A couple of days passed, and Aahan was still stuck in a room. The Attendant he had met earlier was his only guest, and he only came whenever it was time for Aahan's medications or to make subtle changes in the machines strapped to his body.
Strangely enough, judging from his initial injuries, Aahan wasn't sure if he would live to see another day. Most of his wounds had healed within two days, though the Attendant insisted on Aahan not removing the bandage around his hand.
It was weird because the wounds he had received would usually take months, if not years, to heal. Yet there, he was almost as good as new in merely forty-eight hours.
On top of that, Aahan didn't think his injured hand was in a worse state than the rest of his body. But since he was told not to remove the bandage, Aahan didn't bother asking twice.
Besides his injuries, everything remained the same. Whenever he inquired about Vivaan or his status, the Attendant said the same thing as before.
"He is recovering, and you don't need to worry about him."
As usual, Aahan would nod and turn silent. He knew there was more going on than what the Attendant was letting on. But since he wasn't completely healed, he could only bid his time and hope Vivaan was alright.
Apart from all that, Aahan knew something was different about the facility they were in. It wasn't an ordinary facility because... if Aahan were to tell anyone else about the things he had gone through that day, they would brand him as a maniac and lock him up somewhere.
However, the Attendant and the rest of the workers in the facility not only believed what Aahan had gone through but also gave him details that no one who hadn't encountered Asuras before could give him.
'I don't know whether I should trust them, but I can only sit here and wait till I'm completely healed.' Aahan thought. 'Once I'm strong enough, I'd demand to be brought to Vivaan's room and see what's going on with him.'
As he was lost in his thoughts, the Attendant entered his room once again with a broad smile on his face. Aahan smiled back, as usual, waiting for the right moment to strike up a conversation.
"Looks like you'll be able to leave soon," the Attendant nodded. "Your recovery speed is unlike anything I had personally ever seen."
"That's good to hear... So when can I see Vivaan?"
The Attendant immediately went silent. Aahan could see the Attendant's mind racing, trying to devise a different excuse. But the longer he took to respond, the more restless Aahan got.
One thing was clear, for whatever reason, the ones in charge of the facility did not want Aahan to leave the room, and Aahan knew it. After spending years in prison, one had to develop such acumen.
"Soon! It would help if you had proper rest-" the Attendant began speaking, but Aahan knew he was nervous, even though he was wearing a mask as usual.
"I think it's enough," Aahan got up from the bed, yanking the tubes attached to his left arm, and the Attendant gasped.
"No! You can not-" Attendant wanted to warn Aahan of something, but Aahan was consumed with worry for his brother to let the Attendant's words get to him.
"No, let me tell you how this thing would go down," Aahan replied, inching closer to the Attedant, his stature threatening to consume the Attendant.
"I don't know if you know who I am or what I have done in the past, but let me assure you, if you don't take me to my brother, this instant, it will not end well for either of us."
However, before Aahan could do anything, a familiar jolt of pain rushed through his left arm. It was similar to when the Asura's tongue had dug its spikes in his arm but worse.
It almost felt like something was crawling under his arm as Aahan tightly grasped onto it. Meanwhile, the Attendant rushed to reconnect the tubes that were connected to Aahan's arm, but it was too late.
The next moment, something ripped out of the clutches of bandages and shot towards the Attendant. Aahan recoiled his arm, but it wasn't enough as the tongue, once a part of the Asura, had wrapped itself around the Attendant's neck, threatening to rip it apart.
But even more surprising than that, the tongue seemed to have taken the form of a whip coming from the top of Aahan's palm. It almost felt like the whip had become a part of Aahan as he could feel the Attendant's touch through it.
"Please..." the Attendant stared at Aahan with pleading eyes. "Please... don't do... this..."
"I-I'm not doing anything! I swear!"
Aahan panicked and almost tried pulling the tongue back, but then it occurred to him that doing so might rip the Attendant's neck. Although he had no idea why the bloody thing had become a part of him, he knew it probably reacted because of his anger.
As such, Aahan decided to calm his raging nerves, hoping the whip would loosen up enough for the Attendant to slip through unharmed. However, it wasn't as easy as he had expected.
While Aahan struggled with his emotions, the Attendant fell to his knees. His eyes shot up as he struggled to breathe. He did not have much time, and as all hope seemed lost, Aahan saw a man rush into the room from the corner of his eyes.
The same old man he had seen as Asura was carrying him in the other world. But now, Aahan got a clear look at him.
The man looked old, like really old and yet his physique would have put the greatest of bodybuilders to shame. His white hair was tightly spun in a man-bun, along with a long bushy beard. The man also sported a rudraksha¹ necklace and a bracelet.
There was no denying it. The man before him was the Gurudev!
Aahan was about to ask the man for help when the man struck the back of his head before he even had a chance to speak, and everything turned black.
***
Chapter Glossary:
1. Rudraksha: is the seed of the Elaeocarpus Ganitrus tree. There are many types, and they are used in various rituals across Hinduism. Mainly for meditative purposes, but they are also used in Ayurveda etc.
There's a lot of information about them on the Internet, and I'm not sure if I can tell you all about it here. If you want to know more about it, feel free to drop a comment, and I'll try my best to explain it to you.