Keval was disgruntled when he saw someone walking toward him. He wanted to yap out that he wished to be left alone. 

He didn't know how much longer he could endure this. 

He was carefully executing Ainas' plan, step by step and he was already exhausted.

The first step was to successfully teleport himself to the Eka station.

The second step was to become a part of the Rakshak Nayak circle.

The third step was to stay aloof. He hated it with a passion because no one was ready to leave him alone. He had asked Ainas about this particular step. She had laughed and told him that his aloofness would attract more attention; souls would come in abundance to quell his misery. 

She had no idea how right she was.

A shadow loomed over him. He gave whoever it was a cold shoulder. If they had any decency they would leave him alone.

Their constant show of concern pained him. He doubted if it was real. It shouldn't be. He didn't need a babysitter constantly worrying about his wellbeing. He was fine as he was. He had himself and he had Sakhi. They were a solid team.

What irked him the most was that deep down, a part of him longed for someone who wouldn't use him, who would genuinely be concerned about him. 

He chided himself for becoming soft. Some time away from Daanavlok was all it took dwindle his faith in himself. He reminded himself of the bigger picture.

His oath.

His freedom.

'Keval?'

His expression soured. He paid no attention to the souls who had come to talk to him. He recognized Anamika's voice. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 

What did she want from him?

He looked up to find another face smiling at him. The other face was a Yamdhut. Fear gripped him. He set his eyes on Sakhi, cursing Anamika for bringing a Yamdhut to him.

He was supposed to avoid them like a plague. 

'What?' He spat bitterly.

'This is Yoshanhara. She's a Yamdhut.'

He wanted to say, 'Of course she is. Have you seen her attire?' but bit back the retort. He did not want to mess with a Yamdhut.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Yoshanhara take a seat next to him. He stiffened. He almost shut his eyes and thought, This is it. I'll be branded as a traitor now and I'll spend the rest of the eternity running from the Daanavraj.

'That's a beautiful sword,' she commented.

'Thanks,' He replied in a clipped tone.

She extended her hand, 'Can I see it?'

He didn't move. Sakhi was not just a weapon to him. She was the closest he had to a friend. He would not let anyone touch her. He shook his head and put her back into her scabbard. He didn't need to be gentle about it. She was beautiful but that didn't mean that she wasn't lethal and rough.

Silence followed. He found himself wondering if he had offended her. He didn't dare to look. He shuddered involuntarily when he thought of the consequences.

'I've heard from Guru Gavishta that you fight really well,' she tried again.

He was glad she wasn't offended.

'I'm sure Guru Falit must've been proud of you.'

It was Keval's cue to leave. He got to his feet, 'Thank you for trying, but I need to be alone right now,' He kept his eyes glued to his feet. He was about to walk away.

'I don't remember my life on Prithvilok.'

He froze.

It was Anamika's voice.

He wasn't sure if he had heard it right but he had. His core shook with anticipation. Making sure his face conveyed no emotions, he looked over his shoulder at her.

She bit her lower lip. Her shoulders were slumped. She looked dejected. She took a few steps closer to him, 'I don't...' She paused, 'The soul never forgets, I'm not even sure how many times I've heard that,' she said.

She had all his attention.

She didn't continue like he had expected her to.

He wanted her to go on.

She was like him.

She was like him!

He raised his head. He noticed her anxiously looking around. He quickly came to the conclusion that she didn't like the idea of anyone overhearing their conversation. He surprised himself by being considerate, 'Shall we talk somewhere else?'

Her expression mirrored his. She looked at the Yamdhut who smiled encouragingly. Yoshanhara got up and walked away. She tried to smile at him as she left but he turned away.

Anamika gazed at him. His gesture at her friend was not overlooked. She leaned on the pillar as she held herself, 'It's fine here.'

He bobbed his head.

She started, 'It's like a sick joke.'

A shadow crossed her face as she laughed mirthlessly.

'Some times, I feel like something is wrong with me,' she explained, 'I- I don't understand, you know... This- this is a curse. I don't know why I'm here. I don't know what I've done to be here. I ask myself what sins have I committed? Who in the cosmos wanted my memory gone? No one knows. Not even the Yamdhuts. I just feel so...' Her voice trailed off.

'Lost,' He completed her sentence, 'Lonely.' He was aware of her eyes on him. He didn't have the courage to look. 'It's in my name.' He found himself cringing immediately. That was such a dumb thing to say, he chastised himself.

'Keval,' She said her name as if she were testing it, 'Who named you?'

He almost told her the truth.

He almost told her that his torturers had named him.

He almost told her that the Daanavraj had offered him a chance to change it.

The truth was right there, at the tip of his tongue, ready to roll off and be heard.

'Guru Falit,' He lied not wanting to trust himself with big words. 

'I don't think he implied that.'

'What do you mean?'

'Maybe Guru Falit named you that because he thought you are unique.'

The sincerity in her voice nearly move him to tears.

Keval, the unique one.

He wished he was that- unique. 'I-I-' He struggled to find words. Shaking his head, he changed the topic. 'Who named you?'

