A heavy silence hung in the air.
Vikas and Arya were driving through a dense forest path. Despite the harsh afternoon sun, a strange and terrifying stillness loomed over that desolate road.
Vikas held the steering wheel, but inside, he was completely shattered.
His hands were trembling violently on the steering wheel.
Beside him, Arya sat paralyzed in fear, silent as a stone.
Only one terror gripped both of their hearts—Ivan would first kill his own father, and then hunt them down one by one.
They were certain that Ivan wouldn't just kill them, but would torture them to death slowly.
This fear had stripped away their peace of mind, even within the four walls of their own home.
They couldn't sit still in one place.
It felt as though Ivan was always right there, standing in the shadows and staring at them.
The worst part, however, was sleep, or rather, the complete lack of it.
For days, they hadn't slept properly.
Whenever they closed their eyes, Ivan's terrifying face crept into their dreams, trying to kill them in gruesome ways.
Driven to the edge of madness, desperate for any power that could save them, they were heading toward the dark sorcerer 'Aghori Bhadrakal' in the broad daylight.
They hadn't spoken a single word of this to Ishan. In the middle of the scorching afternoon, Vikas and Arya's car pulled up outside the sorcerer's lair.
The house was built far away from human habitation, right in the middle of a barren wasteland, surrounded only by dry soil and thorny bushes.
That place looked like a terrifying graveyard, with human skulls on the roof and blood-red marks painted on the walls.
Vikas and Arya got out of the car, stepped forward, and knocked on the dilapidated door.
A moment later, the sorcerer himself emerged into the courtyard.
Vikas stepped forward and asked, "Are you the sorcerer?"
The sorcerer replied, "Yes, speak. What brings you here?"
Vikas said, "We need your help, we are in deep trouble."
After that, the sorcerer took them both inside the house.
The sorcerer led them into a dark, small room inside the house. An old straw mat was spread on the floor, upon which the sorcerer sat, and Vikas and Arya sat on the floor facing him. Right there, Vikas revealed a ten-year-old secret.
He explained how, 10 years ago, Ishan had brutally killed an 18-year-old boy, while he and Arya silently watched the whole thing happen.
"Baba," Vikas said with a trembling voice, "when that boy was killed, Ivan was only eight years old."
"Today, he is eighteen years old and looks exactly like that boy."
"He has returned, Baba!"
"He comes into our dreams, he kills us every single night."
"Please, save our lives!"
Aghori Bhadrakal closed his eyes. After a few moments of heavy silence, he spoke in a deep and terrifying voice.
"That child, Ivan... residing in his body are not just one, but three spirits."
"One is the very same boy whom Ishan killed."
"But the other two... they belong to someone else."
Looking at them with his piercing gaze, he said, "If you want to stay alive, you must offer the sacrifice of three innocent people."
"Without sacrifice, these spirits will never let you go."
"If you want to pull those three spirits out of Ivan's body, you must give three human lives as sacrifice."
"And how you will bring three people for the sacrifice—that is your responsibility."
Trembling with fear, Vikas brought Arya back to his house and also called Ishan over there.
When Vikas reached home, his wife and daughter were not there; both had gone shopping. When Ishan arrived, Vikas told him everything honestly—the sorcerer, the three spirits, and the demand for sacrifice.
Hearing Vikas out, Ishan went mad with anger.
He shouted, "How can both of you be so stupid? I will kill you both with my own hands before Ivan even gets to you!"
"That man will blackmail us and suck our blood for the rest of our lives."
"Who told you both about that sorcerer?"
Vikas said fearfully, "Listen to me first, there was no other way."
"We are terrified."
"This is the only way to end this nightmare."
"Only he can save us from Ivan."
Arya stepped forward as well and said, "Vikas is right, Ishan."
"We haven't slept properly in days."
"If we don't offer the sacrifice, Ivan will tear us to pieces."
"Please... if we want to survive, we have to do this."
Hearing them out, Ishan's anger cooled down slightly, and he asked, "How did you two find out about that sorcerer?"
Vikas said, "I have been hearing about him since my childhood."
"I heard from people that the sorcerer practices dark magic, so Arya and I went to him."
Ishan took a deep breath and thought—if there was no other way to escape Ivan's shadow, seeking the sorcerer's help was the right choice.
Just then, Vikas asked, "Ishan, did you kill two other people as well?"
Ishan said in shock, "What are you talking about? I am not some professional criminal, what happened that day was just an accident."
Vikas went on to explain that the sorcerer had said there were three spirits inside Ivan's body.
The next morning, all three of them reached the ruins.
Approaching the sorcerer, Vikas said, "Baba, we are here."
"This is Ishan."
"I told you about him yesterday, didn't I? Do you remember, Baba?"
The sorcerer smiled and said, "Yes, child, I remember very well."
Staring at Ishan, the sorcerer said, "So you finally came. If you value your lives, bring three innocent people here."
"There are three spirits inside Ivan. To banish all three from his body, three human sacrifices must be made."
Ishan mustered the courage to ask, "Baba, whose spirits are the other two?"
The sorcerer replied in a solemn voice, "Those two spirits belong to someone else. No one killed them; rather, both of them died by suicide."
"And I cannot tell you anything more than that about those two spirits."
Ishan quietly asked the sorcerer, "But Baba, how? How are we going to bring three people here for sacrifice?"
The sorcerer said harshly, "Figuring that out is your job. Lure them, trick them, play games—do whatever it takes."
"But remember, if all three of you want to stay alive, you must offer three lives as sacrifice."
"If even a single one escapes, those spirits will tear your flesh to shreds."
"Now go! Find three people and bring them here."
The three of them quietly walked out of the ruins.
Now, only one question echoed in their minds—how on earth were they going to trap three innocent people?