The Timeless Veil
Rudra was in the middle of his morning exercise, the rhythmic thud of his feet on the ground and the cool morning air clearing his mind. But his routine was abruptly interrupted by a sound that sent a chill down his spine—the piercing wail of the base siren. That siren only meant one thing: enemy jets were closing in on Indian airspace.
Rudra was the first to engage the income Pakistani jets, locking onto an F-16. His MiG might have been old, but in his hands, it was deadly. His first missile found its mark, taking down one of the Pakistani jets. He quickly locked onto a second F-16, but this time, the enemy pilot deployed flares, deflecting the missile. As Rudra maneuvered for another strike, Captain Jorawar’s F-16 swooped in. Rudra managed to avoid the missile fired by Jorawar with a rapid maneuver, but the intense move took a toll on his aging MiG—his engine caught fire, and alarms began blaring in the cockpit. He ejected just in time, but disaster struck—his parachute caught fire, leaving him falling fast towards the earth.
As Rudra fell, the cold wind whipping against his face, his life flashed before his eyes—not just the battles and the glory, but the regrets that weighed heavy on his heart. In those final moments, a thought gripped him: if somehow, by some miracle, I survive this... if I get another chance... I will live my life to the fullest. It wasn’t just about duty anymore; it was about making amends, about healing the wounds that time and circumstance had torn open.
His mind turned to his foster family—the people who had taken him in after he lost his parents at the age of four. Commander Karanveer Batra, his father's friend, had raised him like his own son, alongside his own children. Yet, despite all the love they had given him, a distance had grown between them. The estrangement had left a scar on his mind, one that made him realize the difference between true blood and a foster family.
The girl he had once loved, with all the intensity of a young heart, had ended up marrying his foster brother. She had become his sister-in-law, and Rudra had never dated anyone after that. The pain of that unrequited love had strained his relationship with his brother, and by extension, with his foster father and sister. He could still see his foster father's disappointed, pained face and his sister's helpless, sad eyes.
If I survive... I’ll make things right, he vowed. I’ll repair those bonds, and I’ll create a family of my own—a family that I can truly call my own. As these thoughts filled his mind, a strange calm settled over him, and slowly, the world around him faded away.
In the distance, the reinforcements from Jamnagar arrived, forcing Jorawar and his squadron to retreat. But for Rudra, the battle was over. What went unnoticed, however, was that Rudra's body had fallen onto the ancient steps of a Shiva temple, believed to be self-manifested. The temple stood silent and untouched, yet from within its depths, a thick, unnatural fog began to seep out, swirling with purpose as it crept closer to his still form—its intent unknown, its origin a mystery.
Squadron Leader Rudra Pratap was born in 1992. At 32 years old, he had never married, dedicating his life to duty. And this seemed to be the end of his story... or perhaps, the beginning of something new.
Follow Rudra on his journey as he defies fate, transforming from a patriotic soldier into a shrewd and calculating businessman. Watch as he not only reshapes his own life, but alters the balance of global power in his relentless pursuit of success.
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2 Chapters/Week
