?


    "DAMN!"


    As Carl eximed, he got the looks of everyone in the restaurant on him.


    Noticing this, Carl got really embarrassed and said under his breath, "sorry…"


    Ignoring Carl once again, Alex took his phone and said to Samuel, "I''ll contact Hazel and see if something can be done. If it doesn''t work out, we''ll find some other ways."


    Samuel nodded. "I hope this works out. Our little group from junior high would thene together, hahaha!"


    Something then clicked Samuel as he said that.


    "Right, speaking of our little group, where do you think Jagan and Volkov are now? Haven''t heard from them after our schools were changed."


    Alex honestly had no idea himself.


    He knew about Hazel because in his past life, a sad news was out from CERN itself stating that one of their researchers had taken their life due to years of degraded mental health.


    The institute didn''t know about it as Hazel was aloof and never shared anything personal.


    The staff had tried talking to him and being really smart, Hazel had always talked his way out stating that he was fine.


    This sad news woulde out in just theing five years and it would be a great pity to see a childhood friend as well as a genius lose himself to depression.


    Alex wouldn''t have found this out in his past life had he not been researching Genes and kept up to date with CERN''s gic department.


    In any case, Alex shook his head to Samuel''s questions and answered honestly.


    Jagan and Volkov were his good friends and other than junior high and some parts of his high school, Alex had made no friend ever since.


    In his entire medical career, there were a few acquaintances but no good friends like the ones such as Samuel, Hazel, Jagan, and Volkov.


    In response to Alex shaking his head, Samuel sighed and shook his own as well.


    "It''s such a pity that we don''t have any contact whatsoever with them."


    Alex nodded. "We don''t even know if Jagan and Volkov are still in the states or somewhere else."


    Samuel thought about it and asked, "could they have gone to India and Russia?"


    Alex wondered about it and said softly, "could be…"


    *


    Madurai, India.


    DHAM! DHAM! DHAM! DHAM! DHAM!


    It was dark yet the air crackled with anticipation as the rhythmic pounding of drums resonated in the atmosphere.


    Streets were lit up, flowers were everywhere, and despite it being close to midnight, people in vibrant traditional attires gathered right in front of the ancient temple of Vidmbh*, to celebrate thousands of years of wisdom shared by this great deity.


    [*A/N: Vidmbha is not amon word of Sanskrit. It''s a made up term, consisting of Vida (wisdom) andmbh(attainment).]


    The drummers gathered around in a semi-circle in the middle and around them urred a swirling dance of devotion.


    Right as the clock hit midnight and began a new day, the temple doors opened up and out appeared a handsome lean man holding the idol of the deity Vidmbh on his head.


    The man had a silk dhoti wrapped around his waist and wore nothing on his upper body, his toned muscles visible to clearly.


    There were priests around the man chanting mantras and there was a constant smile on the man''s face.


    People flocked around the idol that the man carried and after a hundred steps, he stopped.


    The drummers gathered around the man and energetically started beating their drums, making all the people around dance.


    Right in a minute, a tform was made where the man stopped and with the chants of mantras, the priests took the idol and ced it on the tform.


    The man took a step back and bowing, seeked the blessing of the resident deity.


    ''Vidmbha… on this auspicious asion, I pray that you bestow a path to the ones lost, grant knowledge like you usually do, and continue to love us, your faithful devotees.''


    Finishing seeking blessings, the man distanced himself from the crowd and staring at the grandeur of the Vidmbha temple, he smiled happily.


    Just then…


    "Hic!" The guy started having hups. "Is someone thinking ab— hic!—out me?"


    Knowing home remedies to stop hups, he firstly pinched his nose to stop breathing and then diverted his attention from the temple to the crowd and then back to the ancient temple.


    He then gently pressed on his diaphragm and breathing normally, his hups stopped.


    Staring at the majesty of the temple with an empty head, he muttered softly with a smile, "I wonder who could be thinking about me…"


    *


    St. Petersburg, Russia.


    It was two hours to midnight and a man in a ck trench coat and hat stood in front of a tombstone.


    There was eerie silence, and all around him were tombstones cloaked in the shadows of the creepy night.


    Despite there being absolute silence in the graveyard, the man''s chaotic emotions kept him busy with his thoughts.


    He was holding a white flower and staring at the tombstone for the past five minutes without saying a single word.


    His eyes were moist, throat heavy, and despite thence-like tall posture, a heavy burden seemed to bring the man down.


    A minuteter, when the man had finally mustered up enough courage, he put the flower on the tombstone and said in a sobbing voice,


    "I tried mama… I… tried."


    There was a pause for a good while after that.


    "…I couldn''t even save you despite the many efforts."


    "You kept telling me to have faith in God… but God never listened… despite you wholeheartedly seeking his blessings every moment of the day… God never noticed."


    "I did everything I could to make God happy, mama. I did everything…"


    The man broke down and fell on his knees.


    "…rituals… ceremonies… helping the poor and needy… being kind… being pure and virtuous… going to churches… worshipping with all my heart… I did everything…"


    "…yet… God didn''t give you even a single day extra."


    "Mama… I miss you so much…"


    Tears continued to fall down the man''s eyes with no stop visible.


    "I… I cannot see the light you asked me to see anymore… everywhere there''s darkness, mama."


    A whileter, the man stopped sobbing and wiping away his tears, he got up and dusted his clothes.


    Seriousness shed into his and he then said, "I don''t think looking for the light was right, mama."


    The man extended his hands out and continued, "look around you… the darkness… it''s so much better than light."


    "Light is nothing but an arrogant conqueror, blinding us to the whispers of the stars. But, darkness?"


    "The truth reveals itself in the silent symphony of the darkness. It''s the path that we should''ve followed."


    The man then went close to the tombstone and squatting down, caressed it and said softly, "we should''ve listened to those people before, mama. You wouldn''t have left me like this had we listened. But not to worry…"


    The man took out an emblem from his pocket, a pentagram with vines weaving around its edges. At each point of the pentagram was a malevolent symbol, making it reek of evil and corruption.


    The man showed this emblem to the tombstone and said with a sad face, "…I have done it. I''ve epted them this time. So please hang in there for a bit, I''ll resurrect you soon."


    The man kissed the tombstone and then getting up, pressed on his hat and said with a serious face, walking away from the tombstone:


    "I''ll bring you back by sessfully orchestrating it…"


    "...The Demon''s Parade."


    The wind blew past the man''s thick coat as he walked away, a paper slipping out of his pocket.


    The paper traversed with the breeze and stuck to the tombstone, disying on it a map.


    A map of one the world''s most ancient cities—


    Rome.