The gorge was narrow and steep ,it rocky walls swallowing the sunlight until only shadows remained. Two figures moved cautiously along the jagged path, their boots crunching against loose gravel. Both were dressed in black, their clothes plain yet practical-made for travel, not for style.
One of them, a man with a thick moustache, wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered,
"Man, why did guruji send us through this path? He said this is where we'll find the fruit of our long wait. I and the other six have been waiting for so long... but honestly, I barely understand half of what Guruji says. Most of the time, his word fly right over my head. Ha! Well what about you. Ah... forget it. What can a donkey understand about black letters anyway?"
He chuckled at his own joke, though the swelling around his left eye made his expression look more pitiful that amused.
His companion, a clean-shaven man, did not laugh. his jaw tightened as he said sharply,
"Enough, Raj. Do you even know how much farther we have to go? The map is with you, isn't it?"
Raj blinked and tapped his pocket awkwardly.
"Yes... it's with me. But I kind of... forgot to check."
"Forgot?" Raj's nostrils flared. His jaw twitched with irritation, as though he was forcing himself not to explode in anger again.
before their argument could grow, the earth suddenly trembled. A deafening crash echoed from above, and both men instinctively looked up. Something was falling from sky.
it wasn't a rock. Not debris.
It was a body-wrapped in flickering, glowing hands of light, as though unseen forces were crying it down. With a final burst of energy, the figure crashed into the ground, dust exploding around it.
The two men rushed forward cautiously. Through the settling haze, they saw a young boy lying motionless, his clothes torn, his body bruised and bleeding. His chest heaved faintly.
"He alive" Ravi exclaimed, crouching beside him. "Raj, look-it's just a kid!"
The boy groaned, trying to push himself up, but collapsed again. Raj knelt down and checked his pulse.
"He'll survive. Weak, but alive."
Together, they lifted hm onto a flat rock. Ravi tore a strip from his wounds, while Raj sprinkled water over his face. slowly, the boy's eyelids fluttered open.
Kaal blinked, his blurry gaze meeting the two stranger leaning over him. He struggled to sit up clutching his ribs. His voice come out hoarse but direct:
"Why... why did you save me? I'm a stranger to you. No one risks their for a stranger."
The two man exchanged a look. For a moment, silence lingered between them. Then Ravi smirked faintly and replied,
"Our Guruji taught us one thing: whether it benefits us or not, we never turn our backs when someone needs help. We swore an oath. Life may go... but the vow must remain."
Kaal froze. His chest tightened, his mother's voice echoing in his head. He whispered, almost to himself,
"my mother used to say the same thing... life may go, but the vow must not."
raj's stern face softened. He leaned closer and asked gently,
"where is your mother now?"
Kaal's eyes fell to the ground. His voice trembled.
"She's gone... someone killed her. One day... one , I'll kill him in return."
Ravi frowned. "who was it?"
Kaal's fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms. For a long moment he stayed silent, then finally muttered,
"I don't know his name... but there was a mark on his head. The skull of a goat."
The words hit like a thunderclap. Ravi and raj stiffened. They turned toward each other, eyes wide with grim recognition.
Raj's voice dropped to a whisper, heavy as stone.
"That was... the supreme."