In the vast halls of the Black Lotus Palace, the torches burned with an eternal, cold flame. Unlike ordinary fire, these flames cast no warmth—only an eerie glow that stretched shadows across the obsidian walls.
Shree Yan walked alone, his white hair trailing behind him like silk caught in a storm. He did not sleep. He did not need to.
Yet tonight, for the first time in centuries, his mind was not at peace.
Shidhara Gautami's words still lingered.
"If you have conquered everything, why do you still seek?"
What was he seeking?
Power? No—he had already transcended human limits.
Immortality? No—he had already torn himself from the cycle of death.
Revenge? Even that had been fulfilled long ago.
Then… what?
The thought was unsettling. He had always known what he wanted. But now, an unfamiliar feeling stirred within him.
The Chamber of Forgotten Names
His feet carried him to a place he rarely visited—the Chamber of Forgotten Names. A vast hall where the names of those who had once mattered to him were inscribed upon black stone.
Kiran Gopal. Suman. Narayan Thapa. Vishnu Pradhan.
Names that once held meaning.
Names that once had faces.
Shree Yan raised a hand, his fingers grazing over the carved letters.
"They betrayed me."
Yes. That was the truth. The unchangeable truth.
So why… why did he pause here?
The Scent of a Memory
A gust of wind swept through the chamber, carrying with it a faint scent.
Jasmine.
His fingers curled. That scent belonged to someone from his past.
Not an enemy.
Not a betrayer.
Not someone he could discard as meaningless.
He turned sharply, his crimson eyes glowing in the dim light. The scent faded as quickly as it had come. A trick of the mind, perhaps.
And yet—his grip on reality had never wavered before.
Something was changing.
Something within him.
And he did not like it.
A God That Still Seeks
Shree Yan left the chamber, his expression unreadable.
He had spent centuries believing himself beyond such things. Beyond regret. Beyond questioning.
But now, the cracks had begun to form.
A god should not need to seek.
Yet, as he stood atop his palace, gazing into the endless night sky—
He realized he was still searching.