In the middle of a field, two boys were running. Suddenly, one of them stopped.
"Why did you stop here?" the other boy asked.
"I think I've run too much," the first boy replies. "Please, can we stop here?"
"No, we can't stop," the second boy said firmly. "You know why. Because of what you did. That's why we're running."
The first boy, pale-skinned and white, whose name was Jake, replies, "You know very well why I did it."
They sat down on some rocks scattered across the land. The sky began to change — the sun was setting, and the night was approaching fast.
Jake looked up and said, "I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn't have done that… but he deserved it. You're my friend, Rudra. Why are you taking his side?"
Rudra responded calmly, "You shouldn't have killed your caretaker. He gave you food and shelter. You know what's going to happen now — the elders of this island are going to put you on trial for murder."
Jake frowned. "I'm not going to face any trial. Why aren't you helping me?"
Rudra said, "I've always helped you solve your problems. But now… I think you have to run away from the island — go somewhere far, maybe the Fourth City."
Jake shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. If I have to fight everyone, I'll fight them."
"No," Rudra said firmly. "You're not going to fight them. I'm taking you to the Fourth City."
Rudra stood up and walked closer to Jake. Jake stood too and took a fighting stance. He threw a punch at Rudra, but Rudra blocked it and kicked him in the stomach. As Jake stumbled, Rudra looked up and noticed the sky had become completely covered in dark clouds.
"I think the weather is bad today," Rudra said.
But Jake tried to punch him again. Rudra blocked it once more and tried to grab Jake and pin him down. Suddenly, lightning flashed and struck a tree, destroying it. Both boys were startled and started running as far away as possible.
Then, the dark clouds began to swirl around a central cloud. Jake stopped and stared.
"Why did you stop?" Rudra shouted. "We have to run!"
"Do you see this?" Jake said in awe. "This phenomenon… it's incredible. I've never seen anything like it. I have to watch this."
The wind began to change direction and picked up speed. It started spinning faster than before, forming a massive tornado. Trees were being ripped from the ground and sucked into the dark cloud.
Rudra grabbed Jake's hand and started to run, but it was too late — Jake began to float in the air, and Rudra struggled to hold on.
"You have to run!" Jake shouted. "If you don't, you'll die too!"
"I'm not leaving you!" Rudra yelled, pulling Jake toward him.
But the wind was too strong. Rudra's grip began to fail, pain shot through his arms, and he started crying. Jake looked at him and said quietly, "Let go."
Jake released Rudra's hand and was pulled into the dark cloud. Rudra began to float too and was slammed into a rock, losing consciousness.
The tornado began to die down, and the dark clouds slowly faded away. Nothing remained on the ground — the trees were all gone.
Some time later, Rudra regained consciousness. He stands up and looked around, seeing the devastation. In the distance, a group of people approached him — the people of the island.
He walked toward them, but as he got closer, he suddenly found himself surrounded. A man stepped forward with a rope and tied Rudra's hands.
"What are you doing?" Rudra demanded.
The man replied, "The elders ordered us to tie you up if we found you."
Soon, the four elders of the island stepped forward to face Rudra. His face turned angry as he glared at them.
"You know what happened here," Rudra said. "I'm the only one who survived those black clouds. Jake was taken by them — I don't know if he's alive or dead. I couldn't do anything. And now you're doing this? I don't understand."
One of the elders spoke: "Because we know what you did. Yesterday, you killed Jake's father. Now you were planning to run. You killed Jake too."
"I didn't kill Jake!" Rudra shouted. "He was taken by the black clouds!"
"You can't make up more stories," the elder said coldly. "There were no black clouds. You're lying. We've decided — you'll be thrown into the sea as an offering to the Death Sea Creature."
"I'm telling the truth!" Rudra pleaded, but they wouldn't listen.
The elders ordered the people to take him to the sea. Rudra struggled, but the rope was tight. He muttered to himself, "There's no use… I can't escape. Why is this happening to me? Is it because I'm his son — the leader of the rebel army? Is that why? I can't die here… not until I find Jake."
Three men took him into a cart and headed toward the edge of the island. Rudra kept trying to escape. The men laughed at him.
"Stop struggling," one of them said. "Accept the fate you've been given. If any other country knew about you, they would've killed you instantly. You got to live here for 15 years, and now you'll die like this. It's laughable."
The cart stopped near the sea. The blue water was now covered by clouds. The wind grew stronger — cold and yet strangely warm. Rudra trembled with fear.
One of the three men said, "You two go home. I'll take care of him."
The others hesitated. "Why? This task was given to all of us."
"You've worked enough. I can handle it," the third man said.
They agreed and left.
The man turned to Rudra. "I never introduced myself. I'm Jin. I worked with your father."
Rudra was shocked. "You worked with my father? Then why are you helping them?"
Jin sighed. "Because my family lives here. When your father died, everyone in the army was hunted and killed. I changed my name and started a new life. But you have to run. It's not safe for you here anymore. You should go to the Fourth City. I've prepared a boat for you."
He pointed toward the beach, where a small boat was waiting.
Rudra got into the boat and looked back at Jin. Jin waved with a smile, relieved. Rudra nodded and began his journey to the Fourth City.
Later that night, the sea was calm, and the darkness was deep. Rudra stopped the boat, surrounded by water. He started to feel sleepy and eventually drifted off.
Suddenly, he heard a strange sound and woke up.
He was no longer on the boat.
Everything around him had turned into glowing strings of different colors. The strings swirled and gathered around one large central string. They began forming the shape of a man.
Rudra heard a voice.
It was Jake's.
He was shouting at something.
Then, the strange figure pointed its finger at Rudra.