Ajit Singh was drowning in darkness. A thick, humid blackness that clung to his skin like oil. His breath came in sharp, ragged bursts. In the depths of his mind, something slithered\u2014coiling around his thoughts, whispering in a voice that wasn’t his own.
Let go.
His body jerked awake.
Ajit gasped, eyes snapping open. Sweat clung to his forehead. The sheets were twisted around him like a straitjacket. His heart pounded against his ribs, and his breath came short and shallow. His fingers twitched as though they still held something\u2014someone.
A dream. No. A warning.
His phone screen glared at him from the bedside table. 8:37 AM.
Ajit\u2019s stomach dropped.
“Shit.”
He launched himself out of bed, nearly tripping over a tangle of discarded clothes on the floor. His dorm room was a war zone\u2014textbooks stacked haphazardly, notebooks with half-scribbled equations, a protein shake bottle long since abandoned to the gods of fermentation.
Ajit yanked open his wardrobe, grabbed the first set of clothes that didn’t smell like last night’s rooftop chase, and threw them on. A quick glance in the mirror\u2014unshaven, bloodshot eyes, hair that looked like he’d been electrocuted. Not great.
He\u2019d been up till 4 AM dealing with a drug bust in Thangal Bazaar. That should\u2019ve been a routine takedown\u2014until the criminals started mutating. Their veins blackened, their eyes flickering yellow. Their bodies moved like broken marionettes, jerking and twisting in ways they shouldn’t.
He shook the memory off, throwing his bag over his shoulder. No time for theories\u2014he was late.
The moment he opened the door, he ran into Rajesh.
“Whoa, Naga Man,” Rajesh said, stepping back. “You look like hell.”
“No time\u2014exam\u2014dying\u2014” Ajit mumbled, shoving past him.
Rajesh grabbed him by the collar. “Exam\u2019s next period. You, however, are currently missing Sharma Sir\u2019s lecture, and if you don\u2019t show up in the next\u2014” he checked his watch, “\u2014seven minutes, he\u2019s marking you absent. Again.”
Ajit groaned. “Please tell me Sharma Sir is in a forgiving mood today?”
Rajesh just smiled. The kind of smile that said, You’re already dead, my friend.
Ajit didn’t wait to hear the rest. He sprinted down the hallway, weaving through students like a shadow.
Outside, the campus was already bustling. Motorcycles revved, street vendors peddled breakfast from behind steaming metal carts. The smell of chai and fried samosas hit him like a gut punch\u2014his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since\u2026 when?
No time.
He vaulted over a low brick wall, cutting across the lawn. A couple of first-years gasped as he soared past them. His reflexes took over, muscles stretching, his body already anticipating the movement before his mind caught up. He landed, rolled, and kept running.
4 minutes.
He could make it.
The lecture hall was in sight, doors already closing\u2014Ajit pushed harder. He lunged forward, one foot off the ground\u2014
Slam.
The door shut in his face.
Ajit pressed his forehead against the wood, panting. The universe, it seemed, had a sense of humor.
From inside, Sharma Sir\u2019s voice carried through the door. “And that, students, is the exact lack of discipline that will ensure your failure.”
A few students chuckled.
Ajit exhaled slowly, letting his head fall back against the wall. His bones ached, his mind was foggy, and his stomach felt like it was digesting itself.
Being Naga Man was killing his GPA.
And he wasn\u2019t sure he cared anymore.
Ajit slumped onto the stone bench outside the lecture hall, rubbing his temples. His brain was running on fumes, his body stiff from last night\u2019s patrol. If he closed his eyes for more than a second, he was sure he\u2019d pass out right there.
The door swung open, and students poured out like water escaping a broken dam. Conversations buzzed around him\u2014whispers, jokes, complaints about Sharma Sir\u2019s impossible expectations.
Then came Laxman.
Tall, broad-shouldered, perpetually annoyed\u2014Laxman Patel was the kind of guy who made everything seem effortless. Top of the class, sharp-witted, always in control. And right now, he looked at Ajit like he was a math equation that refused to balance.
