---
Parashu stood frozen before the box, its battered surface catching the faint shimmer of firelight. His gaze was sharp, unreadable. With a slow, steady breath, he reached for the lid. Fingers hovered—then lifted it.
"Another one," he muttered. "Another damn mystery box."
The boy beside him blinked. "Another one? Wait—what do you mean? You've seen something like this before?"
Parashu's jaw tensed. His voice dropped, as if the flames themselves might betray him. "Yeah. The last one had... a hand inside."
The boy recoiled slightly. "A hand? Like, an actual—what?"
Parashu didn't blink. "Severed. Clean. Someone strong. Maybe someone I knew… I don't remember. But Vishma thinks it mattered. He thinks I did."
The boy hesitated. "So you're saying… someone important to you sent it?"
Parashu shrugged, though it looked more like defeat. "Or someone important to me lost it. I just—feel it. Deep down."
They stood there, the old box between them like a relic of a nightmare. Parashu opened it fully.
There it was again.
Another hand. Lifeless. Fingers half-curled like they'd reached for something before it was too late.
He stared at it—not shocked. Just tired.
"Might be the same one. Might not be," he murmured. "I still don't know what the hell they're trying to tell me."
The boy reached in, carefully. Beneath the hand, folded and worn, was a piece of parchment.
"A letter," he whispered.
He unfolded it, reading the uneven handwriting aloud:
> "You have power. But you couldn't save your own clan.
I warned you before. Someone tied to your blood is still alive—
and in my hands. You've failed once.
Want to try again?
Come find me.
The hand? Relax—it's fake.
But don't come... and I'll send you the real one next time.
Let's see what you're willing to lose."
The boy's face darkened. "It's bait. A trap."
"I know." Parashu's fingers curled into fists. "I don't care. If he's alive, I'm going."
The boy stepped forward, voice tense. "But the village leader said not to leave. He said—"
Parashu spun to face him, eyes blazing. "You think I care about that? Someone's hurting—because of me. I have to try. I won't stay behind again."
Silence. Then, the boy's voice, soft and aching.
"That's why people believe in you… But if you're going, I'm going too."
Parashu shook his head. "You don't get it. You've already lost enough. I'm a ghost walking toward the same end as my clan."
"And I'm already dead inside," the boy replied.
Parashu blinked.
The boy's voice cracked. "The Kara took everyone I loved. My sister, my mother… And the only person I ever spared? I had to kill him. With my own hands."
"I didn't want that for you," Parashu said.
"Doesn't matter," the boy replied. "You're not leaving without me."
Parashu hesitated. Then gave a small nod. "Then get your blade."
As the boy turned toward the door, he spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"
Parashu, already reaching for his axe, said, "Anything."
"Except my name."
Parashu paused. "Why not?"
The boy didn't look back. "Because no one ever gave me one. Not even when I was born."
Parashu didn't know what to say. But the boy kept going—quieter now.
"My uncle killed my parents. All because my father was loved. Respected. My uncle couldn't stand it. So he turned the guards, murdered them both, and locked me away. Said I was nothing. Said I'd stay nothing."
Parashu's voice dropped. "He was wrong."
The boy laughed, but it was hollow. "Maybe. Took me years to escape. And the day I finally did…"
---
FLASHBACK – The Prison Break
A stone cell. Cold and damp. The boy crouched in shadow, counting heartbeats, breaths, silence.
The tray scraped the floor.
"Eat," the guard muttered.
As the guard leaned closer, routine and lazy, the boy struck.
A sharp twist. A scream stifled in blood. Keys jingled. Throat opened.
He didn't flinch.
One after another, guards fell. Bones broke. Blood spilled.
Then the gates opened—and he breathed in freedom for the first time.
"I'm free," he whispered.
---
Back in the now, they walked side by side.
Parashu finally spoke. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," the boy said. "No one else ever cared enough to remember me anyway."
And beneath the cold moon, they disappeared into the dark.
Two ghosts chasing salvation.
---