After severe turbulence, I felt a profound sense of relief when our flight landed at Kathmandu International Airport in Nepal. Elaine released her grip of my hand, and she looked relieved. "God saved us and kept us safe." She said.
"God would be pretty busy if his intervention is required to land every plane!" I said sarcastically but then quickly added in "But I am happy that we landed unharmed. I was afraid as well up there. This was the worst flight I have been on."
"Well, I need to believe that someone is looking after me. Whether god is real or not is irrelevant to me." Elaine replied.
"Agreed. Let's get our stuff and get out of this plane as fast as possible. I can't wait to get some fresh air." I said, and we made our way out of the plane.
***
A few hours later, we were in Kathmandu, and I wondered what I had gotten myself into. The weather was hazy, and the city was full of smog. Pollution in Kathmandu was terrible, due to the city being in a valley, preventing the winds from clearing the pollutants. I had experienced a few days like this in Sydney during the massive bushfires of 2019, but most days the air quality of Sydney was rather good.
"Hey, let's take some selfies over there, at the Hanuman Dhoka Palace," Elaine said excitedly. I obliged. Although it felt a bit wasteful to cover two-thirds of the picture with our faces, it is what people are doing these days. After taking many pictures, to make sure that we looked presentable, I snapped some photos of the buildings themselves. They were, after all, one of the reasons for us to come here.
After doing sightseeing for a couple of hours, we decided to have a traditional Nepalese dinner. We ended up having a Dhal Bhat Tarkari, mostly because it was the national dish of Nepal. The flavour was unremarkable but palatable.
It felt strange and a bit underwhelming to finally be in Nepal. I had wanted to walk in the Himalayas, the roof of the world, for many years. But the city of Kathmandu reminded me of any Asian city, crowded, noisy and polluted. Oh well, a couple of days here and then we would find an enjoyable hiking tour and celebrate Elaine's birthday hiking in the mountains. A good celebration.
I wondered what had made Elaine want to come here. I had wanted to go for the last few years, but she had refused as she thought it was too dangerous. I decided to bring up the topic.
"Hey, babe. How come you changed your mind about hiking in the Himalayas?" I said.
"Well, I wanted to give you something that you wanted for your 35th birthday," Elaine replied.
"Thanks, but you thought it was too dangerous when I suggested it earlier years?" I asked.
"I still think it's too dangerous. But I don't want to lose you like I almost did when you travelled to Egypt on your own. At least now we are facing danger together." Elaine replied.
"Thank you, babe. Let's get back to the hotel and rest. We can look for a proper tour company tomorrow. "I replied.
Having said this, we paid our bill and headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
***
The following day, we headed out to find a suitable tour company for our hiking tour. When we were looking for a tour agent, Elaine spotted a jewellery shop, exclaimed "I'll check out that shop!" and then she ran off.
I sighed. If Elaine had shown that much enthusiasm when we were playing sports, our mixed Futsal team would have a lot more success! I caught up with her inside the shop. "What are you looking for, Elaine?" I said
"I am looking for some unique Nepalese jewellery to add to my jewellery collection." Elaine said happily.
"Okay, but I am not paying for any jewellery!" I replied dismissively.
"Don't worry. I didn't expect you to. There must be cobweb covering your wallet considering how rarely you open it. "Elaine said and smirked.
I was about to say something when I checked my wallet and there indeed was cobweb! Fair call, Elaine!
"Oh, I love this one!" Elaine said joyfully and pointed at a blue gemstone.
I stared at the gemstone in disbelief. Could it be? Yes, it must be the same type of gemstone that I had bought in Egypt, which activated an interdimensional portal.
Suddenly, I felt numbness in my arm, and as I studied my tattoo it became a vibrating three-dimensional blue hologram. What was going on, and why had we come to this place?
I was brought back to reality when the shop attendant approached us. It was the same man that I had met in Egypt the previous year, although he now wore a traditional Nepalese outfit.
"How can I help you, miss?" the man said to Elaine.