\u201cYou missed the entire lecture,\u201d Laxman said, arms crossed. His voice was level, but Ajit knew that tone. It was the same one he used when dissecting bad plays on the football field.
Ajit forced a yawn. \u201cYeah, I figured that out when Sharma Sir used my absence as a teaching moment.\u201d
Laxman exhaled sharply through his nose. \u201cAjit, this is, what, the third time this week? You\u2019re barely keeping up as it is.\u201d
Rajesh strolled up, hands in his pockets, grinning. \u201cTo be fair, he did make it all the way to the door before it shut on his face. That has to count for something.\u201d
Ajit shot him a glare. Rajesh just shrugged.
Laxman wasn\u2019t laughing.
\u201cYou used to care about this, man,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we started here, you wanted to be an engineer. You wanted to do something big. Now you\u2019re\u2014what? Just barely scraping by?\u201d
Ajit sighed. He wanted to argue, to tell Laxman that he was wrong. But the truth was, he wasn\u2019t.
Ever since that bite, ever since he became Naga Man, everything else had started slipping away. Assignments, deadlines, friendships\u2014they all felt like they belonged to someone else.
\u201cLook,\u201d Ajit said, forcing a grin, \u201cI\u2019ll catch up. Sharma Sir\u2019s notes are in the group, right?\u201d
Laxman scoffed. \u201cYeah, because reading a few notes is the same as actually being in class.\u201d
Ajit opened his mouth, ready with some excuse, but Laxman wasn\u2019t finished.
\u201cDo you even have a plan, Ajit?\u201d His voice was sharper now, cutting through the casual atmosphere like a blade. \u201cBecause right now, it just looks like you\u2019re coasting. And it\u2019s getting old.\u201d
The words hit harder than Ajit expected.
Before he could respond, Laxman shook his head and walked away, disappearing into the crowd of students heading to their next class.
Ajit sat there, watching him go, a strange knot forming in his chest.
\u201cDamn,\u201d Rajesh muttered. \u201cYou really pissed him off this time.\u201d
Ajit leaned back, staring up at the sky.
Yeah. He knew.
And the worst part?
Laxman had every right to be angry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
Ajit needed food.
His stomach had been screaming at him since morning, and after getting verbally annihilated by Laxman, he figured he at least deserved a decent meal. The marketplace outside campus was alive with movement\u2014hawkers yelling over one another, auto-rickshaws honking, the smell of frying samosas and spiced tea mixing with the humid Imphal air.
He made his way toward his usual tea stall, fishing out a few crumpled bills from his pocket. The owner, an elderly man with a thick Manipuri accent, recognized him instantly.
\u201cBeta, you look like a ghost,\u201d the old man chuckled, pouring out a glass of milky chai. \u201cNo sleep again?\u201d
Ajit smirked, taking the cup. \u201cYou know me, Uncle. Always burning the midnight oil.\u201d
The man shook his head. \u201cOne day, that fire will burn you too.\u201d
Ajit didn\u2019t respond.
A crash erupted from deeper in the market. A stall overturned, sending crates of vegetables tumbling across the street. A woman screamed.
Ajit tensed, every nerve in his body sharpening.
The crowd scattered as they emerged.
Six men, moving like jackals\u2014low, predatory. Their bodies were wrong. Gaunt, hunched over, their muscles twitching beneath their skin like something was moving inside them. They weren\u2019t just looters. They looked hungry.
Machetes flashed in their hands. One of them, a skeletal man with wild eyes, hissed at a vendor.
Ajit put down his tea.
His hands curled into fists as he stepped forward. \u201cHey! Back off.\u201d
The skeletal man turned toward him. His lips peeled back in a grin, revealing elongated canines. Not normal. Not human.
\u201cYou smell like prey,\u201d the man rasped.
Ajit didn\u2019t wait. He moved.
One second, he was standing. The next, he was in the fight.
His fist connected with the first attacker\u2019s jaw, sending him flying into a stack of bamboo baskets. The second came at him with a machete\u2014Ajit ducked, twisting his body in a way no normal man should, his leg snapping up to crack against the man\u2019s ribs.
