possessed?"
The Tantric tilted his head.
"Technically."
"Technically?"
"Would 'partially haunted' make you feel better?"
"No."
"Then possessed it is."
Aryan immediately took two steps away.
Sonal pointed at him.
"Rude."
"I survived one possession already. I'm pacing myself."
Despite the situation, a few people laughed.
The tension eased slightly.
Only Wick wasn't laughing.
He stood quietly beside one of the courtyard pillars.
Watching.
Observing.
The Emerald Pendant still rested beneath his shirt.
Cold.
Silent.
The Tantric suddenly looked toward him.
"Take it off."
Everyone froze.
The old man wasn't looking at Sonal anymore.
He was looking directly at Wick.
Slowly, Wick removed the Emerald Pendant.
The moment it left his neck, several things happened at once.
The cold vanished.
The strange pressure he'd been carrying disappeared.
And the Tantric's expression became noticeably less concerned.
"Hm."
That was all he said.
Prishka noticed immediately.
"What was that?"
The old man looked toward her.
"Questions later."
A brief pause.
"Annoying people first."
"That's fair."
Prishka replied.
The ritual began.
No dramatic chanting.
No explosions.
No supernatural battle.
Nothing like the abandoned house.
The Tantric simply closed his eyes.
And spoke.
Softly.
Words older than anyone present could understand.
The courtyard fell silent.
The wind stopped.
The trees became still.
Even the insects seemed to disappear.
Sonal's expression changed immediately.
Her eyes widened.
Then narrowed.
Then widened again.
As though two different people were struggling to control the same face.
Deep instinctively stepped forward.
Without opening his eyes, the Tantric raised one finger.
Deep stopped immediately.
"How did he—"
"Don't ask."
Dipanshu whispered.
The chanting continued.
Then Sonal gasped.
A shadow appeared behind her.
Not fully visible.
Not solid.
Just enough.
A young woman.
The same braided stranger from the first hotel.
The one Prishka had noticed.
The one who whispered as Sonal walked past.
Varsha immediately grabbed Kritika's arm.
"Please tell me everyone can see that."
"Unfortunately... yes."
The spirit looked frightened.
Not violent.
Not angry.
Frightened.
Its gaze moved desperately around the courtyard.
Searching.
Looking for something.
Someone.
Then it stopped.
The spirit looked toward the Emerald Pendant resting beside Wick.
And suddenly understood.
The Lady of the Sea was gone.
Its master.
Its anchor.
Its protection.
Gone.
For the first time...
The spirit looked completely lost.
The Tantric opened his eyes.
"You can leave."
The spirit stared at him.
Confused.
"You are not bound anymore."
The courtyard remained silent.
Then something unexpected happened.
The spirit looked toward Sonal.
Not with hatred.
Not with malice.
With gratitude.
Almost as though Sonal had unknowingly given it shelter.
Then the spirit smiled.
A small, sad smile.
And disappeared.
Just like that.
No scream.
No fight.
No explosion.
Gone.
The pressure vanished instantly.
Sonal blinked.
Then looked around.
"What happened?"
The entire group collectively exhaled.
"You know..."
Aryan nodded.
"I've officially decided I hate vacations."
"That's your takeaway?"
Deep asked.
"What else am I supposed to learn from this?"
Nobody had an answer.
For the first time in days—
It was over.
Actually over.
The nightmare.
The possession.
The voices.
The dreams.
The Other Side.
The Lady of the Sea.
Everything.
Finally.
The group slowly relaxed.
Conversations returned.
People sat down.
Someone brought tea.
Aryan somehow found food.
Again.
Normal life began creeping back into the cracks.
Only three people remained quiet.
Wick.
Prishka.
And the Tantric.
Because all three had noticed the same thing.
The old man hadn't asked a single question about the possession.
Not one.
As though he already knew everything.
Eventually, Prishka crossed her arms.
"Okay."
The Tantric looked up.
"Okay what?"
"I've been patient for almost six minutes."
"Impressive."
"Thank you."
A pause.
"Now explain why you looked at Wick like he'd brought a tiger into your house."
Several heads immediately turned.
The Tantric sighed.
Slowly.
As though he'd hoped to avoid this conversation.
Unfortunately for him...
Prishka existed.
The old man's gaze shifted toward Wick.
Then toward the Emerald Pendant.
Then back toward Wick.
For the first time all night—
He looked genuinely puzzled.
"Because..."
A pause.
"That pendant should have destroyed him."
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody blinked.
The Tantric continued.
"Instead..."
His eyes narrowed.
"It was afraid of him."
And suddenly—
The nightmare wasn't over after all.
To be continued…
To be continued…