A moment of silence passed before she whispered, 'My brother-in-arms.'

For some odd reason, he had the urge to say her name. Instead, he asked, 'You've got a sahayudhayavan?'

She nodded, 'Yes. His name is Laksh. He is one of the few people who stood by me through everything.'

He ground his teeth as jealousy and rage swirled inside him. She had someone. For a moment, he thought there was hope. It was found in an unexpected place but he'd found it. She was like him.

He felt wretched. His agony screamed dulling his mind. He wanted to laugh at himself for being so foolish.

Without another word, he turned his back on her and walked away.

She didn't come after him.

Even the slightest hope would cost him his freedom.

***

Anamika felt better. He'd chosen to talk to her even if it wasn't about his pain, that would take some time. She found a friend in him. Her first friend outside the Asthadasha Rakshaks. She was delighted. She made it a point to thank Yoshanhara for persuading her to come along.

He was standing in front of her, staring at the socializing crowd. His expression was guarded. Despite his short and succinct replies, she knew he was opening up to her. She used to do the same when she was just a vulnerable being unknown to the art of warfare. She had to be as patient as Laksh if she had to break through him.

The conversation was going well but something made him walk away. She was addled by the sudden change in his demeanour. She was about to follow him when she chose the alternative. She pursed her lips and stared at his retreating profile. A few heads turned to do the same. She wondered if it was something she'd said.

She shook her head. It was no use pondering over that.

'That went well, don't you think?'

She jolted out of her reverie when she heard Yoshanhara's voice. She realized she was still looking in the direction where she'd last seen him. She snapped her head in the other direction but it was too late. The Yamdhut had already noticed it. She was leaning next to her, on the pillar as she smirked.

'You were here the whole time?'

'No, silly.' She offered no further explanation. She took Anamika's hands in hers, 'I found Laksh.'

Anamika smiled, 'Where is he?'

'He might've found the one for him,' she nudged her, teasingly. Anamika could've never expected that. She gaped at the Yamdhut as if she'd told her that they were all going to live with the daanavas, 'What?'

Yoshanhara rolled her eyes when she repeated her statement with dimmed enthusiasm.

Anamika took in the news, dumbfounded. Did Laksh tell her specifically? The question loomed in her head.

'Like Dhurya and Gomedha?'

Yoshanhara raised a brow, 'Yes and no. Like them. Although I must say, you'll like this couple more, they are made for each other.'

In other words, Laksh had found his one and only.

There were many legends on how the humankind came into existence. The Yamdhuts knew which version was true but they'd forever stick to the cryptic answer that all of them were. One of them was that there was this perfect cosmic being, the Purusha. He was perfect, in harmony and balanced. Then the creator-god, Lord Brahma split Purusha into two. It was how sky separated from the earth, the light separated from the dark, life from the ever pervading death, male from female.

And so, a soul was split into two, separated sometimes by the infinite universe and sometimes by the folly in one's mind.

'They're sitting there,' she pointed at one of the four towers. It was the one right in front of them. Anamika had almost missed the shadow under the torch. She squinted her eyes and walked closer to get a better look. There were two silhouettes, unmistakably. How had she not noticed that before?

'Do you know who it is?' She could not contain the excitement in her voice.

The Yamdhut shrugged, 'I do.'

'Who is it?' Her core shook with anticipation. She was so happy. Laksh had his fair share of dark moments and he'd selflessly helped her. He deserved to be happy.

'Go see for yourself.'

She frowned, 'I can't just go.'

'Of course, you can. He's your brother-in-arms.'

Anamika was about to act on the Yamdhut's advise when she noticed Rohini marching toward them. She straightened her back, excused herself and greeted the Rakshak Guru.

'You need to come with me,' the older woman demanded, 'They're discussing the strategies and you're here!' she chided. She must've noticed Anamika's expression because she softened her tone when she added further, 'You can't be reckless, Anamika. You have a responsibility now.'

Anamika nodded understandingly. She gave a Yoshanhara a small smile before running off the portal room.

She was late for the second time. She cursed herself for not noticing that the Rakshak Nayaks were not a part of the crowd. She didn't want to make a statement again. She wanted them to take her seriously but being the lowest ranking Nayak, she wasn't given much attention.

None of them paid attention to her. They were seated on the stone floor. They had left a spot vacant for her. She took her place. Only one Nayak wasn't there. 

Keval. 

It bothered her.

They were talking about something, she couldn't focus. She spotted a familiar face standing in one corner of the room. It was Kasa. He was focusing on Abhay but her gaze seemed to have called him. He looked at her and grinned.

Her eyes widened. Why was he acknowledging her?

She joined her palms and bowed her head at him. When she looked up, he was no longer looking at her. Her shoulders slumped.

She tried to focus on Abhay.

He was ginormous. Nothing about him spoke subtlety. She studied all the other faces. All of them were stoic and composed. She sat completely terrified with the idea of being a Nayak. This entire ordeal didn't seem like it was made for her. She wanted to catch hold of her head and scream. It was so frustrating. She wanted to understand what they were saying. She could recognize words but she couldn't make sense of them. She was dwindling.

