A quiet room, where a wooden bed lay between two windows. The bed was draped in soft white sheets, and a faint scent of medicinal herbs lingered in the air. A young girl sat sleeping on a chair nearby. She wore a cotton outfit in shades of white and green—a knee-length tunic fastened at the neck, paired with comfortable trousers tight at the ankles.
Suddenly, the girl's eyes fluttered open. She looked lazily at the boy lying on the bed and muttered to herself, "When is this guy finally going to wake up? He should have been conscious four days ago, but he's just been lying here for seven days straight."
Scratching her head, she tried to recall, "Ah, right... Master mentioned that this boy is only at the first stage of Body Refinement, which he barely achieved after surviving his near-death state. The Origin Energy in his body is pitifully low."
On the bed, Abhay's eyes slowly began to open. His eyelids felt heavy, and his vision was completely blurred. Panic instantly set in as he tried to move, but he couldn't even lift a single finger. His gaze immediately fell on the girl who was lost in her own thoughts.
When the girl, Vrinda, noticed Abhay staring at her with wide, open eyes, she looked back at him with eyes full of pity. Abhay couldn't see her clearly, but suddenly, a translucent blue screen flashed before his blurry vision:
[ Target: Atre Vrinda | Reaction: Pity | +0.1 Mool-Ansh Gained ]
Seeing this, Abhay was stunned. "What kind of points am I getting right now?" he thought in bewilderment.
Vrinda got up from her chair, stepped closer, and asked, "Abhay, are you awake? How are you feeling?"
Abhay fell into deep thought. "Who is she talking to? That's not my name!" Trying to speak through his parched throat, he managed to force out a raspy, heavy voice. "Are you... a nurse?"
Vrinda raised an eyebrow. "Nurse? What is that? What are you trying to say?"
Abhay gave her a weird look. Vrinda continued, "I'm no nurse. I am a Paricharika (Attendant) here."
Hearing this, Abhay made an odd face and questioned himself internally, "Paricharika? It feels like I've been transmigrated into some ancient era!"
Staring at him, Vrinda asked, "Why are you making such a weird face? Is there something on my face?"
Abhay panicked internally. "Oh man, my old habit of making weird faces is acting up. What do I do now! If I say something stupid to this girl, who knows what she'll use to beat me up."
He quickly forced his expression back to normal and asked, "By the way... what is your name?"
Vrinda looked at him in sheer astonishment. "You don't know me? I am Vrinda, your friend!"
Abhay made that same weird face again and mumbled under his breath, "Heh... since when did girls start becoming my friends?"
Vrinda stared at him for a second but didn't say another word. She immediately turned and bolted toward the door, shouting for her master. "Master! I think along with his stomach wound, Abhay has suffered severe brain damage too!"
Through his blurry eyes, Abhay tried to process the entire ridiculous situation.
A short while later, Vrinda returned to the room with her Master. The Vaidya (Healer) looked to be around 45 to 50 years old. He wore a simple white cotton robe, and his hair was tied in a basic bun held by a wooden hairpin.
The Vaidya approached Abhay and gently grabbed his wrist. Sending a faint stream of green energy from his own body into Abhay's meridians, he asked, "Do you feel something like ants crawling, or perhaps needles pricking you?"
Feeling a strange warmth spreading through his arm, Abhay replied, "I don't know what you're talking about, but I do feel a slight warmth."
Vrinda stepped forward and lightly smacked Abhay on the head, scolding him. "This isn't the time for jokes! Tell Master exactly how you feel!"
Rubbing his head from the smack, Abhay nervously replied, "Yeah... yeah... I'm telling you, just don't hit me again." He looked at the Vaidya. "Yes, when you sent something inside me, I felt like ants were crawling and a slight pricking sensation."
Hearing this, the Vaidya breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "This indicates that your meridians are dried up and slightly damaged. But there's nothing to worry about. Thank the heavens none of your meridians are completely shattered, otherwise it would have been a massive problem."
The Vaidya then asked his second question. "Are you feeling cold?"
"Yeah, a slight chill," Abhay answered through dry lips.
The Vaidya nodded again. "Last question... Is your vision blurry?"
"Yes, it's still blurry. I can't even see your face clearly from this close. It feels like I need glasses."
