NOVEL WEB Chapter 23: Chapter 23 — Rishav the Flame
Location: Ashtashram – Communal Kitchen
Date: October 14, 2029
Time: 6:21 PM
The fire started small.
A spark.
A cracked gas valve.
An old pot left unattended.
In a world of divine monsters and rakshasas, it wasn't death that caused panic this time.
It was a kitchen fire.
The flame spread fast.
Dry cloth.
Broken tiles.
Old wood.
The shelter was built from scraps — it wasn't meant to survive this.
And yet, no one ran.
Because Rishav was already moving.
He wasn't a warrior.
He wasn't divine.
He was the cook.
A man who once tried to kill himself with sleeping pills —
and failed.
Now, he fed 60 people a day.
With cracked hands and no smile.
The moment the fire touched the ceiling, Mira sounded the alarm.
Ankita shouted orders.
Yash moved the children out.
But the kitchen was collapsing.
And two teens were still inside.
Rishav didn't wait.
He tied a cloth around his mouth.
Grabbed a half-burned iron pan.
And walked in.
The smoke stung.
He coughed once.
Then didn't stop moving.
One boy was unconscious.
The girl was trapped behind a fallen shelf.
He lifted it — burned his palms.
Dragged them both out — his arm bleeding.
The roof caved behind him just as he crossed the door.
And everyone went silent.
Not because he was heroic.
But because he was burning.
Yash rushed forward.
Placed his hand on Rishav's chest.
Ashmark glowed — faint, not full divine release.
But enough.
The fire slowed.
The pain didn't.
Hours later, Rishav sat, wrapped in bandages.
He didn't speak.
He didn't want praise.
But Khushi handed him a drawing.
Stick figures — a man with smoke and a spoon.
She'd written: You saved us today.
He finally smiled.
That night, Yash wrote something on the shelter wall:
"We are not gods.
But even fire bows to those who stand without fear."
Rishav's name joined the wall of the Founders.
Not because he killed a monster.
But because he didn't need to.