The hospital corridor felt colder than before.
Urvashi stood quietly in the corridor, her gaze distant.
Silent.
People passed by her.
Nurses.
Patients.
Their voices drifted through the corridor, but none of them reached her.
Her mind was still in that room.
“Relief…”
The word echoed in her mind.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
“No…”
She shook her head faintly.
“I know him.”
The words came out almost as a whisper.
“I know how he speaks…
how he reacts…”
She paused—
“…and that wasn’t him.”
“Talking to yourself won’t help.”
A voice came from behind.
She turned her head slightly.
A young man had been standing near the wall for a while.
Not too close,
Not too far.
His gaze was fixed on her.
As if he had been watching for a while.
A soft smile rested on his face.
“Hey, Urvi… how are you?” his voice was light.
Urvashi stared at him quietly for a few seconds.
Inside her mind, her thoughts raced.
“Forget about Bhagavat… I think I’m overthinking.”
Her gaze returned to him.
Cold.
Sharp.
“Who gave you the right to call me by my nickname?” her tone was calm but dangerous.
The young man smiled faintly.
Far too comfortably.
“Is it really that bad if a husband calls his lovely wife by her nickname?”
Silence—
Urvashi didn’t answer immediately.
She simply looked at him.
Carefully.
As if trying to read every thought hidden behind his smile.
Then—
“It seems you’ve forgotten who’s standing in front of you.”
A brief silence followed.
The air suddenly felt heavier.
“Do you want to experience hell?”
Before Vikrant could reply, a ringtone echoed from her phone.
Tring— Tring— Tring—
For a brief second, the suffocating pressure around Vikrant disappeared.
He quietly took a breath before thinking—
“That ringtone saved me.
For a moment there, I genuinely felt like I was standing at death’s door.”
Then Vikrant lowered his gaze slightly and thought—
“Yeah… I definitely crossed the line this time.
No wonder she almost killed me with just her presence.”
Urvashi pulled out her phone and answered calmly.
“Yes… I’m coming.”
The call ended.
She turned back toward him.
“Vikrant”
Despite the pressure surrounding him, a faint smile still appeared on Vikrant’s face when he heard his name from her lips.
Her expression became serious.
“I’m entrusting my little brother to you.
Take care of him until I come back.”
A brief pause followed.
Then she asked slowly,
“Got it?”
Vikrant placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
“You wound me, Urvi.
Of course I’ll protect him.”
Then he leaned slightly closer.
“You can leave without worrying.”
A faint grin appeared on his face.
“I’m here, after all.”
His eyes lingered on her.
Softly.
Obsessively.
“So don’t worry… my lovely wife.”
Then—
Behind that carefree expression, Vikrant’s thought—
“I somehow managed to hide it with my usual acting skills.
She didn’t notice how terrified I was earlier.”
A small pause crossed his thoughts.
“Still… it really felt like I was staring death in the eyes.”
Urvashi’s expression didn’t change.
Not even slightly.
She turned away from him completely.
Her gaze shifted toward the nearby bench where her parents sat quietly, watching everything in silence.
“Maa… Papa—”
The words stopped midway.
Something caught her attention for a moment.
Her father looked confused by her reaction.
Meanwhile, her mother immediately noticed the slight disturbance in her daughter’s eyes.
“Is something bothering you, Urvi?”
Concern filled her voice.
Just a little.
But enough.
Urvashi remained silent for a moment.
Then shook her head faintly.
“No.”
Her voice came out softer this time.
Then she spoke again.
“Can I go to my friend’s house?
She just called me about a project.”
The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.
Silence spread again.
Then suddenly—
“Urvi, your brother is in the hospital right now.
What if he needs you?”
Her mother’s words cut sharply through the silence.
Before things could worsen, her father gently placed his warm hand on her mother’s shoulder.
“It’s alright,” he said calmly.
Then he looked at Urvashi.
“You can go.
We are here to look after him.”
His gaze rested on Urvashi for a moment.
“Just… don’t return home too late.”
Urvashi lowered her gaze slightly, silently listening to her father’s words.
“Thank you, Papa.”
Then—
She glanced at Vikrant one last time.
Her eyes turned colder again.
“Remember my words.”
A dangerous smile appeared on her lips.
“Or prepare yourself for hell.”
The next second—
Space distorted slightly around Urvashi and she vanished.
Her figure disappeared instantly from the hospital corridor.
As if she had never been there in the first place.
The corridor fell silent again.
Only a faint breeze lingered in the corridor.
Vikrant stared at the empty space where she had disappeared.
For the first time, the ringtone sounded like a blessing to him.
*
*
*
At the university—
Inside the private council room, several high-ranking students sat around a long table in silence.
A quiet discussion was taking place inside the brightly lit room.
The discussion had continued for so long that evening had already fallen.
Several young men and women sat around the table, exchanging information one after another as the atmosphere gradually grew heavier.
Among them, Urvashi sat silently on her chair, listening to everything with an indifferent expression while maintaining her perfect posture.
She barely spoke.
Yet somehow, her presence alone made the others unconsciously lower their voices.
The room remained silent for a few seconds after the final report ended.
No one spoke immediately.
Not because they had nothing to say—
But because no one wanted to be the first to speak in front of her.
