Jinja Aurelith

Jinja sat curled up in the farthest corner of her cell. The stone beneath her was cold, the air damp, and somewhere above her, water dripped onto the floor in a steady rhythm. She couldn’t remember exactly how many days had passed. Weeks, perhaps. Maybe longer. Ever since she’d been torn from her old life, sold off, and finally brought here.
At first, she hadn’t understood why.
Then she had heard the cultists’ words.
Blessed blood. A sacrifice. An invocation.
A being from another realm.
A demon-like thing that was supposed to enter this world through her.
Jinja had tried to convince herself that they were wrong. That it was all just empty talk. But every symbol, every candle, every whispered prayer had diminished that hope.
Footsteps approached.
As the key scraped in the lock, she pulled her knees closer to her chest. Two men entered, grabbed her by the arms, and dragged her to her feet. Please… That was all she could manage.
She was led down the hallway, half stumbling, half carried. Torches cast flickering light across the walls as the murmur of unfamiliar voices grew louder.
Then the path opened onto an old courtyard.
The ritual site had already been prepared.
Chalk marks covered the ground, black candles burned in iron bowls, and a stone circle waited in the center. Jinja felt her breathing quicken. Her legs refused to move, but the hands on her arms left her no choice.
She was forced to her knees.
A cultist stepped out of the circle before her. In his hand was a narrow knife, its blade gleaming in the firelight. Jinja trembled.
Through your blood, the path opens, he said.
She wanted to say something. To beg. To scream. Anything.
But her voice stuck in her throat.
Then the blade struck.
'So please, someone help me' I think the pain is about to start
A sharp pain shot through her chest.
And her blood began to flow over the symbols carved into the stone.