Chapter 7: Embers

Aadi trailed behind Manisha and Neha, his feet scuffing the cracked tiles of the school corridor, scars tugging with each step—chest slashed red from a blade, arm jagged from fists or flames, ribs welted and accusing. The hum—Sindhu… Sagar…—thrummed faintly, a lifeless pulse syncing with his hollow breaths. They reached the science block, where Ria paced near the lab doors, her eyes wild, her voice a frantic mutter, clutching a bulging bag that pulsed with faint green light—the rock, Sindhu Sagar's shard, still hers, twisting her mind into chaos. 

"There she is," Manisha said, glancing back at Aadi, her tone firm but edged with unease. "You ready?" 

Aadi shrugged, voice flat. "Doesn't matter." 

Neha twisted her sweater, her voice soft but hopeful. "She's got something—look at that bag. Maybe it's the rock…" 

They approached, and Ria spun, locking onto Aadi with a shriek. "You! It's mine—my rock, my claim! You're mine—bound to me!" She hugged the bag tighter, the green glow seeping through, her laughter shrill and fractured, madness spilling from her like a ruptured vein. 

Aadi stumbled back, scars aching, the hum spiking. "Bound? You're—" 

"Shut it!" Manisha snapped, stepping between them, glaring at Ria. "What's wrong with you? That rock—where'd you get it? Who's Axiom?" 

Ria cackled, rocking on her heels, clutching the bag like a lifeline. "Axiom? You know nothing—less than nothing! Shadows—power—old as the sea! They want it—want him—but it's mine! I woke it—Sindhu Sagar—bound us!" Her eyes darted, pupils blown wide, sweat slicking her face as the rock's glow pulsed faster, unraveling her further. 

"Woke it?" Manisha pressed, fists clenching. "You're out of your mind—give it here!" She reached for the bag—Ria jerked back, snarling, "No! It's mine—keeps him mine—always!" 

Aadi's scars burned, the hum roaring—Sindhu Sagar. "Keeps me?" he rasped, a flicker stirring beneath his despair—anger, frail but real. "They killed us—stabbed me here…"—he touched his chest scar—"Axiom. Why's it still with you?" He didn't know what Axiom was, just a name, powerful, crushing—tied to this hell, these scars, his endless suffering. 

Ria giggled, a jagged edge to it, spinning in place. "Why? It calls—sings! I hear it—you don't! Bound us—forever and ever!" 

"Enough crazy talk!" Manisha barked, lunging for the bag again. "Hand it over before—" 

A shadow stretched across the tiles, cutting her off. A single hooded figure emerged from the corridor's end, knife glinting in his hand, a creepy smile curling beneath the hood's shadow—the same smile from Aadi's deaths, now alone. The stitched "A" on his collar gleamed—Axiom. The air turned cold, electric, the hum surging—Sindhu Sagar. 

"Give me the rock," he hissed, voice low and oily, smile stretching as he twirled the blade. "Or I'll carve it out of you—your choice, little mad one." 

Ria shrieked, clutching the bag tighter, the glow flaring wildly. "No—no! It's mine—you can't take it!" 

Manisha whirled, shoving Aadi back. "You again—stay away from her!" 

Neha gasped, clutching her sweater, eyes wide. "He's… he's one of them…" 

The figure tilted his head, smile widening into a grotesque leer, knife gleaming as he stepped closer. "One of many… and you…"—he pointed the blade at Aadi—"you're in my way. Fight me—till one of us stops breathing. Come on, scar-boy—dance with me." His tone dripped with menace, a twisted invitation, offering no reasons—just that grin, that blade, Axiom's shadow lurking unspoken. 

Aadi froze, scars screaming, the hum a shriek—Sindhu Sagar. "Fight?" he croaked, hands trembling, despair clawing at the flicker. "I can't…" 

"Bleed or try," the figure taunted, voice curling like smoke, advancing slow and deliberate. "I've got all day to watch you squirm—make it quick or make it messy." 

Neha grabbed Aadi's arm, voice quaking. "Aadi, don't—he's insane!" 

"No way!" Manisha roared, charging head-on—her fist slammed into the figure's jaw with a sickening crack, snapping his head back. "You want a dance? I'll lead!" She ducked his wild slash, the knife whistling past her cheek, and drove her elbow into his gut—air whooshed from him, his smile twitching as he doubled over. 

Aadi's breath hitched, scars pulsing, that ember flaring—small, desperate. "Manisha—" 

Ria wailed, rocking faster, the rock's glow frantic in her bag. "They're angry—it's mine—mine!" She clawed at her hair, lost in delirium, as the fight exploded. 

Neha, trembling, darted to a lab cart, snatching a metal tray—she swung it, shaky but fierce, smacking the figure's wrist as he lunged at Manisha again. The knife jerked, slashing shallow across Manisha's side—she grunted, blood seeping through her shirt, but didn't flinch, grabbing his arm and twisting hard. "Drop it, you freak!" 

The figure snarled, smile faltering, knife wavering—Manisha kneed his thigh, forcing him down, her boot slamming his wrist to the tile—metal clanged as the blade skittered loose. "Got you pinned!" she spat, sweat dripping, blood staining her side, her grip iron as she towered over him—victory glinting in her eyes. 

Aadi staggered forward, scars burning, the hum a chaotic roar. "Axiom… why me?" he rasped, fists clenched, that flicker fighting despair. "What's the rock for?" 

The figure laughed, pinned but grinning, voice a rasp through gritted teeth. "Why? Keep swinging, kid—maybe I'll tell you when you're choking on your own blood." He bucked suddenly, free hand clawing for Manisha's throat—Neha yelped, swinging the tray again, clipping his shoulder—Manisha shoved him back down, but the knife slid closer, his fingers stretching— 

The corridor rang with metal clashing, Ria's shrieks, and the hum's relentless pulse, the fight teetering on a razor's edge.