At the mountain behind the Death Hall, a large group of people was marching uphill around 150 of them in total. All of them were young men and women between the ages of seventeen and twenty.
Most were boys, with only a few girls among them. They all followed behind several men dressed in black.
Each of these young participants had their mouths covered with a thin white strip of cloth that wrapped around their faces, leaving only their eyes and noses exposed for breathing.
From a distance, it might have seemed as though they were wounded or disfigured, but that wasn’t the case.
This was one of the rules of the Crimson Heaven Society’s Entrance Trials; every participant was required to keep their mouths covered until the trials ended. It ensured that no one could recognize each other, and also prevented anyone inside the society from secretly helping a specific candidate.
Among this crowd walked Adarsh.
After suffering a humiliating defeat at Sharv’s hands, Adarsh had decided to join the Crimson Heaven Society.
Losing to another martial artist was acceptable… but losing to someone who couldn’t even use internal energy and worse, to the man who had killed his beloved father and uncle that was something Adarsh could never forgive.
He needed strength, enough strength to take revenge and protect his remaining family.
‘I thought getting in here would be difficult…’
That thought ran through Adarsh’s mind and not just his. Many others walking beside him were thinking the same.
Adarsh had always heard that joining the Crimson Heaven Society required passing through brutal, near-impossible trials. His mother had also warned him about it.
But Adarsh hadn’t felt that way. Just moments ago, he had completed the first phase of trials himself and surprisingly, they weren’t as hard as he’d imagined.
Yes, Adarsh and these 150 or so young people had cleared the first phase of trials.
Originally, there had been around 250 participants; meaning nearly a hundred had died during the process. The number was high, yet still far lower than what most of them had feared.
“Tch! Looks like the Crimson Heaven Society’s standards have fallen.”
“You’re right. I didn’t think it would be this easy to get in.”
“If I’d known it was this simple, I would’ve come here a long time ago.”
The boys and girls around Adarsh chatted and laughed among themselves, commenting on the society’s supposedly easy entrance test.
“Everyone stop here.”
One of the men in black ordered and the group halted.
Adarsh and the others looked around. There wasn’t much to see, just a tall wooden platform standing in front of them, and behind that, a massive black statue of a goddess.
It was a colossal, awe-inspiring sculpture; terrifying yet beautiful. Her expression was fierce, her tongue extended outward like a streak of crimson blood.
A garland of bones hung around her neck, and a skirt made of severed arms draped around her waist.
In her eight or ten hands that extended from her back, she held various weapons, each different and deadly.
The statue looked perfect… but something about it felt off.
“There’s something strange about this.”
Adarsh murmured.
“You feel it too?”
Came a voice from behind him. Adarsh turned,
“You’re still here? You’ve been following me this whole time?”
Behind him stood a boy; the same one who had been talking to Adarsh since the beginning.
Ever since Adarsh had arrived, this boy had been unusually friendly.
At first, Adarsh had found him annoying and even tried to figure out what he wanted.
But eventually, he realized that this boy wasn’t just talking to him; he was chatting with everyone, boys and girls alike, as if he simply enjoyed talking.
‘What was his name again? Ah! Right, Vishesh.’
Adarsh had spoken to him enough times to recognize him by voice, even though everyone’s faces were covered.
Vishesh laughed.
“Hey, no! Why would I follow you? I was just talking with Sanjay the whole way here. You just happened to be nearby, so I thought I’d chat with you too. By the way, did you know Sanjay’s from Betab Valley? He’s pretty strong, apparently.”
“Hmm… I see...”
Adarsh replied casually.
He didn’t mind Vishesh’s chatter too much now; sometimes, the boy’s constant talking brought useful information.
“Anyway, you were saying there’s something strange about that statue? I was about to say the same thing! There’s definitely something off about it.”
Adarsh nodded slightly.
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“You’re right. It feels… incomplete. Like something’s missing. Without it, the image of Maa Kaali(1) feels empty.”
“Empty, huh?… maybe Lord Shiva’s missing? You know how, in some depictions, Shiva lies beneath Kali’s feet, calming her rage? Maybe that part’s missing here?”
“Yeah… maybe.”
Adarsh agreed, though not fully convinced.
After all, not every depiction of Kali required Shiva to be present yet still, something about this statue felt lacking.
The truth was, Adarsh was a perfectionist. He didn’t like seeing things incomplete or out of balance. He only found beauty in things that were whole.
And that’s why… his attention was so deeply drawn to that statue.
“Everyone, stop talking!”
Shouted one of the men dressed in black and at once, the entire crowd fell silent.
Though no one dared to speak, silence did not mean peace. Beneath those white strips covering their mouths, many of them, especially the girls, were restless.
The fabric itched and burned against their delicate skin, but they couldn’t remove it.
They all wanted to tear that white band off, but none could. Because this was only the first part of the Crimson Heaven Society’s Entrance Trials.
The Crimson Heaven Society’s entrance trials were divided into two parts; the first to select Outer Members, and the second to select Inner Members.
The only difference between an Outer and Inner Member was that the Inner Members were eligible to become disciples of any among the Society’s Four Elders, Three Clans, Two Sects, or Five Halls.
Creak!... Creak!...
The wooden stage groaned as footsteps echoed. A moment later, a figure appeared before everyone, the Death Hall Master.
Following behind him were six individuals; four boys and two girls, all wearing the same white strips over their faces. They, too, seemed to be around seventeen to twenty years old.
Raising his hand, the Death Hall Master spoke.
“Those who wish to proceed and compete to become Inner Members, remain where you are. Those who do not wish to continue, step to the left side of the statue.”
