YATSHAN : The Awakening

"P-please... no... I-I'm sorry," I said, backing away.
He came closer. Monstrous. Cracked red mask. Flames licking its skin. Eyes burning like molten rock.
"You're sorry?" he repeated, mockingly, laughing.
The mirror beside us cracked. My back hit the door - I had nowhere else to go.
Then he said, voice deep and raspy, echoing through every inch of the house:

"Master... you knew the rules.
But you broke them.
Now, I decide what breaks inside you."

He stepped closer. I froze.
His cruel smile widened. A burning-cold hand lifted my jaw.
"So," it whispered, "what punishment should I give you?"

The grip tightened.

And he smiled.

---

Raayan had nothing left to lose.
No job. No lover. No family to return to.
Only debt, addiction... and guilt that never let him sleep.

One deranged day, he met a long-lost friend.
And when he discovered the secret behind his friend's sudden wealth -
Raayan got an idea.
An escape from debt sharks.
A way to drag his life back on track.

That was the first time Raayan heard the name:
YATSHAN.

Curiosity pulled him into the forests of Kerala -
to a shrine whispered about, but never shown on any map.
It looked normal at first -
white stone walls, oil lamps flickering near a towering crystal idol of Lord Shiva,
and a priest who never blinked... never left.

But behind the idol, a narrow path led into the mountain -
no signboards. No footprints.
Only a rusted iron gate covered in vermilion and ash.

Where once in a year, rituals are performed for beings older than gods -
Yatchans and Yatshis.
And beneath it all...
rules carved in bone.

He made a pact.
He asked for protection.
He begged for wealth.
And it listened.

Now... Raayan lives with something that watches him.
Walks behind him.
Whispers when he sleeps.
He must follow the rules.
He should follow the rules.
But what happens... when he doesn't?