Ashes of Dharma

The gods were quiet.

The cities stood.

Breathing.

Balanced.

Unbowed.

But the universe itself had started to stir.

Not in anger.

Not in threat.

In recognition.

Aarav had crossed gates of soul, body, system, and memory.

Now something deeper waited.

Not below.

Beyond.

He felt it first in his sleep.

A fire—not burning, but pulsing—in a space that had no walls.

He stood there, in a realm with no stars. No time. No gravity.

And in front of him: a flame that cast no shadow.

It didn't ask.

It didn't speak.

It simply invited.

"Are you ready to go where gods cannot follow?"

The question didn't come in words.

It came in being.

Aarav nodded.

And stepped forward.

The flame didn't consume him.

It remembered him.

And for a single, infinite moment—

The universe blinked.

And knew its own name again.