A young woman sitting near the corner nervously adjusted her glasses before finally breaking the silence.
“So… are we really sure it’s connected to the disappearances?”
A young man answered quickly.
“It can’t be a coincidence anymore.
Three people vanished in the eastern district within two days.
They weren’t ordinary people either.”
A pause—
“Each of them had awakened abilities.”
The atmosphere grew heavier again.
One of the young men leaned forward slowly.
“And every crime scene had the same thing.”
His voice lowered.
“A…
black…
feather…”
Silence.
Someone swallowed nervously.
Meanwhile—
Urvashi sat calmly at the table, listening without interruption.
Her expression didn’t change at all.
But her eyes shifted slightly.
“Black feather.”
For some reason—
That detail felt familiar.
One of the young women noticed her reaction immediately.
“President?
You know something?”
All eyes turned toward Urvashi at once.
The room instantly became tense.
Urvashi briefly closed her eyes, thinking.
Then slowly—
“I’ve seen it before.”
Her calm voice echoed softly inside the room.
Everyone immediately became alert.
“Where?”
A young man asked immediately.
Urvashi opened her eyes again.
Cold.
Sharp.
“In a dead city.”
A heavy silence settled over the room after her answer.
Someone frowned in confusion.
“Dead… city?”
But before anyone could question further—
Knock…
Knock…
A sound suddenly echoed through the room.
Everyone froze.
Urvashi remained completely still.
Because no one was supposed to arrive tonight.
One of the young men stood up carefully.
“Did someone invite another person?”
Nobody answered.
The knocking came again.
This time— slower.
Knock…
Knock…
An uneasy feeling spread throughout the room.
Meanwhile—
Urvashi’s gaze quietly shifted toward the door.
For the first time since arriving, her eyes showed interest.
Then—
A small smile appeared on her lips.
But it wasn’t warm.
It was dangerous.
“Looks like… we have a guest.”
The door slowly opened.
And the moment everyone saw who was standing there—
The tense atmosphere loosened slightly.
“Vice President?”
One of the young women frowned immediately.
“You’re so late.”
Vikrant stepped inside calmly.
His usual playful smile rested on his face.
“Traffic,” he said awkwardly.
Then he slowly closed the door behind him, careful not to make any sound.
A senior female student spoke up,
“You aren’t funny.”
Nobody believed him.
Of course—
Someone like Vikrant could arrive anywhere instantly if he truly wanted to.
His gaze slowly swept across the room, then stopped on Urvashi.
Silence—
For a brief moment, the atmosphere became strange again.
Vikrant smiled faintly.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Then he glanced toward Urvashi and added playfully—
“Did the President say anything bad about me before I arrived?”
Nobody laughed.
Meanwhile—
Urvashi looked at him quietly for a moment.
Coldly.
Sharply.
“Bhagavat?”
Vikrant’s playful smile faded for a brief moment.
“He’s already home,” he said calmly.
“Your parents took him home earlier.
He’s fine.”
A senior female student smirked.
“What an interesting thing— our Vice President is doing babysitting now.”
Vikrant took his seat and the conversation resumed.
The tension in the room slowly settled back into controlled silence, as everyone tried to pretend nothing unusual had just happened.
A senior student cleared his throat.
“As I was saying, the disappearances are increasing in the eastern district.”
He slid a set of sealed documents onto the table.
In the upper corner was a stamped emblem:
AWAKENED ASSOCIATION – INTERNAL REPORT
Another student added quickly,
“Three awakened individuals have gone missing in forty-eight hours.
No trace.
No struggle.
Nothing.
And the only pattern we’ve confirmed is still the same.”
He paused.
“…Black feathers.”
The room grew heavier again.
Urvashi sat at the head of the table, her gaze fixed on the association report.
No surprise,
Only calculation.
Vikrant leaned slightly forward, glancing at the seal.
“So the Awakened Association is finally involved,” he said casually.
A senior student nodded.
“They’ve started a quiet investigation for this case.
But…”
His voice lowered.
“…They haven’t shared any findings with us yet.”
That line made the atmosphere more tense.
Vikrant smirked faintly.
“Of course they haven’t.”
Urvashi spoke calmly without looking up.
“They’re waiting.”
Everyone turned slightly toward her.
“For what?” someone asked.
Urvashi asked the senior student slowly,
“Can I see the Awakened Association’s report?”
Urvashi flipped a page of the report.
A young woman sitting near Urvashi looked at the others.
“Don’t force yourself to worry.”
Then she shifted her gaze toward Urvashi with a soft smile.
“Our goddess is on duty~”
She tilted her head slightly.
“So… would you like something, darling?”
“Coffee?
Or water— maybe something sweet?”
Vikrant’s eyes lingered on that young woman for a moment longer than necessary.
“Meenakshi…”
He exhaled slowly, his smile faint but controlled.
“We’re in the middle of a serious meeting.
If the Awakened Association has intervened directly, then this situation has already crossed normal control limits.”
A senior student asked Urvashi quietly.
“President… do you have any idea about this matter?”
Urvashi didn’t respond immediately.
Instead, she closed the report.
Soft sound.
Final.
Then—
“We’ll discuss it tomorrow.
It’s already too late tonight.”
What direction do you think this story is heading?