This stone is unbreakable!" Virat yelled.
"That's impossible," Lekhaam exclaimed in astonishment. "The Dagger has the power to pierce anything either living or dead.
Virat had tried to break the stone with the Dagger countless times, but the key embedded within the red stone was visible, looking like a princess safe within an impenetrable fortress.
The question was simple: What was missing to break that red stone?
"It was a scorching, windless day.
Lekhaam and Virat ascended a hill from the west and came down the east side.
'Where are we headed?' Virat asked.
'This dagger was the only way to break that stone, but it failed.'
'I'll need some time to think about our next move. For now, I'm taking you to my place,' Lekhaam said."
Your place?' he asked, with a hint of surprise in his voice.
'What, do you think I live in a nest?' lekhaam said.
'No, I just figured you resided in your own personal dimension,' Virat joked."
Lekhaam gave a light chuckle. "It seems you're in the mood for jokes," he noted.
"Not really," he replied, "I was just trying to lighten the mood for both of us."
sidestepping a cluster of small stones.
Lekhaam picked up his pace slightly, then gazed intently at the space between two trees.
"Yes, here it is," Lekhaam declared
Lekhaam then began chanting a mantra. A faint blue speck slowly expanded until, in a flash, a large portal ripped through space.
"Come, I'll show you where I live," Lekhaam announced.
They arrived near the location where Lekhaam lived, but the portal had opened up a short distance away from his actual dwelling.
"Don't stop," Lekhaam commanded. "And keep following me."
Virat looked around, realizing he had probably never imagined a place like this, not even in his deepest dreams. It was daytime. Everything suggested a jungle, yet it was nothing like a jungle—there were no trees. Still, it wasn't a barren wasteland either. It was a place that could best be described as nothing, and yet, it was something truly astonishing.
The place where Lekhaam lived was unlike any actual place. It was not what Virat had imagined, nor was it anything he could ever have conceived of. It defied all expectations.
The sky was blue, but you couldn't simply say it was blue because it was constantly changing. He watched it for two moments: blue, then black, then yellow, then pink, deep grey, sometimes light purple, then a stark, lifeless white, and occasionally a rainbow of colors. If asked the color of the sky, one would have to say it was changing color every second.
But his confusion stemmed not from the constantly shifting sky, but from the breathing ground beneath his feet. As he walked, the ground vibrated strangely, as if he were walking on the belly of a giant creature that was drawing a breath, causing the surface to heave.
Not only was the air cold, but there was also a pervasive, thick fog.
Lekhaam was walking ahead of him.
Virat whispered, "I wish this portal had opened right where your house is."
"I told you," Lekhaam replied, "these portals open exactly where they first appeared, and nowhere else. We just have a bit further to go. Be patient."
"Understood," said Virat.
As Virat glanced around again, he saw a boy who instantly reminded him of someone. He wondered what a child could be doing in such a strange place. He stopped, and the boy was smiling.
He asked Lekhaam, "Who is that boy?" and turned to look at him, but Lekhaam had vanished.
It suddenly occurred to him that Lekhaam had told him, "Don't stop." But he had mixed Lekhaam's serious instruction in with their other general conversation, failing to grasp the urgency hidden in his tone.
When he looked back, the boy was also gone.
The daylight sky had abruptly turned into a night sky. Darkness had replaced the light. In place of the boy, there were now a few trees. Silence had replaced Lekhaam in such a way that when Virat called out for him, the reply was given in the form of deep quiet.
Virat panicked, but hidden within his fear was a single question: "Where am I?"
Unanswered questions are frustrating questions, and that frustration can be overwhelming.
This is especially true when you are trapped in a place where no one knows you, or perhaps, a place where no one is present at all—though which is harder to face is impossible to say. But either way, it was the 8,053rd day of the dark century that had just ended.
The darkness had become quite deep. It was the night that was passing, moving toward the morning.
Now, the ground had hardened, but there was no one around. Virat tried to look into the distance. In the darkness, he saw something gleaming—a silvery shine that illuminated the dark night. He quickly moved toward that glow.
However, as he approached the shine, and the scene became clearer, his excitement turned into fear.
Before him were some creatures, eating something, and the silvery glow emanated from them and everything around them.
These creatures looked like humans, yet they were not.
Some had a single horn.and one big eye.
Others had eight eyes and legs, like a spider.
Some were tall.
Some were terrifying, while others were strikingly beautiful.
A few had only legs and no arms.
Some creatures had only a large head and two arms.
Others looked like mere cloth—as if two eyes and a mouth had been drawn onto a piece of fabric.
Some creatures possessed only a single, colossal eye and had bodies like snakes.
There were even some whose faces lacked any features—no mouth, no nose, no lips, no eyes, and no ears; just a flat, empty head. Yet, these particular beings had a mouth opening situated directly on their stomach, a horrifying convenience for feeding.
Among this grotesque assembly, there was only one who looked somewhat "normal"—an old but very tall man. But even he had four arms and three legs. His third leg was right below his back, like the tail of an animal.
This sight was enough to compel anyone to tremble with fear.
Two thing they all had in common were this: they were all bathed in and illuminated by the silvery, moonlit glow and they all were devouring flesh.
A simple question, yet one profoundly complex, echoed in his mind:
"Who are these creatures, and what exactly am I doing here?"
Questions lead to answers.
The answers to some questions may arrive slowly, while others come quickly. This typically happens when the night is deep and silent, for the answer to the question is not given by another, but is found within oneself.