The news vans had multiplied like flies.
They lined both sides of the hospital road, their satellite dishes pointed at the grey morning sky like hungry metal flowers. Reporters stood in front of cameras, microphones pressed to their lips, voices urgent and breathless. Red lights blinked. Makeup artists dabbed powder on nervous anchors. The crowd behind the barricades had grown thick with onlookers, shopkeepers, students who had skipped college, old men who had nothing better to do.
A woman reporter spoke into the camera, her face serious, her words rapid.
"We are standing outside the District Hospital in Bhubaneswar, where a massive energy blast was reported on the fourth floor approximately four hours ago. Initial investigations confirm that someone performed a forbidden Soul Contract Ritual inside a hospital room."
She paused, touching her earpiece.
"The individual has been identified as eighteen year old Veda Das. He is the son of Phantom Blade Squad Commander Arjuna Das and the White Blade agent Priya Das. Veda Das was a Stage Two Vessel candidate, one of the most promising young warriors our state has ever produced. He was training for the upcoming state selection for the GODLES Academy."
Her voice dropped into something more dramatic.
"So why did he decide to make a contract with an Angel inside a hospital room? What were his motives? Will he succeed, or will he fall into the darkness of the Void?"
Across the city, television screens glowed inside crowded chai stalls, behind the counters of medicine shops, on the walls of bus stops. Families sat in their living rooms, mothers holding their children closer, fathers gripping armrests. In a small flat in Cuttack, an old woman whispered a prayer. In a hostel in Bhubaneswar, students gathered around a single phone, their faces pale with shock.
The camera stayed fixed on the hospital.
A white car pulled through the police barricades.
It was a sleek BMW 7 Series, its windows tinted dark, its body polished to a mirror shine. On the side doors, painted in bold black letters, read: SPECIAL SQUAD. The crowd murmured. Photographers clicked.
The car stopped. The rear door opened.
A man stepped out. He was tall, broad shouldered, wearing a dark suit jacket over a crisp white shirt and black tie. His pants were black, pressed sharp. A long black overcoat hung open over his shoulders. On his head sat a cap with three lion heads embroidered in gold. On his arm, three stars gleamed. On his chest, a badge read:
ACP ROHIT SHARMA
Assistant Commissioner of Police
The reporters surged forward like a wave. Microphones reached for his face like hungry mouths.
"ACP Sharma! What is your response to the blast?"
"Is it true a boy performed a forbidden ritual?"
"What about the soul energy levels?"
Rohit Sharma did not answer. He walked through the crowd with the ease of a man who had done this a hundred times. The police formed a corridor, pushing reporters back.
He stopped at the yellow tape. A junior officer rushed toward him, saluting.
"Sir."
Rohit lit a cigarette. Took a long drag. Exhaled smoke into the grey air.
"Tell me everything."
The officer pulled out a tablet, scrolling quickly.
"Eighteen year old male, Veda Das. Injuries sustained before ritual. The soul contract circle activated approximately four hours ago. We are still analyzing the energy signature, but the preliminary estimate shows ritual level higher than Level Five."
Rohit stopped. His cigarette froze mid air.
"Higher than Level Five?"
The officer swallowed. "Yes, sir."
Rohit looked at the hospital building. The fourth floor windows were shattered. Black smoke still curled from some of them. The entire floor seemed to shimmer with a faint, angry light.
"Did you inform the head office?"
"Yes, sir. Report sent. They said they would send someone to check."
Rohit sighed. He took another drag from his cigarette. The smoke curled around his face like a ghost.
"What a pain."
He turned to the officer.
"Did you block the building with a soulless barrier?"
"Yes, sir. We deployed it immediately. The White Blade herself is inside maintaining the circle to prevent soul energy leakage."
Rohit nodded slowly. "Good. I can't imagine what would happen if those things found this place."
He looked toward the hospital entrance.
"Where is she now?"
The officer pointed. "She is with the other officers on the fourth floor. They are trying to break the ritual barrier."
Rohit crushed his cigarette under his heel.
"Let's go."
Inside the hospital, the fourth floor was a disaster zone.
The walls were cracked. The ceiling had collapsed in places. Papers and debris covered the floor. In the center of the destruction stood a massive black sphere. It pulsed with dark red and gold light, completely opaque, like a cocoon of pure energy. Ancient symbols crawled along its surface, shifting like living things. The air around it hummed with power so thick it was hard to breathe.
Five officers stood in a loose ring around the sphere. They had devices in their hands, chrome boxes with wires and glowing screens. Energy beams shot from the devices and struck the black surface. The sphere did not move. Did not crack. Did not even flicker.
One officer collapsed to his knees. His device clattered to the floor.
"I can't. My energy is completely drained. This thing is sucking everything I have."
Another officer wiped sweat from his forehead. "We have been at this for three hours. Maximum force. And there is not even a single crack."
A third officer looked at the figure in front of them.
Priya Das stood at the edge of the sphere. Her white sword was raised. She struck the black surface again. And again. And again. Each strike sent a ripple of light across the sphere, but it held firm.
One of the officers stepped toward her.
"Mam, please. You need to rest. Let us handle this."
She did not respond. Her eyes were fixed on the black sphere. Her son was inside. She could not see him. Could not hear him. But she knew he was there. Trapped. Dying maybe.
"Please, mam. You have been doing this for three hours straight. Your body cannot take much more."
Priya lowered her sword. Her chest heaved. Sweat dripped from her chin.
