A warm breeze drifted through the sunflower fields, carrying the scent of earth and sunlight.
Petals danced in the air like golden snowflakes — a world too peaceful to remember pain.
In the middle of the vast garden sat two children.
Ayra, fifteen, her eyes glowing like morning sunlight, ran her fingers through Karan's hair.
The boy — barely ten — sat quietly beside her, one eye swollen, a faint bruise blooming across his cheek.
"Hey, Ayra," Karan asked softly, voice trembling. "What does it mean to be a hero?"
Ayra smiled, brushing his face with gentle hands. "A hero?" she whispered. "It means saving people… even if it costs your life."
Karan lowered his gaze. "But… what if people aren't worth saving? They always beat me because I don't have powers."
Ayra chuckled, though her eyes softened. "That doesn't matter, Karan. If you let hate control you, you'll never be a hero."
He frowned, confused. "Then why is it always me who has to forgive?"
"Because someday," she said, leaning closer, "you'll be strong enough to protect everyone… even those who hurt you."
Karan stared into her eyes — a child's confusion mixing with a faint spark of hope.
"Okay," he whispered.
Ayra smiled.
Then the sunlight cracked.
Flames burst from the horizon, swallowing the field. The sunflowers screamed — petals curling, stems snapping, colors melting into black.
Ayra turned toward the inferno, her figure swallowed by smoke and fire.
"Ayra!" Karan screamed, reaching out — but his fingers closed on ash.
The laughter of demons echoed through the smoke.
_______
Blood.
When his eyes opened again, the world was drenched in it.
Bodies lay scattered across the battlefield — heroes, soldiers, friends. The air was thick with smoke and death.
Karan dangled helplessly in the air, caught in the monstrous grip of a creature ten stories tall.
One of his arms hung limp, crushed in the monster's jaws. Pain blurred his vision.
Below him, another demon held a woman struggling weakly — his sister.
"Ka…ran," she gasped, her body trembling, eyes wide with terror.
Then came a voice. Calm. Human. Cruel.
"Karan. That's your name, isn't it?"
A man stepped forward — tall, suited, elegant. His smile was too perfect to be real, his presence bending the air around him.
"Do you know why your beloved sister Ayra died?" he asked, eyes glinting. "Because of you. Just like this one will."
Karan's tears mixed with blood, dripping silently onto the cracked earth.
He shook his head, voice breaking. "No… that's not true…"
"Oh, it is." The man laughed softly. "Want to know a secret, boy? I killed her. And I'll kill this one too."
The world stopped.
For years, Karan had carried guilt like a curse — believing Ayra's death was his fault.
But now, hearing the truth… something inside him snapped.
His trembling hand reached for the blood-stained sword impaled in a demon's chest nearby.
His face twisted — not in sorrow, but in something darker.
"You…" His voice cracked into laughter — raw, hollow, terrifying. "You killed her?"
He dragged the sword free, blood splattering across his face. Then, without hesitation —
he swung.
Each strike wasn't against his enemy, but himself his arm — his pain, his guilt, his weakness.
Every motion screamed his grief into the world until the blade trembled in his hand.
The man chuckled. "You've gone mad."
Karan smiled — a monstrous grin splitting his face. "Mad?" he whispered. "You took everything from me. Let's see who breaks first."
The man's expression hardened. "Kill him."
The giant holding Karan roared, lifting him higher, jaws opening wide.
"Bye, little hero," the man mocked. "Say hello to your gods."
The demon lunged.
And then — the world erupted.
A blinding golden light burst from Karan's body, spreading like wildfire. The sky trembled.
The earth split open. The sun itself seemed to retreat behind clouds in fear.
"He's awakening!" someone screamed.
"He has… divine power!"
Karan's hair whipped in the storm. His eyes glowed molten gold.
Around him, spider-like demons leapt from every direction, their webs slicing through the air like bullets.
One pierced his shoulder — but he didn't even flinch.
He moved like lightning.
Slash.
One demon's head hit the ground.
Slash.
Another fell in two, black blood spraying across the crimson sky.
He fought like a man possessed — rage guiding every strike, grief fueling every heartbeat.
He was no longer human; he was vengeance made flesh.
When his blade finally reached the demon holding his sister —
Slash.
The monster's head separated from its body in a single motion.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then the battlefield erupted once more.
A shriek echoed overhead.
An enormous eagle — its feathers glowing golden — dived from the heavens.
Its talons seized Karan mid-swing and lifted him high, faster than any eye could follow.
The man below watched, smirking. "Run all you want, little hero. The world will burn with or without you."
_________
The eagle soared beyond clouds, beyond the reach of battle, until only the whisper of wind remained.
Then, without warning, it released him.
Karan's body plummeted through the thin air and crashed into snow-white peaks — Mount Kailash.
The sacred mountain shook. Ice cracked beneath him.
He tried to stand, but pain seared through his veins.
His power — wild, divine, uncontrollable — burst from within.
Golden light exploded outward.
Thunder tore through the skies.
The snow melted.
And where heaven once kissed the mountain, molten lava now flowed.
Half of Kailash glowed red, bleeding fire into the sky.
Karan knelt at the center of the devastation, trembling, surrounded by ruin.
The scent of burning snow filled the air — holy ice melting into fire.
The wind howled, carrying faint echoes of Ayra's voice.
"You don't need power to be a hero…"
His trembling hands closed into fists.
"Then I'll save this world," he whispered, voice breaking. "Even if I have to destroy myself."
Lightning struck behind him, carving his shadow across the burning mountain.
Somewhere far below, the suited man watched the crimson sky and smiled.
"So," he murmured, "the divine child awakens."
________
Who was that man?
Why was Ayra killed?
And what was this power that could melt the mountain of gods?
That night, a powerless boy died.
And the world's most dangerous hero was born.