"Congratulations,You've awakened."
I stared at him.
Those words didn't make any sense, yet they felt heavy, like they were supposed to mean something terrifying.
"Awakened… to what exactly?" I asked. My voice sounded steadier than I felt.
Anant didn't answer immediately. He stood there, tall and calm, his eyes resting on me like I was some equation he was halfway through solving.
"To the part of you that refused to die," he said finally.
That didn't help.
I looked down at my right arm again. I flexed my fingers. No pain. No scars. Nothing. Just… normal. Too normal for something that had been gone a few hours ago.
"That thing," I said slowly. "At Rishi's house. It tore my arm off. I felt it. You're telling me my body just… fixed itself?"
"Yes."
"That's not possible."
"It is" he said calmly "It happened anyway."
I pressed my lips together. I didn't know whether to scream, cry, or laugh. Instead, I asked the most obvious question.
"What am I now?"
Anant walked past me toward the window, the morning light outlining his figure. The forest outside was quiet, peaceful—mockingly normal.
"You're still human," he said. "Just no longer fragile in the way you used to be."
I didn't like how casually he said that.
"And the thing that attacked me?" I asked. "That wasn't human."
"No."
"What was it then?"
He turned slightly, just enough for me to see his profile. "Something that noticed you before you noticed yourself,let's just call it a creature."
That sent a chill down my spine.
"So… there are more of those?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Great,"I muttered. "Of course there are."
Silence settled between us. It wasn't awkward. It was deliberate.
"Why me?" I asked quietly. "Why now?"
Anant looked at me again, and for the first time since I woke up, I felt like he was actually seeing me.
"I don't know," he said.
That answer bothered me more than any explanation could have.
"You don't know?" I repeated. "You seem like the kind of guy who knows everything."
A faint crease appeared between his brows. Gone just as quickly.
"I know patterns," he said. "You don't fit one."
That made my stomach tighten.
Before I could ask what that meant, he picked up his jacket from the couch.
"Get ready," he said. "We're leaving.
"Leaving where?"
"To a place where people like you don't die on sofas."
"That's… comforting, I guess?" I said.
He was already walking out of the room.
---
The drive was quiet.
Not the comfortable kind. The kind where every passing second makes you more aware of your own thoughts.
He wasn't even starting a small talk or anything.
I watched the road through the window, trees flashing by, my reflection faintly visible on the glass.
"So," I said, breaking the silence. "Are you going to explain anything? Or is this one of those 'figure it out as you go' situations?"
"That depends," Anant replied, eyes still on the road.
"On what?"
"On how much you want to know."
I frowned. "That's not fair."
He glanced at me briefly. "Neither is the world you just stepped into."
I crossed my arms. "Fine. Start simple. What do you do?"
There was a pause. Just long enough to be intentional.
"I clean up," he said.
"…What kind of cleanup?"
"The kind that makes sure yesterday doesn't repeat itself."
I didn't like that answer. Again.
"And you?" I asked after a moment. "What are you?"
This time, he didn't answer at all.
The car slowed as a large building came into view. From the outside, it looked ordinary—almost boring. If I hadn't known better, I'd have thought it was just another office.
A sign near the entrance read:
Chiranjivi Law Firm
"A law firm?" I asked.
"Yes."
I stared at the building. "You don't look like a lawyer hell you don't even look like you've ever been to college."
"That's good," he said. "Neither does this place."
He parked the car and stepped out. I followed, my legs feeling strangely light, like my body hadn't caught up with reality yet.
As we walked toward the entrance, I noticed something odd.
People moved out of his way.
Not obviously. Not dramatically. Just small things—steps slowing, conversations stopping, eyes turning away.
No one stopped us.
No one questioned him.
I swallowed.
"Anant," I said quietly. "You still haven't answered my question."
He stopped at the door and looked at me.
"You asked what you are now," he said. "The answer is simple."
My heart started pounding.
"You're someone who can't pretend this world doesn't exist anymore."
He opened the door.
"And from now on," he added calmly, "neither can I pretend you don't."
I stepped inside this place doesn't look like a law firm at all even for a coverup.
A giant ass living room, two extra room one of which looks like kitchen.
The living room has a giant ass glass table surrounded by a three side sofa which can contain about 12 at a time and even after this there were a giant table at the end of the room which looked like boss table because there were printer, a laptop,and a bunch of papers.
From middle of the papers came a voice "So you are Divya."
His face came next as he stood up ,long black hair with a touch of grey tied neatly in a warrior's bun ,no beard but tight jawline.
He looked at me thoroughly than said with a smile.
A smile which was anything but gentle.
"Welcome to Chiranjivi Law Firm."
At that moment I knew I was gonna get fucked -really really bad.