The group had already begun making their way toward Gautam's base.
Zefer walked at the front, guiding everyone through the path that stretched beyond Bhouldera.
Behind him walked Zoya, Ruhi, and nearly thirty villagers.
Every one of them knew what they were walking toward.
None of them knew what awaited them there.
But they had made their decision.
They were going to bring Aqsa back.
Efra had remained behind with Harun.
She had refused to leave him.
Harun was still unconscious, and his condition remained unstable. Whatever happened next, Efra intended to stay by his side and continue healing him.
The others had no choice but to move forward.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Ruhi finally broke the silence.
"Zefer…"
Zefer kept walking.
"Why did you leave us?"
His footsteps slowed.
Ruhi stared at his back.
"When we needed you the most…"
Her voice trembled.
"You left."
Zefer said nothing.
Ruhi's eyes began to glisten.
"Why?"
Still nothing.
"Did you ever think about me?"
Her voice cracked slightly.
"Did you ever once wonder what would happen to me without you?"
She clenched her hands.
"What would happen to our children?"
Zefer finally stopped.
Ruhi stopped behind him.
For a moment, the entire group seemed to disappear around them.
There were no villagers.
No mission.
No Gautam.
Only the two of them and all the years that had passed between them.
Ruhi waited for an answer.
Zefer slowly turned his head.
But he didn't say anything.
Not yet.
Ruhi looked away, hurt.
The journey continued.
Zoya walked a little farther away from the others and activated her Dravillian Communication.
A faint energy gathered around her.
She connected with her Captain.
"I've learned what happened here."
Her tone was serious.
"There is a boy named Harun."
She began telling him everything she had heard from the villagers.
Harun's arrival.
His fight against Gautam's generals.
His battle with Anwar.
His victory.
And then—
Gautam.
"He defeated Anwar," Zoya said. "But after that, Gautam appeared."
Her expression hardened.
"He took a little girl named Aqsa with him."
Zoya looked toward the path ahead.
"I'm going after her."
She paused.
"But I don't think I can handle this alone."
There was a slight hesitation in her voice.
"Everyone here is terrified of Gautam. From what they've told me…"
She exhaled slowly.
"He doesn't sound like an ordinary enemy."
Her eyes narrowed.
"He sounds like a monster."
Zoya looked back at the villagers.
"So please… get here as soon as you can."
The communication ended.
Zoya lowered her hand.
She remained silent for a moment.
Then she continued walking.
And somewhere behind her, one of the villagers lowered his gaze.
His name was Rudra.
As the road stretched ahead of them, memories he had buried for years began rising again.
Memories of a time when Bhouldera had still known hope.
I was eight years old.
That's how old I was when Bhouldera changed forever.
I was born here.
But my parents weren't from Bhouldera.
They had come here from somewhere else and settled down.
They never told me much about their hometown.
I never thought I'd need to know.
Back then, I was just a child.
I thought there would always be another day.
Another chance to ask.
Another chance to hear my parents tell me about their past.
Then the catastrophe happened.
The Bhouldera Catastrophe.
I remember people screaming.
I remember doors being slammed shut.
I remember people running through the streets.
And I remember the creatures.
The people of Bhouldera…
people I had seen every day…
began turning into monsters.
They had been consumed by greed.
I didn't understand what was happening.
I was eight.
How could I?
One of those people was our neighbour.
Andrew.
He had always been greedy.
That day, he had come to our house for dinner.
And then something happened.
He changed.
I remember the fear in my parents' eyes.
I remember Andrew attacking me.
And I remember my parents stepping between us.
They didn't hesitate.
They only wanted one thing.
For me to live.
I ran.
I hid.
I curled myself into the smallest corner I could find and covered my mouth so that nobody would hear me crying.
I could hear everything outside.
Every sound.
Every scream.
Every movement.
I thought I was going to die.
Then I remembered something.
My father had once told me about a warrior.
A warrior who protected people.
A Divine Warrior.
I didn't know whether the story was real.
I didn't know if he would hear me.
But I had nothing else.
So I closed my eyes.
And prayed.
Please come.
Please.
Please save me.
The creature came closer.
I could hear it.
It was right there.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Please…
And then—
everything stopped.
I opened my eyes.
