SFX: A strange ringing echoes faintly.
This is where it began. Dev was frozen in fear. Suddenly, a voice rang in his ears, "What are you looking at? Run, Dev!"
Hearing the voice snapped him out of his daze. When he turned around, he saw a boy running toward him—being chased by a herd of massive bull-like monsters. The boy had called out to Dev while running for his life. Dev quickly came to his senses and started running alongside him.
As they ran, the boy and Dev ended up side by side. There was something familiar about the boy's face, but Dev was too focused on escaping to think about it.
Dev asked, "Why are they chasing you?!"
"Just… a small mistake," the boy replied.
"What kind of mistake gets an entire herd after you?!"
"Not the time to explain. Just keep running!"
They sprinted together until they reached the end of a valley. In front of them stood a massive cliff wall as tall as a mountain, rugged and steep. Luckily, they noticed five small cave-like holes scattered across the wall. The closest one was high up, but their only hope.
They both started climbing. Dev was more agile and climbed up faster. Once he reached the cave, he looked down and shouted, "Come on! Hurry up!"
Just then, one of the bull beasts slammed into the cliff with its head, shaking everything. The boy lost his grip—but Dev caught his hand just in time and pulled him up.
"You can't even climb properly," Dev muttered.
He helped the boy into the cave. "You stay here. I'll go further up and check the other caves. Thanks to you, I couldn't carry more of my beasts with me. We don't know how long those bull monsters will hang around."
Dev climbed up and explored the other caves. Most were empty, but the final one surprised him. It was much larger—and inside it, he found a huge egg. At first, he didn't understand. Then it clicked—this must be the nest of some kind of flying beast.
Dev didn't waste time. He surrounded the egg with soil and set a controlled fire, enough to warm it but not destroy it. After waiting an hour, he carefully poked a hole in the egg and used a hollow stick to drink the fluid inside.
A notification popped up on his system:
"You have consumed the egg of a Gigantic Flying Lizard . You gain 5 Sacred Level Points."
He returned to the other cave.
"Hey," Dev asked, "why exactly are those bulls after you?"
The boy hesitated, then said, "I caught and ate one of their calves. Now they know."
Dev looked at him seriously. "You do realize these beasts would die for their young, right? That means we're stuck here for a while."
One moment stood out—
"You know," the boy said, "You remind me of a friend I had once. His name was Dev. I don't know where he is now, but he was my best friend."
Dev froze in place.
"Bro?" the boy said, confused. "What happened?"
Dev's voice cracked, "Sumit?"
Sumit stared back in shock. "Wait... are you Dev?!"
Dev's eyes welled up. He thought he had no one left. But here, out of nowhere, was his best friend from 8th grade.And Also His Father is My Father's Good friend
"Where have you been all this time?! You just disappeared," Dev asked.
Sumit looked down. "Dad had to move back to the village for property matters. We stayed there. What about you? You had your parents. What are you doing here on Titan?"
Dev's smile faded. "They died... in an accident."
Sumit paused, then softly said, "I'm sorry, bro. But hey, which base are you from?"
"Ashoka," Dev replied.
"Nice. Then I'll just join your base. Feels right to be with my best friend."
Over the next couple of days, they laughed, cried, shared memories. Dev even told Sumit about the secret dollar-based power he had. Sumit was thrilled. "Dude, I was such a fan of that guy—and it was you all along?!"
"By the way," Dev continued, "did you find anything up top?"
"Yeah, something useful… want some?" Dev joked, sharing the egg remains.
They both gained 10 Sacred Points in total. Their bond grew stronger. Over the next two days, they shared stories, food, and jokes."Don't tell anyone yet," Dev said. "I'll reveal it when the time's right."
Three or four days later, the bull beasts finally left. Dev and Sumit continued their journey together. After six more days, they finally reached Ashoka Base.
By then, Dev's beast point count had reached the required threshold for a Mutant Level upgrade. Sumit's basic level was complete, and his mutant level was half full.
As Dev entered the base, he met Sagar. Sagar began recounting Dev's story. But Sumit didn't Know Who is he and interrupted. Sagar got irritated and attacked Sumit, injuring him.
Seeing his friend hurt, Dev snapped. He attacked Sagar.
They clashed. At first, Sagar had the upper hand, but Dev's rage took over. He beat Sagar down—hard.
Just as Dev was about to strike the final blow—SFX: Arrow whizzes!—an arrow flew past.
It was Munna. He had drawn his bow at Dev.
"You think someone like you can challenge me?!" he shouted.
Dev immediately raised his own bow. Tension filled the air.
Munna realized if he shot first, he'd still be hit. He started panicking, looking for an excuse.
Then, a firm voice rang out: "How dare you?!"
Shivani appeared.
"Put your bows down. Both of you."
Munna growled, "You're taking his side over me?!"
"I'll do anything for my team," Shivani declared.
She grabbed Dev by the arm and pulled him away. Sumit followed silently.
Rumors spread fast across the base.
Everyone was surprised—Shivani, a squad leader, had publicly defended Dev. But Dev wasn't even registered as part of her team.
Soon, they entered an official military office.
What will Shivani say in front of the higher-ups?
Why did she call Dev her man when he technically wasn't under her command?
To be continued…