Recap:
After a terrifying encounter with a Watcher in Sompur Woods, Ansh is marked by a mysterious symbol. Vaishnavi recognizes it from a past vision: a screaming door in a hidden cave. That night, during a ritual, all three friends share a vision together for the first time.
The vision came like a plunge into icy water.
They were no longer in Vaishnavi's room.
They stood at the mouth of a cave, the sky above them burned with unnatural colors—greens and violets swirling like oil on water. The ground trembled beneath their feet. Far ahead, inside the cave, a dull red glow pulsed, in rhythm with Ansh's heartbeat.
"This is it," Vaishnavi whispered. "The place from my vision."
Ansh stepped forward, but the earth groaned underfoot.
Ishu grabbed his shoulder. "Do we even know what's inside that cave?"
Vaishnavi answered before Ansh could. "A door. Not to another place. To every place. A convergence point."
They moved cautiously inside. The walls of the cave were etched with symbols, the same jagged circle from Ansh's dream repeated again and again.
The further they went, the more the air thickened. It was like walking through liquid thought, emotions clinging to their skin—fear, grief, hunger. Echoes of the people who'd stood here before.
And then they saw it.
A massive stone slab embedded in the cavern wall. Symbols burned along its surface. In its center, a dark hollow. A keyhole.
"The Door That Screams," Vaishnavi murmured.
Ansh took a step closer.
From deep within the stone, a sound began to build. Low, at first. Then rising—a shriek that bypassed the ears and stabbed directly into their minds.
They dropped to their knees.
Ansh clutched his head, screaming. "Make it stop!"
Vaishnavi pressed her palm to the ground. It shimmered under her touch. "It's testing us! Trying to drive us out!"
Ishu dragged Ansh back. "We have to leave!"
But Ansh, eyes wide, suddenly stood.
The symbol on his palm glowed.
He walked toward the keyhole.
"Ansh!" Vaishnavi cried.
But it was too late.
He touched the door.
The scream stopped.
Silence.
Then the stone shuddered.
A voice echoed through the cave.
"The marked has arrived. The trial begins."
The door cracked open.
A wave of darkness burst forth, swallowing them all.
They awoke gasping.
Back in Vaishnavi's room.
But something was wrong.
Ansh's nose bled. His eyes were bloodshot.
Ishu backed away from him. "Your... your shadow. It's moving on its own."
Ansh turned slowly.
And saw it too. His shadow bent in unnatural ways, twisting like it was underwater.
"We didn't just see the door," Vaishnavi said. "We opened it."