Within the Mansion – Present Day

Guna’s body stood paralyzed in the reflection’s grip, caught in the mirror’s glow. The others circled cautiously. Ragini held the mirror steady, sweat beading on her brow.

“Whatever is inside him,” she said, voice trembling, “it’s fighting. He’s shaking.”

Deepika watched Guna’s clenched fists, the spasms running through his arms and jaw. “He’s trying to come back,” she whispered.

But inside Guna’s mind—inside her past—the true battle raged.

***

Within the Past – Guna’s Soul

Guna’s ghostly form stood helpless in a dimly lit chamber that smelled of jasmine and betrayal. Candles burned in every corner, casting golden light on the stone walls.

She was there—Nayana—the girl who would become the ghost.

She sat at the center of a silk-covered bed, her gaze blank. Her wrists were marked with bruises. Her voice, soft and brittle, drifted through the air.

“I loved them all. I gave myself to each of them.”

One by one, the shadows entered.

First came Adil, with a silver chain in hand and gentle words that turned to commands.

Then Samar, full of praise and promises, who pressed her down while whispering, “This is love.”

Then Kiran, who brought another with him—Vivek—and said, “Tonight, we share you.”

Guna watched in horror as each man took her trust and crushed it under desire. Sometimes alone, sometimes together—sometimes while the others watched.

Nayana never screamed. Not once. Her soul had already begun to leave her body.

“I was not a woman to them,” she said, rising from the bed. “I was a gateway.”

“To what?” Guna asked, his voice hoarse with rage.

She turned, her white gown stained with invisible memories. “To power. They believed sacrificing someone who loved them would grant them eternal protection. They chose me because I was willing to forgive.”

“I won’t let them do this,” Guna said. He ran toward her, grasped her arm. “We’ll escape. You and I. We’ll fight back.”

But as he touched her—

—they came.

The five men, shadows now, no longer human.

They struck him down without hesitation. Blades of darkness stabbed through his soul, pinning him to the stone floor.

“You don’t belong here,” they hissed in one voice. “You can’t change what’s done.”

As Guna bled out, he reached for her, tears mingling with the darkness.

“You didn’t deserve this,” he whispered.

She knelt beside him, placing her palm on his cheek. Her voice was a mix of love and sorrow.

“And yet it happened. That’s why I chose you. Not because you were strong—but because you were willing to die for me.”

Her lips brushed his forehead.

“Now live for me.”

And gave back his soul to his body.

***

Back in the Mansion – Present Day

Guna screamed. A terrible, guttural sound that cracked the mirror Ragini held.

The light surged from the glass, illuminating his body, revealing a flickering war inside—Guna’s face shifting between terror and serenity.

Rajesh dropped to his knees, pulling a worn leather book from his bag—the journal from the basement.

“There’s a ritual here. It’s incomplete, but it’s our only shot.”

As he began to chant, Deepika and Rohan held Guna down, their hands burning from the contact.

Ragini kept the mirror steady, even as it splintered more with each second.

Guna’s voice—his voice—finally returned.

“She used me,” he said through gritted teeth. “But I saw the truth. She was never a monster…”

Then his face twisted.

“…they were.”

The candlelight dimmed.

And somewhere, the house began to scream.

***