The warning glow faded from the system screen, but its echo clung to Jaswant's mind like frost.
"Unidentified entity… observing me?"
That shouldn't be possible.
The mansion was protected by layers of spiritual barriers—his father, his grandfather, and even the old ancestral guardian spirit had sealed this place decades ago. Nothing could enter without alerting the entire family.
So why—
A sudden creak echoed from the mansion's upper corridor.
Jaswant's heart jumped.
He narrowed his eyes and slowly stepped toward the house. Each footstep felt unusually loud against the stone pathway. The breeze had died down completely now. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Another sound—this time a soft thud—came from the hallway window on the second floor.
Jaswant focused his senses, channeled mana to The Eye of Manipulation, and peered carefully.
For a split second, he saw it—
A silhouette.
Tall.
Still.
Watching him from behind the glass.
But the moment he tried to lock focus, the figure dissolved into thin mist.
"An illusion?" he whispered.
The system responded instantly:
"Negative — the entity is real.
Identity: Unknown.
Origin: Unknown.
Hostility: Unclear."
Jaswant felt a cold prickle run down his arms.
If the system itself couldn't identify the entity…
that meant it wasn't from this world's normal categories.
He stepped up to the veranda, his senses sharpened.
Inside the mansion, the lights flickered—once, twice—then steadied.
Something was definitely moving inside.
Slowly, Jaswant reached toward the main door—
But then the door opened on its own, just an inch, as if someone had stepped back after unlocking it.
A gentle voice drifted from the staircase inside:
"…You're finally awake, child."
Jaswant froze.
That voice… It was familiar. Ancient. Soft. But layered with an echo that didn't belong to any human throat.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The living room was empty. Calm. Normal.
Yet the air felt heavier— as if someone invisible was breathing over his shoulder.
Then he saw it.
At the far end of the hallway, near the ancestral room,
a faint golden thread was floating in the air.
A spiritual residue?
No…
It was a trail.
And Jaswant recognized it immediately—
His grandfather's spiritual energy.
But his grandfather had been bedridden for months. Unable to get up, barely conscious.
Why would his energy be here?
Jaswant walked slowly toward the golden trail. It pulsed softly, like a heartbeat guiding him deeper into the mansion.
Every step he took, the chill in the house grew stronger.
When he reached the ancestral door, the trail abruptly stopped.
Right outside.
The room was slightly open—just enough for someone to peek in.
Jaswant pushed it gently.
The door opened with a soft groan.
Inside, the dim oil lamp cast long shadows on the wooden floor. The ancestral shrine stood in silence, garlanded with flowers.
And sitting on the central mat…
Was his grandfather.
Awake.
Eyes open.
Calmly staring at him.
"Dadaji…?" Jaswant whispered.
His grandfather smiled—but the expression didn't reach his eyes.
There was something too still about his posture, too cold about his aura.
"Come, boy," he said softly.
"We have much to discuss."
Jaswant took a step forward—
But the system screamed a warning in bright red letters:
"ALERT!
The entity inside the mansion has taken a host.
Host Status: Maheshwari Bloodline Member.
Possession Level: 37%
Risk Level: CRITICAL."
Jaswant's breath stopped in his chest.
Possession?
Of his grandfather?
He stared at the old man sitting in front of him—
and suddenly the shadow behind the grandfather's back
shifted.
Not his silhouette.
Something else.
Something old.
Something watching.
And then…
his grandfather's lips curled into an unnatural, too-wide smile.
"Welcome home, Jaswant."
The shadows behind him unfurled—like smoke rising to claim the room.
For a heartbeat, Jaswant forgot how to breathe.
His grandfather—frail, bedridden, barely conscious for months—was now sitting upright with unnatural stillness, his spine perfectly straight, his hands resting calmly on his knees.
And from behind him,
the shadow stretched across the floor like ink poured over water.
Jaswant's instincts flared.
He activated The Eye of Manipulation instantly— Mana surged through his pupils.
The world sharpened.
The shadow behind his grandfather… wasn't behaving like a normal shadow at all.
It pulsed.
It breathed.
It watched him.
---
Jaswant's mana burst outward—
SHRRRACK!
A faint aura erupted around him, cracking the tiles beneath his feet.
