11 YEARS AGO
Guru Acharya Ji was a normal teacher loved by everyone. Children used to laugh with him, and he was invited to everyone's home for dinner, as people thought of him as a god.
Arjun asked, "Dad, why don't you fight anymore? Why did you start teaching? And who is that person in the portrait?"
"That person is my dear friend. He did not know me as Guru Acharya Ji; he knew me as Karn, my real name. He was a great ruler who was killed through betrayal."
"What was his name?"
"His name was Teriyaki Sumoi, my best friend and captain."
"So why did you stop fighting?"
"After his death, we all agreed never to go out into the world again, and we decided to teach people what we had learned over the years."
"Dad, everyone loves you here, and you are the kindest person in this town. Did you achieve what you wanted?"
"No. I still have to stand at the gates and wait for eleven years to meet the person Teriyaki spoke about."
"Who is that person?"
"I don't know, but many years from now the entire world will know him for his greatness."
One evening, Guru Ji was walking through the village.
Suddenly he sensed a terrifying negative energy.
"Everyone, run inside your homes!" he shouted.
The time was exactly 6 PM.
A storm had arrived carrying the Eye of Mahakaal.
The storm destroyed everything in its path and attacked with deadly currents of wind.
Guru Ji said, "I have to fight now, or everyone will die."
He took his bow from his room and began fighting the storm.
But nothing worked.
The Eye of Mahakaal was an ancient entity so powerful that it could kill anyone who stood before it, and almost no one had a chance of defeating it.
Guru Ji knew he had little hope against it, but he still fought with everything he had.
Every arrow he released was even more perfect than the Shot of Miracle, yet the storm continued to rage.
Then the Eye of Mahakaal spoke.
"If you keep me occupied for twelve hours, I will not destroy this town."
Guru Ji invoked the fiercest form of the god and filled the sky with hundreds of arrows, making the storm dance around him.
Arjun watched from a distance, admiring his father's courage, but he was terrified because the storm was still growing faster and more dangerous.
Guru Ji continued fighting for the entire twelve hours.
When the time was over, the Eye of Mahakaal spoke again.
"I will spare the town, but I will take you instead."
The villagers did not know what was happening outside because Guru Ji had created a protective barrier around the town.
Only Arjun saw everything.
In the end, Guru Ji was taken by the storm.
From that day onward, the storm came only between 6 PM and 6 AM, as if it respected Guru Ji's sacrifice.
The twelve villagers who later died were all students who possessed the potential to inherit Guru Ji's power.
Every night Arjun screamed toward the storm, but no answer ever came.
Guru Ji had sealed the Eye of Mahakaal within himself to protect the town.
He forbade anyone from going outside because the Eye gained power from human presence, and if it became strong enough, it would break Guru Ji's seal and escape.
Mahakaalpur was never the same after that night.
And perhaps it never would be.
For eleven years the town waited for someone to come.
Would their prayers finally be answered?