The Protector's Shadow

He slowly stepped closer to Shraddha, his voice dropping into a cold whisper.

"Do you really think I need an address?"

Shraddha's throat went completely dry.

How could she forget? The person standing in front of her wasn't human. He was a Protector.

Rhythm raised his hand and gently touched Shraddha’s cheek — where the burning marks of the slaps still lingered.

A dangerous anger flared up in his deep eyes.

"If you want, I can destroy all of them. Right now. In a single second."

Shraddha immediately brushed his hand away. "No! I told you before. This revenge is mine. I will be the one to finish it!"

A faint smile appeared on Rhythm's face.

He closed his eyes — and used his powers to see everything that had happened throughout the day.

Shraddha's helplessness.

The slaps on her face.

Every painful moment.

Everything flashed clearly before his eyes.

The next second, Rhythm snapped his eyes open. He aggressively pushed Shraddha back against the wall.

"This is how you take revenge? You are so weak that you wouldn't even be able to swat a fly!"

Shraddha trembled, looking at the intense anger reflecting in his eyes. She had never wished bad upon anyone. How could she suddenly change into a different person?

Rhythm gripped her arms tightly.

"Forget about your love and all that nonsense. From now on, there is no love for you in this world."

"Whatever is left... is just me."

Suddenly, a spark ignited inside Shraddha. She fiercely stomped her foot right down onto Rhythm's foot.

Rhythm winced and pulled back slightly from the pain.

He glared at her angrily — but this time, Shraddha stood her ground, staring straight into his eyes.

She pointed a finger at him. "How many times are you going to remind me of this? We already talked about this yesterday!"

"Don't ever bring up this garbage again. And one more thing — do not enter my room without my permission ever again!"

Rhythm looked at Shraddha in utter shock.

Slowly, his angry expression softened into a slight smirk.

"Where you actually need to speak up, you stay completely quiet. But to fight with me, you suddenly turn into a fierce lioness?"

Shraddha snapped back, "Because you are being rude! Why should I tolerate your misbehavior?"

The annoyance returned to Rhythm's face.

He mocked her coldly, "Just like how you tolerated everyone else's slaps?"

All of Shraddha's bravery instantly vanished into silence. A deep sadness clouded her eyes.

Rhythm felt the sharp pain hidden in her eyes, and something boiled deep within him.

He made a silent vow to himself — *'Whoever hurt my Shraddha... I will personally ruin them.'*

But this revenge belonged to Shraddha. And she needed to light her own inner fire.

Shraddha found herself getting lost in Rhythm’s piercing blue eyes. For the first time, she was looking at them this closely — they were as deep, blue, and mysterious as the ocean.

Smiling to herself, she thought, *'His eyes match the decorations in my room perfectly.'*

"My eyes are real. But the decorations in your room are fake," Rhythm stated calmly.

Shraddha's smile instantly froze.

She narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Can you... read my mind too?!"

A playful, mischievous smirk appeared on Rhythm's face.

"I don't just read your mind. I can even hear the rhythm of your heartbeat."

Shraddha quickly made a face and turned to look out the window. She knew there was no point in arguing with this Water Protector.

"Fine, drop it. Weren't you going to take someone else's form? Did you do it?"

A charming smile played on Rhythm's lips.

He gazed deeply at her face. "Do you really want to see?"

Shraddha nodded with a hint of curiosity.

The next moment.

Rhythm closed his eyes — and when he opened them...

The real Rhythm Oberoi was standing right in front of her.

He wore a perfect, sharp black three-piece suit. His dark hair was flawlessly styled, and his jawline was razor-sharp. He looked so incredibly handsome that any girl’s heart would skip a beat.

Shraddha's eyes widened in complete amazement.

"Looking at you, no one would ever guess that you are the protector of aquatic creatures!"

Rhythm raised an eyebrow.

He stepped aggressively toward Shraddha, his voice low but icy. "I am not a human. I am the protector of the creatures of the water. Got it?"

Shraddha quickly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. That’s exactly what I meant."

A slight smile played on Rhythm's lips again.

He leaned in closer. "So... which look did you like more?"

Without thinking, Shraddha blurted out, "Obviously this one. The one where your hair is black and styled."

Shraddha had no idea what her words would trigger. The moment she finished speaking, Rhythm pulled her sharply into his arms.

Shraddha's breath caught in her throat.

Rhythm looked deeply into her eyes, his tone becoming dead serious. "No matter how I look... you have to like me."

"Because from now on, I am your shadow. Understand?"

Shraddha's heart began to race wildly. She tried to pull away, but Rhythm’s grip was so firm that she couldn't move an inch.

For a few breathless moments, their eyes locked, completely lost in each other.

Finally, gathering her courage, Shraddha whispered softly, "And what if I don't like you?"

A wicked, playful smile stretched across Rhythm's lips.

He leaned down and whispered directly into her ear, "Then I will force you to."

"For the rest of your life... to like only me."

Chills ran down Shraddha's spine.

She quickly shoved Rhythm away, freeing herself, and spoke angrily, "I will absolutely not tolerate this kind of behavior from you!"

Rhythm slipped his hands into his pockets, a faint smile on his face. "Then whose bad behavior will you tolerate? The people who slap you?"

All of Shraddha's confidence shattered into sorrow once again.

Rhythm had easily read the pain hidden in her eyes. He stepped forward slowly, stopping right in front of her.

