"Do you feel it too?" Tara's voice trembled as she looked at her reflection in the glass window of her office. The lights of the bustling city stretched out beneath her, each glowing speck a distant echo of the life she once knew.
Kaelash sat at her feet, his fur bristling with an unnatural tension. The street outside seemed quieter than it had moments before, the honking horns and hurried footsteps fading into an eerie stillness. He gave her a look, almost as if he understood the weight of her words, but said nothing.
Tara closed her eyes and pressed her hands against the cool window, her mind spinning with the feeling she couldn't shake. It was as though something deep inside her—something ancient, something powerful—was awakening, stretching and breaking free from the confines of the ordinary life she'd built for herself.
But why now?
Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to her office burst open with an almost violent force, and Arav Malhotra—her colleague, though perhaps not for much longer—strode in, a look of sheer panic on his face. His eyes, typically calm and calculating, were wide with confusion, and his normally composed demeanor was fractured.
"Tara!" he gasped, nearly stumbling over his words. "You—you're not going to believe this, but I—"
Before he could finish, there was a loud bang from behind him. A figure dressed in black—his face obscured by a hood—entered the room. His movements were fluid, predatory, and Tara immediately felt a deep, primal fear twist in her gut. This wasn't someone she'd known, but the way he moved, like he had no intention of being caught or stopped, set off alarm bells in her mind.
He raised his hand, and Tara felt her body freeze. Every muscle locked, her mind fighting to regain control, but it was as if some invisible force had gripped her.
The figure stepped forward, and his voice, low and chilling, cut through the silence.
"The goddess has returned."
Tara's breath caught in her throat. Her heart raced. Goddess? What was he talking about?
Kaelash, who had been unusually still at her feet, suddenly shot to his paws, his eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. His bark was nothing like the one she was accustomed to hearing from the mutt she had adopted years ago. It was sharp, like the call of a beast, and full of menace.
"Get away from her," Kaelash growled in a tone that was both foreign and familiar, his voice somehow laced with an ancient wisdom that made Tara's chest tighten.
The figure's lips twisted into a cold smile, and before anyone could react, he raised his hand again. But this time, the force was different. Tara felt a surge of energy inside her, like a spark igniting a fire. She could feel something ancient inside her stirring, and with a will she didn't know she had, she broke free from his hold.
"What the hell?" Arav shouted, his eyes wide with disbelief.
But Tara barely heard him. She was consumed by the power that surged through her veins, a raw, untamed force that she had no control over. She stood, her fists clenched at her sides, as a deep, echoing voice seemed to reverberate in her mind.
*You are not what you think you are.*
The words, though whispered like a ghost's breath, were unmistakable. She understood them with every fiber of her being. And in that moment, something unlocked. Her body—her very soul—shifted.
The glowing, humanoid form of Kaelash, who had been hidden behind the guise of her street dog, was now fully revealed. His presence filled the room, his aura immense, almost godlike.
"Tara," Kaelash's voice was now unmistakably his own, and the softness in it was gone, replaced by a deep authority. "You've awakened. The world is about to change."
Tara looked at him in shock, her mind struggling to process everything happening around her. The transformation of her loyal dog into a celestial being was a revelation that shook her to the core. But even more than that, the words the cloaked figure had spoken—to her, the goddess—sent a ripple of terror through her body.
She wasn't who she thought she was. She wasn't just Tara Vedant.
But what did that mean? And what was she supposed to do with this power—this new identity—that was now coming to the surface?
Before she could ask, the hooded figure took a step back, his eyes narrowing with frustration. "It's not over," he hissed. "We will find you again, Tara Vedant. The cult will not rest until you are destroyed."
The moment he spoke those words, Tara's mind went blank. The last thing she remembered was Kaelash stepping forward, his hand pressing against her shoulder as he whispered, "Hold on, Tara. You're not alone."
The room began to spin. Tara's vision blurred, and her body went limp, the weight of everything crashing down on her like an overwhelming tide.
---
The next thing Tara knew, she was sitting in the back of a car, Kaelash by her side in his human form. His once-wild features now appeared sharp and sculpted—an ethereal beauty that she could hardly believe was once her street dog. His dark eyes, now glowing faintly, fixed on her with an unwavering intensity.
"Kaelash..." she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Who are you really?"
His lips curled into a faint, bittersweet smile. "I am your protector, Tara. Your vahan."
The air between them was thick with unspoken words, and Tara, despite everything, felt a sense of calm settle in her chest. She didn't know what had just happened, what was happening to her, or why, but in this moment, Kaelash's presence was a strange anchor.
"You're going to have to learn who you really are, Tara," he continued, his voice steady but firm. "The world is about to change, and you can't hide from it anymore."
Tara's gaze flicked toward the window as the lights of the city passed by in a blur. Her life was already unrecognizable, and there was no turning back now.
"Whatever this is," she murmured, her grip tightening on the seat, "I need to understand it. I need answers."
Kaelash's expression softened slightly. "You'll have them. But first, you need to trust yourself."
Trust herself.
Tara closed her eyes, the weight of her destiny pressing down on her. She was no longer just Tara Vedant. She was something far more dangerous—and perhaps, something far more powerful—than she could ever have imagined.
And whatever was coming, she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. But there was no escaping now.
Her journey had begun.