From the mountain top, the sunset looked like a beautiful painting. The sky was filled with bright oranges and reds, slowly changing to soft pinks and purples. The sun, like a glowing ball, sank behind the distant hills, casting long, golden shadows over the valleys.
Both Lily and Das continued to stare at the distant horizon. As the last tip of the sun vanished into the other side of the earth, they both released a heavy sigh.
"That was the most beautiful sight." Lily uttered while still staring at the distant sky.
"Shall we go now? It's getting late." Das brought her back to reality in one line.
"Leave me alone for few minutes." Lily spoke in a sad tone while staring at the sky.
"Then stay here until I come back. If you encounter any danger, shout loudly." Das instructed her as he thought of visiting the war god temple like usual.
As Lily stayed silent, Das took a last look at her and left, walking away.
A smile appeared on Mohini's face, who was waiting for this exact moment. She took out a small handgun from her bag and waited for the perfect timing.
After walking more than 100 meters on the rocky terrain, Das reached the small temple of ancient origin. The temple was built using volcanic black rocks, which are very hard to find in today's world.
The War God Temple is one of the few oldest temples Das has visited. As he felt a strange connection to this temple, he became a frequent visitor to this place.
Das left his shoe outside the temple and entered inside. There is only a ten-foot idol of the war god present inside, which is sculpted on a single rock.
With the body of a human and the head of a lion, the war god statue is in the stance of a fierce being, ready to tear off the Rakshasa [Demon] idol at his knees with his claw-like fingers.
After praying for a few minutes, Das took a good look at the sculptor and left.
"Ahh… Das… Das..."
While walking back, Das suddenly heard the shout of Lily. Without a second delay, he rushed forward with full speed.
Within a few seconds, he came close, and Lily appeared in his sights. But in the next second, he came to an abrupt stop.
His eyes went wide in surprise as he saw the lady in the black Range Rover pointing a gun at Lily's head. Staring into the eyes of Mohini, Das began approaching her on slow steps.
Mohini smiled proudly with a sly look as he stared back at Das while pointing gun at Lily. Like a chicken in heavy rain, Lily is shaking from top to bottom, and she closed her eyes in fear.
"Stop," Mohini warned as Das approached close enough.
Das stopped walking and continued to stare at Mohini with a serious look.
"Show me your hand." Mohini demanded.
Das tossed the car key, which he kept ready to save Lily, and raised his hands high into the air.
Mohini's gaze moved upward to see his hands. But in the next second, Das flicked his feet and sent the medium-sized rock flying towards Mohini. The rock hit the gun, pointed at Lily's head, and Mohini lost her grip on the gun.
Before she realized what was happening, Das covered half the distance. But at that exact moment, Das witnessed the biggest surprise of his life.
Mohini, who was already expecting a surprise attack from Das, uttered a weird mantra loudly, and the gold bracelet on her right hand glowed. A streak of energy was released from the bracelet and hit Das on the chest.
"Das…" Lily cried out in panic.
Das felt a heavy hit, and his body was pushed back by ten feet. Before he knew what was happening, Das fell to his knees and gritted his teeth to hold the pain in his chest.
Mohini didn't pick up the gun this time. She pointed a finger at Lily, and the bracelet on her wrist continued to glow.
"Stop…" Das cried out while staring at the angry face of Mohini.
"If you try one more trick, I will blast this lady head into pieces. Do you want to try?" Mohini asked in a stressed tone.
"No, don't harm her." Das lifted his hands into the air in submission.
"I heard a lot about you from your family. But I never expected you to act without even knowing my motive. How naive." Mohini said with a spat on the ground.
The look on his face changed when he heard the word family. Anger surfaced on his worried face, and his eyes turned red. He completely ignored the threat from Mohini and stood up with a serious look.
He took a step forward and sat on the rock with a knee up.
"What do you want? Did they send you to kill me?" Das asked while lighting a cigarette.
Mohini was taken aback by the sudden change. "I'm not here to kill you." Mohini replied while observing Das's every action.
"Then what? Do you need any signatures for the fortune on my name?" Das asked while releasing the smoke.
"No… I just need a small favor. I don't mean any harm to you or this lady." Mohini replied.
Das smirked with a short laugh after hearing her answer. "Then why did you bring a gun and threatening this lady now? Anyway, tell me what I can do for you." Das asked in a lazy tone.
Mohini stared at Das for a long time before making her demand. She carefully moved her other hand and took out a small stick from her handbag. She tossed the stick towards Das carefully.
"A wand?!" Das caught the stick with one hand and began observing it from different angles.
It is a dark wand with several inscription-like marks on it. There is something written on one side of the wand in a peculiar language.
Das recognized language at first glance. It is not strange to him. He already saw the same language several years ago on a sword.
"It's not just a wand. It's a powerful weapon that can take hundreds of human lives like yours." Mohini replied proudly.
"Like me? What does that mean? Are you saying that you are not human? By any chance, are you a shape-shifting alien?" Das spoke in a playful tone while checking the wand carefully.