Shadowflame rising

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The battlefield was quiet now…

But not peaceful.

Ashes floated through the air like snow. Broken homes, bloodstained streets, the cries of wounded villagers—all of it wrapped in a heavy silence.

Parashu stood in the center of it all, his axe still dripping. His breath was uneven, his hands shaking. Not from exhaustion—but from fear.

What had he done?

He looked around him.

Kara soldiers? Dead.

Villagers? Many of them too.

Even their own soldiers had fallen—by his hands.

Parashu fell to his knees.

He could still hear Veerath's voice, calling his name. The look in his eyes—the fear.

And that's when he felt it.

A voice inside.

Soft… almost kind.

> "You would've died without me."

Parashu froze.

> "You were broken. Crushed. Your body was bleeding out. But I didn't let you die, Parashu."

He looked down at his own hands—burnt black at the fingertips, veins glowing faintly purple.

The voice continued.

> "I am not your enemy. I am Yakshini.

I have been with you since the day you were born."

> "I didn't take over because I wanted to hurt them.

I took over because you asked for strength.

You begged for it. And I answered."

Parashu closed his eyes.

He remembered.

The Kara general's blade—how it pierced his chest.

The pain.

The helplessness.

That moment when everything went dark…

And she stood there, inside his mind—burning like wildfire.

Eyes like night. Hair like smoke. A smile that was sad but powerful.

> "You were going to die," she whispered in that moment.

"But I won't let you. Not yet."

---

Back to the present, Parashu clutched his chest.

The Blood Sigil had changed.

It didn't burn with rage now.

It… pulsed. Calm. Alive.

Parashu spoke, barely a whisper.

> "You're not trying to control me…"

Yakshini replied softly.

> "I'm trying to protect you.

And if you fall again, I'll rise again.

But next time… you may not come back."

Parashu stayed silent. The truth hit hard.

She wasn't his enemy.

She was his guardian.

But her power came at a cost—every time she took over, a part of him slipped further away.

Still… he understood now.

Without her, he wouldn't have survived.

Without her, he could've never stood against the Kara general.

---

As the sun set behind the smoke, Parashu sat alone on the broken stone steps of a ruined home.

He didn't cry.

But his heart felt heavy.

He had power.

But it scared him.

And somewhere deep inside, Yakshini waited again.

Not as a curse.

But as a shadow with a promise.

> "When the world breaks you…

I'll be the one who bleeds with you."

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