My eyes instantly went wild. "Aunt Tanya!"

My mind wandered and it took me two days back when I first sat down to read King Harsh's diary. I remembered King Harsh mentioning about this friend my Aunt Tanya had made. It was him? The friend my grandfather had mentioned was Shourya?

"Yes," he said, slightly nodding his head, "Your Aunt Tanya is the sole reason for everything I am sustaining with. Only if she would have come back, or atleast left the door open for me to escape, I could have saved myself from the twenty years of suffering."

"Left the door open?" I asked. "Tell me clearly, what happened?"

"King Harsh already declared that Sarakshi was going to be a Samagraha, that she was going to own a powerful stone. Everyone was proud of the first Princess of Rawat. But there was one such person whose greed had no boundaries. Tanishka. She craved for a stone too. She desired to possess a stone as powerful as her sister was going to, and she desired for the one that was stashed in the Rawat's palace itself.

It was a mistake to accept her request, but I did that mistake, because she was my friend I believed in. Tanishka showed me the hidden path that leads straight to this room. She took care of the security . And I simply and innocently, grabbed the stone and gave it to her." He sniggered suddenly, probably thinking about the mistake he had done and said, "But Tanishka didn't like it. She said the stone was too big for her to carry. And again I acted as per her say, without knowing the consequences."

"Too big?" I asked, frowning, "What do you mean? Did you try to break it? But the curse..."

"I tried to break the stone, yes. I hit it twice on the floor. Little did I knew that the stone was cursed and on my third trial, it reacted, so profoundly that the curse shook the whole room, bursting and shattering the walls. Tanishka got scared. She was scared that she might get into trouble if anyone found out that a royal princess was a part of this thieving. Without waiting for me, she left me behind and escaped through the other door. She could have atleast left the door open, but she didn't. She closed it immediately and I was trapped inside.

The curse didn't stop there, it still had to punish the one who attempted to destroy it. It gave me the pain of a lifetime. It changed me, it changed my identity, completely. After an hour of struggle, feeling different, I looked at my own reflection in one of the glasses. And I wasn't a human anymore. But the good thing is, I could change back to human as per my will. But it was already too late."

Shourya paused there. He was looking at the floor with a grim expression, his eyes streaming. My heart lurched with sympathy for him and felt a great wave of guilt taking over my body. It was because of aunt? Was this the reason she was avoiding to meet me?

"So the curse..." I asked trying to make things clearer.

"The curse laid on the stone was to make one's life miserable. No one know what else it can do, but what it did to me is something unexplainable."

"What happened then?" I asked. "What do you mean it was too late?"

"I didn't know that I can change back to human. It took me a while to figure it out. Apparently, I was a monster for the normal people. My parents were abused because of me, we were even deprived of basic necessities. I couldn't handle seeing them suffer and I ran away from them."

"I am so sorry," I whispered.

But Shourya was so immersed in telling me his story that I doubted if he had even heard me. It was as if he was pouring his heart out to me.

"I was only thirteen," he continued, "I didn't know where to go. For months I wandered all around Dakshinpur. That was the time when King Harsh so immersed in sending the suspected Samagraha away, he didn't bother about me. I was just a trash."

And Doctor thinks he is the greatest king!

"And my aunt?" I asked, "you didn't try to meet her?"

"I tried, keeping my pride aside. But she didn't encourage our friendship anymore. Probably she was scared that I was a monster and was capable to hurt her. I don't know what she could have told her father about me, but King Harsh decided to send her away with the rest of the suspected Samagraha."

I licked my upper lip thinking about my aunt and stood placing my hands on my hips. "Of course," I whispered, "It never occurred to me. I never thought of why my aunt was allowed to participate in the Yajna. So you are the reason?"

He nodded.

"Who took you in then?" I asked, "Did anyone come forward to help you out?"

"Believe it or not," he said, slowly, "but it was Shashi Thribhuvan."

"What!"

"Yes, it was him. He took me in. He gave me food and shelter, he gave me everything that a thirteen year old boy could ask for. My parents always used to tell me about him, I knew Shashi was evil and he killed people for pleasure. But yet I was grateful to him, just because he provided me with food."

"Is that why you are working for him? Just because you are grateful? That's all?"

He nodded "He brought me up, and made me capable. Even though it was for his own good. But I always do what I like to do, don't I?"

"And you are... confusing," I said, raising my eye brows, "Why did you kidnap Pruthvi when you had to save him? It doesn't even make sense."

