: The Arrival of Friends and the Amulet's Limit
A week had passed. In those seven days, Agni had molded himself into a mechanical routine that kept his emotions at bay. Wake at four. Hear soldiers' reports. Give judgments on judicial matters. Then go to Neer's chamber, check the glow of the amulet tied to his arm, and give him the medicine Guru had provided a golden powder to be mixed in water and drunk. Then tend to Nirgh, supervise his practice.
A peace lay over the palace like the calm before a stord deep, heavy, and so silent that even every gust of wind felt like a scream.
Then, one morning, as Agni was hearing daily reports in the throne room, a soldier rushed in. "Maharaj! Maharaja Vayansh and Maharani Dharaya from Prithvinagar have come to meet you! Prince Anvay is with them!"
Agni's heart forgot to beat for a moment. The pen in his hand stilled. Now? When Neer's condition was so fragile? When every moment held the fear that he would slip beyond the amulet's protection?
He tried to bring a king's impassive expression to his face. "Take them to the assembly hall with full honors. I will be there shortly."
---
The grand doors of the assembly hall opened, and Vayansh, Dharaya, and Anvay entered. Sunlight filtered through colored glass and fell upon them, but today even that light held a strange coldness.
Their eyes went to the throne. Only Agni stood there alone. In golden robes, but his face lacked the usual brilliance. A deep fatigue had settled in the corners of his eyes.
Vayansh stepped forward. "Agni! Friend, you here? Where is Neer? And Nirgh? Is everything alright?"
Agni took a deep, measured breath. He did not wish to lie to his oldest friends, to Anvay's parents. But to tell the truth... to tell the truth meant exposing Neer's weakness, his battle, to the world. And as a king, he could not risk that.
"Vayansh, Dharaya," Agni said, trying to bring a faint smile to his lips. "Welcome. Neer... Neer is unwell. Since returning from the gurukul... he has been a little indisposed. Needs rest."
Dharaya's brows furrowed. Her maternal concern awakened instantly. "Unwell? What happened? Nothing serious, is it? Can we see him?"
"He is resting," Agni repeated, an unyielding firmness entering his voice. "And Anvay... you have come to meet Nirgh?"
Anvay joined his hands in respect. "Yes, Acharya. Nirgh is my friend. After leaving the gurukul... I couldn't meet him. I was worried."
"Alright, Anvay," Agni said, and his gaze fixed on the chamber door, as if waiting for someone.
Then, the door opened.
And Neer walked in.
He was in his usual blue robes a light blue anchala that flowed with his steps. The silver amulet on his arm glowed, casting a soft light in the sun's rays. Most importantly, his face held that same old, calm, gentle smile the smile that reached his eyes and filled them with a warm blue.
"Dharaya! Vayansh!" Neer said, the same sweetness in his voice. "You came and didn't even tell us? After so long?"
Dharaya and Vayansh were stunned. He looked perfectly healthy. No fatigue, no weakness, no pain. He was the same Neer they knew.
Vayansh laughed, a wave of relief washing over his face. "And Agni was saying you're unwell! You look exactly as before, Neer! Perfectly fine!"
Neer looked at Agni, and his smile widened, a playful glint entering it. "Agni worries too much about me. I am perfectly fine. Just a little tired after returning from the gurukul, I slept. Now I'm completely recovered."
Agni remained silent. He only watched Neer, trying to read his every move, every gesture. He knew. This was all the amulet's effect. The amulet had pushed the dark shadow beneath the surface, imprisoning it behind a beautiful, calm mask. But how long would the mask hold?
Dharaya sighed in relief. "We are so glad you are well, Neer. We were just talking about Nirgh and Anvay."
Neer turned to look at Anvay. His gaze pierced Anvay's eyes, deep, understanding. "Yes, Anvay. Nirgh will be very happy to see you. You two... your friendship is as deep as ours. He needs you."
