Teer woke up inside a cramped, one-person-sized compartment.
The walls were coated with a dull grey textured paint, the floor was raw cement, and the coldness beneath his hips seeped straight into his bones. Heavy iron chains locked his legs tightly to the floor—so tight he couldn't move even a millimeter.
Yet his eyes, hidden in shadow, remained fixed on the ground… calm, hollow… as if no living soul existed in him.
Teer (thinking):
When I walked away from Katil, I never imagined how "fun" it had been to me anymore.
Killing with skill… commanding assassins with strategies I crafted… making money while doing the same things again and again—
so boring.
Being secretly part of Katil while solving cases against it as a detective… losing on purpose at first was fun, but the mechanics were too flawless—my own systems—so every pattern became predictable. No risk. No thrill.
Just an endless loop.
For 30 years, this continued.
The slaughter of millions through Katil carved me into an emotionless monster—someone who feels nothing except one thing: boredom.
I still pretend to seek connection—
that's why I kept a family, why I still do legal detective work, why I accept praise from the world—
but deep inside, it all feels useless… empty… futile.
I want to die.
I want an end to this boredom—
forever.
Someone's footsteps echoed sharply through the silence, louder than anything else in the dead stillness. Someone was approaching the compartment.
Footsteps:Tap… Tap… Tap…
Teer (thinking in silence):
The woman I know… she joined the IBII (Indian Bureau of Intelligence & Investigation) just nine years ago. A master manipulator—brilliant at seducing, twisting minds, draining the truth straight out of a victim's soul.
In barely those nine years, she climbed close to my level in solving cases—something that took me thirty-two long years…
What am I even thinking right now?
I'm kidnapped. I should focus on escaping—with Annu.
The person walking toward his compartment suddenly slammed open the iron door with such force that the entire cabin vibrated with the echo.
A guard stepped in—tall, built like a wall, wearing a blue security uniform. One hand gripped a thick wooden stick; a lit cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth. His expression was vicious—like a deranged butcher.
He tossed a small pack of bread toward Teer and barked in an angry, frustrated roar:
Tall, scary guard:
Eat it, you chicken!
Teer, drowning in boredom so deep he barely felt alive, didn't even bother lifting a finger. In a disturbingly calm, almost uninterested voice, he replied:
Teer:
Chicken? So you eat human flesh after selling their organs. I know you're part of that kidnapping organisation—how I know is my secret.
Why wait to eat a stale chicken… when you could eat it fresh?
Don't act like a dog. Dogs follow orders without thinking. Act like someone who wants value. Don't let them use you as their pet—make your own decisions and become your own king.
This made the guard so violent that he slammed the baton on Teer's head so hard that blood trickled from one of his nostrils.
Tall, scary guard: You think I'm a dog? You chickens never understand! Do you even know how it feels when I get praised so much for my strength and killing skills that the rulers of the organisation hesitate a hundred times before speaking to me? They begged me—crying at my feet—to do whatever they ordered, and I accepted their request like a generous human who eats strangers while protecting kings. They depend on me for the organisation's power.
Teer smiled faintly, staring at the ground…
Teer: Huh! You don't even know who your ruler is—who commands you from the shadows—yet you call a bark a roar. Those who plead before you… are they your rulers or just pawns? How do you tell the difference? Only when you start thinking with this brain instead of feeding your pride. Pride is your weakness—far stronger than your strength. And if you don't believe me, then kill me. Watch their reaction. If you can't, then you're definitely a dog.
Tall, scary guard (thinking): What the hell is he talking about? But… even though he sounds insane,He's not wrong—or maybe he can be wrong. I can't even prove the ones begging me are the real bosses.
Tall, scary guard (with loud anger): How are you so sure about that? Even if they aren't, once I learn the truth, I'll kill them all.
Teer (fake laugh): Kill them? Kill me first.
Tall, scary guard (gritting his teeth): You bastard… I'll slice your head clean off.
Teer: Calm down. I know you're unsure whether they're using you or not. But as a well-known investigator, I understand most organised gangs' criminology.
Tall, scary guard: Huh! An investigator? Oh… so that's why.
Teer: Just sit down. Let's talk about a solution.
The guard, slowly buying into Teer's confidence, sat down and thought for a moment…
Tall, scary guard (thinking): This guy… he isn't normal. I've never seen someone who doesn't fear death or pain. Maybe he's pretending, but his disturbing calmness feels like a dead body suddenly grew a tongue to speak. Maybe he has witnessed too many horrors as a detective.