"I love this blue sapphire. How much is it?" Elaine asked
"For you, my lovely lady, the price is 10,000 Nepalese Rupee!" the man said with a broad grin.
"Okay, hold on. "Elaine replied. She turned towards me and spoke again: "How much is that, Martin?"
"Uhm around 120 Australian Dollars," I replied distantly.
"Oh. Okay" Elaine turned towards the vendor and spoke, "I'll give you 7000 rupees for the gemstone."
The man shook his head and replied. "The price just went up; the price is now 15,000 rupees!"
The man's response gave me a déjà vu. This was definitely the same guy that I had met the previous year. No other seller increased the price like that when a customer tried to haggle!
"What? No, I don't want it anymore!" I could hear Elaine say.
I realised that I had to get that crystal. It was the key to finding out what really happened to me last year.
"I'll take it. Here are 15,000 rupees." I shouted and took out the money from my wallet.
"I said 50, not 15" the man replied snidely.
"Whatever, mate. Here is the 50,000. I need that crystal. "I urged as I put the wad of cash on the counter.
"Excellent! It is all yours." The man said joyfully.
"Not so fast. Martin, what the fuck are you doing? Why are you paying a fortune for that blue gemstone?" Elaine interrupted.
The salesman who seemed keen to get the sale added in. "Don't worry, miss. Because you are such a lovely couple, I'll throw in two free hiking tour tickets in the price. "
Hearing this, Elaine grumbled, but she didn't say anything, and we left the small shop with our gemstone and two tour tickets, 600 dollars poorer.
The rest of our day in Kathmandu consisted of Elaine being unhappy about my purchase, which she repeatedly made very clear.
***
The following morning, we met up outside a small tour operator in Kathmandu. We were going to Nagarkot where we would do our mountain hiking. We were on a small group tour and in the minibus to the mountain site, I did something out of character. I spoke to all the participants on the trip. Accompanying us on the day tour were the following people:
• Rajesh, our bubbly Nepalese tour guide and driver.
• Ben and Szymon Yehuda: two Israeli brothers who were on a break from their compulsory military service.
• Pierre Beaumont, a Swiss banker who was passionate about mountain hiking.
• Jorge Santiago and his young daughter Sandra from Mexico.
• Josefina Fiero: A Brazilian femme fatale, whose exceptional body I had to avoid staring at in Elaine's presence.
• James Winter: An American army type of guy who didn't seem to speak much.
• Vladimir Kravchenko: A Russian of few words, whose presence gave me the creeps.
I was having an exciting time altogether until an avalanche struck our bus, causing it to drive off a cliff. After free-falling for a couple of second everything turned black.
***
I woke up in a strange undescriptive realm. It reminded me of my visit to the Divine Dimension the previous year, but things were different. Instead of feeling like I was in the future, I felt like I was stuck in the past. I saw a lot of haunting spirits passing by me, but they didn't seem to notice me at all. Was this the afterlife? It seemed likely. Our tour bus had fallen off a cliff, and I had been standing in the middle of the aisle gossiping when it happened. So, my odds for survival didn't seem that great. "Oh well, we all got to go some time," I said to myself to avoid panicking.
"Martin. Martin. Martin. Wake up! Please!" I heard echoing, over and over. The world around me started to fade and I woke up with a terrible headache and my body covered in blood. Elaine was kneeling next to me and she stared at me in awe when I opened my eyes.
"Martin! You are alive. It's a miracle. "She exclaimed.
I got up on my knees, and I realised that I had been lying in a puddle of blood, my own blood, which had melted the snow around me. How had I survived that? I checked in my pocket, and I took out the sapphire crystal that I had bought the previous day. It was dull now, not the lustrous gemstone it had been the day before. Had the crystal saved my life? The idea was far-fetched, but what better explanation was there?
"Oh, you are alive?!" I heard an Israeli voice exclaiming in wonder. It was Ben Yehuda's voice.
"Yes, the afterlife can wait for a bit longer!" I replied.
"Not much longer unless we do something, I am afraid." Ben Yehuda replied gravely.
