Chapter 12:

Agni! The Flame Monster.

Rudra Singha


Little Rudra slowly returned to his normal form, but he was still lying unconscious on the ground. Suddenly, the monster regained consciousness and noticed the boy lying helpless before him.

As the monster raised his hand to strike Rudra, the Sadhu quickly stepped forward and stopped him.
“Don’t kill this child,” the Sadhu said firmly. “I will train him—to teach him how to control this power.”

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, everyone was shouting and searching for Rudra.
One of the boys suddenly spotted him and yelled,
“Ma’am! Rudra is here—he’s unconscious on the ground!”

Everyone rushed over. They lifted Rudra carefully and carried him back to the camp.
After some time, Rudra finally woke up. Confused, he looked around, shocked to see everyone gathered around him inside the camp.

He tried to remember what happened. Images of the old temple flashed in his mind.
He said weakly, “There was… an old temple in the jungle.”

But the teacher replied, “There’s no old temple in that jungle, Rudra. We searched everywhere for you, and finally, we found you lying unconscious on the ground.”

Rudra looked at his wrist, trying to show them the bracelet—but to his shock, it was gone.
He stammered, “Ma’am… there was a bracelet here… but now… nothing.”

The teacher looked confused, while from a distance, the Sadhu secretly watched this moment, hidden behind the trees.
Rudra sat quietly, wondering if everything that happened was just a dream—or a real incident.

Far away, the Black Sadhu began chanting dark magical words. A strange energy filled the air as he tried to create a new monster.
From the fire circle, a burning shape began to form—a creature made entirely of flames. His body blazed with heat, his eyes glowed like molten lava, and his head was crowned with fire.

The Black Sadhu smiled and said,
“Rise… my creation. You are Agni, the Flame Monster.”

Back at the camp, the teacher announced,
“Everyone, get on the bus—we’re heading home.”

Rudra sat by the window as the bus rolled away. He looked out into the jungle, trying to find the old temple again—but there was nothing there.
He whispered to himself, “Maybe… it really was just a dream.”

After a few hours, the bus reached Guwahati. It stopped near Rudra’s home, and he stepped off tiredly.

His mother opened the door and smiled.
“Welcome back, Rudra!” she said warmly.

Rudra smiled faintly. “Thanks, Mom.” He was exhausted and went straight to his bedroom.

As he lay down, he suddenly felt a strange heaviness on his wrist.
He looked—and froze.

The same bracelet was back on his wrist, glowing faintly.

His eyes widened in shock. “What?! No… it’s still here!”

He shouted, “Mom! Mom!”—but no one answered.
He ran to the door, trying to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. He pulled and pushed, but it was locked tight.

Panicking, he tried to break the bracelet off, but it wouldn’t move. It was fused to his skin.

He fell to his knees, breathing heavily. “That means… it wasn’t a dream!”

Just then, a flash of light filled the room—and the Sadhu appeared before him.

The Sadhu said calmly,
“Rudra… I will explain everything.”