The portal closed behind them without ceremony.
No thunder.
No farewell light.
Just silence snapping shut like a trap.
Yeshwanth staggered half a step as his feet touched Earth again. The familiar smell of dust and rain hit him first, followed by the distant hum of traffic. Normal. Ordinary.
Too ordinary.
Nila steadied herself beside him, fingers gripping his sleeve. "We're back," she whispered.
Yeshwanth didn't reply.
His chest felt tight—not from exhaustion, not from emotion—but from something sharper. A pressure he recognized instantly.
He had felt it once before.
The night he left home.
The night the wind moved.
"This isn't divine energy," he muttered.
Nila looked up at him. "Then what is it?"
He scanned the empty street. Streetlights flickered, their glow bending unnaturally, like light itself was uncertain.
"…Predatory."
The air felt watched.
Scene 1 — No Peace on Earth
Yeshwanth's phone buzzed violently in his pocket.
Unknown number.
He answered without thinking.
"Yeshwanth," a familiar voice said—tight, rushed. Arjun.
"Where are you right now?" Arjun asked.
Yeshwanth frowned. "Why?"
"There was… something," Arjun hesitated. "At the data park near campus. One of the juniors—Simi. You remember her, right?"
Yeshwanth stopped walking.
The name landed heavy.
"Simi?" he repeated.
"…She vanished," Arjun said quietly.
Not missing.
Not injured.
Vanished.
"There was a power cut," Arjun continued. "Cameras glitched. People heard something—like metal tearing air. Police think it's a kidnapping."
Yeshwanth closed his eyes for half a second.
Too fast.
Too soon.
"Arjun," he said calmly, "did anyone see anything unusual?"
A pause.
"…There was a mark on the ground," Arjun admitted. "Like a claw dragged through concrete."
Yeshwanth ended the call.
Nila's face had gone pale. "It's already started, hasn't it?"
"Yes," he replied. "They're not here to kill."
He looked toward the skyline, eyes narrowing.
"They're testing."
Scene 2 — The First Strike
The data park was sealed off with police tape that fluttered uselessly in the wind. Officers stood confused, whispering among themselves. Students gathered in tense clusters, fear hanging low but unspoken.
Yeshwanth ducked under the tape before anyone could stop him.
The ground where Simi had been standing was warped—not shattered, but compressed. As if something had pressed reality downward with deliberate force.
Nila knelt beside the mark.
"This residue…" she whispered. "It's not from our realms."
Yeshwanth crouched, fingers hovering just above the surface. The air prickled against his skin.
"Void-aligned," he said. "Controlled. Clean."
Nila swallowed. "Someone who doesn't waste movement."
The wind shifted.
Every instinct in Yeshwanth screamed.
"Get back," he said sharply.
Too late.
The temperature dropped.
Not cold—absence.
Streetlights dimmed. Shadows stretched sideways, detaching from their sources. Conversations around them died mid-sentence as sound itself hesitated.
A pressure rolled in.
No form.
No voice.
Just presence.
A whisper followed—not heard, but felt.
"Tell the gods… hiding their heirs only makes the hunt easier."
The pressure vanished.
Sound rushed back in.
Someone screamed.
Yeshwanth dropped to one knee, breath sharp. Nila caught him instantly.
"That was him," she said, voice trembling. "The one my mother warned me about."
Yeshwanth stood slowly.
"God of Danger," he said. "Or something worse."
Scene 3 — The Gods Panic
Light tore open the air.
The God of Light appeared without warning, his calm stripped bare.
"It's begun," he said. "The God of Spy just confirmed it."
Nila stepped forward. "Simi—was she—"
"Alive," the god said quickly. "For now."
Yeshwanth's jaw tightened. "Then why take her?"
"To measure reaction," the god replied. "To see who moves. Who freezes."
"And?"
The God of Light exhaled.
"We underestimated him."
That sentence alone carried weight.
Scene 4 — Decision Without Approval
Nila grabbed Yeshwanth's arm. "You're thinking of going after them."
"Yes."
"You could die."
"So could she."
The God of Light hesitated. A map flared into existence—points blinking across the city.
"These are suspected observation nodes," he said. "They won't expect direct interference."
"Good," Yeshwanth replied. "I don't want to surprise them."
"…If you move now," the god warned, "you act outside divine command."
Yeshwanth smiled faintly.
"Then I won't be representing the gods."
He stepped forward.
"I'll be representing the hunted."
Scene 5 — The Shadow Watches
Far above the city, unseen even by gods, something observed.
No body.
No throne.
Just intent.
"Interesting," it thought.
"He reacts faster than predicted."
Its attention shifted—to Nila.
"The pearl walks with the shark willingly."
Amusement rippled through the void.
"Then let them run."
The hunt recalibrated.
Scene 6 — Countdown
At the city's edge, Yeshwanth stopped.
Nila stood beside him, fear present—but controlled.
"What's the plan?" she asked.
A system alert pulsed red in Yeshwanth's vision.
WARNING: MULTIPLE EXTRA-REAL SIGNATURES DETECTED
ESTIMATED CONTACT: 18 HOURS
"They're accelerating," he said quietly. "Which means we're closer than they want."
"At dawn," he continued, "we leave the grid."
Nila nodded. "I'm with you."
Yeshwanth looked up at the dark sky.
"Good," he said. "Because once this starts…"
He clenched his fist.
"…there's no safe side left."
Far away, something smiled.
The hunt had begun.
And this time—
The prey was moving back.