Chapter 3: The Mark of Ashvatta
Varanasi hadn't changed overnight — but Aarav had.
Since the dream-vision at the stepwell, his mind felt split. Half in the present, half… remembering. Not memories from this life, but echoes from something older.
At first, he thought it was just imagination. But when his hostel roommate, Deepu, casually glanced at the symbol on his palm and froze, Aarav knew something was truly wrong.
> "Where did you get that?" Deepu asked, voice hushed.
Aarav tried to brush it off. "It's just... an old scar."
"That's not a scar. That's the Mark of Ashvatta. I saw it once in my grandfather's books — he was a tantric astrologer in Pushkar. It's the symbol of the Eternal Tree — the upside-down tree that connects the worlds."
Aarav blinked. That tree had been in his dreams too. Leaves that glowed like stars. Roots that drank from the sky.
That evening, Aarav wandered near the ghats, searching.
He walked down to Manikarnika Ghat, where the fire never dies. The priests were silent, their mantras rhythmic. A breeze stirred, and a sadhu seated on the stone edge opened one eye.
> "You walk with a mark not earned," he rasped. "Or perhaps… remembered."
Aarav turned. "Who are you?"
> "A mirror. Like all things."
"What's happening to me?"
"You're awakening," the sadhu said. "The Fifth Yuga begins not in thunder, but in memory."
"Why me?"
The sadhu smiled. "Because you were there. You were always there. You were his bearer. And now... you are being called again."
The sadhu handed Aarav a piece of cloth — ancient, faded.
> "Go to Devprayag. To the confluence. Where rivers meet and time is thin. Look for the Watcher."
Before Aarav could ask more, the sadhu closed his eyes, body stiffening into stone-like stillness.
---
Back at his room, Aarav unfolded the cloth.
It was a map — not geographic, but symbolic. Seven points marked with old Devanagari characters, one of which glowed faintly under the moonlight. A river met another — the words read: "Yamuna and Alaknanda. Where Vishnu dreamt the world."
Devprayag.
As he packed, Aarav noticed something even stranger. His reflection in the mirror no longer matched perfectly. The eyes were just a shade too dark. A flicker of light in the iris — like flame dancing beneath the surface.
That night, his dream returned.
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Dreamscape – Somewhere Beyond Time
He stood beneath a sky of burning constellations. The ground was crystal, echoing each step. Figures circled him — seven of them, cloaked in celestial garb.
At the center stood a girl in red, holding the same map. Her face was clearer now.
> "We were once the gatekeepers," she whispered. "Seven of us, guarding the Ashvatta."
"What happened to us?" Aarav asked.
"We forgot."
"Why?"
"Because he made us forget. The one who broke the yugas."
Suddenly, the crystal ground shattered — and Aarav fell through galaxies.
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Varanasi — Present Moment
Aarav sat up with a gasp. The symbol on his hand now pulsed with heat.
There was no more time to question. Something ancient had stirred. He booked a train ticket to Haridwar, determined to reach Devprayag.
As the city lights faded behind him, Aarav gazed out the train window. His phone buzzed. A single message appeared, from an unknown number.
> "You are not the only one waking up."
And a second message followed:
> "She remembers you. And she is afraid."
Aarav didn't know who "she" was.
But in his heart, her face was already carved like a mantra — a girl from dreams, from past lives… the one who had once sealed him away.
And now, the Fifth Yuga had begun.
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End of Chapter 3