Neer's behavior was so normal, so affectionate, that for a moment even Agni felt... perhaps everything really was fine. Perhaps the amulet had provided a permanent solution. Perhaps Neer was back.
But as Neer turned to look at Agni, and a fleeting, black glint flashed in the depths of his eyes a spark that extinguished instantly Agni knew.
This was only a pause. And the pause was about to end.
---
Evening was approaching. Dharaya and Vayansh were preparing to leave. Anvay went to their chamber, a firm resolve on his face.
"Mother, Father... I wish to stay here, in Prakashgarh, for a few days."
Dharaya looked at him in surprise. "Here? But why, son? You have duties in your own kingdom."
"Nirgh," Anvay said, his voice clear and decisive. "He is not well. Since we arrived, I have seen... he is alone. Sad. Even at the gurukul, on the farewell day, he looked broken. I feel, as a friend... I should stay with him. Be his support."
Vayansh looked at Agni, who stood at the door. Agni's eyes held a weariness and heaviness only those who had suffered such pain could recognize.
Vayansh placed a hand on Anvay's shoulder. "Alright, son. If your staying supports Agni and Neer too... you may stay. We trust you."
Dharaya and Vayansh took their leave and left. As soon as they were gone, the palace air grew heavy and cold again.
---
That night, Anvay went to Nirgh's chamber. The two friends sat by the window, looking at the gardens bathed in moonlight. But today, even the moonlight held a white, dead glow.
"Pitashree looked completely fine today," Nirgh said, an uncertain hope in his voice. "Right? I thought he... that his condition was worse. But today he was just like before."
"Yes," Anvay said, but his voice held no enthusiasm. "He looked fine. But... when he spoke to me, his eyes... they were very cold, Nirgh."
"Cold?" Nirgh turned to look. "No, he was just... tired. The day's work."
"I have seen fatigue," Anvay said softly. "This wasn't fatigue. This was... emptiness. As if someone else was watching from behind his eyes."
An uncomfortable silence fell between them.
Then, a sound came from the corridor outside.
It wasn't a scream. It was a suppressed, choked gasp, as if someone's throat had been squeezed, and their last breath had been trapped in the air.
Both were instantly alert. Anvay immediately placed his hand on his sword's hilt.
Then another sound... a raspy, wet snoring sound, as if someone was breathing through shards of ice.
Anvay and Nirgh looked at each other, and ran towards the door.
As soon as they stepped into the corridor, they felt as if they had entered another world.
The corridor was plunged into complete darkness. The torches on the walls weren't burning—they had frozen, like ice statues, and a ghostly, blue light emanated from them. The air was cold as ice, so cold that their breath steamed, and that steam froze in the air, turning into ice crystals.
And on the floor... Ramlal lay.
He was writhing on the ground, no sound escaping his mouth. A thin, black layer of frost was spreading around his body, like a poisonous fungus. The frost, upon touching his skin, turned it black and transparent like glass.
"Ramlal!" Nirgh yelled, and tried to step forward.
But Anvay grabbed his arm. "Stop! Look up!"
Both looked up together.
On the ceiling, clinging to the darkness, was a figure. It was Neer... but not the Neer they had seen during the day. His robes were still blue, but now they were a deep, shadowy blue that looked almost black in the dark. His fingers had grown long and thin, his nails black and sharp. And the most horrifying... the silver amulet was not on his arm.
Neer's eyes were fixed on them completely black, without pupils, just two black, glossy pits.
"I told you..." Neer's voice came, a resonating, cold, unfamiliar voice, as if from grinding stones. "...not to dare bandy words with me. He did. And now... now he is suffering."
Neer turned his head, and his black gaze fixed on Anvay, who was trying to draw his sword, but his hands were so cold they were growing numb.
"New guest..." A distorted smile played on Neer's lips. "Agni thinks this piece of silver can stop me? How foolish! How ignorant!"