I waited for his answer but he didn't reply.

"Anyway," I said, "how did he come back to life? What did you do to Pruthvi?"

"He was lucky that he wasn't dead yet. Or else even I couldn't have saved him."

"How did you save him?" I asked again. "You made him drink your blood? What was that all about?"

"Zarina Khan, she is not only a clairvoyant. She not only can see the future but the past too."

"What!"

"Yes, she is gifted. That is why she knows so much about the past generation Samagraha, about the Shaatrumani, about the Maiden's cup, everything. She found out that the stone which can kill a Samagraha has actually chosen me to save them too, probably it was all because of the one who put the curse on it in the first place. But besides that, it does give them something else too."

"Such as?" I said hurriedly. My heart began beating faster and I couldn't wait to find out that what happened to Pruthvi beside coming back to life.

"My blood does save a Samagraha from death, but a Samagraha is also a human being. Any person who drinks my blood, turns into what I am."

His statement hit me like a jolt. I stepped back in the utter shock.

"Does it mean...it means...."

"Yes. Pruthvi Krishna becomes the first Samagraha to possess and survive with double kinetic power- Geokinesis and Thereokinesis."

"Oh my god! Will he be okay?" I was literally having sparks in my brain, desperately trying to connect the dots but instead, it was just getting short circuited.

"More than okay," he said, slightly cheerfully, "He will be physically very powerful, and you need a Samagraha who might not be wanting to use a stone at all. And tell him he is invited to join my clan, will you?"

"We shall talk about it later," I said, scratching my head still unable to believe that this happening with Pruthvi and how he was going to react on this "Thereokinesis? I thought it was Psychenokinesis?"

"The Formation powers are not the only Kinetic powers in the world."

"But what about Tanvir? He said..."

"I changed many people, I developed my own clan. I am Shourya Pradhan, the leader of Clan of Pradhans. Everyone who works under me are as same as what I am. People who follow me and my rules are limited with this kinetic power. But there are few people like Tanvir who went ahead and craved for more. Shashi immediately made him his right handed man when he agreed to learn dark magic and that is he how he possessed Psychenokinesis."

I nodded, words playing in my mouth but now hesitating to come out. Pruthvi can now change into a dog? I didn't know if I should feel sorry for him or go back and make fun of him?

"Are you going take Nazira with you?" Shourya asked, suddenly "Am I done with my responsibilities?"

"Y..yes," I said, my insides suddenly turning warn on hearing her name, "Pruthvi needs her and I need...." I faltered and pretended to clear my throat, "we thought Nazira was living in Paschimgarh."

"Just for once I take her to see Queen Premila's grave and Doctor finds out where she is?"

I shrunk my eyes trying to chose my words properly. "Are you in contact with Doctor? Is that how he knew Nazira is living here?"

"No, not anymore" he replied, "The last I talked to him was the day I took his son away when he was suffering from Comalica Virus. But yes, we were in continuous contact for those eight years of his time in jail. And that was the time he told me a lot of things and what was the right thing to do. Around that time he asked me to look for this girl who needed support, atleast till the right person who truly cared about her arrives."

I dropped my eyes to the floor. His voice has given me a hint about who that person was. I tried my best to keep my face straight and fighting back the smile that wanted to break out.

"I think he meant Pruthvi," he said, shattering all my hopes.

"Oh! Yeah! Who else?" I said, hiding my disappointed expression. "So, er, is she anything like Zarina? I mean, is there anything supernatural about her?"

I was hoping for him to say yes. Atleast not like Zarina but I knew there was something special about her that had made her possible to ask for my help.

"Does she look she can be anything like Zarina," said Shourya, and again he crushed my hoped, "Sure, you can say looks can be deceiving but not in case of her. She is what she looks, sweet and innocent. Hayden, Nazira Khan is normal. Pruthvi should be lucky to have a sister like her."

I smiled with ease, savoring the felicity frizzling in my heart. Pruthvi was more than fine now, Shourya, whose intentions never had a clear clarity, turned out to be a good man, and moreover, I found the girl who probably wasn't my virtual companion anymore.

There was only one more thing I needed to do, one last thing, for now, and that was to make things right with him, who had gone through a lot since past two months. And he must be desperately waiting for his friends to share his suddenly born adversity.

"Will you come and stay with us?" I asked Shourya, "I am sure you will have better life..."

"My life is here, in Paramarashtra," he said, "And don't worry, I will always do what I have to do. You can count on me."

-x-