The flat still smelled faintly of last night's tea and cigarette smoke.
Kunal sat cross-legged on the floor, notebook open, scribbles everywhere. Abhishek leaned forward on the couch, elbows on his knees, eyes sharp. Ananya perched by the window, arms wrapped around her knees, watching them both.
Abhishek cleared his throat.
"Alright, bro. Tell me again — this start-up of yours. What's the real vision here and how are you going achieve that? No filters, no half-answers."
Kunal smiled faintly, fingers tapping the notebook.
"Imagine this: a completely new programming language. Built from the root logic of Vedic Sanskrit at it's core and many other ancient structured languages, merging the structural elegance of Panini's system and Vedic mathematics with quantum algorithms and it's logics. A whole new language that isn't just for telling machines what to do — but for helping machines think on levels we can't reach yet. We build the compiler, the interpreter, the architecture from scratch. We're not improving tech — we're rewriting its DNA."
He continues,
"Besides now after seeing all these things which have drastically changed my worldview and how that sanskrit verse of Deva interacted with the universe, I think we can also do something like that with this new language."
Abhishek let out a low whistle.
"Damn. So not just another language model on the market — you're aiming to shake the entire industry."
Ananya tilted her head, frowning slightly.
"But sir… will we be able to make something like that in next 20 months? Will get that breathing space in which we can do all that research and make something like that with peace of mind? And also with just the three of us it's nearly impossible to do all that."
Kunal's face turned thoughtful.
"You're right. But if we play this startup right, it gives us influence. Money, power, networks. We won't show the world everything — just enough to look advanced, not threatening. That buys us time, resources and protection. Regarding manpower I have a plan. But on the other side… I also need to understand Kunala. His past. His choices. The person the Devas made that pact with was tied to Kunala's story or maybe even family or someone who is hidden in Kunala's story. If I can piece that together, I'll get clues."
Abhishek nodded slowly.
"So. How do you plan to figure that out?"
Kunal's eyes flickered with a sudden intensity.
"I need to go where he's been. Sites, ruins, places tied to his life. If I touch what he touched, walk where he walked… maybe it'll unlock more."
The room went silent.
Then Kunal murmured, almost surprised by his own words,
"Taxila."
Abhishek and Ananya exchanged a quick glance.
"You're not going alone," Ananya said firmly.
"Yeah," Abhishek added, "we're coming too."
But Kunal shook his head.
"No. I need you two to be here. Abhishek — start assembling the team. Find coders, hackers, thinkers. Look in small places: third-rate colleges, overlooked towns, freelancers — people who are ignored by everyone just because they don't have any exposure. If we provide the opportunities their loyalty will always lie with us. This is the best manpower and team we can get in this money hungry world. And Annie, dig into the languages. Old dialects, obscure scripts, regional variations, bringing in some linguistics— everything. We'll need that data."
Ananya folded her arms.
"You're seriously leaving us behind?"
"I'm not leaving you guys behind," Kunal said softly. "I'm counting on you two, we have very little time and more things to do. We have to do multiple things at the same time, for that we will have to divide our tasks. And besides… I know someone who can help me on the road. Someone I can trust completely."
Ananya scowled, clearly unsatisfied.
"If you get yourself killed, I'm haunting your ghost."
Kunal tilted his head, a teasing grin breaking through.
"Well, if you're the one haunting me… I will gladly stick around."
Ananya flushed crimson, eyes darting away.
"Idiot…"
Abhishek raised an eyebrow, smirking.
"Whoa, whoa. Did I miss something here? Should I step outside so you two can… you know, burn off all that heat?"
Kunal coughed hard, nearly choking, while Ananya yelped and flung a pillow at Abhishek.
"Shut up, bhai!"
The pillow smacked Abhishek square in the chest — and for the first time in days, laughter filled the room, easing their tension and nerves a little bit.
Outside, Mumbai hummed to life. Inside, a trio stood at the edge of something vast.
They weren't ready.
But they were in it now.
To be continued…