Vijay and his goons were hiding inside a small apartment. The whole room was a mixture of fear and cigarette smoke.
Suddenly, there were three calculated knocks on the door.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Vijay's face turned yellow with fear. He looked at his friends, Who is outside?
Trembling with fear, he slowly opened the door. There was no one there.
Only an envelope lying on the floor.
Vijay picked up the envelope with shaking hands and opened it. Inside, there was just a small piece of paper with a single line written on it,
"You are free now. Nobody is searching for you."
Vijay finally let out the breath he has been holding. The terror on his face suddenly transformed into a look of relief. He looked toward his fellomates and waved the paper in his hand.
Away from Mumbai, deep in the forest, Nayak was working out by the riverbank.
He was landing powerful punches on a massive rock. His face was etched with deep fury, and as he punched, he yelled out loudly: "Not yet... Not yet! I'm not strong enough yet!"
Saying this, he landed one more thunderous punch that completely shattered the elephant-sized rock.
"Help me... please help me!"
He heard a cry. A girl, drowning and being carried away by the strong current, was struggling in the fast-flowing river.
The moment Nayak saw this, he immediately jumped into the river and quickly pulled the girl to the safety.
The girl was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and loose pants. After a moment, she somehow regained consciousness.
"Thank you. Thank you..... thank you so much! How can I ever repay you? You saved my life!" she said, gasping for breath.
Nayak asked, "How exactly did you fall into this river?"
"I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. My name is Kavya, and I'm a BBA college student," she said.
Smiling sheepishly, Nayak replied, "My name is Nayak, and I think, I never went to college."
"What? Are you really serious you never went to college?"
"What a pity!" the girl said, laughing.
Getting irritated, Nayak snapped, "I asked you how you fell into the river!" Not your qualification
"Actually, I was here for camping. While I was walking, my phone fell into the water, and in my rush to grab it, I fell into the river too."
When Kavya sees the shattered rock, she exclaims in shock, "Oh my God! How did this happen?"
Hiding the truth, Nayak replies, "I don't know."
Kavya suddenly panicked and said, "Oh! I need to find the way quickly. I'm lost! My friends must be looking for me, and my good for nothing phone is gone too!"
As she said this, her face took on an almost tearful expression.
Nayak quickly calmed her. "Don't panic. You are safe."
He looked toward the river, then toward the depths of the jungle.
"Alright. I will help you to get out," Nayak said, with a hint of hesitation.
"But I cannot take you all the way to the city. I will only take you to a spot from where you can easily find your friends."
Hope instantly filled Kavya's eyes. "Really? Thank you, Nayak! You are like God to me!"
"Not not God," Nayak replied curtly, "Just a normal person. Come on, don't waste time. We need to reach that spot before dark."
Nayak glanced once more at the shattered rock, then turned and headed down the forest path. Kavya followed him immediately.
Nayak was walking at a fast pace. Kavya found it difficult to keep up with him, especially because of her wet clothes and loose pants.
Nayak replied without stopping, "I told you, we have to reach before dark. Spending the night deep inside the jungle won't be safe for you."
After a period of silence, Kavya looked around her. All she could see were dense trees and their frightening silence.
do you come here every day?
No,he replied
Then, why did you came here?
Because I wanted to practice.
"Mister,are you really serious about that"
"You can workout at the gym."
But this jungle is more familiar for me than the gym. He said
"All the way into the jungle just to work out?"
Nayak paused for a moment, and without turning around, he answered "It's necessary."
"What's necessary? Are you training for something?"
Nayak didn't respond. He simply continued walking faster, as if he wanted to avoid answering any of Kavya's questions.
Kavya asked, "You said, this jungle is a dangerous for me. Does that mean it poses no threat to you at all?"
Nayak replied, "I grew up here. I know its ways."
"Did you truly grow up in this jungle?"
"Not factually, but my father and I have always practiced in the forests."
"Mister, you are crazy! Didn't your mother say anything to you both?"
Nayak (Smiling lightly) but with a sad face
"And has your father stopped training now?"
(Nayak paused for a moment, his smile vanished.)
"She died when I was a child, and I lost my Father last year."
(Kavya paused for a moment.)
(Fell completely silent, shmae was on her face and she softly said) "Sorry. I didn't know ....that,I was just asking carelessly.
Nayak (Smiling faintly, he looked at her and then gestured ahead) "One has to be strong. Now, just... keep walking. We still have a long way to go."
Saying this, he moved ahead.
It was almost evening; a faint redness was painting the sky.