Something was calling out to her.

She heard incoherent words. It was a shallow masculine voice. It wasn't Abhay's. It was someone else's.

Someone else's.

In a language, she didn't understand.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. In an instant, the voices drained away. Her eyes snapped to see who the hand belonged too. There was no one there. She caught a slight movement in her peripheral vision.

Kasa.

She calmed down. It was a little disconcerting but she was thankful. She bobbed her head at him, a way of showing her gratitude. He showed no signs of acknowledgement and simply went back to the conversation.

She thought she was imagining Keval. She blinked at him. He was sitting on the spot that was once vacant. The Nayaks sitting on either side of him shifted uncomfortably and that was all she needed to know to confirm that he was really there.

'We cannot sit here while they infest the Prithvilok,' The Rakshak Nayak of the Catvaari station, Ashvath asserted. 'It is our primary duty. It is the essence of our existence!'

'I agree with you, Ashvath but we've lost the entire Astha station. You cannot be so insensitive. We have to protect ourselves before we protect anyone else,' Hrutvy, the leader of the Sapta station argued.

'He's not being insensitive,' another leader voiced defending Ashvath before he had an opportunity to do so himself, 'We simply cannot stray from our duties!'

'But if we go on like this, none of us will survive this long enough to...' her voice trailed.

The silence hung heavy.

It unnerved Anamika. She glanced at Keval to see if he was alright. She searched for any tell-tales of hurt but his face seemed to be set in stone. The lack of light and expression made him appear as if he had been carved out of the same stone as the kila had and the fact that she could only see in black and white did not help.

All of them looked at Keval.

'We will prioritize.'

The answer was so simple. She couldn't help but think how incredibly stupid their argument was.

Their heads snapped at her. That was when Anamika realized that she was the one who had broken the silence.

She wanted to squirm away.

'Prioritize?' Hrutvy barked incredulously.

Anamika did not like her tone and as much as she wanted to run away, the ring on her finger reminded her of the responsibility she shouldered. She looked her right in the eyes and opened her mouth to speak but someone else spoke in her place.

'We should prioritize,' the Rakshak Nayak of the Dve station, Shaurya spoke as if it were his idea. He went on to explain it, 'We must protect ourselves but we cannot neglect our duties as Rakshaks. We will analyse the threats and send teams only to the locations where we feel the threat is imminent,' He didn't even glance at her. Anamika felt like she was invisible. Her body burned with humiliation.

'Meanwhile,' he continued, 'we will train. We will teach all the other stations on how to fight daanavas. They would need it.'

That seemed to draws out a chorus of agreement from the others.

Anamika clenched her fists. She felt insulted. It was her idea! She wanted to launch an attack on the Dve Nayak but kept her emotions in check. She would find someone to fight with later.

It wasn't about her.

It was about the Rakshaks they had to protect from the daanavas. It was also about those living on the Prithvilok.

Waging an argument against Shaurya seemed petty for those reasons.

They discussed the parameters which would determine how they would prioritize the threats. Anamika tried her best to give her input too but the fact that she didn't know half the monsters they were talking about didn't help her.

'It is settled then,' Kasa piped in once they were done. He left his corner and strode toward them. It was only then, that she realized that he was the adjudicator. He summed up the entire meeting and then proceeded to assign duties. He gave the first five stations the permission to use the vara. The next seven stations were to train the remaining ones to fight daanavas. It was met with some resistance but Kasa strictly told them that it wasn't up for debate.

He dismissed them.

The Nayaks got to their feet in unison. It took Anamika by surprise.

They walked past her without a glance.

She shook her head, telling herself to be icy.

'They treat us like shit,' she heard a masculine voice. She turned to see who it was directed to. There were three Rakshak Nayaks looking at her. She realized they were talking to her.

'I'm Tarak,' the bear-like boy smiled at him. He was taller than her and was very bulky. His face was round. His features weren't rough but it didn't hide the message that he was dangerous, 'Rakshak Nayak of the Shodash station.'

The other two introduced themselves as Nandan, the Saptadasha Nayak and Tamira, the Chaturdasha Nayak.

Anamika returned the courtesy.

'As I was saying, they treat us like we're insignificant,' Nandan said.

She silently agreed.

'But we're not,' Tamira spoke, softly, 'Let's not take their actions to the soul.' She looked at her and winked at the pun.

They chuckled as they made their way to the egress.

Tarak's voice dropped down to a whisper, 'So the Astha Nayak, how is he?'

Anamika tried to hide her annoyance. It seemed as if all the attention came to her because she was the fortunate one to be chosen by the grieving Rakshak Nayak.

'You can ask him yourself,' she said in a toneless voice.

'He won't talk to anyone. You're the only Rakshak he talked to,' Nandan pointed out.

'Boys, boys, let's not talk about this,' Tamira saved her.

Anamika liked her the most out of the three who'd chosen to talk to her. She cast her a grateful look which was met by Tamira's lopsided grin.

***