INT. SAME TEMPLE – LATER
Ramesh lies asleep. The group is shaken. Ajay sits beside Sneha.
AJAY
What happened back there?
SNEHA
One of the old spirits tried to speak through him.
They’re restless… they want the yatra completed. We need to recreate the offering. The chant. The fire.
KIRAN
That ritual requires a priest. A proper one!
SNEHA
No. Just someone who remembers. And I do.
INT. TEMPLE – NIGHT PREPARATION
The friends clean the temple surroundings. Light lamps. Use the ancient book to prepare herbs. Draw sacred diagrams on the floor using rice powder and turmeric.
A beautiful, terrifying calm fills the place.
SNEHA (chanting softly)
“Om Yogeeshwari Ma… accept our prayer… bring light into darkness…”
Suddenly, the broken idol glows faintly.
The trishul in its hand rises slightly—just a few inches.
AJAY (whispers)
It’s working…
INT. TEMPLE SANCTUM – NIGHT CONTINUES
The group sits in a half-circle around the sacred diagram. The fire pit is now lit with dry wood and ghee. An eerie wind moves through the broken pillars.
KIRAN (whispers)
We shouldn’t be doing this. What if we do something wrong?
SNEHA
It’s already begun. We can't stop now. The ritual wants to be completed… after 73 years.
AJAY (to Sneha)
Tell us exactly what we need to do.
SNEHA (calmly)
We need to chant 108 times… offer the herbs… and one final offering must be made. Blood… or memory.
INT. TEMPLE – FLASHBACK SEQUENCE
The walls seem to come alive. Shadows flicker like old film. The group sees ghostly images of priests, villagers, a fire ritual in progress, and then—panic.
A young girl (identical to Sneha) running from the fire, as a shadowy demon breaks through the circle.
VILLAGER SPIRIT (echoing)
She fled the circle… Devi was never fed… Now we remain.
INT. PRESENT – TEMPLE NIGHT
Ramesh wakes up with a groan. Looks confused.
RAMESH
What happened? My head’s splitting.
KIRAN
You went full horror-movie mode. Speaking in tongues and floating, man.
SNEHA (to Ramesh)
You were a vessel. The spirits used you to speak.
RAMESH (terrified)
I felt… cold hands… inside my skin.
INT. TEMPLE SANCTUM – PREPARATION
Ajay draws the final part of the yagna mandala. Sneha begins applying sacred ash to everyone's forehead.
AJAY
We’ll complete this together. All four of us.
KIRAN (nervous)
What if we fail?
SNEHA (firmly)
Then the village keeps us.
EXT. VILLAGE OUTSIDE TEMPLE – SAME TIME
A storm begins to form unnaturally fast. Trees sway violently. Ghostly shadows walk between the houses, watching.
An old lady in white appears near the banyan tree—no eyes, mouth sewn shut. She disappears into smoke.
INT. TEMPLE – RITUAL BEGINS
The group sits around the fire. Sneha begins chanting in Sanskrit:
SNEHA
“Om Krura Mahadevi Yogeeshwari... raksha raksha raksha…”
They all join slowly. The flames respond—rising slightly.
AJAY (offering herbs)
We offer the sacred leaves… tulsi, neem, agni bark.
KIRAN (following)
We offer the light… ghee, fire, breath.
Smoke swirls upwards unnaturally.
INT. TEMPLE – HALLUCINATIONS BEGIN
One by one, the friends start seeing vivid hallucinations:
Ajay sees his deceased father standing at the door, bleeding from the eyes.
Kiran sees his childhood dog barking, then twisting unnaturally.
Ramesh sees himself burning on the yagna pit.
Sneha sees the girl version of herself crying blood.
SNEHA (eyes closed)
Ignore them. They’re distractions. It’s the curse resisting.
AJAY
It’s... too real.
INT. TEMPLE – THE FINAL OFFERING
*The book’s final page is clear:
> “Blood of the circle-breaker must complete the vow.”*
SNEHA (resolute)
It has to be me. I broke the ritual in my last life.
AJAY (shocked)
No! There must be another way.
SNEHA
I saw it in every dream. This was always the end.
She cuts her palm and lets the blood drip into the flame.