"You are not weak, Shraddha."

"You don't even know who you truly are yet."

"But I know. You are going to become the most dangerous girl in this entire world."

Shraddha’s heart hammered against her chest. She looked up into Rhythm’s deep blue eyes. He was a Water Protector — but now, he had become her shadow, her guardian.

Suddenly feeling overwhelmed and restless, Shraddha quickly stepped far away from him.

Riya was pacing back and forth across her room. Deep panic was written all over her face.

She muttered frantically to herself, "Kartik told me he killed Shraddha. If she's dead, how on earth is she back alive and completely fine?"

Riya immediately dialed Kartik's number, but the call wouldn't go through. Frustrated, she collapsed onto the bed, whispering, "Where did this Kartik go? Why hasn't he come back yet? And why is his phone unreachable?"

Riya sat on the edge of the bed for a while, anxiously wringing her fingers. A dim yellow bulb lit the room, making the atmosphere feel incredibly eerie and tense. The loud ticking of the clock echoed through the silence, as if mocking every fast beat of her heart.

She picked up her phone to try Kartik's number again, but this time, a busy tone filled her ear.

"What is going on? Kartik... where are you?" Riya whispered to the empty room.

Suddenly, the white curtains hanging by the window rustled softly, as if someone had gently brushed past them. Riya’s heart leapt into her throat. She spun around to look at the window in terror, but there was nothing there.

*"It’s just the wind,"* she told herself, trying to calm down.

But the very next second...

The room lights flickered and suddenly went completely black.

Riya’s entire body froze.

In the heavy silence, a faint, low whisper echoed from somewhere in the dark. It sounded as if someone was standing right next to her, calling her name.

*"Riya..."*

Riya stopped breathing.

With trembling hands, she quickly turned on her phone's flashlight and shone the beam toward the sound. But the space was completely empty.

"I-Is anyone there?" her voice shook violently.

Suddenly, on the large mirror in the corner of the room, dark handprints began to appear out of nowhere, slowly dragging upward against the glass.

Riya’s throat went bone-dry. She scrambled to run toward the door, but—

*SLAM!* The door shut violently all on its own.

The same chilling whisper echoed again, this time much closer to her ear.

*"Kartik is never coming back, Riya."*

Riya wanted to scream for help, but the sound choked in her throat.

The temperature in the room began to drop rapidly. Riya swung her flashlight around frantically, and suddenly, right in front of her...

Two glowing eyes were staring at her out of the darkness.

"Your biggest mistake was assuming I was dead."

That voice... it belonged to Rhythm.

Riya gasped, her mind spinning with terror. "W-Who... who are you?"

Rhythm stepped forward out of the shadows, his footsteps silent.

"Your worst punishment... begins now."

The air pressure in the room surged heavily. Everything began to blur right before Riya's eyes.

Suddenly, a violent shock wave coursed through her body, and she let out a blood-curdling scream.

And then, just as quickly, everything returned to a dead, eerie calm.

But one horrifying detail remained — Riya's scream had never left the room.

Her scream died inside the suffocating walls. Her entire body was drenched in cold sweat, her breathing shallow and ragged. She stumbled backward, using the wall to support herself, but her eyes remained glued to the spot where Rhythm’s glowing eyes had been just moments ago.

The room sank back into a heavy silence.

"N-No... it's just my imagination. There's no one here," Riya whispered, trying desperately to comfort herself.

But then...

*Tick. Tick. Tick.*

The sound of the clock grew unnaturally loud. Terrified, Riya looked up at the wall. The hands of the clock were spinning rapidly backward.

A cold shiver ran through her spine.

"What... what is happening?"

Before she could process the horror, the white curtains began to whip wildly in the air on their own. The room temperature plummeted instantly, as if an icy blanket had been laid over everything.

With shaking hands, Riya unlocked her phone and dialed Kartik's number one more time. This time, it actually rang.

"Please... please, Kartik. Answer the phone," she begged, tears streaming down her face.

The phone kept ringing. But there was no answer.

Suddenly, the call disconnected on its own, and a single name flashed across the screen —

Riya's heart hammered wildly. Her breath hitched. In pure terror, she threw the phone away from her.

"W-What do you want from me?!" she shrieked into the darkness.

The chilling whisper filled the room once more.

*"You dared to challenge me, Riya."*

The floor beneath Riya's feet began to freeze, turning a pale, icy white wherever she stepped.

"No! No! I didn't do anything! It was all Kartik's doing! I only..."

*"LIAR."*

With a sudden gust of wind, Riya's hair flew up wildly. She felt the heavy grip of invisible hands locking around her neck.

Riya tried to scream, but the sound was choked out completely.

*"Now you will find out... what life after death truly feels like,"* Rhythm's voice echoed directly into her ear.

Riya's eyes widened in absolute horror. She desperately tried to call out for God, but Rhythm let out a cold, chilling breath.

"Now, even God cannot save you."

Suddenly, her own reflection appeared in the mirror ahead. But the reflection was smiling wickedly at her, while Riya's actual face was distorted with pure terror.

Riya wanted to scream until her lungs burst, but not a single sound escaped her lips.

Paralyzed by fear, she curled up into a corner of the room, covering both her ears tightly.

*Tick. Tick. Tick.*

The hands of the clock continued to spin backward in the dark.

Riya squeezed her eyes shut, trembling violently. But even behind her closed eyelids, the exact same terrifying face was waiting for her.

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