As Salim receives the message, he suddenly puts it inside his pocket, hiding it from the villagers, but some truths can never be hidden for long.
As he sat down at the breakfast table, he saw a mysterious man at the window looking at him.
He ignored him and started eating.
Salim asked, "What dish is this? It's wonderful."
The old grandmother replied, "This is paneer butter masala. I made it."
"Thanks, Grandma. I appreciate it."
"But I don't appreciate what you did last night!"
"What did I do?"
"You looked at the storm and got a warning from God."
"What makes you think that?"
"We know. Everyone in the town knows, because all of us got a chit that says:
SALIM WAS WATCHED AND MARKED BY GOD."
Salim hesitated. "What does that even mean?"
"That means you are going to die tonight, so I think you should leave!"
"What makes you so sure, Grandma, that I am going to die tonight?"
"The thing that makes me sure is that in the past eleven years, a total of twelve people died after doing what you did, and we all got chits about them too, which means you will die tonight."
"Okay, fine. If I do, then I do, but if I don't, I want paneer butter masala for breakfast tomorrow too, because I am not going to die."
"Bold answer. Let's see what happens to you."
Salim got up, and as he walked toward the archery academy, he noticed a shadow behind him, following him from the old grandmother's house.
He ignored it and thought it was a coincidence, but maybe he was wrong.
He entered the academy and was shocked. The academy had more than a hundred students, incredible facilities, and it was so well polished that it looked like he had stepped into the future.
On the wall hung a giant portrait of Guru Acharya Ji.
Salim noticed something terrifying:
The eyes in the portrait were the same red eyes he had seen inside the tornado.
He saw a man coming closer, but Salim sensed a terrifying amount of energy from him.
"Hi, I am Arjun Acharya," the man said.
"Acharya Ji's son."
ORANGE EMPEROR.
"Hi, I am Salim."
UNHUMAN BEING.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, Salim. I've heard quite a lot about what you did in Verdant Path."
"It wasn't me. It was my partner."
"No. It was you who defeated Thorne Valric."
"I wouldn't say I defeated him, but yeah, kind of."
"Salim, you are strong, and for someone like you to die today would be a complete waste. That's why leave this town as soon as possible, and if you don't, we may have a sad day tomorrow."
"I won't leave the town, not because I am brave, but because I am here to put an end to the tornado."
Arjun turned serious.
"You will bring an end to the tornado? You little piece of shit! I will accept you only if you can hit the Shot of Miracle."
"What's that?"
"A shot where you are blindfolded, and with the power of your hearing you must hit a tiny dot across a kilometer. Between you and the target there are obstacles, fake sounds, and moving objects, and the chance of making the shot is one in a million. Good luck."
"Has anyone done that before?"
"No, except me."
Salim failed a thousand times.
It was now 6 PM.
Everyone was running inside their homes.
Salim stood alone in the middle of the road, watching the storm approach the town, but this time there was chanting coming from inside it.
He saw a silhouette holding a bow.
The silhouette released an arrow.
The arrow landed one centimeter from Salim's eye.
Attached to it was another message:
"LAST WARNING."