The hand that gripped the bark tightened.
The sound it made was not wood cracking.
It was bone shifting.
Manoj could not move. His body felt anchored to the earth as the figure slowly pulled itself from the hollow of the tree. Its limbs were too long, joints bending slightly out of place. Its skin looked pale gray, almost unfinished, like something half-formed from mist and soil.
Sayantika grabbed his arm. "Manoj. Look at me."
He didn't.
His eyes were locked on the thing climbing out.
Anirban stepped in front of them instinctively. "Back up. Slowly."
The creature's head tilted.
It studied Manoj with empty sockets where eyes should have been. Yet somehow he felt watched more clearly than ever before.
"One for one," it repeated calmly.
The air grew colder.
Dustu whispered, "Replace what? What does it want?"
The symbol carved across the tree trunk began glowing faintly. Not bright. Just enough to make the carvings pulse like veins beneath skin.
Sibom's voice shook. "It wants him."
Manoj finally spoke, his voice barely audible. "No. It wants something else."
The creature stepped forward.
Its feet did not touch the ground fully. They hovered a fraction above the soil, leaving frost patterns instead of footprints.
"You disturbed the binding," it said. "You broke the seal."
Manoj's mind flashed back to the wooden box buried years ago. The cloth bundle. His grandmother's pale face. The fire.
"Whatever was inside… it was keeping you trapped," Manoj whispered.
The creature smiled wider.
"Yes."
---
A sudden gust of wind circled them violently. Leaves spiraled upward into the night sky, though no other tree moved.
Sayantika stood firm. "Why didn't it attack earlier? Why wait?"
Anirban answered quietly, eyes still on the entity. "Because it needed him to remember."
The words felt true.
The garden had not been hunting randomly.
It had been guiding.
Manipulating.
Pulling them deeper until Manoj understood what he had done.
The creature extended one long arm toward him.
"You took the offering," it said. "You must restore it."
Manoj felt something shift inside his memory again.
The bundle in the box hadn't just been soil.
There had been something else.
Something small.
Something shaped like—
A doll.
No.
Not a doll.
A figure.
Carved from bone.
Wrapped in black thread.
He had unwrapped it halfway before his grandmother stopped him.
And the thread had moved.
Slightly.
Like it was breathing.
He staggered backward.
"It wasn't just an object," he muttered.
The creature's grin deepened.
"Correct."
---
The ground beneath Manoj's feet began to soften.
Not sinking.
But loosening.
Like soil prepared for burial.
Dustu lunged forward and pulled him back hard. "Stay away from the ground!"
The creature did not react to Dustu.
Its focus never left Manoj.
"You removed the vessel," it said. "The spirit bound to this land was freed."
Sayantika frowned. "There was something else trapped here?"
"Yes."
The word echoed unnaturally long.
Anirban's eyes widened slightly. "So you're not the only one."
The creature's smile faltered for the first time.
Just slightly.
Interesting.
Manoj caught that.
"There was another spirit bound here," he said slowly. "Something worse."
The temperature dropped further.
The tree behind the creature creaked violently.
The symbol carvings flickered.
"You were the guardian," Manoj whispered.
Silence.
The creature's head tilted again.
Not in curiosity.
In irritation.
"You mistake protection for imprisonment," it replied.
But the hesitation was there.
Tiny.
Enough.
---
A scream pierced the clearing.
Not from any of them.
From somewhere beyond the fog walls.
Distant.
Human.
Then cut off abruptly.
Dustu's breathing quickened. "We're not alone out here."
Anirban shook his head. "No. It's showing us things."
The creature lifted both arms now.
The fog around the clearing thickened, rising like living walls.
"Balance must return," it said. "A life for a life."
Manoj's chest tightened. "You want me."
"Yes."
Sayantika stepped forward instantly. "No."
The creature turned its head toward her for the first time.
And for a split second—
Its form flickered.
Not stable.
Not fully anchored.
Sibom noticed it too. "It's weaker here."
Anirban's mind moved quickly. "The symbol on the tree. That's the original seal."
Manoj understood suddenly.
When he removed the bone figure years ago, he didn't just free this entity.
He destabilized whatever balance existed between it and the other spirit bound beneath the garden.
This creature needed a vessel to remain here.
Needed replacement.
But maybe—
It wasn't as powerful as it wanted them to believe.
---
"Why didn't you just take him earlier?" Dustu demanded loudly, trying to sound braver than he felt.
The creature's gaze snapped back to Manoj.
"Consent strengthens the binding," it said calmly.
Everyone froze.
Anirban's voice dropped. "It needs him to accept it."
Manoj's stomach twisted.
That was why it whispered.
Why it mimicked his voice.
Why it waited for realization.
It needed his guilt.
His willingness.
The ground trembled again.
The creature stepped closer.
"Choose," it said softly.
"Refuse," Anirban hissed quickly to Manoj.
Sayantika gripped his hand tightly. "Don't listen."
But the whispers returned around them.
Not from the creature.
From beneath the soil.
Desperate.
Agitated.
Another presence stirring.
Something heavier.
Something darker.
The tree cracked violently.
A deep rumble echoed under the earth.
The creature looked downward briefly.
And fear flickered across its featureless face.
Just for a second.
Manoj saw it.
"You're not the only one trapped here," he said slowly.
The rumble grew louder.
Cracks formed across the clearing ground.
From one of them—
Black smoke began rising.
Thicker than before.
More violent.
The whispers beneath the soil were no longer pleading.
They were angry.
Rage-filled.
Anirban stepped back. "Whatever was originally sealed here… it's waking up."
The creature hissed sharply.
"Silence!"
The ground exploded upward near the edge of the clearing.
Dark soil sprayed into the air.
And from the crack—
A massive shadow surged upward briefly before retreating again.
Not fully formed.
But huge.
Far larger than the pale entity before them.
Dustu staggered. "That's not the same thing."
No.
It wasn't.
The creature in front of them suddenly looked smaller.
Less confident.
It turned to Manoj urgently.
"Choose now."
Its voice lost calmness.
It sounded strained.
Panicked.
Manoj's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
If he agreed—
He would bind himself to the garden.
Replace the burned vessel.
Contain the greater thing beneath.
If he refused—
Whatever was buried deeper might break free completely.
Sayantika's eyes filled with tears. "You don't have to fix this alone."
The ground cracked wider.
A clawed silhouette pushed up briefly from the darkness below.
The air filled with a deep, guttural growl.
The pale creature backed away from the crack instinctively.
Manoj realized the truth.
It wasn't asking for sacrifice.
It was asking for help.
It had been containing something worse.
And now—
That something was breaking loose.
The creature reached toward him one final time.
"Bind," it whispered urgently.
Behind them, the fog walls began collapsing inward.
The clearing shook violently.
The massive shadow below began forcing its way upward—
And this time—
It did not retreat.
A gigantic hand of pure darkness slammed onto the ground at the edge of the clearing.
The earth split open entirely.
The symbol on the tree shattered.
And the pale guardian screamed—
Not in anger.
In fear.
The larger entity began rising from the earth.
Slow.
Towering.
Hungry.
Manoj felt the burning mark on his palm flare violently.
The decision had seconds.
Not minutes.
The creature's voice echoed one last time inside his mind.
"Choose your place."
The giant shadow turned its faceless head toward them.
And smiled.
The real horror—
Had just awakened.
**To be continued…**