Suddenly, a massive bear, snarling, burst from the bushes and stood before Nayak and Kavya. It was absolutely ready to attack and began moving toward them.
Before Kavya could even register what was happening, Nayak swiftly stepped in front of her and landed a powerful punch right on the bear's face. The moment the punch connected, the bear's jaw broke with a sickening crack, and it collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Watching this, Kavya was utterly dumbfounded. She felt as if she had broken out in a cold sweat. She was stunned: How could any human be this powerful?
Nayak In a calm tone said "Come on, girl. We still have the rest of the jungle to cross."
Kavya was still in shock, but then her gaze fell upon a leopard perched on a nearby tree. Seeing the leopard, she began to tremble with fear.
In an instant, Nayek narrowed his eyes like a predator and fixed a sharp gaze on the leopard. The moment the big cat met Nayak's eyes, it was struck with terror and quickly ran away with its tail between its legs.
Kavya Sinking to her knees out of fear, whispering "Incredible..."
Kavya was still reeling from the shock, her mind struggling to process what she had just witnessed.
Nayak said with Smiling face "Come on, keep moving forward."
Kavya was still deep in shock, her mind struggling with the bear and leopard incident. She was walking mechanically behind Nayak.
Suddenly, while walking, she spotted a cave on the side of a hill, from which a faint light was emanating.
"Look! Let's go into that cave!" Kavya said
"No. We need to get out of this jungle quickly. And that cave looks dangerous."
Kavya: "But there's light coming from there! Someone must have lit a fire; perhaps they can help us and even if it is a wild animal, you can just beat it up, like you did with that bear just now!"
Nayek while Walking faster) "That's exactly why I said we need to get out of this jungle as soon as possible."
Saying this, they both moved ahead and soon reached an open campsite. By now, evening had completely settled.
Kavya: (Taking a deep breath) "Reema! Srikant! Rohan!"
Hearing Kavya's voice, her friends came running. Kavya hugged one of her friends.
"Oh Kavya! Where were you? Reema said.
I was so worried about you. And how did you reach here?" She asked many questions
Kavya: (Smiling) "He brought me here."
As Kavya turned back, no one was there.
"Who, Kavya?"
(Looking around in surprise) "He was just here!"
But Nayak was already long gone.
Kavya! Rohan and Srikant went looking for you; they haven't returned yet. Reema said in worried voice
At the very same time, near the cave, Srikant and Rohan were calling out for Kavya.
Srikant saw the light coming from the cave and said, "There must be someone inside, let's go check."
Upon entering, the ground sank beneath Srikant and Rohan's feet. There, they saw a massive creature sleeping: it had four muscular arms, a big heavy chest ,only one eye, and two large horns on its head. Most terrifyingly, its lower body was serpentine (like a snake).
"And the light was coming from that tail "
Seeing the horrific creature, both of them panicked. As they slowly began to back away, Rohan made a mistake and stumbled, falling down.
"The creature woke up"
Srikant says, "He looks hungry."man!
The creature was about to devour him when, with the speed of lightning, Nayak appeared and yanked Rohan away, saving him.
In a deep, warning voice Nayak said,"Get out of here. If your lives are dear to you!"
The two friends ran away to save their lives.
Nayek stood before the giant creature, who had now opened its single eye.
"Hey! That was my food, kiddo!"
"I told you not to hunt any human. Why did you attack them?"
(Moving towards him, with a monstrous grin) "Be grateful I cannot devour you, or else not even your bones would remain!"
In a decent joking tone, waving his hand nayak said "Alright, alright. That's enough now."
Nayak tossed the dead meat of the bear that he had punched to death toward Rayasu.
"Here, eat this. This one died by my mistake, eat this."
"You're late. I've been hungry since yesterday. What happened that you didn't come?"
In a disheartened voice, looking at him he said,
"Rayasu, I don't think I can defeat him. I am still so weak."
While eating ha said, "Your father was a great and powerful warrior, and you are the heir to his strength.
Don't forget, you are the descendant of a great warrior! When the time comes, you will be the one to achieve victory."
When Anil Mahajan awoke, having completed his deep, exhausting sleep, it was already evening.
He came into the hall and asked his wife, Mamta, "Where is Aayu?"
Mamta replied that he was in his room.
Just as Anil began to move toward the room, Mamta spoke up, stopping him.
"He has already asked about him many many times. What answer will you give him?"
"Don't worry."
"I will handle him after all he is my son,Anil said with a smile but sadness in his eyes"
Saying this, Anil walked toward his son's room.
When he slowly opened the door, his son was lost in maths—who was none other than their 16-year-old son, Aayush.