Teer began speaking in a low, calm voice that almost dissolved into the air.
Teer: You know… true strength appears only when your will proves it.
Tall, scary guard: Huh?!
Teer: You think you're powerful, but it's nothing more than a belief until you test it.
Tall, scary guard: What should I do to know my strength?
Teer slowly raised his right hand, pressed the right side of his nose, blocking the nostril, and gently blew air from the left. A thin, transparent plastic tube slid partially out of his left nostril. The guard's eyes widened in shock.
Then, using his left hand, Teer subtly pressed his left nostril, detaching the tube's lid without the guard noticing. He covered the tube's opening with his finger and continued calmly.
Teer: This is the test. My will kept me alive against this odourless anesthetic drug. It's milder than the one you used to kidnap us in the steamer. So, to test your will… you should place it inside one of your nostrils, just like I did.
Tall, scary guard (shaking): Uhh… uhh—huh-hu! But…?
Teer: Don't question your capabilities.
Tall, scary guard (prideful): I'm not questioning them! I'm ready for the test.
Teer: Nice. As I expected—you're really strong. But a gentle warning: this is a lethal dose for normal people. It takes a few seconds to act. Until then, I'll tell you a story for a moment—just enough to distract you and let your will take over. If you collapse, you die. But from my experience with this drug… you're more than capable of surviving it.
Tall, scary guard (thinking): Damn! He poked at my deepest fear, but he also trusted my strength far too much. This is my chance to show him why they beg me.
The guard took the tube and pushed it deep into his nasal cavity. The irritation was unbearable—he sneezed five times in a row—but he finally managed it.
Teer: Well done.
Tall, scary guard: Huh! Now tell me the story… for my will to act purely.
Teer: Sure. You should know about a woman.
Tall, scary guard: Uh… a woman?
Teer: She was a detective too. She worked in IBII for nine years. A master seducer, manipulator, and influencer—capable of making criminals vomit the truth out of guilt, pressure, madness, lust, or pride. She played with human emotions like clay, crafting whatever emotion she needed. In nine years she caught thousands of victims and solved hundreds of high-ranking cases.
Everyone thought she was winning… but she never felt victorious.
For the past five years, she has been chasing the head of Katil— One Sach, the highest-ranked leader of the organisation.
The guard found the story unexpectedly gripping. He listened with complete attention.
Tall, scary guard: Did she ever find the guy?
Teer: Not at all. The more she tried to get close to him, the more assassination cases kept piling up. Everyone believed she would solve it one day—but for her, this case was far more fascinating than any normal criminal or organised gang.
She used intimacy, manipulation—everything—to squeeze information from Katil assassins to reach the leader. But you know what?
The so-called "leader" she reached… always had another leader above him.
A member recognized his leader, but never knew that leader also bowed to someone else. Their minds were programmed so perfectly that they all thought in one single pattern.
The guard slowly felt his body slipping—his control fading—but his pride forced him to keep listening, determined to prove his strength.
Teer: Every time she climbed to a higher rank, another leader appeared. For a while she believed the organisation didn't have a single head at all.
But one day, I went to her and told her that during my twenty years studying this case, I discovered a man whose position is called One Sach.
She was stunned—imagining someone who controls twenty million members with absolute precision while keeping his identity completely hidden.
She asked me how I knew.
I told her a man from the Katil Records Association—the backbone that connects One Sach, the brain, to every other organ of Katil—told me during an investigation in Gurgaon.
She was thrilled. She said people worship gods and spend their lives searching for them…
Similarly, she wanted to worship this evil and find him one day.
The guard's vision blurred. His breathing grew shallow. His limbs trembled. Strength was draining out of him.
Teer: Until now, she has been madly passionate about finding him.
But she still hasn't.
The guard suddenly stopped breathing. He collapsed onto the floor, eyes fixed on Teer.
In his final fading seconds, he saw Teer's expression—calm, empty, unreadable.
His heart stopped.
But his mind could still faintly hear Teer's final words.
Teer: Do you know?
The evil she worships… is me.
The guard's consciousness snapped. Silence.
Teer stared at the corpse for a few seconds.
Teer: No need to hide. I know you heard everything.
A guard with a gun—trembling violently—was standing at the edge of the compartment door, having listened to every word.
[Chapter 4: Compartment — Ends]
[Chapter 5: Evil…] coming soon