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Because we travelled with an unsanctioned tour and severe weather is on the way. No-one knows that we are here. We need to find shelter, or we'll freeze to death. "Ben stated.
"Ping, Ping, Ping" something inside my head was pinging like a radar, and it was indicating where I was meant to go. I got up on my feet and shouted out: "Follow me! I know the way to a nearby cave, where we can sit out the storm!"
Everyone stared at me in awe. Apparently, my return to the living was the miracle of the day. But they all followed me, probably due to lack of other option.
The freezing blizzard got stronger, and it chilled me to the bone. We hadn't prepared for anything like this. Nepal was mild in May, even in the mountains so we must have gotten caught up in extreme weather. "Keep going, or you'll die" I heard my inner voice say repeatedly.
"Keep going, leave no-one behind!" I shouted, and I got back to Elaine who was straggling behind to make sure that she kept up with group.
The pinging in my brain got increasingly more intense until it was too much for me, and I collapsed to the ground. As I fell to the ground, I grabbed a stone, which turned out to be the lever to open a hidden path. We stared in amazement as a stairway down appeared from nowhere.
Wearing thin jackets in a freezing cold blizzard, we didn't ponder for long, and we all rushed down to the caverns below.
***
"We made it!" Pierre Beaumont exclaimed in relief.
"Is everybody here?" Ben Yehuda wondered.
"My daddy is missing!" Sandra Santiago whimpered.
I looked around. It seemed like Sandra was correct. Her father Jorge, and our guide Rajesh were both missing. Out of the two, Jorge was the most important person. We had a seven-year-old girl desperate for her father, who was in grave danger in the terrible conditions outside. We needed to act, but I was powerless to do anything. The adrenaline rush had receded from my body and the damages were taking out its toll on me. I needed to rest, but I feared that I would not wake up if I fell asleep.
"I'll go look for them!" Vladimir Kravchenko said.
"In these conditions? Are you insane?" Pierre Beaumont objected.
"I am not some wimpy Swiss banker. I am a survivor. The things that I had to do to survive in Siberia. "Vladimir hissed back.
The room went silent. After a few seconds, Vladimir grabbed his bag and he went upstairs into the raging blizzard to look for the others.
I looked around. Elaine and Josefina were trying to comfort the inconsolable Sandra. But I had my own fears. "Elaine, come here!" I shouted weakly. Elaine directed her attention towards me, rushed over and looked concerned. "Martin, you're so pale!" Elaine said.
"Yes, I must sleep. But I am afraid. I need you to look after me, to make sure that I don't die in my sleep." I said wheezingly.
"Okay, I'll watch over you. I'll pray for you!" Elaine said with a solemn voice.
"Okay, baby. I love you." I said, and I let go, falling into unconsciousness.
***
"You cannot die. You need to serve me. This will be the beginning of your new life!" I heard a terrifying voice saying.
I opened my eyes, and I was in the cave that I had fallen asleep in hours earlier. But the cave was empty. What was going on? "Where is everyone?" I shouted in panic.
"Muahaha. You're asking the wrong question. The question you should ask is, where are you?" The menacing voice replied.
"So, where am I?" I replied.
"You're between the afterlife and the realm of the living. In another dimension. That dimension is an exact copy of your dimension but devoid of all life." The voice replied.
"And who are you?" I shouted.
A mirage appeared in the room. It was a terrifying humanoid creature. The creature stood at around two metres tall, with sharp claws, fangs, a ripped muscular physique, and glowing purple eyes.
"I am Rangda Kaliankan. I have arrived to bring a new era of greatness to humanity. And you'll be my envoy." Rangda replied.
"Rangda? The Zetans warned me about you!" I replied in confusion
"Oh, really? Did they?" Rangda chuckled and then continued with an aggressive hateful tone: "Where are the Zetans now, that you are hanging on the thread to your life? Who is here to protect you from the dark void of death? I am! You serve me, or you die!"
The fear of my own mortality gripped me and made me succumb to Rangda's command. "I'll serve you. Please help me!" I whimpered.
