Chapter 17: The Worst Possible Timing

The shadows rippled, stretching unnaturally across the chamber floor. The whisper still echoed in their ears:

"You should not have remembered."

Kiran groaned, rubbing his temples. "Okay, but in our defense—" He pointed at Barry. "It was his idea."

Barry shot him a glare. "Seriously? You're throwing me under the bus already?"

Aadhya sighed. "Can we focus? The room is literally bleeding darkness, and you two are bickering like toddlers."

The shadows thickened, swirling like a living entity. A cold presence filled the air, pressing against their skin. It was like something was watching them—something not entirely there, yet very much aware of them.

Kiran exhaled sharply. "Okay, so… what's the plan? Do we run? Fight? Negotiate? Beg for our lives?"

Aadhya pulled out her sword. "We fight."

Barry readied his stance. "We definitely fight."

Kiran sighed, reluctantly pulling out his dagger. "You guys never pick 'run away,' huh?"

Then the shadows lunged.

---

An Absolutely Terrible Battle Strategy

Kiran dodged to the left as a tendril of darkness slammed into the ground where he had just been standing. The impact left a crater, sending shards of stone flying everywhere.

Barry retaliated, swinging his blade through the air, but it passed through the shadow like it was slicing smoke.

Aadhya slashed through another tendril, and for a brief moment, the darkness recoiled—only to reform instantly.

Kiran spun, stabbing his dagger into the writhing mass. "Okay, fun fact! Physical attacks don't work!"

Barry gritted his teeth. "Thanks for the obvious, genius!"

Aadhya muttered, "Then we need to find another way."

Kiran huffed. "Oh sure, let me just pull a magical anti-shadow solution out of my—"

The shadows surged toward him.

"AHHHH! NOT MY FACE! ANYTHING BUT MY FACE!"

He rolled out of the way just as a giant clawed hand emerged from the darkness.

The Unseen One's voice echoed through the chamber.

"Your minds are not yet ready to perceive me."

Kiran blinked. "Oh great. Not only are we fighting an unkillable shadow, but now it's condescending too."

Barry dodged another strike. "Less sarcasm, more survival, Kiran!"

Aadhya narrowed her eyes. "It said our minds aren't ready. What if… what if we're fighting something we can't understand?"

Kiran huffed. "Oh yeah, sure! Let me just recalibrate my brain in the middle of a battle with a reality-breaking nightmare—"

Then, suddenly, the shadows froze.

A long, eerie silence followed.

Then—

"MORTALS. YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE LAWS OF THE FORGOTTEN."

The voice shook the chamber, deep and thunderous, like reality itself was speaking.

Kiran paled. "Okay. That was officially the scariest thing I've ever heard. And I once saw a talking pigeon try to sell me insurance."

Aadhya ignored him. "Who are you?" she demanded.

The shadows pulsed. "I am the Guardian of the Unseen One. The Keeper of the Veil. You were not meant to know of my master's existence."

Barry clenched his fists. "And yet, here we are."

The Guardian's voice grew colder. "Yes. Here you are. Defying fate."

---

Plan? What Plan?

The shadows twisted, forming something vaguely humanoid—a towering figure with glowing white eyes and way too many arms.

Kiran took a slow step back. "I don't like how many arms it has."

Barry whispered, "Neither do I."

Aadhya, ever the fearless warrior, raised her blade. "We've faced worse."

Kiran raised a finger. "Uh, have we? Because I feel like this is a new level of 'cosmic horror we weren't ready for.'"

Before anyone could react, the Guardian attacked.

A massive tendril lashed toward them.

Barry barely had time to shove Kiran out of the way before the ground exploded beneath them.

Kiran tumbled, landing painfully on his side. "Ow! Rude!"

Aadhya dashed forward, slashing at the tendrils. This time, her sword connected—the blade glowing with a strange light. The tendrils hissed, pulling back.

Barry's eyes widened. "Wait. Why did that work?"

Aadhya stared at her blade. "…I don't know."

Kiran perked up. "Hey, hey! Maybe it's a 'chosen one' thing! Maybe Aadhya is secretly the main character, and we're just her sidekicks!"

Barry deadpanned. "I refuse to be a sidekick."

Aadhya sighed. "Not the time, guys."

The Guardian loomed over them, its many arms reaching out. "You will forget."

Kiran jumped to his feet. "NOPE! I LIKE REMEMBERING THINGS!"

He grabbed a random glowing rock from the chamber floor and threw it at the Guardian's face.

The rock passed through the Guardian harmlessly.

Kiran blinked. "Right. Of course that didn't work."

Barry groaned. "WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT WOULD WORK?"

Kiran threw up his hands. "I PANICKED, OKAY? SOMETIMES YOU JUST THROW A ROCK AND HOPE FOR THE BEST!"

The Guardian roared, shaking the entire chamber.

Aadhya's sword flared with light again. She took a step forward. "There's something about this blade… It's reacting to the Guardian."

Barry nodded. "Then that's our key."

Kiran sighed. "Oh great. So we have to distract a cosmic horror while Aadhya does all the important work?"

Barry smirked. "Yep."

Kiran groaned. "I hate this plan."

Then the Guardian charged.

---

The Dumbest (and Somehow Most Effective) Strategy

Barry and Kiran immediately went into full panic mode—which, for them, meant running in circles and screaming while throwing random objects at the Guardian.

Kiran tossed a skull. "TAKE THAT, YOU OVERSIZED NIGHTMARE!"

Barry flung a book. "LEARN SOME MANNERS!"

Aadhya, meanwhile, was actually fighting the Guardian with skill and strategy. Her sword glowed brighter, cutting through the darkness with each strike.

The Guardian howled, retreating slightly.

Kiran gasped. "It's working! Aadhya, keep doing the thing! We'll keep… uh… doing our thing!"

Barry grabbed a torch and waved it threateningly. "BACK, FOUL BEAST! OR I'LL… I'LL SET YOU ON FIRE!"

The Guardian did not care.

It slammed a shadowy fist toward him.

Kiran lunged, tackling Barry out of the way. "Okay, bad plan! Very bad plan!"

Aadhya raised her blade. "Kiran, Barry—MOVE!"

They dove aside just as Aadhya plunged the glowing sword into the Guardian's chest.

There was a blinding flash.

The Guardian let out an unearthly screech, its form cracking like shattered glass.

Then—

It was gone.

---

Victory?

Silence filled the chamber.

Kiran slowly stood up, brushing dust off his clothes. "…Did we win?"

Barry coughed. "I think so?"

Aadhya, still gripping her sword, exhaled sharply. "That was… too easy."

Kiran widened his eyes. "TOO EASY? THAT WAS EASY TO YOU? I ALMOST DIED!"

Barry deadpanned. "You 'almost die' like five times a day."

Kiran gasped. "RUDE."

Aadhya ignored them, staring at where the Guardian had disappeared. "Something doesn't feel right. It let us win."

Barry frowned. "Why would it do that?"

Kiran gulped. "I don't know, but I really don't want to find out."

Then—

A whisper filled the air.

"You are not ready… but soon, you will be."

Kiran groaned. "Nope. Nope. NOPE. I officially hate foreshadowing."

Barry sighed. "We're in for something worse, aren't we?"

Aadhya sheathed her sword. "Definitely."

Kiran groaned again. "I hate being the main character."

To Be Continued…

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