She remembered his smile. The way he had looked at her before the ritual consumed him. "It is alright, Maa. Everything will be fine from now on."
She remembered his eyes. Dead. Hollow. But when he looked at her, something softened. Something that had not been there before.
"This time I will fix everything."
Her grip tightened on the sword.
"Beta," she whispered. "Wait a little longer. Mother will let you out."
Her body began to glow.
The officers stumbled backward. One of them screamed.
"She is transforming!"
Priya's hair turned white. Pure white, floating around her head like a halo of frozen light. Her eyes burned with white fire. The White Blade Witch emerged.
She charged at the black sphere. Her sword swung.
The impact shook the entire building.
Outside, Rohit Sharma was walking toward the hospital entrance when the ground trembled. The windows on the fourth floor exploded outward. Glass rained down like diamonds. People screamed.
A wave of force burst from the building, throwing reporters and police alike to the ground. Cars shook on their tires. The satellite dishes on the news vans wobbled dangerously.
"EARTHQUAKE!" someone screamed.
"Get down! Everyone get down!"
Rohit grabbed a pillar to steady himself. His cap flew off his head. His coat billowed in the wind.
Inside, on the fourth floor, the officers had been thrown across the room. Bodies lay against walls, groaning, clutching injured limbs. The black sphere remained intact. Not even a scratch.
Priya stood in the center of the chaos. Her chest heaved. Her white hair floated around her. Her sword was still raised.
"Why?" she screamed. "Why is it not breaking?"
She struck again. The sphere hummed but did not crack.
"My son is in there! He has not eaten anything! He has been in there for four hours!"
She bit her lip. Blood dripped down her chin.
"If this form cannot break this thing, then I will go beyond."
Rohit stumbled through the broken doorway. His ears were ringing. His vision was blurry. He saw Priya standing before the black sphere, her white form glowing brighter.
He heard her words.
"Wait... mam..."
Priya raised her sword to the ceiling. Her voice became a chant.
"I call the light that shines in darkness."
Rohit's eyes widened. He started running toward her.
"The blade that cuts the world with her radiance."
"MAM, STOP! YOU WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING!"
Priya ignored him. Her voice grew louder. The air around her began to twist and crack.
"The wrath of war. O Divine, I call your name."
Behind her, the air split open. A figure emerged. A woman made of moonlight and battle. Her armor shone silver and white. Her eyes burned with white flame. She floated behind Priya, her form translucent yet solid. Her hands wrapped around Priya's sword hilt.
"ATHEKA!"
The soul screamed. A battle cry that shook the building to its foundation.
Priya's hair grew longer. Her body glowed brighter. Her eyes became twin suns.
"Heavy Blade. Second Form."
The ground beneath her feet cracked. The walls behind her crumbled. The entire area began to break apart.
"ABSOLUTE CUT!"
She swung.
Rohit threw up his hands. A wall of golden energy exploded from his palms, forming a barrier around himself and the fallen officers.
The sword moved.
But it stopped. Inches from the black sphere. Frozen. The force of the swing, even without impact, tore through the building. The fourth floor ceiling collapsed. The walls on either side exploded outward. The ground shook violently.
Outside, the reporters screamed. The crowd scattered. The news vans toppled over.
And then, the sphere cracked.
A single hairline fracture appeared on its surface. Then another. Then dozens. The cracks spread like lightning across the black cocoon.
Priya's eyes widened. The soul behind her whispered something.
Move away from this.
Priya jumped backward. She threw up multiple swords of light in front of her, forming a shield.
The sphere shattered.
The energy inside burst outward like a dam breaking. A pillar of black and gold light shot upward, tearing through the remaining floors, through the roof, into the sky. It split the clouds. It cut the heavens like a blade.
The light faded.
Everyone on the fourth floor lay motionless, thrown aside by the force. Rohit groaned, pushing himself up from behind his shattered energy wall. His ears were bleeding. His coat was torn.
He looked at the center of the room.
The black sphere was gone. The symbols had faded. The energy had dispersed.
Veda knelt in the middle of the destruction. His head hung low. His face pointed at the ground. His body was covered in fresh cuts. His hospital gown was in shreds. He did not move. He did not breathe. He simply knelt there, like a broken statue.
Priya rose slowly from where she had fallen. Her white form flickered. Her hair returned to black. The soul behind her, Atheka, remained. Her translucent form glowed faintly, watching.
Priya's eyes found her son. Her heart leaped.
"Veda!"
She took a step toward him.
Atheka's hand shot out. Her fingers wrapped around Priya's wrist. Cold. Strong. Unyielding.
"Stop."
Priya tried to pull free. "Let me go! That is my son!"
Atheka did not release her. Her burning white eyes stayed fixed on the kneeling figure.
"I do not feel any soul energy from that child."
Priya froze.
Atheka's voice was calm. Ancient. Certain.
"I also do not feel any life in him."
Priya looked at Veda. He was still kneeling. Face to the ground. Not moving. Not breathing. Like a corpse that had forgotten to fall.
"No..." Priya whispered.
Atheka pulled her back gently.
"Be careful. He may be possessed."
Priya bit her teeth. Her jaw clenched so hard her gums bled. Tears welled in her eyes, then fell. They rolled down her cheeks, dropped from her chin, and splashed onto the broken floor.
She looked at her son. Kneeling. Empty.
She screamed.
"VEDA!"
She tore her wrist free from Atheka's grip and ran.