Kalinaya: Blood of the Forgotten Gods

"Not all gods protect. Some demand blood first."

Night fell on Ashtashram like a slow collapse.

Khushi had nightmares again — of hands without bodies, reaching from walls.

Mira hadn't slept in two days.

Yash sat alone on the rooftop, staring at a fire that wasn't lit.

The mood in the shelter had changed.

It wasn't fear.

It was doubt.

A slow erosion. As if faith itself was rotting.

That's when the offering came.

At dawn, a man arrived at the gate.

Clad in robes too clean for this world. Eyes closed. Skin marked with sacred geometry.

He walked like he belonged here — though no one had seen him before.

He carried a red pot, filled with something that shimmered.

"I bring blessings," he said, "from a god you've forgotten."

Mira scanned him. No ID. No Vira signal.

Nothing.

But the pot—

The pot pulsed like it was alive.

They let him in. Yash didn't speak, but stood close enough to kill if needed.

The man placed the pot on the ground.

From it rose a sound like a heartbeat — slow and deep.

"This world asks too much from the broken.

We offer shelter. Power. Protection.

In return… only a little obedience."

He looked at each person.

"You've followed the gods of pain. The gods of trials.

But there are others. Gods who ask less. Who offer more."

"Place your hand in the offering," he said. "Be free."

One man stepped forward. Young. Desperate. Sleepless.

He reached into the pot.

Screamed.

Pulled back a hand with fingers gone — turned into ash and glass.

The man in robes didn't move.

"Only the worthy may serve."

Yash unsheathed his blade.

"Who sent you?"

The man finally opened his eyes.

They were empty. No iris. No white. Only reflection.

"You did," he whispered.

"The moment you chose to protect the unworthy."

Then he was gone.

Not killed. Not vanished.

Just… gone. Like a bad dream when you wake.

But the pot remained. Still pulsing. Still waiting.

That night, three more shelter members stood near the pot.

No one saw what they did.

But by morning, they were stronger.

And one of them — had white cracks forming under their skin.