Episode 10 - The Divine Destiny
The roar of the waterfall was the only sound in the world as the people of Sinhalaya gasped for air, waking from their unnatural slumber. The terror of the giant snake, Kokaksha, still lingered in their minds, but the serpent had vanished behind the curtain of crashing water, leaving only questions in his wake.
Momo stood apart from the crowd, his hand pressed against his waist, feeling the cold, hard surface of the blue gem hidden there. He looked at the faces of his friends—Rebaku, Zoga, Siha, and Hoyo. They were alive, but the fear in their eyes was real.
"The air is getting hotter," Rebaku grunted, wiping sweat from his brow. "The lava is moving again."
"We cannot go back," Subudho, the wise elder, declared, his voice cutting through the panic. "The Guiding Rock spoke of a cave to the north. Our salvation lies upward, not backward."
The journey was grueling. The lush green of the forest gave way to gray jagged rocks. The heat from the molten lava below rose like a fever from the earth, singeing the hair on their arms. Yet, driven by the instinct to survive, they climbed until they reached a high, flat plateau where the air was thin and cold.
There, carved into the mountain's face, was a cave mouth that looked like the throat of a beast. And guarding it sat a figure that seemed as old as the mountain itself.
His hair was a cascade of white, pooling on the ground like melted snow. He sat motionless, eyes closed, yet his presence was heavier than the gravity around them.
"We seek the one who knows the Moon," Subudho said, bowing low.
The man’s eyes snapped open. They were not cloudy with age, but burning with a fierce, golden light. "The rock sent you," he rumbled, his voice vibrating in their chests. "But the rock does not fight your battles. Only the strong may pass."
He stood, his muscles coiling under his skin like twisted iron roots. "I am Vrudh. Defeat me, and I will give you the answers you seek."
Rebaku stepped forward, his pride flaring. "I lift mountains," he growled. "I do not fear an old man."
The clash was earth-shattering. Rebaku charged with the force of a bull, but Vrudh moved like water. Every time Rebaku struck, he hit only air. Vrudh seized Rebaku’s wrist—a wrist that could crush stones—and twisted it with terrifying precision. For an agonizing hour, they fought. Dust clouded the air. The ground cracked. Finally, Rebaku, battered and exhausted, realized he could not overpower the master. Instead, he dropped his guard and embraced Vrudh, pinning the old man’s legs not with violence, but with a desperate, unyielding hold.
"Yield!" Rebaku roared, tears of exertion mixing with sweat.
Vrudh laughed—a dry, crackling sound. "Good. Strength without heart is violence. Strength with heart is justice."
He helped Rebaku up. "Sit. Listen to the truth of your world."
Vrudh looked at the five friends. "You believe you are cursed because you tried to catch the Moon. You think the bats and the crocodiles and the lava are punishments."
"Are they not?" Hoyo whispered.
"No," Vrudh’s face darkened. "They are symptoms of a war. The Flying Mountain has fallen. A demon from the void, a creature of pure hunger named Tamas, has invaded the sacred realm. He has enslaved the animals and poisoned the roots of the mango trees. Kokaksha, the Serpent King, fled not to hide, but to protect the source of the Shivika river from Tamas's touch."
A heavy silence fell over the plateau.
"Then... the curse?" Momo asked.
"It was a forge," Vrudh said, pointing a finger at them. "Fate knew Tamas was coming. The Moon’s anger, the attacks, the struggle—it was all destined. If you had not fought the Moon, you would be too weak to fight a demon. If you had not faced death, you would not know how to live. You were not punished, children of Sinhalaya. You were prepared."
Momo felt a shiver run down his spine. The naughtiness, the mistakes, the pain—it was all leading to this moment.
"The Moon weeps because she cannot land," Vrudh whispered. "Drive out the darkness, and the light will return. You must climb the waterfall. You must enter the domain of the Demon."
A Flying Mountain
