Chapter 4 — The Night of the Chanting Walls
Evening fell over Bhangarh like a slow eclipse.
The sky bled from amber to crimson, then sank into violet darkness.
The air no longer smelled of sand and dust — it smelled of rain that never came.
Arjun tightened his jacket against the wind. It had been calm all day, but the moment the sun dipped behind the hills, the temperature dropped by nearly ten degrees.
> Every time night falls here, something changes, he thought.
The fort isn't just haunted — it's breathing.
---
Splitting the Team
Kabir clicked the safety on his rifle and looked around.
> "We can cover more ground if we split. I'll take Sid and sweep the southern wing. You and Riya can check the main temple. Dev can stay here with Ananya."
Riya frowned.
> "Splitting up in a cursed fort. Classic horror logic."
Kabir managed a half-smile.
> "You said you wanted to test the legends. Here's our chance."
Arjun hesitated but finally nodded.
> "Stay in radio contact every fifteen minutes. The moment you hear chanting or see movement, regroup."
Sid grumbled, clutching his camera.
> "Yeah, sure. Because radios always work in haunted ruins."
---
The South Wing
The corridor was narrow, its walls crawling with moss.
Sid kept the flashlight low, avoiding direct light on the murals. They all seemed to tilt toward him when he wasn't looking.
Kabir walked ahead, steps steady, eyes scanning for threats.
> "Keep filming," he said. "We'll prove there's nothing here but old stone."
Sid forced a laugh.
> "If you're wrong, at least my ghost vlog will go viral."
As they turned a corner, a cold gust swept through.
Dust swirled into the shape of footprints — walking backward.
Kabir froze.
> "What the hell—"
A faint sound rose from the stones:
"...Kabir..."
Sid's hand shook, camera trembling.
> "You heard that, right? That was your name!"
Kabir's face was pale, but he steadied himself.
> "We regroup. Now."
---
The Main Temple
Meanwhile, Arjun and Riya entered the central shrine — the heart of the curse.
Broken pillars surrounded a cracked altar. A faint smell of burnt oil lingered.
Riya brushed dust off an inscription.
> "Look at this. It's not Sanskrit — it's a derivative of early tantric script."
Arjun leaned closer.
> "Translate it."
She traced the letters carefully, whispering:
> 'When love dies, bind it in stone. When sorrow sleeps, wake it with names.'
Arjun felt his pulse quicken.
> "Names again… It always comes back to that."
A sudden vibration ran through the ground. The lanterns flickered.
Riya's eyes widened.
> "Do you hear that?"
Soft chanting — rhythmic, distant — rising from beneath the temple floor.
---
Dev and Ananya
Back at camp, Dev monitored the sound recorders. The same chant repeated: "Jeevan se bandha, mrityu se mukt…"
Bound by life, freed by death.
Ananya sat beside him, staring into the fire.
> "They're getting louder tonight," she murmured.
Dev rubbed his temples.
> "You mean the wind?"
> "No. The dead."
He sighed.
> "You really believe that?"
> "I don't believe. I hear."
Her voice changed — slightly deeper, almost echoing.
> "And tonight, they will call him by name."
Dev turned sharply.
> "Who—"
Before he could finish, the fire flared high, burning blue for a moment before returning to normal.
Ananya blinked, confused.
> "What happened?"
Dev stared at her in silence.
He wasn't sure what scared him more — the fire, or the way she'd spoken with someone else's voice.
---
The Chanting Walls
At 10:30 p.m., all radios crackled at once.
Sid's frantic voice came through:
> "Arjun! The walls are— they're moving!"
Arjun and Riya sprinted from the temple toward the south wing.
The chanting grew louder with every step — dozens of voices overlapping, coming from inside the stone itself.
When they reached the corridor, Sid was on the ground, clutching his ears. Kabir dragged him back, flashlight trembling.
The walls rippled — faintly, like liquid — faces forming and dissolving within the stone.
Eyes. Mouths. Silent screams.
Riya gasped.
> "They're trapped souls… sealed in the structure."
Arjun's voice was barely steady.
> "No — they are the structure."
The chanting rose to a fever pitch, and then—
Silence.
The faces vanished.
Only the empty walls remained, cold and still.
Sid was shaking uncontrollably.
> "Tell me that was real. Please, someone tell me that was real."
Kabir grabbed his shoulder.
> "It was real enough. Now move."
---
Return to Camp
When they reached camp, Dev was pacing restlessly.
> "You're not going to believe what happened—"
But before he could finish, Ananya spoke from behind him, voice calm and distant:
> "He's almost free now."
Everyone turned. The firelight danced across her face, casting deep shadows in her eyes.
> "What do you mean?" Arjun demanded.
> "Every night, the chant weakens the seal. And when the fifth echo fades…"
She looked up, smiling faintly.
"He'll walk among us again."
A chill swept through the group. Even the wind seemed to pause.
---
Midnight
No one slept.
The fort stayed eerily quiet, but every so often, they heard the faint scrape of metal — like swords clashing far away.
Sid reviewed the footage again, hands shaking.
> "Look at this… in the corner, behind us."
The screen showed faint silhouettes — armored soldiers marching in slow rhythm, their heads bowed.
They flickered in and out of existence, their movements repeating in endless loops.
Kabir muttered,
> "Ghosts of the battle. Still fighting the war they died in."
Arjun stared at the footage, his expression darkening.
> "No. They're not fighting. They're guarding."
He closed the laptop.
> "Whatever's trapped here… they're keeping it inside."
---
End of Chapter 4