The silence in the sacred hall was unbearable.
Akarshan looked at the others—Shiv clutching his shirt, wide-eyed; Monish backing away from the shattered ceiling; Anuj whispering a prayer under his breath; Shivam staring at the spot Ash had vanished from.
Everything was falling apart. Or maybe... it had already fallen.
The Demon Lord stepped forward, her dark armor shimmering with quiet power. Her voice, though powerful, now held a trace of sorrow.
"Your friend Ash... he is not like you. He is not human. He never truly was."
The Goddess of Nature brushed a strand of green hair from her face. "But he lived as one. For seventeen years. And he changed. That's why we had hope. That's why we tried to delay."
"Delay what?" Shiv shouted. "He's our friend! What the hell is going on!?"
The Demon Lord looked at him, then lowered her head. "He is the last Supreme Being. The original architect of reality. Our father, teacher, and ruler. His will shaped the stars and skies. We were born from his breath. We do not question him. We obey."
"But we should have," the Goddess of Fire said bitterly. "We should have stopped him when he changed."
The priestess, still trembling near the back, finally found her voice. "He... ordered the destruction of mankind? Why? Why would the creator of all life want to erase it?"
The goddesses looked at each other. No one spoke.
Then the Demon Lord answered. "We never understood. He loved mortals once. Especially humans. But somewhere, something... broke. He became distant. Cold. And then, without warning, he gave the order: 'Wipe them out.'"
"We believed it was divine insight," the Goddess of Light added. "That perhaps, humanity had reached its limit. That this world had to be reset."
The Goddess of Life clenched her fists. "But when he vanished, we hesitated. We argued. We defied him."
"And now," said the Demon Lord grimly, "he has returned—with memory restored, and that same terrifying judgment in his heart."
---
Meanwhile…
Ash stood in a palace suspended in the void.
A palace he hadn't seen in millennia, yet knew perfectly.
He walked barefoot across its silver floor, surrounded by black constellations suspended in the dark. No stars shone here. This was a space outside of time—his domain, once forgotten, now reclaimed.
A mirror of eternity stood in front of him.
In it, he saw himself—his human face. Calm. Composed. And behind his eyes, the storm of eons.
"I am Ash," he said aloud, the name tasting strange on his tongue.
Then his voice dropped, deeper, older.
"I am Asuryan. The Supreme Being. The First Flame. The End."
He placed a hand on the mirror. The reflection flickered.
Behind it, another figure appeared—his other self. The ancient version. Crowned in burning stars, eyes like supernovas, a face serene and terrifying.
Ash turned away.
"Not yet," he muttered. "They're still alive. Still defying me."
He walked toward the throne at the far end of the palace. It sat alone, empty for eighteen thousand years.
He sat.
The universe stirred.
Then came the whispers.
Not from the gods.
But from deeper.
"We remember you."
"The others have fallen."
"But you still live, Asuryan."
"Why did you order the purge?"
"Why do you fear remembering the truth?"
Ash's fingers gripped the armrest.
"I didn't forget by choice," he whispered. "I sealed my own memories to survive it."
The void pulsed. "Then it is time... to remember them all."
---
Back in the mortal realm…
Akarshan stepped forward, ignoring the stunned priestesses, the goddesses, and even the Demon Lord.
"If he's still Ash… if even a part of him remembers being our Ash... then we can bring him back."
The Demon Lord looked at him like he was mad.
"You don't understand. This isn't some possession or curse. He is the Supreme Being. Your Ash... is only a fragment."
"Then we'll reach that fragment," Akarshan said, eyes burning. "We'll get through to him."
The Goddess of Void scoffed. "And what will you do when you reach him? Ask him nicely not to destroy the world?"
Akarshan looked up at the shattered ceiling. "If he's going to destroy everything… I'm going to find a way to stop him. Even if it means learning why he gave that order."
The goddesses grew silent.
And then, surprisingly, the Demon Lord smiled.
"…You might be foolish, but you remind me of him. Before the darkness."
She turned to the goddesses.
"Let's prepare them. If we have one year before annihilation, then we'll spend that year giving them the power to challenge him."
The Goddess of Creation nodded. "Agreed. If we must defy our Father once more… let it be for the right reason."
Akarshan looked at his friends. They were still shaken, but something had changed in their eyes. Resolve.
And far above, on his throne of stars, Ash—the Supreme Being—opened his palm, and a black flame flickered in it.
One year.
One fragile year remained.
---