"Where… where have I come?"
Chhadma looked around in shock.
Mountains.
Endless mountains in every direction.
Cold wind cut against his skin as reality slowly sank in.
Where did that man bring me? he wondered.
Suddenly—
Bzzzz.
His phone vibrated violently.
A notification flashed on the screen:
MOVE NORTH-EAST
Before he could react, the phone began releasing smoke.
The screen went dark.
This time, Chhadma didn't ignore it.
"How did this message come?" he muttered.
"And why?"
Curiosity replaced fear.
To find the truth behind this mystery, he decided to follow the instruction.
North-east.
He checked what little he had left—
some food and water, frozen solid like sticks of ice.
That was all.
He moved forward.
The journey turned brutal.
Sometimes he slipped into snow and struggled to pull himself out.
Sometimes he fell into icy water, his body going numb.
Still, he kept moving north-east.
Slowly, his resources disappeared—
food gone, water nearly finished.
Ahead of him stood a massive mountain, blocking the path entirely.
Exhausted.
Frustrated.
In pain.
Grinding his teeth, he began climbing.
Step by step.
Day after day.
Hunger burned inside him.
Thirst clawed at his throat.
Yet he climbed.
Finally, when he reached the top, his vision blurred—but then he saw it.
In the distance—
A city.
Or perhaps a large village.
Lights. Structures. Life.
Hope surged through him.
"Malari…" he whispered, smiling weakly.
"Maybe that's where I was meant to go."
Filled with relief, he stepped forward—
And the stone beneath his foot slipped.
His body lost balance.
He fell.
Sliding violently over snow and rocks, crashing again and again—
Until—
He plunged into a ravine.
Splash.
Cold water swallowed him.
Moments later, he dragged himself out of the pool, gasping.
Then he froze.
He was alive.
No broken bones.
No unbearable pain.
And stranger still—
Despite being deep below ground, he could see clearly.
There was no darkness.
He looked around.
It felt like a room.
Or a cave.
At the center stood a round stone structure, like a circular mill.
Carved into it were symbols—
letters written in an unknown language.
Chhadma stepped closer.
His heartbeat slowed.
Something about the place felt… awake.