It was a moonlit night, and cold winds were blowing over the hills. Ansh, walking alongside Kiara, reached a spot from where the city lights were visible far into the distance. This was the very place Kiara had said she wanted to show him something special. But as soon as they reached the cliff, Ansh's eyes fell on someone — someone who had tormented him many times before.
Seeing him, Ansh was shocked. He began to think to himself that maybe his fate was just cursed. On such a special festival night, when he and Kiara were alone, he had thought maybe he would gather the courage to tell her how he truly felt.
Yes, Ansh had feelings for Kiara. Ever since he met her, his life had started to change. First, she saved him from Yashvardhan, and then again from that demon which looked like a giant bat. Even Yashvardhan had stopped bullying him after Kiara entered his life. That's why Ansh's heart had started to develop feelings for her. He felt that maybe Kiara felt the same. After all, why else would someone like her befriend a boy like him — someone with no powers, no friends, nothing?
That's why he had decided — tonight, he would confess his feelings to Kiara.
But when he saw Yashvardhan and his friends standing on that cliff, Ansh became disappointed. In a low voice, he began saying to Kiara,
"Kiara, let's go ba—"
Before he could complete his sentence, he saw Kiara slowly walking toward Yashvardhan and then standing beside him.
Ansh was completely confused. He asked in a trembling voice,
"Ki... Kiara, why are you standing there?"
Before he could finish, Kiara looked at him coldly and said,
"What did you think? That I was really your friend? It was all just a joke. What could someone like you — weak and ordinary — possibly offer us?"
Ansh was stunned. His eyes filled with tears. His heart shattered.
"Then why? What was all this for?" Ansh asked, looking directly at her.
Kiara gave a cold laugh.
"You were just an experiment. You were easy to use. And now — the game is over."
Just then, Yashvardhan chimed in,
"You thought Kiara came into your life by coincidence? No, it was all our setup — to find out if you really were powerless, or if you were hiding something."
Hearing this, Ansh was even more confused. He wondered — if he had any power at all, why would he hide it? After all, it was the lack of power that made his life so painful.
"What are you saying?" he asked.
Yashvardhan gave a slight smirk and said,
"Maybe you won't understand just yet. Let me show you."
Suddenly, the wind picked up violently. Dark clouds began to cover the moon. Slowly, wings began emerging from Yashvardhan's back. His body grew larger, two horns appeared on his forehead, and his eyes turned blood red — he transformed into a demon.
Ansh's eyes were wide with disbelief. But what shook him even more — Kiara transformed too.
The beautiful girl with long black hair now had serpents for hair, and the lower half of her body had become that of a snake. The ground beneath Ansh's feet felt like it disappeared.
Everyone else standing there also changed their forms.
Ansh stood frozen, unable to understand what was happening.
Before he could react, Yashvardhan — now a demon — grabbed Ansh by the throat and lifted him into the air. Looking into his eyes, he said:
"We've been living among you for who knows how long — in disguise — just to find clues about the old Demon King Devdansh and the seven swords. But we found nothing. Then we noticed you — a constantly scared, lonely boy with no friends or family. Still, something about you felt… different. I bullied and scared you many times, hoping you'd show some hidden power. But every time, I failed."
Then Kiara spoke up,
"And when no other way worked, we used this one — I entered your life as your friend, touched your deepest wounds, stayed close to you — just to see if our hunch was right. But, sadly, we were wrong."
Tears began streaming down Ansh's face like water. He silently cursed himself and his fate for believing someone could be his friend.
He kept staring at Kiara with tear-filled eyes, and then Yashvardhan, still holding Ansh, flung him toward her.
"Now that you know the truth, you shouldn't stay alive."
Kiara caught Ansh with her serpent tail.
"You'd like to die by my hands, wouldn't you, Ansh? After all, I was your only friend," she said with a devilish laugh — and then threw Ansh off the cliff.
But Ansh, already shattered by betrayal, didn't scream. Somewhere inside, he had already accepted his end.
He kept falling, and closed his eyes, thinking this was it.
After what felt like a long fall, Ansh realized he felt no pain. He opened his eyes and saw — he was completely fine. Standing on the ground. Not a single scratch.
He looked at his hands and body — not even a bruise. He stood there, confused — should he feel lucky to survive, or feel sad that even death had rejected him? After such a betrayal, he no longer wanted to live.
While he was lost in thought, he noticed his surroundings — he was in a dark, cold, mysterious dungeon. Stone walls all around, flickering lamps casting eerie echoes. Ansh began to feel afraid.
"Where am I? What is this place?"
As he thought this, his dragon-shaped round locket began to glow and floated gently in the air, pointing in a certain direction.
"This locket... why is it glowing? And why is it pointing that way — as if it's trying to show me something?"
What lies in the direction the locket is pointing to? Will Ansh follow it?
To find out the answers to these questions —
Keep reading: The Locket
Writer - 🕉️