The Vaidya and Vrinda had never heard the word 'glasses' before, but they ignored the strange term. The Vaidya smiled, "From this information, it seems you will recover quickly now. You just need to rest for another two days, and then I will examine you again."
As he turned to leave, the Vaidya added, "And make sure you take your medicines on time so your wound heals faster."
Throughout this entire exchange, Abhay had been staring at the glowing blue light hovering in the air. He noticed that he was continuously receiving Mool-Ansh from the two of them. He read the status screen:
[ Target: Raktash kapali | Reaction: Pity | +0.1 Mool-Ansh ]
[ Target: Vamika aghor | Reaction: Pity | +0.1 Mool-Ansh ]
Abhay's eyes fell upon the two names glowing on the screen, and he froze. The Vaidya who called himself 'Som' and the girl who introduced herself as 'Vrinda' had completely different names listed here. Som's real name was Raktaksh, and Vrinda's was Vamica. A deep chill ran down Abhay's spine; these didn't sound like the names of ordinary doctors or attendants at all.
Tensed, Abhay's mind raced. "Why are they hiding their real names while taking care of me?"
Suddenly, a new prompt flickered on the blue screen:
[ You have received a new notification. Do you wish to view it? ]
[ YES / NO ]
Trembling slightly, Abhay looked at the interface and clicked 'YES'. The screen revealed information that shattered his remaining courage:
[ System Alert 1: The 'Rakt-Sanjivani Mudra' (Blood-Resurrection Seal) has been cast on your body to extend your lifespan by 3 days. ]
[ System Alert 2: 'Chalave Ki Dhund' (Illusion Fog) is currently active in your surroundings. ]
Reading this, Abhay muttered in bewilderment, "Rakt-Sanjivani Mudra? Who on earth saved me from death back in that jungle?"
His eyes shifted to the second notification. Cupping his chin in thought, he asked himself, "And what the hell is this Illusion Fog? Why is it being used on me?"
His paranoia started to kick in. "Why am I being held captive here? And why are they treating me? Don't tell me... are they planning to harvest and sell my organs?!"
He took a deep, shaky breath. "I have to get out of this place, no matter what. Should I make a run for it tonight?"
In the dead of the night, when silence had engulfed the pavilion, Abhay opened his eyes. He tried to sit up on the bed, but the moment he shifted his weight, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Pressing a hand over his bandaged stomach, he gritted his teeth, "Ah... my stomach! It still hurts like hell."
Pushing through the pain, he climbed out of the soft bed and stepped onto the cold stone floor. He slowly made his way to the wooden door and pulled it open.
He stood there, stunned. Right in front of him was a blank, white stone wall. There was no straight path leading out. Instead, long, dark corridors stretched endlessly to his left and right.
Looking down both paths, Abhay muttered, "Where do I go now? Left or right?" He smacked his fist into his palm and decided, "Alright, let's try the right path. Maybe I'll find an exit there."
Abhay began walking straight down the right corridor. After walking for about five minutes, he saw a dim light spilling from a room up ahead. He approached cautiously and peeked through the doorway.
The room looked awfully familiar. His eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Wait... this is the exact same room I just left! Did I just walk in a circle and end up right where I started?" He scratched his head in confusion. "But I was walking in a straight line... how did I end up back at my own room?"
While Abhay was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly felt the presence of a shadow behind him, slowly creeping closer. Abhay had no idea who—or what—was lurking in the dark. Hearing the soft padding of footsteps, his body began to tremble, and he quickly stepped forward to put some distance between them.
The moment Abhay sped up, the shadow behind him matched his pace perfectly!
Abhay broke into a jog. The shadow followed suit. As the sound of the footsteps drew uncomfortably close, Abhay pushed past his pain and sprinted with all his might.
The shadow chased after him relentlessly. Panic and fear taking over, Abhay screamed into the dark corridor, "Stop following me! I haven't even gotten married yet!"
Running as fast as he could, Abhay started panting heavily. The excruciating pain in his stomach forced him to slow down. Wheezing for air, he stopped and leaned against the cold stone wall to rest.
Just then, he looked up and saw a pitch-black shadow approaching him rapidly from the front! Terrified, Abhay immediately spun around to run the other way... only to find the exact same dark shadow standing right behind him.
Trapped between the two approaching shadows, Abhay could only utter a single word:
"Fuck..."