Scene 1 — Veere
Veere stood still, staring at nothing in particular.
Not at a wall.
Not at a screen.
Not even at the space in front of him.
His thoughts were no longer scattered.
They had aligned — painfully, precisely.
Vaibhav.
And his friends.
Trust was a luxury.
Timing was not.
Footsteps echoed behind him, careful and hesitant.
"Sir," a subordinate said, choosing his words cautiously, "your company meeting is tomorrow. We'll need all the files ready."
Veere turned slowly.
"Files?" he repeated.
The word tasted wrong.
A pause followed — just long enough to unsettle the man standing behind him.
"You didn't mention," Veere continued, his voice calm but sharp beneath the surface,
"that you would fail to locate the man who currently possesses the file."
The subordinate stiffened instantly.
Veere's jaw tightened — but only for a fraction of a second. Control returned just as quickly.
"If that file reaches government hands…"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Silence filled the room.
The kind that presses inward.
Then Veere exhaled slowly.
"I want that file by evening," he said evenly.
He turned away.
"And I'll give you the location of the man you're searching for."
A final command followed, cold and absolute.
"Now go."
The subordinate left without another word.
Veere remained alone.
Coordination had begun.
Scene 2 — The Call
Something shifted.
Even the Voice of Creation hesitated.
"Something is happening…"
"…something even I cannot fully control."
Veere moved.
Shlokh
The message didn't arrive as sound.
It arrived as pressure — a tightening behind the eyes, a pull in the chest.
"Next Thursday.
Two in the afternoon.
Central Building.
Under it."
Nothing more.
Fear rose instantly.
Not his.
The stone's.
Then excitement followed — sharp, unstable, unfamiliar.
For a moment, Shlokh's thoughts spiraled dangerously.
Then—
Control.
That was his nature.
Central Building, he thought.
Someone important. Someone protected.
Questions formed rapidly. Too rapidly.
What if this is my only chance?
His breathing quickened.
"Why can't I calm down…?" he whispered.
No answer came.
Vaibhav
Elsewhere—
Vaibhav lay staring at the ceiling, eyes unfocused.
"Why does this keep happening to me?" he murmured.
No anger followed.
No breakdown.
Just quiet exhaustion.
What did I do to deserve this?
The weight pressed inward, heavy but dull.
Eventually, the thoughts dissolved.
Vaibhav fell asleep.
Shourya
Shourya sat up abruptly.
His left eye burned.
From its corner, something leaked — yellowish, blackish.
Not blood.
He wiped it away, breathing hard.
In broken flashes, he saw them.
Vaibhav.
Shlokh.
Clear. Connected.
"This… is real," he whispered.
Something else slipped away at the same time.
Joy.
Carefree laughter.
It vanished quietly, without resistance.
Coordination was taking shape.
Scene 3 — Someone Else
On the outskirts of Sagar —
Miles away from the city —
A secured housing van stood motionless.
Heavy armor.
Trained guards.
Not government.
Inside, a man sat before a computer.
Images flickered across the screen — stones of different colors, different structures, different rules.
He laughed softly.
Near the van's window, a tree swayed.
From one of its branches—
An eye opened.
Watching.
Then—
The branch rippled.
The eye vanished.
And in its place—
A masked man appeared.
No sound.
He raised his hand.
A reddish substance flowed outward — thin, precise.
The guards never screamed.
Some froze.
Some collapsed.
Some shattered.
Some turned to ash.
Silence remained intact.
The masked man entered the van.
Inside, the man was already dead.
A knife buried in his own chest.
Suicide.
The masked man checked the system.
The files were gone.
Transferred.
Saved on a private satellite.
He activated a secure channel.
"Sir… something went wrong."
A pause.
"The file is fully uploaded."
Another pause.
"But all access is denied."
He inhaled slowly.
"Boss… there's good news."
"And bad."
END OF CHAPTER 13 — COORDINATION:
FATUITY