The cart rattled violently along the broken road.
Its wheels screeched with every turn, the sound dull and repetitive—like time itself had grown tired of moving forward. Neel gripped the reins tightly, eyes fixed ahead. They had been traveling for hours now, long enough for exhaustion to seep deep into their bones.
Inside the cart, Lava and Kaal sat close.
Then—
The horse stopped.
Neel frowned and gently pulled the reins.
"Easy…"
The air changed.
It smelled wrong.
Metallic.
Thick.
Neel lifted his head.
And froze.
Ahead of them—a man screamed.
A monster loomed over him, towering and grotesque. One eye burned red, the other was black as a hollow pit. Green scars pulsed faintly across its massive body as it lifted the man off the ground like he weighed nothing at all.
The monster opened its mouth.
Too wide.
Teeth sank into flesh.
The scream was cut short.
Blood sprayed across the dirt. The man's body went limp, tearing apart like cloth. Pieces struck the ground with soft, sickening sounds.
The monster chewed.
Casually.
Then it dropped what remained.
The body hit the earth.
Still.
Dead.
The horse screamed and reared back.
Lava gasped sharply, clamping a hand over her mouth.
Kaal's eyes widened—frozen in disbelief—his breath catching painfully in his chest.
Neel's hands trembled on the reins.
His throat burned. He swallowed hard, forcing his body to move.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
He turned the cart away—every muscle screaming to run, yet his hands remained steady despite the fear clawing up his spine.
Lava pulled Kaal into her chest instantly, her arms shaking as she buried his face against her shoulder.
Then—
Slowly—
The monster turned its head.
Its black eye met Neel's gaze from a distance.
Neel felt it.
That look.
Like prey being measured.
The monster smiled faintly.
Neel's heart skipped.
"Go," he whispered.
He snapped the reins.
The cart lurched forward, wood groaning as the wheels bounced over broken stone.
Neel felt it before he heard it—the tremor beneath the wheels.
The uneven rhythm of something heavy moving.
Then came the sound—
A deep, crushing impact.
Once.
Twice.
The horse screamed.
Neel tightened his grip. He didn't look back.
He didn't need to.
Behind them, something vast was moving.
Fast.
"Neel…" Lava whispered, dread flooding her eyes.
She shielded Kaal with her body as the cart swayed dangerously.
The monster was chasing them.
Its red eye burned with feral intent.
Its black eye swallowed the light around it.
Green scars pulsed brighter with every step.
The distance between them vanished—frighteningly fast.
Neel's breath turned sharp.
Too fast.
"There!" Lava cried, pointing ahead.
A cave.
Narrow.
Jagged.
Barely wide enough for two people to pass.
Not deep.
The rock face behind it told Neel instantly—
A dead end.
But the entrance was small.
And the monster was large.
Neel turned the cart sharply.
The wheels shrieked as wood scraped against rock.
The horse nearly collapsed—then surged forward one last time.
The cart stopped just before the cave.
"Run!" Neel shouted.
Lava and Kaal jumped down, sprinting inside.
Neel followed, releasing the horse just before the monster could reach him.
He stumbled into the cave as Kaal clutched him tightly.
Behind them—
The monster lunged.
Its claws slammed into the cave entrance with explosive force.
Stone cracked.
Dust rained down.
The impact shook the cliff itself.
But the opening held.
The monster snarled, twisting its massive body, slamming its shoulders again and again into the rock.
It couldn't fit.
The passage was too narrow.
Inside the cave, the Gray family collapsed against the stone.
Breathing.
Shaking.
Alive.
For now.
Silence fell inside the cave—
thick, heavy, suffocating.
The tunnel ended after only a few steps.
Solid stone.
No path forward.
They were safe.
And trapped.
Outside, the monster crouched low.
Its breath came hot and wet, saliva dripping onto the rock as it sniffed the air slowly—deliberately—like it was savoring their fear.
Kaal's body began to shake.
In his short life, he had never seen a monster like this.
Terror froze his limbs—
yet something hotter burned beneath it.
Anger.
Lava pressed him tightly against her chest, covering his mouth with a trembling hand.
