This place is called the Land of Death. No… it is not just a name—it is a cursed city.
Thousands of years ago, a series of tragic and cruel events unfolded here, and because of that, the entire empire was struck by a terrible curse. In this land, all forms of injustice are punished, yet no one dares to rise against it. No one has ever been able to stand before those who enforce its law.
Because of these problems, the entire kingdom came under the rule of a being known as the Shadow King. The ruler of this shadow empire is Miruthan, a cruel and feared tyrant.
Even the bravest warriors tremble at the mention of his name. Very few have ever seen him directly. Because of this, escaping this kingdom is extremely difficult. The elders warned us to be careful. They said:
"If the warriors see you, they will not leave you alive. Be cautious."
But we had no choice.
Soon, we realized we had been trapped somewhere unknown. After that, we entered a forest. Since we had no food, we went hunting inside the woods.
While we were hunting, suddenly a strange power surrounded us. Only then did we realize—they were the warriors of the Shadow King, Miruthan.
Before we could react, both of us were captured and taken away. We were thrown into an underground prison. We could not escape.
They kept us separated in different cells. Days passed in confusion and fear. We did not understand where we were or why we were imprisoned.
We kept questioning everything:
"Why is this happening? Who is Miruthan? Why is he so cruel?"
We had no answers.
One day, we were moved into the same prison cell as another man. That is when we learned the truth.
The kingdom was called Sengol, ruled by a king named Pingalan. It was once protected by a great warrior named Sengunran, the royal protector of Sengol.
But Miruthan attacked the kingdom, killed the king, and took control of everything. No one knows why he did it.
When Sengunran tried to stop him, even he was killed. After that, Miruthan built this entire dark empire.
We also learned something horrifying.
We were imprisoned here to be sacrificed to a mystical deity called Arka. We did not understand why, but it was true—we were going to be offered as sacrifices in this underground prison.
That man warned us:
"Escape if you can. Otherwise, you will die like the rest."
Fear filled our hearts.
But we refused to accept death.
After a week, we attacked the guards together and somehow managed to escape. We ran into the forest and hid inside a cave.
Our bodies were badly injured. Soldiers searched for us everywhere, but we stayed silent, not even breathing loudly. Magical creatures were also used to track us, but we survived by hiding deep inside the cave for nearly twenty-five days.
During that time, our condition became worse.
At that moment, Parivendhan went deep into the forest and collected medicinal herbs without being seen. He treated both of us, and slowly our health recovered.
After that, we made a decision.
"Hiding is no longer enough. We must fight."
We then set out to find a mysterious sage we had heard about earlier. After searching for a long time, we finally found him.
That is when we learned the truth of this kingdom.
There were eight major kingdoms surrounding this land. All of them served under Miruthan's empire. People believed he was the supreme ruler, and every kingdom waited for his command.
We also learned that based on ancient law, rulers were given authority according to the number of territories they controlled.
Some ruled four regions, some fifteen—but all power ultimately came under Miruthan.
Everything was governed by a sacred law book, and even kings followed it blindly.
So we decided:
"We will not hide anymore. We will stand and fight."
We met a warrior named Singha and told him everything. After hearing our story, he joined us.
We promised him:
"We will help you rise to the throne."
Those words deeply influenced him. From that moment, Singha began to trust us.
We started gathering information from him. Slowly, we learned the full structure of this empire and its injustice.
People were suffering. Tears were everywhere. Cruelty was normal here.
We could not stand it anymore.
So we brought Singha and his men under our control—not through fear, but through purpose. We convinced them that change was necessary.
Then we asked Singha only one thing:
"We want to know the complete truth of this land—without hiding anything."
At that moment, someone stepped forward.
He pointed toward a man.
And then we saw him.
It was none other than the Schemer… the Strategist.
He was standing there.
Doing something we could not understand.
We both froze for a moment in shock.