The train rattled along the tracks, carrying Ishita and Rehan through the dimly lit night. The glowing station signs blurred past, their letters flickering in the dark as the vehicle sped toward Borivali. Ishita leaned against the window, her thoughts still tangled with the incident that had changed her life.
Rehan broke the silence.
"Come on, I'll drop you home. You stay in Borivali, right?"
Her eyes widened. "Wait… how do you know where I live?"
A faint smile touched Rehan's lips. "Back in class, I noticed you were holding a train ticket. The destination was written clearly. That's how I knew."
Ishita blinked in surprise. "You really pay attention to such small things… But, Rehan, tell me—where did this strange power inside me come from? And who was that… thing that tried to take me away?"
Rehan leaned back, his eyes darkening. "It's not something I can explain fully right now. What I can tell you is this: the presence you felt was no ordinary spirit. It was a ghost demon… and it's trying to awaken."
The train screeched to a halt at Dahisar. As passengers shuffled in and out, the two remained locked in conversation. The rhythm of the train resumed, and their words grew heavier.
"Awaken…?" Ishita asked softly.
"Yes," Rehan replied. "That demon's soul has already stirred, but its body still sleeps. The last four times it tried to rise, it failed. But now, it's trying again."
The world around them seemed to blur, and suddenly the scene shifted—far away, deep in the Amazon rainforest.
Within the heart of the jungle stood a colossal temple of stone, its walls covered in black moss and cursed carvings. At its center, a throne of bones. Resting upon it was no body, only a towering phantom figure—the soul of the Lord Ghost Demon.
Its voice rumbled through the temple.
"Four times I have failed to rise… because I depended on the aura of my own bloodline. Each attempt, I was betrayed by my weakness."
The air grew colder, the temple shaking with his fury.
"But this time… no more mistakes. This time, I will slaughter fifty thousand humans. I will devour their aura until my body is reborn in full!"
The phantom raised its hands. One by one, seals shattered, and monstrous shapes emerged from the shadows.
"Twelve low-rank ghost demons. Eight mid-rank demons. And four of the upper ranks, waiting for rebirth."
His command thundered across the chamber:
"Six of the low-rank demons will hunt down the girl. The other six will scatter into foreign lands—slay humans and harvest their aura for me!"
He turned his gaze to the mid-rank demons.
"You… will carve through cities. Kill and infect the weak. Make them your slaves. Forge me an army of corpses filled with our cursed aura!"
The phantom's laughter reverberated like a storm.
"And to awaken the upper ranks… an aura wielder must be killed!"
The temple roared with the cries of demons, their hunger echoing into the night.
Meanwhile, the train screeched once more, arriving at Borivali. Ishita's heart pounded as Rehan's words replayed in her mind.
As they stepped off the train, she hesitated, glancing at him. "Rehan… am I connected to that demon's bloodline? Is that why it wants me?"
Rehan's expression grew grave. "Yes. Your aura is not ordinary. If he manages to take it fully, the Lord Ghost Demon will gain unimaginable power. On this earth, nothing will be able to restrain him."
Her fists clenched. "Then… if he achieves his full form, defeating him will be impossible. Tell me, Rehan—if it comes to that… will you be able to fight him? Will you win?"
Rehan met her gaze without hesitation. His voice carried unshakable conviction.
"I won't lose. Not to him. Not ever. I will defeat him."
The two stood at the quiet street corner outside her home, the night breeze heavy with the weight of fate.
And though Ishita tried to calm herself, deep inside she knew—her life had already been caught in a war that could decide the future of the world.