Something was wrong with them. He could feel it. Their skin was damp, their veins black. And yet, despite their emaciated bodies, they were strong\u2014unnaturally so.
The skeletal man lunged at him, his jaw stretching open wider than it should.
Ajit\u2019s eyes narrowed. Nope.
He slammed his elbow into the man\u2019s temple, knocking him out cold.
The remaining attackers hesitated, looking at Ajit like a pack of animals suddenly unsure if they were the predators or the prey. Then, just as quickly as they had come, they scattered, disappearing into the maze of alleys.
Ajit straightened, his breath coming hard and fast. The market was in chaos\u2014vendors picking up their wares, people whispering in fear.
That wasn\u2019t just a gang.
That was something else.
And deep inside him, where the Nagamani pulsed against his chest, Ajit felt it too.
Something was coming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
Ajit\u2019s heart was still pounding as he watched the last of the strange attackers disappear into the alleys. His hands flexed instinctively, every muscle coiled, his heightened senses scanning the air for anything that might hint at what the hell just happened.
And then\u2014
Pain.
A sharp, electric stab in his chest, just below the collarbone.
The Nagamani burned.
Ajit staggered back, clutching his chest as a searing heat pulsed from the gem embedded in his skin. His vision fractured\u2014the market, the people, the sounds around him shattered like glass\u2014
And suddenly, he was somewhere else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
A vast ocean of black.
The sky churned with unnatural colors, sickly green and deep crimson. The air was thick with the smell of rot, of something ancient and wrong.
And rising from the abyss\u2014a mountain of writhing flesh.
Serpents. No, not serpents\u2014something worse.
Their scales pulsed like living wounds, their eyes burned with sickly yellow fire. And at the center of it all, a figure\u2014towering, monstrous, draped in smoke and shadow.
Ajit couldn\u2019t move. Couldn\u2019t breathe.
The figure turned toward him.
Narakasura.
Its voice was a hundred voices, screaming in unison.
“THE FIRST DROP OF HAL\u0100HALA. THE FIRST POISON. THE FIRST CURSE.”
Ajit gasped, feeling the weight of it crash into his mind like a tidal wave. His veins burned, his head filled with a thousand whispers, writhing inside his skull.
“YOU CARRY THE TAINT. THE BLACK VENOM. AND IT WILL CONSUME YOU.”
The figure lurched forward, its arms stretching like liquid shadow\u2014reaching for him\u2014
Ajit snapped back to reality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
He stumbled, his back hitting the edge of a stall. His breath was ragged, his vision swimming.
He was back in the market. The people. The noise. The city. But everything felt off.
The Nagamani was still glowing, pulsing against his chest like a second heartbeat.
Ajit exhaled, hands shaking.
He had seen something.
Something waiting.
And for the first time in a long, long time\u2026
He felt afraid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n
The walk back to campus was a blur. Ajit\u2019s body moved on autopilot, but his mind was still trapped in that vision. The writhing mass of serpents. The thing that called itself Narakasura. The whispers slithering into his thoughts, wrapping around his skull like constricting coils.
“You carry the taint. The black venom. And it will consume you.”
Ajit pressed a hand against his chest. The Nagamani had stopped glowing, but he could still feel it. Pulsing. Watching.
He barely noticed Padmini until she grabbed his wrist.
\u201cAjit!\u201d
His head snapped up. Padmini stood in front of him, arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
\u201cYou look like hell,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd don\u2019t give me that cocky \u2018I always look like hell\u2019 response. You\u2019re shaking.\u201d
Ajit blinked. She wasn\u2019t wrong. His fingers trembled slightly, a lingering side effect of whatever the hell the Nagamani had just shown him.
\u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d
Padmini\u2019s glare could have melted steel. \u201cTry again.\u201d
Ajit sighed, rolling his shoulders. \u201cJust\u2026 a long day.\u201d
\u201cA long day?\u201d She stepped closer, lowering her voice. \u201cAjit, I\u2019ve barely seen you in class. Laxman\u2019s about ready to punch you. And you\u2019re walking around looking like a corpse that forgot how to die.\u201d
Ajit smirked. \u201cThat\u2019s a little dramatic.\u201d
Padmini didn\u2019t laugh. \u201cYou\u2019re burning out.\u201d
Her tone was softer now, but the concern in her voice cut deeper than any accusation.