"Leave him," he growled.
His grandfather tilted his head slightly, smiling with a cold, crooked curve.
"You still speak like a child," the voice answered. But it didn't come from the grandfather's mouth alone.
There were two voices.
One human.
One… something else.
Jaswant didn't wait.
He dashed forward—fast, mana-enhanced.
But the shadow reacted faster.
WHOOSH!
A tendril shot out of the dark, slicing across the air like a whip. Jaswant blocked with his forearm, mana hardening around his skin.
CLANG!
The impact rattled the entire room.
Another tendril snapped forward—
Jaswant ducked.
A third—
Jaswant countered with a mana-infused punch.
BOOM!
A shockwave burst outward.
The oil lamp flickered violently. The walls shuddered.
But the shadow didn't retreat.
If anything… it smiled.
---
The shadow behind his grandfather began to rise—
not from the floor,
not from the light,
but from inside the grandfather's spine.
Like smoke crawling out of bone.
The system flashed:
"ENTITY IDENTIFIED:
FOGBORNE WRAITH
(An Echo-Fragment of the Mist Parasite)"
Jaswant felt cold spread through his chest.
The Fogborne Parasite…
The same type of being guarding the Harichandana Tree.
The wraith's shape solidified— a tall, humanoid form made of swirling mist, hollow eyes glowing faintly blue.
"You were never supposed to see me this soon," it whispered.
Its voice sounded like a thousand whispers overlaid together.
---
Jaswant steadied his breathing, keeping his stance low.
"How did you get inside? The protective seals—"
"Are broken," the wraith finished calmly.
It lifted a smoky finger and pointed toward the ancestral ceiling.
Jaswant's eyes widened.
There— etched into the wood—
the protective sigil that had guarded his family for decades…
was cracked.
Split straight down the middle.
A thin mist leaked from the fracture.
"You purified the first SANTANA Tree last night," the wraith explained.
"And in doing so… you weakened the ancient cycle."
Jaswant's jaw tightened.
"What cycle?"
"The cycle that binds the trees. Purify one… and the next awakens."
Its smile deepened.
"And so do we."
Jaswant felt a chill.
"So you've been watching me?"
"No. We have been waiting for you."
---
The wraith drifted forward—the grandfather's body slumped gently, unconscious, as the parasite stepped out fully.
"The Harichandana Tree senses your bloodline," it hissed.
"It knows you're coming."
Jaswant's fists clenched.
"And you came here to stop me?"
"Stop you?"
The wraith laughed—a hollow, echoing sound.
"Oh, child.
We do not wish to stop you."
It leaned closer— mist curling around Jaswant's shoes.
"We wish to guide you."
Jaswant stiffened.
"Why?"
"Because the Harichandana Tree… is dying."
Its glowing eyes dimmed.
"And what sleeps beneath it is waking far too early."
"What sleeps beneath…?" Jaswant whispered.
The wraith's voice became a whisper of fear.
"The Heart Root.
The oldest corruption.
The one even the gods avoided."
Jaswant's pulse spiked.
"So purifying the tree will—"
"Kill it prematurely," the wraith finished.
"And unleash the Heart Root before you are ready."
Jaswant swallowed hard.
"Then what do you want from me?"
---
The wraith lowered its voice.
"Don't purify the Harichandana Tree."
Jaswant's eyes widened.
"That's my quest. My path. My—"
"Your destiny is not what your system shows you."
Its tone suddenly sharpened.
"You have been deceived."
Jaswant took a step back.
The wraith's aura grew darker, swirling, tightening around him.
"Listen carefully, child," it whispered.
"Purify the Harichandana Tree…
and your soul will crack."
Jaswant's breath halted.
"And if you refuse?" he asked slowly.
The wraith leaned in until its face was inches from his.
"Then we will show you…
what truly waits in the mist."
Its arm extended—
A sharp, cold tendril shot toward Jaswant's forehead.
SHHKK—!
The system screamed:
"WARNING: MIND-INTRUSION ATTEMPT!"
The wraith's final whisper echoed inside the room:
"Let us open your eyes, Jaswant Maheshwari."
The tendril touched his skin—
WHITE FLASH.
---