Curse of the Timekeeper: Level 3
’‘‘‘Inspector Arjun ke sacrifice ke baad sab kuch shaant lag raha tha. Rita aur Ajay apni zindagi normal jeene lage, par unke dil me ek ajeeb sa khokhlapan tha — jaise unhone kuch bohot bada kho diya ho, lekin yaad hi nahi aa raha ke kya. Yeh curse tha: Arjun ka naam aur uska wajood sabke dimaag se mita diya gaya tha.Ek din Rita ek purani library me gayi. Usne ek jali hui kitaab uthayi jisme samay aur ghadiyon ke baare me likha tha. Pages adhe jale hue the, par kuch shabd abhi bhi saaf the:‘‘”The Keeper of Justice stood against Time… he was erased, but not destroyed. His return lies in the heart that remembers.”‘‘Jaise hi usne yeh line padhi, uske dimaag me tasveerain flash hone lagi — ek aadmi, tez nazrein, ek badge, aur ek awaaz jo kehti thi: ‘‘“Inspector Arjun.”‘‘Rita ka dil tez dhadakne laga. Usse ahsaas hua ki curse ne uske dimaag se ek insaan ko mita diya tha, lekin uski rooh kahi andar se usse ab bhi yaad kar rahi thi. Usne Ajay ko bataya, par Ajay confuse tha — usse kuch yaad hi nahi aa raha tha. Rita ro padi:‘‘”Kya tumhe nahi yaad? Ek insaan tha… jisne hum sabke liye apni jaan di thi. Usne Kane ko roka tha. Usne… hume bacha liya tha!”‘‘Jab Rita ne aur gehraayi se kitaab ke last page ko padha, usne ek aur line dekhi:‘‘”To call back the one erased by Time, the Watch must bleed again… not with sacrifice, but with remembrance.”‘‘Us pal Rita ke dil me umeed jagi. Arjun ko wapas lana mumkin tha, lekin is dafa jaan dene se nahi — sirf usse yaad karne se. Uska wajood tabhi lautega jab koi use poore dil se yaad kare aur uske naam ko dobara duniya me likhe.Us raat Rita ne ek ritual kiya. Usne ghadi ke bache hue tukde ek circle me rakhe, apna khoon us par tapkaya aur Arjun ka naam jor se pukara. Library ke andar samay ruk gaya, hawa tez chalne lagi, aur ek roshni ke beech ek silhoutte saamne aane laga. Dheere dheere wo roshni insaan ki shakl lene lagi.Woh Arjun tha. Thaka hua, lekin zinda. Usne Rita ki taraf dekha, muskuraya aur kaha—Tumne samay ko jhukne par majboor kar diya, Rita. Main wapas aa gaya hoon… lekin Kane abhi bhi khatam nahi hua. Aur ab woh mujhe bhi jaanta hai.Rita ke chehre par aansuon ke beech ek muskaan thi. Inspector Arjun wapas aa gaya tha. Lekin asli jang abhi shuru hone wali thi.