The mansion trembled as if waking from a centuries-long slumber. The candle flames danced wildly, casting long shadows on the crumbling walls. The air had turned thick, metallic with the scent of old blood and betrayal.

Guna collapsed to his knees, panting, his voice raspy but his eyes clear for the first time since the possession. The others stood around him, stunned—exhausted—but alert.

“She showed me everything,” Guna gasped. “The ones who cursed this place… they weren’t victims. They were monsters.”

He looked up, meeting each of their eyes. “Five men. Adil. Samar. Kiran. Vivek. And Arman. They used her. Tortured her in ways she never deserved. Then they killed her—right here—in this house.”

The mirror behind them cracked in half with a snap.

From the walls, a new set of voices rose. Deeper. Colder.

Male voices. Whispering. Chanting.

> “We are still here.”

“You saw what she did. What she became.”

“She’ll burn the world to ash if you let her.”

“You can stop her.”

The temperature plummeted. Frost crawled across the floor.

And then the voices grew louder, clearer.

> “Sacrifice him,” the five voices said in unison. “Guna. She lives through him now. Cut him loose. It’s the only way you’ll survive.”

Deepika stumbled back, her mouth dry. “No... no, they’re trying to trick us.”

Rajesh stared at Guna, torn. “What if they’re not?”

Guna’s gaze didn’t flinch. “They want to live. They’re trapped with her. If I die—maybe she dies too. Maybe the curse ends.”

“But maybe she’s the only one holding them back now,” Ragini whispered. “And killing you gives them power again.”

The walls groaned—centuries-old timber cracking under invisible pressure.

> “He’s tainted,” the voices hissed. “Her blood flows in him now. He will become her. Her rage. Her hunger. You can stop it.”

Rohan clenched his fists. “This isn’t right. We saw her story. We know the truth.”

> “The truth is a luxury,” the voices snarled. “Survival is not.”

Rajesh raised the fire poker. Deepika stepped in front of him. “Don’t.”

“I don’t know what’s right anymore!” Rajesh shouted.

But then Guna spoke—calm, resolute.

“Do it.”

Everyone turned.

Guna stood slowly, blood still trickling from his lips. “If killing me stops this... do it. I won’t let her hurt you. Not through me.”

But behind his voice, something else stirred.

A sixth voice. Hers.

Soft.

Wounded.

> “They made me into a monster. But you… you chose to stay.”

The room began to spin. The mirror shattered completely. And suddenly, the walls bled shadows. Five male figures emerged—hazy, smoky, with distorted faces.

They laughed.

> “Choose now.”

***