Someone was standing between me and the creature.
The Divine Warrior.
He defeated it.
Just like that.
For a few seconds, I couldn't move.
Then I ran toward him.
I grabbed him and broke down crying.
I was only eight.
I had just lost everything.
My parents.
My home.
My sense of safety.
Everything.
I looked up at him through tears.
"Why did you come so late?"
My voice shook.
"If you had come earlier…"
I swallowed hard.
"My parents would still be alive."
The Divine Warrior didn't argue.
He didn't tell me that it wasn't his fault.
He simply looked at me.
And then—
he said something I still remember.
"I'm sorry I arrived late."
I froze.
He didn't have to apologize.
It wasn't his fault.
But he did it anyway.
I wiped my tears.
"My parents are gone…"
My voice became smaller.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
I looked down at myself.
"I'm weak."
"How will someone like me survive?"
The Divine Warrior became quiet.
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he said—
"You aren't weak."
I looked up.
"You're strong."
I didn't understand.
"How do you know?"
He smiled.
"Focus on your own strength."
"But I don't have any."
"You will understand with time."
I shook my head.
I still had so many questions.
"Why are people becoming creatures?"
"Why did this happen to Bhouldera?"
"And where did you come from?"
"My father used to talk about you…"
I looked at him desperately.
"Are you going to leave us too?"
He didn't answer immediately.
I quickly asked another question.
"Can I fight for you?"
"Please tell me how I can find my strength."
The Divine Warrior listened to everything.
Then he answered.
He told me that the people who had become creatures had been consumed by their greed.
He told me that the universe wanted to remove those greedy people from existence.
And then he told me why he had come.
"I was sent here by the universe."
"To protect you."
I stared at him.
"So you'll stay here?"
"For now."
His smile remained calm.
"But there are many other places where I'm needed."
My heart sank.
I didn't want him to leave.
Not after everything.
"But…"
I looked at him.
"You'll come back, right?"
He paused.
Then he smiled.
"Not now."
My expression fell.
"But later, I definitely will."
He looked directly at me.
"So grow up."
"Become strong."
"And when I return…"
He smiled.
"Fight for me."
I stared at him.
"Really?"
"Really."
I finally smiled through my tears.
Then I remembered one last question.
"How can the universe do all of this?"
The Divine Warrior gave me that same gentle smile.
"When you grow up…"
"You'll understand."
And then—
he left.
I watched him disappear.
I thought he would return.
I truly believed he would.
But he never did.
A few days later, news reached Bhouldera.
The Divine Warrior had been executed.
Rehman, the judge of Bhouldera's court, had executed him.
The person who had saved me.
The person who had told me I was strong.
The person who had promised to return.
Was gone.
And something inside Bhouldera disappeared with him.
Hope.
Then Gautam arrived.
His generals spread fear throughout the village.
People stopped believing that anyone would save them.
People stopped expecting anyone to come.
The hope the Divine Warrior had left behind slowly faded.
Years passed.
And I grew older.
I was twenty-one when I saw someone who reminded me of him.
Not because they looked alike.
Not because they fought alike.
But because of what they were willing to do.
His name was Harun.
He was younger than me.
A complete stranger.
He had nothing to gain from helping us.
He could have looked at Bhouldera and walked away.
He could have done what everyone else had done.
But he didn't.
He stood there.
And fought.
For us.
He fought Gautam's generals.
He risked himself for people who had barely even trusted him.
And then he defeated Anwar.
I watched him.
And suddenly, I understood.
That feeling.
That same feeling I had experienced as a child.
The feeling I thought Bhouldera had lost forever.
Harun had given it back to us.
The Divine Warrior had once given us hope.
And Harun had brought it back.
I looked toward the road ahead.
My hands slowly tightened.
I didn't know what awaited us.
I didn't know whether we would succeed.
I didn't know whether we would even return.
But I knew what I had to do.
Harun had stood for us.
Now.
I would stand for him.
The memory faded.
Rudra raised his head.
The group had stopped.
Zoya was standing at the front.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on what lay beyond the road.
A massive structure stood in the distance.
Dark.
Silent.
Menacing.
Zoya stared at it.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then she quietly spoke.
"So"
Her eyes narrowed.
"This is Gautam's base."