An unusual restlessness was working inside Mark's mind. Again and again, he kept whispering a single word to himself—
"Maskub…"
This new word kept circling inside his head, refusing to let him stay in peace. No matter how much he tried to distract himself, the word came back even stronger.
He fell into deep thought. Suddenly, his science teacher's words began to echo in his mind—
words he hadn't taken seriously before…
but now it felt like—
maybe his teacher had been right…
"Everything Sir said… could it all be true?"
This question filled his heart with a strange mixture of fear and curiosity.
With these thoughts, he made his way to the library.
Inside, the library was strangely silent. Outside, a gentle wind might have been blowing, but inside, it felt as if time itself had stopped. The smell of old books, the dusty pages arranged on wooden shelves—everything together made the place feel like a doorway to the past.
Mark slowly walked toward the shelves. His eyes were searching for something—though even he didn't know exactly what.
Suddenly, he found an old book.
The cover was torn, its color faded, but it felt like it held some unknown mystery within.
He opened the book and began to read.
As he turned the pages, his eyes suddenly froze on a particular line.
It said—
Once, in an ancient kingdom like Japan, a terrifying monster had attacked.
Mark's breathing slowly grew heavier.
He focused even more and continued reading—
This monster had been given a name by the people of ancient times—
Maskub.
The moment he read the word, a cold wave seemed to pass through his body.
The book described—
At that time, the monster could fly.
When its massive wings spread across the sky, they would block out the sunlight, casting shadows everywhere. It had completely destroyed a vast kingdom of Japan.
People used to call it a "dragon."
As it flew through the sky, it would sometimes travel as far as Europe. Its wings were so enormous that when fully spread, it felt as if the sky itself was breaking apart.
But the most surprising thing was—
it could often fly even without opening its wings.
Because of this strange ability, people created many different stories about it. Some believed it was a god, while others saw it as a curse.
There was something even more terrifying—
some people had supposedly used it for battles.
Mark's hands began to tremble.
He read again—
At that time, the size of this monster was only 15 to 20 feet.
"Only…?"
Mark whispered unconsciously.
A deep, silent fear began to build inside his chest.
He didn't close the book—instead, he wanted to know more.
He walked toward the shelves again and found another book.
This one was somewhat newer, but it still carried the heavy weight of history.
He opened it and started reading.
This time, the topic was—
World War II.
Page after page described how two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan by America—
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
As he read this, Mark's eyes widened.
His breathing became faster.
But what was written next—
shook everything inside him.
The book said—
After that devastating attack, a monster rose from the depths of the ocean…
A name—
the same name written in the ancient book…
Maskub.
Mark's throat went dry.
In a trembling voice, he slowly pronounced each syllable—
"Ma…sk…ub…"
The book continued—
At that time, the size of the monster had grown to 50 to 60 feet.
It carried out destruction with terrifying ease. Cities, ships—everything became insignificant before it.
Toward the end of World War II, humans launched attack after attack against it.
Bombs… weapons… fire…
Everything was used to stop it.
At last—
people believed
it had been destroyed.
Because its massive body sank beneath the water.
Everyone thought—
it was over.
But…
As Mark read the final lines of the book, his body went completely still.
It said—
"But no one knows… it will rise again."
The words seemed to echo through the silent library.
Mark sat frozen.
His eyes were on the page, but his mind had drifted far away—
toward an unknown, dark future.
Slowly, he whispered each word himself—
as if trying to understand the truth…
"It… will… rise… again…"
Outside, the wind had started blowing stronger.
The window glass trembled lightly.
Clouds gathered in the sky.
Nature itself seemed to be giving a warning of something approaching.
And Mark—sitting inside the library—
was slowly beginning to understand—
This was not just a story…
This…
was about to become reality. Mark suddenly noticed—his hands were trembling.
This was not an ordinary shake… it felt as if some unknown fear from deep inside was taking control of his body.