Hearing this, Rangda's face lit up with a malicious evil grin, and her purple eyes sparkled in excitement. "Excellent. Remember the sequence I am about to show you. Behind these walls there are nine ancient artefacts. One for each of you, as fate has made it. Take one each, and your minds will expand, and you'll find the way to true greatness. "
***
I woke up to the sound of James Winter and Vladimir Kravchenko arguing. Bloody fools, not even under these circumstances could they refrain from arguing politics. As my mind cleared, I could hear what they were saying.
"That is Rajesh's jacket! Where is he?" James shouted.
"I don't know. I only found a jacket." Vladimir hissed back.
"Bullshit! Rajesh wouldn't lose his jacket. He wouldn't live long without in the cold outside" James replied.
"What are you insinuating and what are you going to do about it?" Vladimir said menacingly and chested up against James.
"Ping, Ping, Ping" my brain echoed. I got up, and Elaine approached me.
"What are you doing, Martin. I am afraid. I believe that Vladimir killed our guide," Elaine whispered. "I need to… I need to open the hidden door and find the alien artefacts…" I mumbled.
"Martin, are you okay?" Elaine whimpered.
"Don't stop me!" I roared, and I shoved Elaine to the ground. The next 20 seconds, I was in a trance, but when I got back to reality, everyone was staring at me. A secret doorway had opened behind one of the walls.
"Wow! What's going on?" Szymon Yehuda exclaimed.
"Our path to greatness lies behind that door. We must follow it, or we will perish." I said.
"Who are you?" Szymon asked in amazement.
"I am just the messenger!" I replied.
A few seconds later, the cave we were in started to collapse. "Follow me!" I shouted as we all rushed into the secret inner sanctum of this mysterious ancient temple.
***
As I got into the inner sanctum of the temple, I was amazed by what I saw. The temple was full of golden statues laden with gemstones. The statuettes depicted various ancient deities, and the walls were filled with several types of ancient script. From ancient Egyptian to Chinese, to Nepalese. In the centre of the room there was a large chandelier that emitted a tranquil bluish light.
I recognised the light. It was the same type of view that I had seen when I entered the portal to Divine Dimension in Egypt the previous year. We were in a hidden Zetan temple!
Right under the chandelier, there was a pedestal, and on top of the pedestal there were nine futuristic-looking monocles. I raised my hand to signal the others to stop, and I walked up to the stand. As I turned around the others stared at me in awe. After a few seconds I began to speak.
"Welcome to the hidden Zetan Temple. This is a momentous day. There are nine alien artefacts on this pillar. There are nine of us in the room. Together we shall use these artefacts to create a new dawn for humankind. Vladimir, thank you for murdering Rajesh and Jorge to make the numbers right! "I proclaimed.
"What is going on? Did you and Vladimir conspire to kill us all?" Josefina exclaimed.
"No. I do not have any forms of association with Vladimir. But his violent nature and insatiable bloodlust, made things go the way they were destined to go." I replied.
"You are insane!" James shouted.
"Sanity is a limitation when it comes to achieving true greatness" I replied
Having said this, I picked up one of the monocles from the altar and put it over my right eye. I felt an initial fear as the monocle activated and a small needle attached it to my optical nerve via my head. I shook in pain for a couple of seconds, but when the pain had ended, I felt like a new man. My mind had elevated to a much higher level!
The group stared at me in awe and Elaine shouted out "Martin! Your right eye is glowing purple." "My eye colour is because of my connection to Empress Rangda Kaliankan. She saved me from certain death, and she tasked the rest of you and me to save humanity's future." I stated.
"This is madness. You must have injured your brain in the crash." James replied.
I heard Rangda voice hissing in the back of my head. "The participation of these individuals is essential to my plan. Make them cooperate! Subdue them, but don't kill them" Rangda instructed.
"Yes, Empress Rangda!" I replied.
I stared at James and said chillingly. "You are going to participate in our plan, whether you want to or not. Bow to our empress now or suffer!"
"Fuck you, creep! I am a Navy Seals operative. I won't bow to you." James replied.
