Arnav didn't move.
Not a step back.
Not a glance away.
"I know who I am," he said evenly, his voice cutting through the charged air. "So if you don't mind… you can go back to whatever hole you crawled out of."
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then Kapalika smiled.
Not offended.
Not angered.
Amused.
"I haven't come all this way to leave so easily," she replied softly. "I've come to take you home."
Arnav's eyes hardened. "This is my home."
Kapalika tilted her head, her braid swaying like a living thing. "Not that home," she said. "I mean your real one."
The air grew colder.
"To your real mother," Kapalika continued, her voice dropping into something almost reverent.
"Maha Daayan… Mohana."
The word struck like thunder.
Ranav sucked in a sharp breath. Arav's face drained of color, his hand gripping Arnav's arm instinctively.
"What nonsense is this?" Ranav snapped, trying to regain control. "You think you can scare us with—"
Arnav lifted a hand, silencing him without looking away.
His gaze stayed fixed on Kapalika. "First," he said slowly, each word deliberate, "I don't consider Mohana my mother."
Kapalika's smile twitched—but only briefly.
"And second," Arnav continued, voice calm but dangerous, "do you really believe you're capable of taking me anywhere?"
The wind surged suddenly, whipping dust and leaves around them.
Kapalika laughed—low, satisfied. "Of course not," she admitted. "You are Daavansh. Far more powerful than I am."
Arav frowned. "Then why are you still standing here?"
Kapalika's eyes gleamed. "Because," she said softly, "I didn't come alone."
The ground beneath them trembled.
A deep, unnatural crack split the earth behind Kapalika.
Ranav instinctively raised his gun again. "Arnav—"
Too late.
Two figures rose slowly from the soil itself, as if the ground were birthing them.
Manjulika.
Anjulika.
Their bodies twisted unnaturally as they emerged, feet reversed, heads snapping upright in perfect unison. Long braids whipped violently through the air, slicing shadows across the road.
The sisters smiled.
Not at the brothers.
Only at Arnav.
"Now," Kapalika said, stepping aside, her voice rich with anticipation, "this feels more… balanced."
Arnav's fists clenched at his sides.
Something ancient stirred in his chest—answering their presence, resisting it at the same time.
Ranav swallowed hard. "Bhaiya," he said under his breath, "tell me you have a plan."
Arnav didn't look away from the three daayans now surrounding him.
"I do," he said quietly.
The night seemed to hold its breath.
And darkness leaned closer.
---
Kapalika's gaze flicked briefly toward Ranav and Arav.
"You two," she said coolly, almost kindly, "should step away. We haven't come for you."
The wind tugged at her braid as she added, "Run. This moment isn't meant for humans."
For a fraction of a second, silence hung between the brothers.
Then Arav stepped forward.
"No," he said simply.
Ranav followed, planting himself firmly beside Arnav. "We're not going anywhere."
Kapalika arched a brow. "You should be afraid."
Arav let out a shaky breath, but his voice held. "We are. But he's our brother."
Ranav didn't look at Arnav—his eyes stayed locked on the daayans. "And we don't leave our own behind."
Something unreadable flickered across Kapalika's face. Annoyance. Curiosity. Perhaps amusement.
Ranav raised his gun.
"Last warning," he said. "Step back."
The night seemed to pause.
Ranav pulled the trigger.
The gunshot cracked through the air—
—and froze.
The bullet hung mid-air, spinning helplessly between them.
Kapalika, Manjulika, and Anjulika raised their hands in unison, fingers splayed as if gripping invisible strings. The bullet trembled… then softened.
Metal sagged.
Melted.
Molten lead dripped onto the road, hissing as it hit the ground.
Ranav stared, disbelief flashing across his face. "What the—"
With a sharp flick of their wrists, the three daayans hurled an invisible force forward.
Arav and Ranav were lifted clean off their feet.
"Ranav!" Arnav shouted.
The brothers crashed hard against the asphalt several feet away, skidding violently before coming to a stop. Pain tore from their lungs as they struggled to breathe.
Arnav moved instinctively—
—but Kapalika stepped in front of him.
"No," she said softly. "They live. Be grateful."
Arnav's hands clenched into fists.
Slowly, deliberately, he lifted his gaze to the three daayans.
The air around him shifted.
His jaw tightened. His breathing deepened—not in panic, but restraint. The kind that comes before something breaks.
His eyes burned—not glowing yet, but darker than before.
"You touch my family," Arnav said quietly, every word edged with fury,
"and you stop being guests."
The daayans smiled.
And for the first time…
they sensed resistance strong enough to worry them.