The air above the ghats of Varanasi shimmered with the heat of a summer evening. Ujjwal leaned against a weathered pillar, watching the Ganga's waters flow beneath the crimson light of sunset. A crowd of pilgrims moved past him, their chants blending into a melody of faith that he had always found fascinating but distant.

At 25, Ujjwal lived at the intersection of modernity and tradition. He worked as a freelance web developer, skilled at crafting digital worlds, but found little belief in the mythological one his mother spoke of with reverence. His childhood had been filled with tales of the Mahabharata and Ramayana, but to him, they were stories—not reality.

"These stories were metaphors," he would tell his mother. "Lessons wrapped in fantasy."

An old woman selling garlands nearby gave him a curious glance. "The Ganga hides many truths, child," she muttered as he bought a flower. "Not everything can be explained by words alone."

He dismissed her words with a polite nod, but a strange unease settled in his chest as shadows deepened around the river.

The scent of wet earth filled the air as a sudden breeze swept through. The crowd thinned, leaving Ujjwal alone. He felt a sharp tug in his chest—an instinct to move. He stepped away from the ghat, turning just in time to see ripples breaking the calm surface of the water.

Something was rising.

A pair of gleaming eyes, red as molten iron, broke the surface. Then another. And another. A clawed hand followed, dragging a sinewy body covered in dark scales. Three monstrous figures, unlike anything he had ever imagined, emerged from the river with predatory grace.

"Who... what are you?" he whispered, heart pounding.

A guttural voice echoed in his mind, not spoken but felt. "The time has come, mortal. The world you deny is waking. Your blood calls to us."

He stumbled back, his foot slipping on the slick stone. One of the beasts leapt with terrifying speed, its jaws wide.

Ujjwal threw up his arms instinctively, but the force sent him sprawling. Pain shot through his side as claws tore into him. Blood soaked his shirt, the metallic scent filling his nostrils.

His vision blurred as he was hurled into the river, the current pulling him under. Cold swallowed him, and for a moment, there was only silence.

---