Barfi woke up.
Not with panic 😨Not with confusion 😵
Just… awake 😶
He was lying on the wooden floor 🪵Cold against his backHard under his spine
The fireplace was dead 🔥❌Ashes onlyNo warmthNo glow
The cabin was dark 🌘SilentBreathing slowly like it was asleep
Except—
There was a book in his hands 📖
The Book That Should Not Exist
Barfi sat up slowly 🧍♂️His joints didn't acheHis head didn't spin
He looked down.
The black book.Unburnt 🔥❌UnbrokenWhole
The same book that had turned to ash.
Now resting calmly in his palmsLike it had never left ✋📖
Barfi didn't question it.Didn't wonder how.Didn't feel surprise.
He simply held it.
"…So you came back," he murmured quietly 😐
The pages felt warmNot comfortingNot dangerous
Just familiar
Then—
He noticed the mirror 🪞
The Boy in the Mirror 👁️
The mirror fogged from the inside 🌫️Not from breathNot from heat
From presence
A shape formed slowlyCarefully
A young boy 👦ThinBruisedHalf-healed wounds across his skinEyes sunken with centuries of regret
The youngest son
Barfi looked at him calmly 😶No fearNo tension
"You are back," Barfi said simply
The boy nodded slowly
"You are not afraid," the boy said softly
"No," Barfi replied honestly
The boy's lips trembled into a sad smile 💔
"That is why you were chosen."
Why Barfi Was Chosen
The boy stepped closer inside the mirrorThe glass rippled like water 🌊
"Others scream," the boy whispered"Others beg""Others run"
His voice shook
"But you…"
He lifted his eyes to Barfi
"…your emotions are locked." 🔒
Barfi tilted his head slightly 🤔
"Yes."
"That makes you dangerous," the boy said"And strong."
The cabin groaned loudly 🏚️Wood strainedNails rattled
The boy raised both hands ✋✋
Symbols crawled across the ceiling like living scars ✖️Glowing faintly
The ritual had begun
The Spell Begins 🔮
The boy began chantingA broken languageSharp soundsOld syllables that hurt the air
The cabin shook violently 🌪️
Outside—
Crows began screaming 🐦⬛HundredsThousands
Their cries tore through the sky like knives
Far below the cliff—
The bear demon roared 🐻❄️
Not in anger 😡Not in hunger 🍖
In pain 💢
The boy suddenly stopped
Everything froze 🧊
He stared directly at Barfi
"Tomorrow…" he whispered"…there will be a solar eclipse." 🌘
Barfi listened quietly
"When the sun is eaten by shadow," the boy continued"the demon becomes possible to kill."
Barfi nodded once ✔️
"And you," the boy whispered, voice breaking"are the one who must do it."
The mirror cracked slightly 💥
"Kill the bear demon,""End my curse,""Set me free."
No Hesitation
Barfi did not flinchDid not ask why himDid not ask if he would die
He simply said—
"Okay."
The boy's eyes widened 👁️For the first time—relief
Real relief
The mirror shattered softly ❄️Not explodingNot screaming
Like falling snow
The cabin fell silent again
Alone Before the Eclipse 🌒
Barfi looked down at the book 📖Then at his hands ✋
SteadyUnshaking
Outside—
The demon paced 🐾Heavy stepsSlow breathing
Waiting
Barfi whispered to the empty room 🕯️
"I will finish this."
Not as a hero 🦸♂️❌Not as a savior ❌
Just as someone who feels nothing
And sometimes…
That is exactly what darkness fears most 🖤
Preparation in Silence ⚙️
Morning light leaked weakly through the windows 🌥️PaleCold
As if the sun itself was afraid to enter
Barfi sat at the center of the cabin 🧘♂️The black book open in his lap
Its pages turned on their own 📄SlowPatient
Barfi read without blinking
Symbols sank into his mind 🧠Like memories that were never his
This wasn't learningThis was remembering
The House Responds 🏚️
The cabin creaked again
A loose plank near the fireplace lifted by itself 🪵
Barfi looked at it
Inside the hollow space—Objects wrapped in old cloth
He reached in
A rusted spearhead 🗡️Engraved with the same symbols as the book
A blackened chain ⛓️HeavyHumming softly
A small knife 🔪DullBut warm to touch
Weapons
Not to kill fleshTo wound something that should not exist
Barfi nodded
"These are for me."
The house groaned softly
Approval
Knowledge Without Emotion 🧠
The walls shiftedMarkings appeared
The scattered pattern pieces
They weren't hidden anymore
They were the house
Barfi placed his palm against the wall ✋
The symbols burned briefly 🔥Then faded into his skin
Not painfulJust… final
The book stopped turning
One sentence burned onto the last page
"When the shadow eats the sun,bind the demon to what it fears."
Barfi whispered—
"The house."
Outside, the wind howled 🌬️
The Demon Tries to Break Him 😈
The temperature dropped suddenly ❄️
A voice rolled through the cabinLowCracked
"You are alone."
Barfi did not respond
"They left you."
Silence
"They chose to live."
Barfi wrapped the chain around his forearm ⛓️
"They will come back," he said calmly
The demon growled
Windows iced over 🧊
"You feel nothing."
"Yes."
"Then why fight?"
Barfi lifted the knife 🔪
"To finish what was started."
The demon screamed
The house shook violently
But it did not enter
It could not
Waiting for the Eclipse 🌘
Hours passed ⏳
Barfi sat perfectly still
No fearNo prayerNo hope
Just readiness
The sky darkened unnaturally
The sun slowly vanished behind the moon
Shadows stretched wrong
Crows returned 🐦⬛Screaming in circles
The bear demon roared again 🐻❄️
Not to scare
To warn
The eclipse had begun
The Moment Arrives ⚔️
Barfi stood
Picked up the spearhead 🗡️Tightened the chain ⛓️
The house whispered one final truth
"You may not survive."
Barfi nodded
"That is acceptable."
Outside—
The shadow finished eating the sun 🌑
And for the first time in centuries—
The bear demon could be killed.