He opened his palm. In it lay the broken, crushed remains of the amulet. The silver pieces had turned black, and the mantras engraved on them now appeared distorted, reversed. He threw the pieces to the ground. They scattered on the floor with a clinking sound, and each piece, upon touching the ground, turned into ice crystals.
Anvay pushed Nirgh back. "Nirgh! Run! Call Acharya Agni! Quickly!"
Neer laughed a high, sharp, madman's laugh that echoed off the corridor walls. "No one is going anywhere now. The doors are closed. The windows are closed. This is my kingdom now."
And he jumped straight down from the ceiling slowly, floating through the air, as if his body was lighter than air and landed right between Anvay and Nirgh.
The air around him grew even colder. Anvay's breath began to catch. His fingers were frozen to his sword's hilt.
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from the other end of the corridor. Fast, heavy steps.
Agni arrived.
As he entered the corridor, he paused for a moment. His gaze swept rapidly over Ramlal's writhing body, then at the black, distorted figure that was Neer, then at Anvay and Nirgh, standing stunned by the fear of death.
"Nirgh! Anvay!" Agni's voice came. And this voice... this voice was too calm. Too controlled. "What happened? Why are you here at this hour of the night?"
Nirgh raised a trembling finger, his voice shaking. "Tauji! That... that Pitashree! He... he did something to Ramlal! Look!"
Agni looked in the direction of Nirgh's finger. There, where Ramlal had lain... now there was nothing.
The floor was clean. No black frost. No writhing body. Just the normal stone floor, with dim moonlight falling on it.
Anvay's eyes widened in disbelief. "No... he was right here! Acharya, Neer was here! On the ceiling! And he broke the amulet! Look!"
Agni looked at the ground. There were no broken amulet pieces either. Nothing.
Agni took a deep breath, as if lifting a heavy burden. "Anvay. Ramlal left the palace long ago. He only does guard duty during the day. At night, he stays at his home."
"But we saw!" Nirgh's voice was on the verge of crying. "Tauji, we saw! He broke the amulet! His eyes... they were black!"
Agni's voice suddenly turned harsh, a harshness never seen in him before. "Both of you be quiet. It seems you both had a bad nightmare. Something you ate... must have caused a hallucination. Come with me. Now."
He grabbed both their hands so tightly it hurt Nirgh and pulled them towards Neer's chamber.
Anvay and Nirgh wanted to resist, but Agni's grip was like iron, and his face held an expression that brooked no argument.
He opened the door to Neer's chamber.
The chamber was dark, but moonlight filtered through the window, and in its light everything was clear.
Neer was sleeping peacefully on his bed. His breaths were regular, deep. His face held no pain, but a calm, pleasant expression. And on his arm... the silver amulet was perfectly intact, glowing, not broken.
Anvay and Nirgh's eyes widened in shock. Their minds spun. Was it really an illusion? A shared hallucination?
"See?" Agni said, his voice now soft, grave, like a doctor explaining to a patient. "He is sleeping. Peacefully. Both of you... you are tired from war and stress. The shock of returning from the gurukul. Anvay's long journey. Combined, your mind played a trick. Come, you both sleep in my chamber tonight. You will be safe there."
Nirgh nodded fearfully, his voice a whisper. "Y-yes, Tauji."
Agni led them both towards his chamber. As Nirgh walked with Agni, he looked back at the corridor they had come from.
There, in the darkness of the corridor, where Ramlal had fallen, for a moment he saw a black shadow hovering. The shadow turned to look... and smiled. A wide, toothy, terrifying smile.
Nirgh averted his eyes in fear and hurried after Agni, trying to convince his mind that this too was an illusion.
But when Agni closed the door to his chamber and let Anvay and Nirgh inside, he himself paused for a moment outside the door. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something.
It was a piece of the broken amulet. Blackened. Cold.
He looked at it, then looked towards Neer's chamber in the distance.
His eyes held no fatigue now. They held a new, terrible decision.
The amulet's limit had been reached. And now, the real battle was about to begin.