"So be it!" I replied.
I had a moment of hesitation. How would I take on a well-trained killer in combat? Although I had the size-advantage, I wouldn't stand a chance against an elite soldier, especially not after sustaining injuries. I heard Rangda's voice "Set your monocle to non-lethal combat. Make sure to keep him alive. We need him."
I did as Rangda instructed. Instantly, I could feel an incredible surge of adrenaline and how the time slowed down around me. The user interface on the monocle gave me detailed information about the people around me and predicted their next move.
I approached James. I dodged his punches twice, blocked his third strike and broke his nose with a left hook. Unfortunately, James was a fighter, so the broken nose didn't stop him from fighting. Instead, it fuelled him and gave him adrenaline-rushed energy. He attacked me furiously with a multitude of kicks and punches. Although I could block or dodge James' attacks due to my elevated mind, my body was still taking damage. I realised that I needed to knock James unconscious. I saw an opening and jabbed him on the throat, stunning him. I followed up with a massive uppercut on his chin that sent him flying backwards.
Time slowed down to a standstill, and the monocle started beeping. I had mishit James, and the back of his head was on a lethal collision course with a rock on the ground. Fucking hell! I jumped after James, grabbed him, and shielded the back of his head with my left hand. Time resumed, and I felt a sharp pain in my left hand as that hand had taken the impact from the collision, saving James' life.
I gave out a sharp shriek of pain, and I hoped that this would be it. As it turned out, I was mistaken and instead the Yehuda Brothers had turned hostile. From the ashes to the fire. They ran towards me from different directions. In the exact right moment, I dropped to the ground, causing them to run into each other. I sprung up to the ground, and I noticed that Szymon was still dizzy from the collision with his head leaning forward. I jump-kicked him in the face knocking him out.
Unfortunately, Ben Yehuda charged at me, quicker than I had anticipated. He jumped me, and we both crashed to the ground. Ben came on top of me and was choking me. "Critical Danger!" was flashing on my monocle in red letters. "No shit!" I thought, but my body was drained, and without the assistance of the monocle I was powerless against the very fit Israeli Ben Yehuda.
I was close to passing out from asphyxiation when Ben fell unconscious and released his grip around my neck. I looked up. Elaine had saved me by hitting Ben Yehuda in the back of the head with a golden deity statuette.
I got up. There was one more thing that I needed to do before I could have a well-needed rest from my fight. I hurried over to Vladimir and knocked him out with heavy haymaker punch before he had the chance to turn hostile. Seeing this, Pierre panicked, slipped, and hit his head, which knocked him unconscious.
I dropped exhausted to the ground, and Elaine rushed to my side. "Are you okay, Martin?" Why did you start this fight?" Elaine said.
"The World is going to end. The people in this room are the only ones that can save humankind. Admittedly, I could have resolved the issue better." I replied.
"What are you talking about? You are crazy!" Elaine exclaimed.
"Go over there and put on one of the monocles. If I am crazy nothing will happen. But If I am telling the truth your mind will expand, and you will understand that I am telling the truth." I said.
Elaine looked hesitant. My monocle described her emotional state as terrified. But I hoped that she would do as I said, and this didn't need to lead to more violence. After a long pause, Elaine walked towards the altar with the monocles. She picked up a monocle and studied it for a long time. Eventually, Elaine put the Zetan monocle towards her eye. She screamed in pain as the monocle attached to her brain stem, but after a while, she calmed down, and she looked at me blissfully. "You were right. These monocles are divine in origin, and we have been given a mission" Elaine said.
I nodded and turned towards Josefina Fiero who were shielding Sandra Santiago with her body. They were hiding in a corner, terrified of what would happen. "My ladies, I hope you realise that cooperation is our best option," I said. Josefina and Sandra looked down, and they didn't dare to respond.
I got up and turned towards Elaine. "Elaine, get two of those monocles. It is time to recruit two more members to our cause." Elaine did as I instructed, and we walked towards Josefina and Sandra, who was shivering in terror.
"Okay ladies. I prefer to avoid violence, so I'd much rather you join me willingly." I said.