He looked at his hands and whispered softly,
"This… this can't be real… this is just a story… right?"
But even in his own voice, he found no comfort.
He couldn't stay in the library anymore. The heavy unrest inside his chest forced him to go बाहर.
He quickly walked out and got into a taxi.
The taxi slowly started moving through the city streets.
Outside, the environment was beautiful.
The sun was just about to set, spreading golden and orange light all around. A soft, cool breeze filled the air, trees by the roadside gently swayed, and people were busy with their daily lives.
This beauty…
This peaceful atmosphere…
For a moment, Mark stayed quiet and watched everything.
But the storm inside his mind did not stop.
"If everything is true… then how long will this peaceful world last…?"
This thought shook him from within.
Finally, he reached his home.
Evening was slowly falling. The light of the sky faded away, and darkness began to spread everywhere.
He opened the door and stepped inside.
He turned on the light.
A soft yellow glow filled the room—but even that light could not remove the darkness inside him.
He slowly walked into his bedroom.
Sitting beside his bed, he paused for a moment and took a deep breath…
Then he opened his laptop.
The screen lit up.
He searched on the internet—
"Mascube"
One second… two seconds…
Then, one after another, videos appeared in front of him.
In his eyes, curiosity and fear reflected together.
He clicked on one video.
The video began…
A deep voice was heard—
"Maskub… the origin of this creature is not something ordinary…"
Mark watched carefully.
The video showed—
Many years ago…
In the age of dinosaurs…
There were some massive dinosaurs—
who had started adapting to water…
Evolution…
Through this change, they gained the ability to survive underwater.
Slowly, they became creatures—
who could live both on land and in water.
And because of that…
When the great destruction happened…
when most life on Earth was wiped out…
Still…
some survived.
The voice in the video grew heavier—
"War… explosions… destruction… even in all of that, some creatures survived… and among them… one… the terrifying attacker of Japan… Maskub…"
Mark's eyes widened in shock.
Slowly, he said,
"So… this means… it has been alive for thousands of years…?"
His heartbeat grew faster.
But strangely—
even after knowing all this…
he started to feel a little calmer.
He sat quietly…
Thinking—
"How is all this possible…?
How were so many things hidden for so long…?"
A storm of questions rose inside his mind.
Meanwhile…
The scene changed—
Japan.
A part of Tokyo…
But the bright, lively city from before was no longer there.
The entire area looked empty.
Just by looking around, anyone could understand—
something terrible had happened here.
Smoke was rising from somewhere far away…
The sky was dark…
The air felt heavy…
On the ground lay lifeless bodies…
No one moved…
From a distance, cries could be heard—
People were screaming after losing their loved ones—
"No…! Get up… please get up…!"
"Don't leave me alone…!"
These cries felt like they were breaking the entire city apart.
At that moment, a media team arrived—
one that broadcasts live news every day.
The camera turned on…
Microphones were raised…
They began showing this horrifying scene to the whole world.
And right then—
We see Takashi.
He stood silently, watching everything.
There was deep thought in his eyes.
He said in his mind—
"In our Japan, an Indian man has come…
He came here to learn kung fu and karate…"
The scene shifted—
We see that man.
He was alone…
completely alone…
He was training hard.
Sometimes, he punched a stone pillar—
with such force, as if the stone would break.
Sometimes, he practiced martial arts at high speed…
Every movement of his was perfect and powerful.
Sometimes, he paused to rest—
But there was no tiredness in his eyes…
Instead, there was a strange determination.
Takashi's voice was heard again—
"They say… he is part of a team…
A team… that already knew… something big was coming…"
The scene grew deeper—
"So they have been training from before…"
Takashi kept thinking.
Questions rose in his mind—
"Who is this man…?
Why is he preparing so early…?
Does he know… something we don't…?"
His eyes stayed fixed on that man.
And the most mysterious thing—
We still don't know… what his name is.