Location: Ashtashram Shelter, KolkataDate: September 27, 2029Time: 2:11 AM
The scream shattered the silence.
Not human.Not animal.Something between.
Everyone in the shelter jolted awake.
The youngest child wet himself.The nurse reached for her bandages — instinct, not defense.
Yash was already standing, barefoot on the cold floor, eyes glowing white.
The ash along his arms had begun to burn again.
Outside the walls of Ashtashram… something moved.
Not one.
Three.
Long limbs. Twitching. Gliding across broken streets.
They weren't the same monsters from before.
These had… intelligence.
They circled the building. Testing. Tasting the fear.
One of them placed a clawed hand on the wall…and whispered.
"He lives here. The marked one."
Yash didn't speak.
He just stepped outside, shirtless, weaponless.
The ash followed him like smoke.
The monsters paused.
They recognized him.
Not the face.Not the body.
The energy.
The divine burn beneath his skin.
Inside, Khushi pressed her palms together.
A prayer. But not to God.
To him.
The largest of the monsters stepped forward.
"You protect them?" it hissed.
"They are weak. They should be food."
Yash raised one hand.
Ash flared into shape.
Not fire. Not wind.
Something older.A shield made from sorrow and divine rage.
"Then come," Yash said.
"And see what happens… when ash remembers."
They attacked.
The first creature leapt — fangs out, blades raised.
Yash didn't dodge.
He let it hit him.
And then—
Ash exploded.
It burst from his chest like a volcano, blinding white.
The creature screamed as its own body turned to smoke.
The second tried to crawl away.
Yash didn't chase.
He only walked — slowly, like judgment given form.
"You came here to hunt," he whispered.
"But this place is Ashtashram."
"And here… we protect."
He drove his palm into the second creature's chest.
Ash wrapped around it like vines — and burned from the inside.
No gore.Just silence.
The last creature ran.
But not far.
Because every step it took… the ash followed.
As if the city itself had decided to fight.
When it was over, Yash stood alone in the street.
Breathing softly.Glowing faintly.Alive.
Behind him, nineteen people watched in stunned silence.
And for the first time… they bowed their heads.
Not in worship.But in trust.
Inside the shelter, someone carved words onto the front wall:
"The Ash Will Guard Us."
No one erased it.
Because now, it was true.