Kalinaya: Blood of the Forgotten Gods

Location: Inner Shelter Hall, Ashtashram

Date: October 7, 2029

Time: 9:03 AM

They gathered around the broken dining table.

Twenty-nine people.

Wounded. Hungry. Scared.

The bone storm had passed.

But fear didn't.

Some said they should leave.

That Ashtashram had been marked.

That the symbols meant a curse.

Others said they had nowhere to go.

And then there were the silent ones.

The ones who looked at Yash with hope…

…and waited.

Mira sat cross-legged on top of a crate, chewing wires.

Rishav stirred a pot that barely fed half.

Khushi clutched her doll — newly stitched by one of the old women.

Ankita stood behind Yash, arms crossed.

"We vote," she said.

"We let them decide."

Yash said nothing.

He only nodded.

The rules were simple:

You want to leave = step left.

You want to stay = step right.

You're unsure = stay in the center.

Everyone was quiet.

Until the first person stepped.

It was a young man with one arm.

He stepped right.

"I've been running since the first infection," he said.

"This is the only place where I saw someone fight for us."

Then a mother of twins.

Then a mute boy.

Then a limping old postman.

One by one…

they stepped right.

Only three stepped left.

Two were teens.

The third was a man who had lost his wife last week.

Yash didn't stop them.

He only handed each a satchel with food and one ash-charged coin.

"If you ever wish to return," he said softly,

"Hold this coin. The ash will guide you back."

They left without words.

When the hall cleared, twenty-six people remained.

And in that silence… someone lit a candle.

Then another.

Then another.

Until the shelter glowed with quiet flame.

No chants. No speeches.

Just fire.

Just choice.

Khushi walked up to the wall and dipped her finger in ash.

She wrote four words:

WE WHO STAY, FIGHT.

Yash stared at the sentence for a long time.

Then, finally… he spoke.

"Ashtashram isn't a place."

"It's a vow."

That night, the divine mark on his back burned again.

And a second symbol shimmered across his spine.

A new power was near.

But more than that—

He had something stronger now than any god-gift.

He had people who stayed.