Tears slid silently down her face, soaking into his hair.
Neel stood at the entrance.
His back was straight.
His hands trembled.
The monster leaned closer.
Its red eye gleamed with hunger.
Its black eye locked onto Neel.
The cave felt smaller with every breath.
Behind him, Lava held their son and prayed without words.
Ahead of him—
Death waited.
Then—
A sound echoed from outside.
Not from the monster.
From far above.
From the sky.
The Agni Chakra groaned—its unstable core roaring like an angry god, counting down toward annihilation.
Fire could rain down at any moment.
Neel understood.
There was only one way.
He exhaled slowly… and turned.
"Lava."
She met his eyes—
and froze.
Tears flooded instantly.
"No," she whispered. "No, Neel… please."
Her voice cracked apart. "We'll find another way. We always do. We—we can't do this."
Neel didn't answer.
Kaal ran to him.
"No! Dad—no!"
His fists struck Neel's chest again and again, weak and desperate.
"We go together! Together!"
Tears streamed down Neel's face as he caught his son's wrists.
Then he lowered himself.
One knee touched the stone.
"Kaal," he said softly. "Look at me."
Kaal shook his head violently. "No… I don't want to—"
"Please," Neel whispered. "Just once."
Slowly—trembling—
Kaal looked up.
And he saw it.
Not fear.
Not sorrow.
A smile.
A Wide smile.
A Brave smile.
A father's smile—steady enough to hold the world together.
Neel brushed Kaal's hair aside, his fingers lingering, as if memorizing the touch.
"Before you were born," Neel said quietly, "your mother fell. Hard."
Lava's breath caught.
"The midwife said there was no chance," Neel continued. "She said you wouldn't survive."
Kaal's lips trembled.
"But you fought," Neel said. "You didn't give up."
"You kicked. You screamed."
His smile shook—
but it did not fade.
"You were born alive."
Tears slipped from Neel's eyes.
"You were brave before you even knew what fear was."
"Dad…" Kaal sobbed. "Don't…"
Neel rested his hand on his son's head.
"I, Neelish Gray," he said, voice low and solemn,
"member of the Black Eye Clan—"
The air itself seemed to still.
"With all twelve gods as my witness.
With the Lord of Gods watching—"
His voice did not waver.
"I choose you."
Kaal froze.
"It was always you," Neel whispered.
"I choose you as the head of the Gray family."
Kaal's breath shattered. "Dad…?"
Neel smiled—
warm.
Steady.
Unshaking.
"Are you worried about your father?" Neel asked softly.
Kaal hesitated.
Neel smiled—his gaze steady, warm, despite the fear pressing in from all sides. He reached out and rested a hand on his son's head, his touch careful… almost reverent.
"As long as you are safe," he said, voice low and unshaken,
"it doesn't matter where I am."
His smile deepened, carrying something unspoken—something painful, and sincere.
"I am always happy."
Kaal looked up at him, eyes trembling, as if sensing the weight behind those words—
words that felt too final for a moment like this.
Neel knew that no matter what happened, Kaal would never leave the people he loved.
So, he did the only thing a father could do—
He struck once.
Kaal collapsed, unconscious, into Lava's arms.
A soundless cry tore from her throat as she clutched him.
For a heartbeat, the world stopped.
She looked at Neel—eyes wide, broken, screaming without sound.
Neel pulled her into his arms.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Just tight.
"Thank you," he whispered into her hair.
"For being my wife."
Her body shook violently, her heart refusing to let him go. She wanted to scream—to refuse.
But this was life.
Neel stepped forward.
He stood before the entrance.
For a moment—just a moment—he hesitated.
Then, without looking back, he ran.
The monster's gaze snapped to him.
A minute later, Lava ran—toward the hills, toward the mysterious cave.
Kaal was clutched to her chest, his weight light, his breath shallow. Tears blurred her vision, but she didn't stop. She couldn't.
Behind them—
Neel smiled.
For the first time in his life—
He did not run.
He faced his fear.
The one he had locked away deep inside his heart.
Not with rage.
Not with hatred.
But with acceptance.
The monster closed in.
Neel's smile did not fade.
To be continued…