"Or else, you'll kill us as you did to the others'? "Josefina replied defiantly.
I shook my head and replied: "I haven't killed anyone. They are all still breathing. But I prefer if I can convince you to join us."
"Okay. But please don't hurt the girl or me." Josefina pleaded.
"I promise to not hurt either of you," I replied and handed Josefina the monocle.
She stared at it in horror, but eventually she gave in and attached the Zetan monocle to her eye. She screamed in pain, which terrified Sandra.
"You promised that you wouldn't hurt us." Sandra sobbed.
"We won't hurt you," Elaine said softly and hugged Sandra. When Sandra had calmed down, Elaine attached the monocle to her eye.
After some terrifying screaming both Josefina and Sandra had calmed down.
"This is amazing. What do we do now?" Josefina said.
"We connect the others to the technology. There are nine of us in the room, and there are nine monocles. This is not a coincidence. This is destiny. Once we have connected everyone, Mistress Rangda will give us instructions. "I replied.
Josefina and Elaine did as I instructed. Half an hour later, everyone in the room was connected, conscious, and sitting in a semi-circle. It was time for Rangda to give us instructions.
Rangda appeared as a mirage in the centre of the room. She gave everyone a grave look and spoke: "Greetings. I am Empress Rangda Kaliankan, the saviour of mankind. Earth is dying, and the nine of you are the only ones who can secure the future of humankind. In 111 years from now, a Gamma Ray Burst will hit Earth. This event will kill everyone on the planet. The only future for your species is to develop your technology so you can spread around the Galaxy. But your leaders are weak, and your compassion is holding you back. You need to focus your efforts on developing as a space-faring race. You need to stop wasting resources looking after the sick or preserving inferior species. Every species that goes extinct because of humanity are weak and deserves to go extinct. Such is the law of nature.
In the past, I led my Xenos to greatness. But those treacherous Zetan fought us and destroyed all our progress. That is why the Milky Way Galaxy is a mostly lifeless galaxy. But I have returned, and together we will lead humanity to a new golden age.
The nine of you in this room are the Chosen Ones. Together you'll elevate humanity to greatness. Humanity will become an unrelenting force that will conquer the vastness of space. I'll give you instructions as time passes. For now, you must all put your hands on the blue sphere next to that door. That will open escape tunnel back to the surface. Farewell until we meet again, Chosen Ones. "
Having finished her speech, Rangda disappeared out into thin air, and we stared at each other in fear and amazement. We had a new purpose in life, and it was both terrifying and uplifting.
***
"So, what do we do now?" Pierre asked.
"We will do what we Rangda told us to do," I replied.
Pierre gave me a puzzled look, but I assumed that he was still dizzy from the concussion, so I continued speaking. "Okay, everyone. Let's activate that blue sphere through all laying our hands on it at the same time."
The others did as I instructed, and a passageway opened. We followed the passage to the surface where the blizzard had ended, and it was a lovely sunny day. My phone buzzed, and I picked it up. To my amazement two days had passed. Oh well, there would be time to reflect about this later. I called an ambulance flight to pick us up as we were too wounded to make our way back on our own.
***
We flew back to Sydney the following day. We hadn't told the ambulance staff about the deaths of Rajesh and Jorge. But their bodies would undoubtedly be found soon. I was more nervous about my headaches than I was about their unfortunate deaths. While I had covered up that Vladimir had killed them, that was also my only crime. This was something that would be hard for the authorities to prove. But my headaches… How severe were my injuries? I had been comatose, between life and death when Rangda brought me back to life to serve her. Why had she saved me? If she needed to make sure that she had nine people to serve her, it had made more sense to let me die and save Rajesh or Jorge?
I leaned back and decided to not think about it. I had never been religious before, but now I had a higher purpose. The apocalypse was coming. The Gamma-Ray Burst would hit Earth on the 20th October 2131, and I needed to make sure that humanity survived the apocalypse.
Exhausted from the ordeal, I leaned back in my seat and slept the entire long flight back to Sydney.