\u201cYou think I haven\u2019t noticed?\u201d she continued. \u201cYou\u2019re exhausted. You barely eat. You disappear at night, come back looking worse every morning. And now you\u2019re shaking? What\u2019s happening to you?\u201d
Ajit\u2019s jaw tightened. He wanted to tell her.
Tell her about the fight in the market. About the Mongoose Men and their inhuman strength. About the vision\u2014the thing that spoke to him like it had been waiting.
But he couldn\u2019t.
Not just because it was dangerous\u2014because she would believe him.
And if she believed him, she would try to help. And if she tried to help\u2026
She would get hurt.
So he forced a smile. \u201cYou worry too much.\u201d
Padmini\u2019s expression hardened.
\u201cAjit, I swear to every god I can name\u2014if you don\u2019t start taking care of yourself, I\u2019ll personally drag you to the hospital.\u201d
Ajit held up his hands in surrender. \u201cFine, fine. I\u2019ll sleep. Eat. Meditate. Whatever you want.\u201d
She studied him for a long moment, then sighed, shaking her head. \u201cYou\u2019re impossible.\u201d
\u201cYeah, but you like me anyway.\u201d
Padmini groaned. \u201cDebatable.\u201d
She turned to leave, then hesitated. \u201cJust\u2026 promise me you\u2019re not doing anything stupid.\u201d
Ajit hesitated.
Then, with a grin that almost felt real, he said, \u201cDefine stupid.\u201d
She rolled her eyes. \u201cIdiot.\u201d
Ajit watched her go, his smile fading the moment she was out of sight.
The truth was\u2014he had already done something stupid.
He had let the Nagamani show him something. And now, he didn\u2019t know if it would ever stop.
The city never truly slept.
Even as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows through the streets of Imphal, life continued. Markets wound down, streetlights flickered to life, and the hum of traffic filled the air like a restless heartbeat.
Ajit moved through it all, silent, unseen. His exhaustion clung to him, but his instincts kept him sharp. The fight in the market, the vision, Padmini\u2019s concern\u2014it all swirled inside his head like a storm. He needed to clear his mind. He needed to move.
So he climbed.
His fingers gripped the concrete of an old apartment building, muscles stretching and twisting unnaturally as he pulled himself upward. He flowed up the wall, weightless, serpent-like. Within seconds, he was on the rooftop, the city sprawling out beneath him.
His breathing slowed.
This was where he felt most at home\u2014above the world, watching from the shadows.
But tonight, the shadows were watching him.
Ajit felt it before he saw it. A prickling sensation at the back of his neck. A whisper of movement where there should have been none.
Someone was there.
His body tensed. Slowly, carefully, he turned\u2014eyes scanning the darkness between the rooftops. The neon lights of the city cast shifting colors across the skyline, but there\u2014in the gap between two buildings\u2014something moved.
Not a person.
Not an animal.
Something else.
Ajit narrowed his eyes. He focused, letting his infrared vision take over. The world shifted, heat signatures flaring to life\u2014but there was nothing.
No body. No warmth. No heartbeat.
And yet\u2026
He knew he wasn\u2019t alone.
Then, from the depths of the shadows, a voice.
Low. Raspy.
“You are not ready.”
Ajit\u2019s blood turned to ice.
He sprang forward, leaping across the rooftop in a blur\u2014but the presence was gone.
The shadows swallowed it whole.
Ajit stood there, heart pounding, his breath slow and controlled. His mind replayed the words, over and over.
“You are not ready.”
Not ready for what?
The Mongoose Men? The Hal\u0101hala? The thing from his vision?
Or something worse?
Far below, the city continued as if nothing had happened.
But Ajit knew better.
Something was coming.
And for the first time in a long, long time\u2026
He wasn\u2019t sure if he could stop it.<\/p>\r\n
\u00a0Continue Reading<\/p>\r\n
Next Chapter \u2192<\/a><\/p>\r\n