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Chapter 7 - Chapter 7: Kali's Warning

That night, Shiva sat cross-legged on a rooftop, taking in the sprawling Mumbai skyline. The city throbbed with a synthetic rhythm, its heartbeat fueled by algorithms and tight deadlines. Billboards shifted with facial recognition, traffic flowed in response to biometric sensors, and people moved as if guided by invisible digital strings. Yet, Shiva remained still, lost in deep meditation.

Then, the world around him faded away.

He found himself in a realm of darkness—a place that existed beyond dreams and time. A void that seemed to breathe.

And then, she appeared.

Kali.

She danced in the darkness, her eyes burning with an ancient rage. Her tongue tasted the stars, her feet crushed comets, and her hair wove galaxies. The void around her swirled in rhythm.

"Tamas rules this age," she proclaimed, her voice echoing through the cosmos. "The blind lead the blind, and they call it vision. Lies wrapped in code. Greed masquerading as growth. You're sleeping too deeply, Shiva."

Shiva opened his third eye within the vision, the blue flame at his throat flickering.

"I have awakened," he replied.

Kali paused, her form glowing even brighter. "Not enough. The fire needs you. Not just as a spectator. As a weapon."

Shiva rose to his feet. "The world must choose."

"They have," she hissed, her eyes narrowing. "They chose to remain blind. And now, ignorance has wrapped its arms around them." She took a step closer, her tone softening. "But there's still hope. Don't walk like a god. Walk like the fire itself. Otherwise, the fire will consume you whole." In an instant, the void split open, and she disappeared. He jolted awake.

---

In the distance, Mumbai shimmered under a thickening haze. But Shiva could sense it now—the city's spirit was ablaze. Not with flames, but with decay. The people were burning within their own thoughts. He stood on the rooftop, watching as birds circled overhead. Below, sirens wailed, and someone was shouting about a viral video.

Shiva stepped off the edge, not to plummet, but to stride boldly into the flames.

---

Meanwhile, deep within a shadowy server vault at AstraDyne, Daman Raut was going over the final upload for Project Narak.

"We've seeded the net," his assistant informed him. "There are thousands of deepfake videos of Shiva out there. Some depict him demolishing temples, while others show him triggering earthquakes."

"And what about the reactions?"

Religious leaders are at odds. Politicians are fired up. The world thinks he's just an AI trick.

Raut smirked coldly. "Isn't it ironic? The truth will drown in a sea of lies."

He faced a console, and a glowing symbol appeared on the screen—a tainted trishul. The emblem of Project Narak's neural network.

"Let the flames consume him before he becomes real."

---

Anika shot up in her apartment, breathless. She had witnessed something—flashes of a woman twirling in a void, stars melting away, and Shiva's eyes filled with sorrow.

She reached for her phone, but the screen was frozen.

A symbol flashed on the screen: three dots. A trishul. Then, just like that, her feed came back to life. Videos of Shiva—violent, destructive—were flooding every platform.

"No," she murmured to herself. "That's not him."

But the world was starting to believe otherwise.

Even her friends were reaching out, questioning her: "What if he's not divine? What if he's a threat?"

She knew the truth deep down. But how could she possibly prove it?

With a sense of urgency, she turned to Rudra Swami.

"They've started a war of perception," he said. "This is how they take down gods these days—not with weapons, but with stories." Anika's fists tightened. "Then let's change the narrative." And in the distance, thunder rumbled. Shiva made his way through the haze of a burning alley. Children were huddled beneath a staircase, and one of them cried out, "Monster!" He paused. Kneeling down, he placed his hand on the ground. The flames died out, and the wall was restored. The child opened his eyes. "You're not the monster," the child murmured. "No," Shiva answered as he stood up. "I am the warning." The city was ablaze—not with fire, but with spirit. And the fire goddess had made her declaration. Now, the god of transformation was ready to respond.

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