Yes…
the very person who had once become Clara's responsibility now stood at the gates of Kashi—
like a shadow that refused to leave her side.
And now the question was—
who should be allowed inside?
Clara, who stood there desperately asking for help…
or the man she had brought with her?
---
"Clara!" Andy shouted from inside the invisible barrier.
"Come inside!"
But Clara didn't move.
"I'm not alone, Andy…" she replied weakly.
"He's with me."
Her voice trembled.
"And he won't let me enter alone."
A cold unease spread through all of us.
Andy stepped closer to the invisible gate.
"What are you talking about, Clara?"
Slowly—
Clara moved aside.
And the moment we saw who stood behind her—
the atmosphere changed completely.
It was Trikalyagya.
But something about him felt horribly wrong.
He didn't look human anymore.
Not completely.
---
Clara spoke again.
"Andy… if I enter Kashi…"
"…Trikala comes with me."
The air suddenly felt heavier.
"The outside world has become far worse than you can imagine."
Her breathing had grown uneven.
"Our bunker is gone."
"Even the air outside has become poisonous."
She looked exhausted beyond human limits.
"For someone like me… surviving out there should have been impossible by now."
Her eyes slowly lowered.
"The only reason I'm still alive…"
"…is because of the powers and knowledge Siya gave me."
The moment Siya's name echoed—
silence followed.
Then Clara looked directly at Andy.
"Just call Siya once."
Her voice almost broke.
"Please…"
"Just let Trikala see her face one last time."
"And then…"
"…we'll leave."
---
Andy's expression tightened instantly.
"Clara, you don't look alright."
His voice carried fear now.
"If you're afraid of this Trikalyagya, then don't worry."
"Just say the word."
"I'll bring you inside right now."
But Clara shook her head slowly.
"I only want to see Siya…"
I finally stepped forward.
"You cannot meet Siya."
Clara looked toward me.
And for a moment—
something unbearably human returned to her eyes.
"Then consider this my final wish, Ali."
Her voice trembled painfully.
"Let me see Siya one last time…"
---
Suddenly—
Mahārishi Kripacharya spoke.
"She is cursed."
Andy turned instantly.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
His voice cracked with anger and panic.
He looked back toward Clara desperately.
"Listen to me!"
"I'm saying this one last time—come inside quietly!"
But instead of answering—
Clara smiled.
And turned around slowly.
---
What happened next…
none of us could have imagined.
Not even in nightmares.
---
The world fell silent.
Not ordinary silence.
The kind of silence that feels like death itself has arrived.
Because Clara—
was rotting.
Half of her body had already decayed.
The flesh across her back had blackened and torn apart.
Parts of her skull were visible.
Even portions of her brain had begun decomposing.
The sight was so horrifying that none of us could move.
None of us could even breathe.
---
Then Clara spoke again.
But this time—
her voice no longer carried pain.
It carried rage.
An unnatural rage.
"Andy…"
Her distorted scream echoed violently across Kashi's gates.
"I SAID LET ME SEE SIYA!"
The force behind her voice shook even the invisible barrier itself.
Andy's entire body trembled.
"Clara…!"
His voice broke completely.
"Look at me! Look at me!"
"You're not like this!"
"Recognize yourself, Clara!"
For a moment—
her expression softened again.
And quietly…
she whispered—
"Andy…"
"Please free me…"
"I can't endure this pain anymore…"
Tears filled Andy's eyes instantly.
"You'll be okay!"
He looked toward Kripacharya desperately.
"Gurudev will heal you!"
"You just have to hold on!"
Then, almost pleading—
"Right, Gurudev…?"
But Mahārishi said nothing.
His silence alone revealed the truth.
Clara's time had already ended.
---
Andy's voice weakened completely.
"How can you leave me…?"
Clara smiled faintly through the unbearable decay consuming her body.
"How could I ever leave you, Andy…?"
"Our destinies have already become one."
"Even in death…"
"…we will remain together."
Her eyes slowly closed.
"Instead of searching for me outside…"
"…find me within yourself."
A tear rolled down her ruined face.
"And for my happiness…"
"…free me from this pain."
---
Andy was about to speak—
when suddenly—
a sharp sound sliced through the silence.
A wet crack.
Andy froze.
Slowly—
he looked upward.
And his entire world shattered.
---
Clara's head…
had been severed from her body.
Completely.
---
Her lifeless face rolled across the ground.
Yet somehow—
there were still tears in her eyes.
And upon her lips—
remained a painful smile.
As though she were saying goodbye to Andy one final time.
---
Andy collapsed onto his knees instantly.
It felt as though the life had been ripped out of him.
And then—
he broke.
Crying uncontrollably before us all.
Nearby, Maan stood frozen in complete shock.
For the second time in his life—
he had watched someone he considered family die brutally before his eyes.
---
Then—
we looked ahead.
And saw him.
Standing directly before the invisible barrier.
Motionless.
His long claws dripped with fresh blood.
Clara's blood.
Slowly—
he tilted his neck sideways.
And then came that smile.
That horrifying…
inhuman smile.
The sound of his laughter echoed through all our ears like poison.
Finally—
he spoke.
Only one sentence.
"Return Siya to me."
The words sent chills through everyone present.
What did he mean?
And more importantly—
was this truly Trikalyagya standing before us anymore…?
For the first time—
even Mahārishi Kripacharya looked shaken.
And from his lips escaped only two words—
" Lord Shiva…"