A few moments passed before the first two or three participants quietly stepped out from the crowd and moved to the left.
Then another followed, and another, until around thirty to thirty-five people had gathered by the statue.
Once no one else moved, the Death Hall Master said,
“I believe there’s no one else left.”
He looked toward those thirty-odd youths and continued,
“From this moment on, you all are officially Outer Members of the Crimson Heaven Society. Your ranks and duties will be assigned soon. You may now leave.”
Relief washed over their faces. They knew they weren’t strong enough to compete for Inner Member positions, so stepping back was the wiser choice.
Three black-robed guards approached them and ordered them to follow. As the group left, they finally removed the white bands from their faces, breathing freely at last.
Then, the Death Hall Master turned toward the six masked individuals behind him and gave a subtle nod.
They stepped forward and stood before the rest. No one spoke, but everyone understood, these six were wildcard participants, likely from powerful branch clans or sects of the Crimson Heaven Society.
The rest of the participants, too, came from various branch clans & sects under the Society, but theirs weren’t strong or prestigious enough.
That’s why they had to endure the first part of the trials to even reach this stage.
However, these six didn’t need to. Their strength was already proven because of their background. Forcing them through the first trial would have been a waste of time and energy.
Still, no matter how one tried to justify it, it was discrimination; between the powerful and the weak. But that was simply the way of the world:
The strong always move ahead, and the weak are left behind.
The strong see and feel everything first, the weak only follow.
Adarsh’s gaze, however, was fixed intensely on one of those six figures. The man had long, thick hair, a broad chest, and a tall frame.
‘Why does he… look like him?’
A strange unease stirred inside Adarsh. For some reason, that man’s figure reminded him of Sharv—the one who had humiliated him, the one who had broken his fingers.
His right hand, with its still-unhealed fingers, began to ache again just by remembering it.
‘No! It can’t be him…’
Adarsh told himself firmly.
The man before him emanated a powerful Internal Energy, something Sharv had completely lacked.
‘Yeah… it definitely can’t be him.’
He convinced himself once more and clenched his injured fingers tightly until the pain began to fade.
From the outside, Adarsh was convinced that the man wasn’t Sharv— but deep inside, a small part of him kept whispering that he was.
Still, Adarsh refused to believe it.
The human mind is a strange thing. Until it receives solid proof, it refuses to accept anything, no matter how strong the instinct.
Sometimes, though, one must listen not to the mind, but to the subconscious. Because this time, Adarsh’s instincts were absolutely right.
That boy, behind the white cloth was indeed Sharv.
‘I still don’t know what he really wants from me.’
Sharv thought as he looked toward the Death Hall Master.
The Hall Master had given him only one instruction to survive for two days within the entrance trials, keeping his true identity hidden.
Sharv had no idea what the man’s true intentions were. He had wanted to participate in the Crimson Heaven Society’s trials, yes, but not like this.
‘I have no other choice… I’ll just have to go with the flow, for now.’
Sharv told himself firmly. He had to stay alert; against the Death Hall Master, against Surendranath, and even against the other participants.
The Death Hall Master raised his voice and declared,
“All of you who wish to become Inner Members will now proceed to the second part of the trials. But before we begin… a sacrifice must be made. Without it, we cannot move forward.”
Sacrifice, a common ritual before any important event. Everyone assumed they would sacrifice an animal. But instead, the Death Hall Master took out a sheet of paper and said coldly,
“Mangal, Shyam, Surya, Ravi, Sooraj, all of these spies… cut off their heads.”
‘!!!’
‘What?!’
A murmur of panic rippled through the crowd.
Bam!
The three black-robed guards moved swiftly, darting through the group like shadows. Within moments, they returned, dragging five terrified young men with them.
“Let me go! I didn’t do anything!”
“I’m not a spy!”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
The three boys pleaded desperately while the other two gritted their teeths and were horrified.
The guards threw them to the ground with brutal force.
Thud!
The Death Hall Master stepped forward, towering over them. His presence alone was suffocating, the sheer pressure of his Internal Energy made the five tremble uncontrollably.
Before they could say another word...
Slash!!!
The guards behind them swung their blades in a flash, decapitating all five.
Thud!
Their severed heads rolled and came to rest at the Death Hall Master’s feet.
He picked up one of them by the hair and said coldly,
“If there are any more spies among you… pray that you are never caught by us.”
Silence fell.
The entire crowd froze in horror. The same youths who, just moments ago, were mocking the trials of the Crimson Heaven Society, now stood speechless, their bravado shattered.
The Death Hall Master carried the head toward the black statue of Maa Kaali.
Drip!
Blood dripped from the neck and splattered onto the statue’s feet. The guards followed, lifting the remaining heads and doing the same.
Soon, the base of the statue was drenched in blood.
The Death Hall Master then jumped upward and placed the head perfectly, in one of the statue’s open hands, which until now had been empty.
‘?!’
Adarsh's eyes shot open.
‘I see now. That’s what was missing before, the severed head.’
Drip...
Drops of blood fell from the head, sliding down into a pot held in the statue’s other hand.
Drip... Drip...
Then, the Death Hall Master knelt and performed a full prostration before Maa Kaali and started to chant a prayer.
The guards followed immediately, bowing low to the ground.
The remaining youths stared, stunned and yet, for some inexplicable reason, as they watched the Death Hall Master bow before the goddess, something inside their minds compelled them to do the same.
Thud! Thud!
One by one, they all dropped to their knees, bowing deeply to the black statue of Maa Kali.
Seeing everyone else do it, Sharv, too, bent down and did the same.
1. Maa Kaali (??? ????) -
SOCIETY LEADER WAITING FOR SURENDRENATH:
