It had been four weeks since Param started his journey on the Gateway Island, and his experience can be described in two words- Bloody hell !!!

Unlike the Forbidden Forest, Gateway Island was filled with flora and fauna, with huge trees, huge birds and huge animals. Everything here was XL size. He had to be cautious every second lest someone took a bite out of him. The animals were totally fantasy type, and looked like hybrids of multiple earth creatures.

Like the monkey with lizard like scales, or the tiger-like creature with rhino-like armor. Even the plants were fantasy like. Light shone from the stems of some trees like an electronic circuit. It was beautiful and unreal.

The good thing was that he didn’t starve, thanks to some strange fruits. Some of them were ordinary looking, while some looked more like creatures. His favorite was a white colored fruit, which tasted like jelly.

He roamed the place and at a certain distance suddenly saw shining lines, as if an explosion had occurred. The light came from the middle of two humongous peaks. The valley was square U-shaped, as if someone had cleanly cut it. The two peaks seem to create a huge door. It seemed that these two peaks created the ‘gateway’ of the ‘Gateway Island’.

So, he should go there, right? Wrong! Although he is a protagonist, there are huge creatures with him in the forest who would love to take a bite from his ass- and other parts of his body.

But Param was also curious. Isn’t this the scene where the protagonist obtains a cheat-like treasure? Even though it sounded stupid, he was already in a fantasy world living like Mogali. It sounded logical to take a risk. What he needed right now was magic, not logic.

So with firm steps, he began his covert mission of ‘Extraction of Protagonist’s Cheat’. He walked, he turned left, he turned right, he hid, and he even almost wet his pants when he saw a big wolf like animal. Fortunately, although the animals came near him, they seem to turn away at the last moment.

He arrived at the gateway, and felt really stupid. As if there would be a treasure, he thought. Days of weariness and fatigue had made him stupid. He couldn’t be delusional, or else he would die.

The gateway was far from the centre of the island, and near to the coast in the direction of the Forbidden Island. Standing on one side , one could clearly see the Forbidden Island through the valley between the gateway peaks, as if it was really a gate to the Forbidden Island.

“Marvelous!” Param couldn’t help but praise the beautiful scenery seen from the Gateway, the evening skylight made the Island seem as if it were a resting place for Celestials.

Suddenly, he heard growls. After days of experience, he could tell his rowdy co-habitants were near. He sprinted away from the noise, trying to find a safe place for the night, like a cave or a hollow tree. Or even an abandoned nest of a huge bird. He searched and searched, until he saw something and froze.

There was an unconscious woman with shallow cuts over her entire body. ‘Am I really a protagonist ?’ Param would have thought something like this usually. But he couldn’t. Because the woman was lying inside a huge dent in a rock. Although she looked frail, with her slender shoulders, huge bust, and beautiful face, she was without a doubt, some kind of superhuman.

He looked at her for a few minutes, then eventually sighed.

“Forget it. I’m truly a good person” Of course he’d have ignored if it were someone other than a beauty.

He lifted her up. She was not heavy, and he noticed that she had long ears- like an elf.

“Truly a fantasy world” he sighed again. Carrying her, he wondered if this was a fantasy world or a wuxia world. Why this question ? According to logic, if this is a fantasy world, then she would become his girlfriend. And if this is a wuxia world, then the woman would be a mysterious hidden expert who would pass him some secret techniques through which he would reach the apex of the world.

Yes, Param was delusional. But maybe it was necessary for him to overcome the stress of being in an unfamiliar world.

Finding a cave, he took shelter and collected tree branches to create fire. Piling the branches in the cave, he began to create fire.

“Wait! How do I create fire?”

He tried rubbing the branches enthusiastically with his entire vigor with concentration. He toiled hard and sweat crazily and worked until his hands turned numb. He rubbed and rubbed and rubbed, until blisters formed on his palms. Until finally…

If it wasn’t for the luminous mosses in the cave, he’d have to spend the night in the dark.

The elf beauty was wrapped in straps of clothes which he took from the boar Varaha’s collection. That was the best he could do. After all, he was Param, not Bear Grylls.

Varaha, the self-proclaimed sovereign of the Forbidden Forest finally returned to his territory, where he first met his new buddy.

Near the rock which was technically Param’s mother was another creature. It was huge and made out of Profound Energy like the boar Varaha. Its body was like a swan- a combat type swan to answer correctly. It sensed Varaha who was behind it but remained silent, and continued to stare at the rock, like gazing into a mystery.

Varaha did not speak. He knew his new buddy was special, and there was a reason why he sent him out before his other siblings could reach Param.

“So you truly want this.” The swan Hansa turned around and finally spoke.

“Yes. Someone has to break this stalemate.” Varaha replied her.

“There is no need for heroes.” She said calmly.

“Indeed. The world can and will move on, either with or without these symbolic people. But there must be someone to succeed the legacy.”

“It will only create more sorrow. Creatures can easily change. Can you guarantee that it(Param) will not fall victim to lust, greed and anger ?”

Varaha remained silent for a while then suddenly said-

“Do you remember what the Progenitor once spoke?”

“What?” Hansa furrowed her brows like a human.

“ Focus on the sure actions, not on the unsure results. Because if the results are not as per your expectations, pain is unavoidable.

He said to never consider yourself to be the cause of the results, as results are not solely depends on your efforts.

He also said to not attach yourself to inaction.”

Hansa looked at her brother gently. She too remembered what the Progenitor, their Creator had said.

Finally, she spoke no more, and departed, flying into the vast skies.

It was almost dawn. Faint breathing noises could be heard from a small, remote cave in the vast Gateway Island. Two comical figures could be seen sleeping inside the cave.

One was a ridiculously white young man around 18, draped in purple robe like clothes. The robe would’ve looked luxurious, if not for the many small holes all over the robe.

The other was a beautiful woman, except her entire body was covered in cloth patches of various colors. She almost looked like a dumpling, or a rainbow colored cocoon.

Param’s eyes moved rapidly under his eyelids- he was dreaming.

Param was 3 years old and his father was teaching him alphabets.

“You write A like this.” His father showed him and told him to write. Little Param wrote a clumsy A and showed his dad.

Slap! His father slapped him after watching his A and shouted:

“Is this how you write an A? Are you stupid?”

He showed again and told the kid to write again. After seeing the ‘improper’ A he slapped the kid again. Then he cursed and showed him how to write an A again. This show went on until his dad got hungry. His mother, who was silently watching the show silently served him food.

Years later, Param and his family went to Param’s 3 year old nephew’s house. His father became happy and played and joked around with the kid. He did not notice that Param was confused, angry, and sad.

At early dawn Param woke up. It was not because he was an early riser, rather because almost every animal in the forest was screaming and roaring after waking up.

He looked after the beauty, and after confirming she was alright headed to find breakfast.

An hour later, he returned to the cave and was shocked. There were only cloth patches lying in the cave. The beauty was gone!

“Shit” he exclaimed. Was she eaten up as a morning snack?

He looked around and saw his target. She was slowly walking away, looking around curiously like a child.

“Hey, beauty!” he ran towards her and called her out. She turned around, the morning sun behind her illuminating her.