Chapter 3 — The Echoes Beneath the Fort
Morning sunlight spilled into the ruins like a hesitant visitor.
The air was cool, carrying the dry scent of dust and wild neem. For a moment, it felt like the fort had returned to silence.
But silence, in Bhangarh, was never empty.
---
The Uneasy Calm
Riya scribbled notes in her journal as Sid unpacked camera drones. Kabir checked his rifle again, though he hadn't fired a single bullet yet.
Ananya sat in the shade of a broken archway, eyes half-closed. Her fingers traced invisible symbols on the ground.
> "We made it through one night," Sid said, forcing a grin. "That's… progress, right?"
> "If you call hearing your name whispered in the dark progress," Kabir muttered.
Arjun adjusted his field recorder. He hadn't slept. The voice from last night still replayed in his mind—Welcome back.
> How did it know my name?
Riya noticed his distant look.
> "You're thinking about the voice, aren't you?"
> "Yeah," he admitted quietly. "It wasn't random. That thing—whatever it is—it remembers me."
> "Remembers? You've never been here before."
> "Maybe not me," Arjun said, eyes narrowing. "Maybe someone before me."
---
The Tunnel Discovery
At noon, Dev called out.
> "Hey! You might want to see this!"
They gathered near the far eastern wall, where Dev had uncovered a half-buried stone door—its edges sealed with hardened clay. Strange Sanskrit markings covered it.
> "Looks like a maintenance passage," Riya said, crouching. "But… these seals aren't ordinary."
Ananya's voice turned soft.
> "This is where they buried the curse."
Arjun touched the symbols. The stone was warm to the touch—unnaturally so. A faint pulse echoed beneath it, almost like a heartbeat.
> "If this door opens," he murmured, "something inside will wake up."
> "Then we're not opening it," Kabir said sharply. "End of discussion."
But Arjun didn't reply. He stared at the markings again, recording every detail.
---
The Murals of Bhangarh
Riya led the team deeper into the northern corridor where faint murals still survived under centuries of dust.
Figures danced in a circle around a glowing sigil, their faces distorted. One stood apart—a tall man cloaked in black, his eyes painted with golden pigment.
> "Singhia Nath," Riya whispered.
"The sorcerer who cursed Bhangarh."
Ananya's breath caught.
> "He's… here."
The lantern flickered, and for a heartbeat, the mural seemed to move.
The cloaked figure turned its head slightly—toward them.
Sid stumbled backward, camera shaking.
> "Did—did you see that?! Tell me that moved!"
Kabir glared.
> "It didn't. You're just tired."
But Arjun said nothing. His camera was still recording—and on the screen, the painted figure's eyes were glowing faintly.
---
Night Approaches Again
By evening, the team gathered near the campfire. The fort's walls glowed orange under the dying sun.
> "I reviewed the footage," Sid said quietly. "The mural's eyes… they change between frames. Golden to black. Like it's—looking at us."
> "You're saying the painting is alive?" Dev scoffed.
> "I'm saying it's watching."
Kabir muttered a curse under his breath.
> "This is getting out of hand. We came here to document, not summon."
Ananya stirred her tea, her gaze far away.
> "He's lonely. He's watching because he wants to be seen."
Riya frowned.
> "Who, Ananya?"
> "The one who fell in love and destroyed everything. He's still searching for her soul."
The fire cracked sharply, sparks flying.
Arjun didn't move. His eyes were on the fort walls—the faint shimmer of golden light seemed to flicker within the cracks again, like veins glowing under old skin.
> It's waking faster than I thought.
---
The Sound Beneath the Ground
Late that night, Dev placed audio sensors around the courtyard again. He yawned.
> "Let's see what the ghosts have to say this time."
But when Arjun replayed the live feed, the sound was… strange.
It wasn't whispering this time. It was chanting.
A rhythmic pulse beneath the stone, echoing like a heartbeat.
> "Riya," he said slowly, "translate this."
She leaned close, listening.
> "It's… part of the same mantra from before."
> "Meaning?"
> "They're renewing the seal every night."
> "Then what happens if the chanting stops?" Sid asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Ananya answered softly.
> "Then the fort stops pretending to be ruins."
---
End of Chapter 3