INT. FOREST EDGE – LATER THAT NIGHT
The group camps outside the village in fear. Fire crackles. All are silent.
RAMESH
Maybe we’re cursed for entering. That villager tried to warn us.
AJAY
There’s a reason we’re here. This is not coincidence.
SNEHA (softly)
I’ve seen this place in dreams... long before this trip.
Everyone turns to her, stunned.
EXT. CAMPSITE NEAR FOREST EDGE – NIGHT
A small fire crackles. The friends are shaken. Silence is interrupted by rustling leaves.
AJAY
(turning to Sneha)
What did you mean by “dreams”? You’ve seen Pathalapuram before?
SNEHA
Not by name. But since I was a child... I’ve had this recurring dream.
A burning temple... villagers screaming... a girl with ash on her forehead, crying near a broken idol.
KIRAN
That’s specific. And creepy.
RAMESH
This is black magic level stuff. Let’s just run back the way we came!
AJAY
There’s no way back, Ramesh. The trail vanished. GPS dead. Phones dead. We’re stuck.
FLASHBACK – SNEHA’S DREAM VISION
Abstract visuals flash in her mind—a girl in white crying, a fire-lit temple, shadows grabbing people, priests chanting before an idol with three eyes.
GIRL’S VOICE (V.O.)
“They left the ritual undone. Now no soul leaves.”
BACK TO PRESENT
SNEHA (softly)
We have to finish what was started here. That’s the only way out.
KIRAN
No. We are not ghostbusters. We’re engineers and marketing people. Not exorcists!
AJAY
She might be right. I don’t believe in coincidences. This is fate.
INT. ABANDONED HOUSE – NIGHT
They go back into the house to sleep. Moonlight filters through cracked tiles. Ajay sees a figure through the window—blink—and it's gone.
AJAY (whispering to himself)
Am I losing it?
Suddenly, a THUD upstairs. They all jump.
RAMESH
Okay okay okay. That was not a rat. That was a ghost stomping.
KIRAN (grabbing a stick)
Let’s check it out. Come on.
They head upstairs slowly.
INT. UPPER FLOOR – NIGHT
A dusty trunk sits in the corner. Ajay opens it. Inside—an old cloth-wrapped book, palm-leaf manuscripts, and a ritual dagger.
AJAY
It’s a Brahma Kalpam… ancient scripture. Malayalam and Sanskrit.
KIRAN (reading a bit)
“Yogeeshwari Devi… awaken with the fire of completion…”
Wait. That’s the same goddess from your dream, Sneha?
SNEHA (quietly)
Yes. It’s her. She needs closure.
EXT. TEMPLE GROUNDS – EARLY MORNING
Fog surrounds the ruined temple. Birds silent. Sneha walks near the locked temple door. It creaks open on its own.
SNEHA (soft gasp)
It opened…
She walks in slowly.
AJAY (shouting)
Sneha! Wait—don’t go alone!
The others rush after her.
INT. PATHALAPURAM TEMPLE – CONTINUOUS
The inside is dark, dusty. Vibhuti markings faded. A half-broken idol of a fierce goddess (Yogeeshwari Devi) rests in the sanctum. Flames flicker in the air—with no source.
SNEHA
(eyes distant)
This is where it happened. The failed Pathala Yatra ritual.
They tried to summon Devi to protect the village.
But someone broke the sacred circle.
RAMESH
Why do you know all this?
SNEHA
Because... I was her. In another life.
EXT. TEMPLE PERIMETER – SAME TIME
Kiran walks around outside and finds a stone platform with burnt remains of herbs and ashes.
KIRAN (calling out)
Guys! I found something… like a homam pit. It’s charred.
A gust of wind blows suddenly, and Ramesh SCREAMS inside the temple.
INT. TEMPLE – CONTINUOUS
Ramesh is on the ground, shaking violently. His eyes roll back. His voice changes—DEEP and GUTTURAL.
RAMESH (possessed)
“You should not have returned… The curse remains… The offering was never made…”
AJAY
Hold him down! He’s convulsing!
SNEHA
Devi… show us a way…
Sneha dips her finger in her blood from a small cut and draws a trishul on Ramesh’s forehead.
RAMESH (screams and falls unconscious)
