"Look, all the money is in the bank, and as we did the investigation for the second time, we found nothing. All the evidence we found the first time seems to be part of a plan to defame Mr. Aditya Ananta," Samradh said to the media reporters outside Vijaya Bank.
A reporter asked, "So, what about the evidence that you showed us the first time? Why is it now gone from everywhere, like it never existed?"
Samradh replied, "Look, we don't know. Maybe some skilled hackers are involved in this case."
A different reporter asked, "Then why would they try to defame Mr. Aditya? Do you know?"
Samradh said, "That's enough," and started walking toward his car in an attempt to escape.
As he drove, he looked at the scenery of Mumbai streets, crowded with different kinds of people. Some were selling things on the road, some beside the road, and others in their stores. Most were street food vendors. Samradh stopped his car and looked at a couple eating pani puri. He kept staring at them, a slight hint of guilt and regret crossing his face. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, opened his mobile, and looked at a picture in his gallery of a very young girl holding a baby. Tears filled his eyes, but he wiped them away and started driving again.
He called Ansh, but the call didn't connect. A recorded message said, "Please call later; the person is busy."
Samradh muttered to himself, "To whom is he talking now, when I'm getting bombarded by questions here?"
On the other hand, Ansh was saying, "Don't worry. We'll make sure no one finds your family, so no one will come to the hospital. And all the allegations against him are clear now."
"Thank you so much, sir," Vikram said in a relieved voice while walking through the crowd at a railway platform.
Ansh replied, "No need to thank me. But hey, where are you? What's this noise? Aren't you at a railway station?"
Vikram hesitated and said, "Uh, no, I'm not. Okay, bye!" He hung up the phone in a hurry.
Vikram thought, Phew. I can't tell anyone where I'm going, or I'll get in trouble. I need to hurry and find out more about these Uncanny Valley agents.
He entered the train and sat in his seat, looking out the window at the bustling crowd. He thought to himself, I'm lucky my compartment isn't crowded.
The train started its journey from Mumbai at around 2 PM, passing through Thane, Panvel, Mangaon, Khed, Chiplun, Sangameshwar Road, Ratnagiri, Rajapur Road, Vaibhavwadi Road, and Kankavli. By the time it reached midnight, he heard a familiar voice.
"Yo, Vikram! How are your parents?"
Vikram looked up and saw a young maiden in a light pink dress sitting in front of him. Her face carried a hint of tension, and her tone was careful, as though she was trying not to say something wrong.
"How dare you show me your face?" Vikram snapped and grabbed her neck in anger.
The man beside him shouted, "Hey! What are you doing? Leave her!" He got up to confront Vikram.
The young maiden, Onna, smirked and said, "Yes, that's it. Come on, give me more, daddy."
The man recoiled in disgust. "What the hell? You guys are disgusting! Do that somewhere else!"
Vikram froze, startled by her words. Onna removed his hands from her neck effortlessly, displaying abnormal strength.
With a bright smile on her face, Onna said, "Yeah, I think it's not right to disturb normal people. Let's go talk somewhere else."
She walked away, and Vikram followed her. She stood by the door.
"Why are you here now? Who's going to die? Everyone on this train?" Vikram asked.
Onna's face turned serious. "No. But I don't have time to explain. I came here to warn you—our leader knows about you. He's coming for you."
Her worry seemed genuine. Vikram grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Now tell me everything! Why is he coming for me? What do you people want from me?"
Onna sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you a short story.
"Long ago, between Treta Yuga and Dwapar Yuga, the demon king of Patal challenged Indra, the king of gods. Indra, without using any weapons, destroyed the demon army with his bare hands and struck the demon king with immense lightning. The force created a void that cracked dimensions down to Patal Lok. The demon king's body, as it passed through the realms, turned to ash.
"Seeing her husband reduced to ashes, the demon queen immolated herself. Kshatrignesh, the demon king's younger brother, collected the ashes in a golden jar filled with Raktbija demon's blood. He added a strand of Krishna's hair and sacrificed his children to please Brahma, seeking a boon. Brahma granted it, but someone needed to drink the concoction for the child to be born.
"Kshatrignesh offered the mixture to a statue of Mahakali. After years of relentless mantras, the statue drank the blood and was destroyed. From the rubble, Kshatrignesh heard the cries of a baby—a demon child born through unnatural means but with Mahakali as his mother. Kshatrignesh named him Rudra and raised him, appointing his other children as Rudra's guards.
One of these guards mingled with humans, creating a hybrid bloodline. These half-demons, half-humans, trained for battle but were forbidden to learn magic. They were sent to Earth to hunt the gods' chosen ones. The team was named the Uncanny Valley Agents. I'm one of them. Leader has killed over thirteen million failed chosen ones. And now, you, Vikram, are the perfect one."
Vikram asked, "What's the difference between the failed ones and me?"
Onna replied with a faint smile, "They're simply not you."
With that, she jumped off the moving train.
"Hey!" Vikram yelled, but she disappeared into the darkness.
He returned to his seat, deep in thought. Rudra, Kshatrignesh, the leader… they're all after me. What should I do?
Suddenly, he noticed a tall man standing near the door. His long hair fell to his ears, and a mask covered his jaw. Dressed in a sleek black suit, he carried two black sticks tipped with glowing red diamonds. The man turned, his gaze meeting Vikram's.
Vikram froze in fear. The world seemed to go silent, even the cries of a baby stopping abruptly, as though every molecule in the train reacted to the presence of the demon.