The forest felt different on this side.
Rana pushed through the thick ferns, blade in hand, his jaw locked tight, the others trailing behind him in a silence that wasn't fear—it was regret.
No one spoke about Arjun.
No one wanted to be the first to admit what they'd just walked away from.
Rix kicked a root out of the way. "I swear if we run into another spider nest, I'm just lying down and letting fate do its thing."
Bhavna gave a tight smile. Tarun didn't even respond.
That's when Rana halted. His arm shot up.
Ahead, the forest opened into a circular glade—sunlight leaking through in pale, smoky beams.
And on the ground—bodies.
Tarun gasped. "Are they...?"
"No," Bhavna whispered. "Look—breathing."
They rushed forward, feet slipping on wet moss and cracked branches.
There were maybe seven survivors sprawled across the ground.
One man had a dislocated shoulder and dried blood caked on his shirt.
A young woman—mid-twenties, wearing a scorched jacket—lay curled like she'd fallen asleep in a nightmare.
A teenage boy clutched a small child, both unconscious, their faces pale but peaceful.
And in the center of them all—
Maya.
Bhavna dropped to her knees beside her. "Maya! Maya, can you hear me?"
Rana leaned over, checking her pulse. "Alive. Steady."
"She's got bruises," Rix muttered. "But no bites. No wounds. No spider venom."
Tarun was frozen in place, staring around the glade.
"Who put them here?" he whispered. "They didn't crawl out of that cave and faint in formation."
No one had an answer.
Rix stepped back and spun around, scanning the treeline. "Where's Kittu?"
No reply.
"Where's Arjun?" Bhavna said softly.
Still no reply.
The jungle around them was silent.
Just breathing. Wind. And the faint rustle of leaves that sounded almost... intentional.
Meanwhile…
The stone walls grew colder the deeper Arjun went.
Not cool like a breeze—but cold like old iron, like deep water, like breath on the back of your neck from something you can't see.
He kept walking.
One foot dragging slightly behind, his wounded leg throbbing—but his mind fixed on one thing:
Maya.
Her scream had sounded real.
Even if something had mimicked it—she had to be somewhere. Somewhere close.
The tunnel began to curve down in a spiral, and the walls no longer looked like natural rock. They were black, smooth, cut. Carved by something with tools—or claws.
He passed strange markings etched into the walls. Symbols that hurt to look at.
Some glowed faintly as he passed them.
They pulsed once.Then again.
Like they could sense him.
He reached a split in the path.
Left: total darkness.
Right: a dull red glow, like firelight bleeding from a crack.
He took the right.
The floor dipped further.
Around the bend, he saw a corridor ending in a stone door—not open, but pulsing. Not shut either.
A thin seam ran down its center. From beneath it, that faint red glow flickered.
The symbols on the door twisted slightly. Moved. They seemed to shift as he got closer.
And then—
He heard it.
A whisper.
Not with ears.
In his mind.
"You are not ready."
He froze.
His feet locked to the floor. His head throbbed.
The voice wasn't threatening.
It wasn't angry.
It was patient.
Like it had been here for a long time.
Like it had been waiting.
Then—light.
A flash, white and searing, exploded from under the door.
Arjun cried out, clutching his head.
Images slammed into his mind:
A creature larger than the cave itself.A tunnel of flesh.Eyes blinking inside walls.Teeth where there should be sky.An ocean made of mouths.A sound that had no beginning, only ending.
And Maya—screaming his name.
His legs buckled.
He fell to his knees.
And then—flat to the ground.
His body trembled.
His eyes went glassy.
The whisper faded.
His breath slowed.
And Arjun lay still.
Alone.
At the bottom of the world.