Chief Yarul wiped the tears from his eyes and took a long, trembling breath.
"Kasha…" he whispered, voice breaking, "this story… is sixty years old. I was only eighteen. Young. Foolish. And full of pride."
Kasha moved closer, heart pounding.
"At that time," Yarul said, "our people lived far from this place.
The Yaksha Community."
He paused.
"We had been living there for almost 150 years. Strong. Thriving. Fearless."
Kasha listened silently.
"I wasn't alone," Yarul said. "I had three elder brothers—
Yug, Ryu, and Shyol.
The four of us were trained warriors."
Five days' journey from the Yaksha lived another group: the Lahul Community— fewer in number but hardworking, skilled, noble. The two tribes often traded with each other.
"One day," Yarul said, "my brothers and I went deep into the forest for hunting. The kind of hunt that takes a full week."
They went farther than ever before, following footprints, seeking prey.
As the forest grew denser, a dark cave appeared before them—ancient, silent, ominous.
"We needed shelter," Yarul said, "so we went inside."
The moment they entered, the darkness swallowed them.
Yarul lit a torch.
Its faint glow revealed horrors—
Piles of bones.
Animals.
Humans.
All half-chewed.
The four brothers exchanged frightened glances but chose to continue.
Yug and Ryu held spears at the front, ready.
Shyol and young Yarul followed, swords drawn.
"With every step," Yarul whispered, "our fear grew. Something was inside that cave… something watching us."
The cave seemed endless—until suddenly, they reached the end.
"There's nothing here," Yug sighed in relief.
But the relief lasted only seconds.
Yarul turned with the torch—
and froze.
Standing right behind him was a tiger.
Not an ordinary one.
A massive, monstrous beast:
7–8 feet tall
15–16 feet long
Half its face torn, bone exposed
Enormous tusk-like fangs
Eyes glowing with unnatural intelligence
The brothers could not move.
The torch trembled in Yarul's hand.
The tiger sniffed each of them slowly—circling them like a king deciding which subject to kill first.
Then, unexpectedly,
it walked to a corner…
and lay down.
As if bored.
"We saw our chance," Yarul whispered. "We tried to escape quietly."
They took slow steps toward the exit—
And suddenly—
Yarul's torch went out.
Pitch darkness swallowed everything.
Then—
A scream.
A horrible, choking scream.
"SHYOL!" Ryu shouted.
"Light the torch!" Yug yelled.
Yarul struck stones together desperately.
Sparks flew.
For an instant, a flash of orange light illuminated the cave—
And what he saw stayed in his nightmares forever.
The tiger stood on top of Shyol, its paw pressing his head to the ground.
With a slow, twisted pleasure, it extended its claws—
and slid them into Shyol's eyes.
Both eyes burst.
Blood streamed.
Shyol screamed until his voice broke.
"The tiger… it was enjoying it," Yarul whispered, trembling.
Enraged, the brothers attacked.
But the beast leaped behind them with superhuman speed.
It grabbed Ryu, dragging him into the darkness.
When Yarul's torch lit again, he saw Ryu on the ground—
The tiger slowly tearing open his stomach,
pulling out his intestines…
piece by piece.
Yug realized escape was impossible.
He grabbed the torch in one hand, his spear in the other.
"Run!" Yug yelled.
"YARUL, RUN!
RUN AND NEVER LOOK BACK!"
Tears streaming, Yarul sprinted toward the exit.
Behind him, he heard Yug scream—
but he didn't stop.
He burst out of the cave into daylight—
But froze.
The tiger was already there.
Waiting.
It had outrun him.
Yarul swung his sword in desperation—
but the beast caught it in its jaws
and tossed it aside like a toy.
It leaned close to Yarul's ear.
And in a deep, rumbling, human-like voice, it said:
"Tell Zin… that he will now suffer the consequences of his forefathers' deeds."
(Zin was Yarul's father, the then-Chief.)
Yarul's blood turned to ice.
Before he could react, his mind went black.
"When I woke up," Yarul whispered, "I screamed."
Doctors rushed in.
His father Zin held him tightly:
"Beta, calm down. I am here. You're safe."
But Yarul kept screaming—
"THE TIGER!
THE TIGER WILL KILL ME!"
They calmed him slowly.
Zin asked what happened.
Yarul told him everything.
The moment Zin heard the name "tiger"…
his face changed.
He looked terrified.
Truly terrified.
"The beast survived…" Zin muttered.
"This is bad. Very bad."
He called an immediate alert.
The entire Yaksha tribe was armed.
Zin announced,
"Tomorrow morning,
we hunt this creature.
It must die."