Chapter 12 The First Step
Rudranath dragged a chair before the window, facing the river. He sat, looking at the horizon. Rays of the early sun kissed the cracking sky.
"Enjoying the view, Mr. Bhattacharyay?"
The question made him turn his head towards the doorway. One of the girls from before had come. A warm smell of fresh food filled the air. In her hand, a bowl of chicken noodles rested, along with chili chicken on the wooden tray. Rudranath's stomach growled once more. He blushed, turning away from the tray in her hand.
A soft giggle escaped her.
"I believe you must be hungry after purifying that Trishna."
She placed the tray on the bed with a smile. Rudranath looked at her. She was barely in her mid-twenties. A smile tugged on his lips. One day Aarohi would grow up like that. She grabbed a chair from the pile stacked up against the wall. Rudranath walked toward the bed.
The moment he sat, his hands grabbed the noodle bowl.
“Sir, I am Sayani Ghosal, your personal assistant assigned by the board.”
Rudranath gave her a sidelong look while chewing the noodles.
“Assistant…?”
“Yes, I am here to guide you through the registration process for your training in Soul Essence.”
Rudranath slurped the hanging end of a noodle.
“You will be training me?”
She smiled, shaking her head.
“No, sir. I am merely a rookie-rank defender myself. I will help you to get accustomed to D.O.S.A.M.”
Defenders…? Rudranath placed the empty bowls on the tray, glancing at her. It felt like he had just finished his first meal after a month of hunger. He rested his back against the headboard. A low burp escaped him. Sayani giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.
“As you are finished, then shall we start the process?”
Process? Did she mean training? Here? Hadn't we come to the crematorium for the cremation of the escorts? He looked around. The room was pretty simple. He had no idea his training was going to start here. He straightened his back.
“Here?… How?”
Sayani stood up from her chair. She moved closer to the riverside wall. Her whole body emitted a golden light as her index finger moved. She was writing something in the air. Golden letters flickered to life in Sanskrit, forming lines on the wall. Once she was done writing, she clapped her palms like a prayer. The lines curved and formed a circle, radiating in gold.
The moment she placed her left palm inside it, a small panel slid open in the floor. Rudranath jumped up from the bed. He could see stairs running down into the darkness beneath that space.
“They have basements everywhere?”
The thought flashed through his mind as he looked at Sayani with a narrowed gaze. Sekhar had mentioned D.O.S.A.M. was a secret military body. But he never understood their reach. Sayani stood before the stairs, smiling back at him.
“Shall we?”
Rudranath nodded in silence. Within a moment, both of them vanished through the stairs. The panel slid shut above them, hiding the stairs from the common view. The tunnel around the stairs was damp. Green moss covered the walls like thick velvet. Golden lines in Sanskrit were carved through them, casting a soft glow through the tunnel. He could hear the flow of water above them, just like in that stone corridor of the warehouse.
He glanced at the wall, stepping down.
“So we are below the water level…”
Sayani nodded.
“Yes, sir. Most of our facilities are below the water level to keep the radiation of soul essence suppressed.”
Radiation of Soul Essence? Rudranath’s eyes narrowed at her back. She rummaged through her trousers’ pocket. A sealed envelope came out with a slick pull of her fingers. She extended it toward Rudranath without glancing back.
“You must be worried about your duties as a government official...”
Rudranath took the envelope from her fingers. The seal of his department was placed on it. She smiled.
“…But do not worry. We have already covered it on your behalf. You can read that at your leisure.”
Rudranath slid the envelope into his shirt’s pocket. A whisper slipped out of his lips.
“Very efficient…”
“Thank you, sir.”
The stairs ended in a wide stone floor. Weird patterns decorated its surface. The walls and the ceiling were inscribed in Sanskrit. Every letter shimmered with golden light through them. Multiple tables stood tall, crowded with people. All of them wore the same dress code— white shirts tucked into black trousers, black ties knotted at their collars, and black shoes covering their feet. It looked like a common room for corporate workers.
They slipped past the tables and stopped by the reception desk. Every pair of eyes followed them in silence, though they were busy talking with each other. A lady wearing a maroon saree sat behind the reception desk. She stood up with a warm smile.
“Good morning, ma’am. How may I be of assistance?”
Sayani’s voice dropped looking around with a worried gaze. It was barely more than a breath.
“I want to register Mr. Rudranath Bhattacharyay as a new joinee.”
Rudranath didn’t miss the change in the mood. The warm smile faded from the receptionist’s face. Her lips parted, but nothing came out of them. She swept a glance at the people sitting behind them. Sayani whispered.
“Keep it low-profile, would you?”
The lady nodded, dragging out a paper from the desk’s drawer.
“Please fill in the details in the form, Mr. Bhattacharyay.”
Rudranath lifted the pen. His eyes drifted toward Sayani, standing beside him. She nodded with a smile. He filled out the details and handed the form over to the receptionist. She took the form from his hands, placing it inside a file. Then she shoved the file into the drawer and pressed the bell on the desk. A loud crack echoed as the wall behind her chair swung open like a door. Dust drifted from the corners of it.
She smiled at Sayani.
“There you go, ma’am.”
Rudranath followed Sayani through the door. The moment they set their feet inside, the stone door slammed shut. A bristling hum of water filled the room. The chamber inside was the same—inscribed in Sanskrit everywhere. But instead of the golden glow, the letters radiated a soft blue. A single lane made of polished stone stretched forward from the door, leading to a circular platform ahead. Clean water rushed down the stone walls through seven small openings built into them. It then flowed through channels on both sides of the path, circling around the platform.
Sayani stepped over the lane without speaking a single word. Rudranath followed her steps closely behind. Fresh lotuses floated on the water surface everywhere. Their pink petals shimmered, catching the blue light of the chamber. When they stepped onto the platform, the letter ‘Om’ carved on the surface glowed in golden light.
A small pillar stood tall from its center at Rudranath’s waist level. A transparent orb rested atop it, between two golden sculptures of human hands. Sayani turned, smiling at him.
“Kindly place your right hand on the orb, sir.”
Rudranath tilted his head.
“Why…?”
She smiled.
“That orb will evaluate your potential, and you will get your license afterward.”
Rudranath’s eyes narrowed. License? For what exactly? He hesitated for a moment. Then he placed his hand on it. At first, there was nothing. Then suddenly he felt a chill condensing against his palm. It was far weaker than the black key. But it was similar. White flames rushed through his veins, drifting out of his pores to devour the chill as always. His irises shimmered white. His body radiated the flames around him.
And suddenly the whole basement trembled. It felt as if a massive earthquake had struck. He could hear the panicked steps and voices above them. Particles of dust drifted from the corners of the chamber. The calm water splashed against the platform in waves. His consciousness was dragged through his inner sanctum while he stood there like a statue.
A faint thud reached his ears. Then came a shout.
“Sir, please control your…”
Sayani’s voice. But he couldn’t hear the rest of the sentence. He couldn’t hear the water’s splashes. The panicked voices above them faded to silence. His connection with the outer world snapped completely.
His Soul Palace bloomed into view.
