The Hidden Path - Chapter 1

My name is Pavan, and through this novel, I want to share my encounters with mysterious spiritual people, superhuman powers, hidden temples, and secret paths that exist far beyond the understanding of ordinary people. This story begins with a simple college student living a normal life, unaware that destiny had already chosen him for something much darker and far more dangerous.

That evening felt completely normal.

After finishing my college lectures, I boarded the last bus going toward my village. I was exhausted from the entire day. My shoulders hurt from carrying my heavy college bag, and my mind was filled with thoughts about assignments, exams, and unfinished practicals. Like every other day, I only wanted to reach home, eat the hot dinner prepared by my mother, and sleep peacefully.

The bus slowly left the city behind.

Bright streetlights disappeared one after another as the road moved deeper into the countryside. Outside the dusty windows, only darkness remained. Small villages passed silently beside us. Occasionally, dim yellow bulbs glowed outside tiny roadside tea stalls before vanishing again into the night.

Inside the bus, most passengers were asleep. Some villagers carried vegetable sacks, while others sat silently staring outside the windows. The old bus engine growled heavily as it moved through the lonely roads surrounded by fields and forests.

I checked my phone.

11:47 PM.

Very late.

I sighed deeply and leaned my head against the window. Cold air entered through the broken glass beside my seat. Normally, I enjoyed night travel, but that day something felt strange. The atmosphere felt unusually heavy, almost suffocating.

As the bus moved closer to my village, fog slowly began covering the roads.

The driver turned on the stronger headlights.

The road ahead looked empty and endless.

Finally, after nearly thirty minutes, the conductor shouted my village name loudly.

“Last stop! Village boundary!”

I stood up immediately, picked up my bag, and walked toward the bus door.

The moment I stepped down from the bus, cold wind hit my face.

The bus stop stood exactly near the boundary of our village. It was a lonely place surrounded by large banyan trees, broken electric poles, and empty fields stretching into darkness. During daytime, villagers and small shops filled the area. But at night, especially after 11 PM, the place became completely deserted.

The bus doors closed behind me.

Within seconds, the bus disappeared down the dark road, leaving me completely alone.

Silence.

Deep, unnatural silence.

Only the sound of wind moving through trees remained.

I adjusted my bag and started walking toward the village road. My house was around fifteen minutes away from the bus stop. I had walked this road hundreds of times before, so there was nothing to fear.

At least that’s what I thought.

As I walked forward, I suddenly noticed something unusual ahead.

A black Scorpio stood near the village boundary under a giant banyan tree.

Its headlights were off, but the parking lights glowed faintly in the darkness.

The vehicle looked expensive and strangely clean compared to the dusty village roads.

And beside the Scorpio stood a man.

Tall.

Still.

Watching me.

At first, I ignored him and continued walking slowly. Maybe he was some businessman or traveler who had stopped there for directions.

But then I looked at him properly.

And instantly, something inside me became uncomfortable.

The man looked powerful in a way I had never seen before. He wore a fitted black shirt with folded sleeves, dark jeans, and heavy boots. His arms looked unnaturally muscular, and his body carried a strange presence that made the surrounding atmosphere feel heavier.

But the most terrifying part was his face.

Especially his eyes.

Dark.

Cold.

Emotionless.

Yet strangely calm.

The kind of eyes that looked as if they had witnessed death, violence, and things beyond human understanding.

The moment our eyes met, fear rushed through my entire body.

Not normal fear.

Something deeper.

Something instinctive.

I immediately stopped walking.

My heartbeat became faster.

Without taking my eyes off him, I quickly removed my phone from my pocket and called my closest friend, Vaibhav.

After two rings, he answered sleepily.

“Hello?”

“Vaibhav…” I whispered nervously, “there’s a strange man standing near the village boundary beside a black Scorpio.”

For a moment, there was complete silence on the call.

Then suddenly his tone changed.

“Black Scorpio?” he asked seriously.

“Yes.”

“Tall man? Black clothes?”

I froze.

“How do you know?”

His breathing became heavier.

“Pavan… listen to me carefully. Don’t go near him.”

Fear slowly crawled up my spine.

“What are you talking about?”

“There are stories about people like him,” Vaibhav said quietly. “My grandfather used to mention them. Nobody knows where they come from. Some say they are connected to hidden spiritual groups… dangerous sadhanas… forbidden paths.”

I forced myself to laugh nervously.

“Bro, stop joking.”

“I’m not joking!” he snapped. “People say they appear near villages searching for specific individuals. Whoever goes with them never returns the same.”

Cold wind suddenly blew harder around me.

The trees began shaking violently.

I looked again toward the mysterious man.

He was still staring directly at me.

Not moving.

Not blinking.

Just watching.

My throat became dry.

“Vaibhav…” I whispered, “he’s looking at me.”

“Leave immediately,” Vaibhav said quickly. “Go home right now. Don’t talk to him.”

Before I could reply, the Scorpio’s headlights suddenly turned on.

Bright white light covered the empty road.

The engine started with a deep growling sound.

Slowly… very slowly… the vehicle moved toward me.

My hands began trembling.

The Scorpio stopped exactly in front of me.

The car window rolled down halfway.

The mysterious man sat inside now, one hand resting calmly on the steering wheel.

Up close, his presence felt even more terrifying.

Around his neck hung a Rudraksha mala covered partly beneath his shirt.

There were ash marks on his wrist.

And strangely, the air around him carried the faint smell of burning incense and smoke.

The man looked directly into my eyes.

Then he smiled slightly.

Not like a normal person.

It felt as though he already knew everything about me.

Without speaking a single word, he unlocked the back door.

Click.

That small sound echoed loudly in the silent night.

For a few seconds, my mind completely froze.

Every instinct inside me screamed to run away.

But another strange force pulled me toward him.

Something invisible.

Something impossible to explain.

My breathing became heavier.

I slowly stepped closer to the Scorpio.

And then something strange happened.

The moment I came near the vehicle, sudden flashes appeared inside my mind.

Dark temples hidden deep in forests.

Fire rituals.

Unknown chants.

People meditating inside caves.

A giant trishul covered in ash.

And shadow-like figures watching me from darkness.

I stepped backward in fear.

The visions disappeared instantly.

The mysterious man finally spoke.

His voice was calm, deep, and terrifyingly steady.

“You have already started seeing them.”

My blood turned cold.

“How do you know?” I whispered.

He ignored my question.

Instead, he quietly said:

“You were never meant for an ordinary life, Pavan.”

The moment he spoke my name, fear completely consumed me.

I had never seen him before.

I had never told him my name.

Who was this man?

Before I could ask another question, distant temple bells echoed from somewhere deep inside the forest.

The man opened the door fully.

“Sit,” he said calmly.

I should have run away.

I should have gone home.

But deep inside me, I knew one terrifying truth.

If I entered that car…

my life would change forever.

With trembling hands and a racing heartbeat, I slowly sat inside the black Scorpio.

The door closed behind me.

And as the vehicle disappeared into the darkness beyond the village boundary…

my normal life ended forever.....