D.I.E - DEATH IN EXERTION

CHAPTER 1 - ENTER KARNA

"The wicked man lives in accordance with his wickedness; and his wickedness is pleasant to him, and he likes himself insofar as he is wicked."

- Aristotle

On a rainy day, two brothers took shelter at a TV store until the rain stopped. While observing the televisions on display, they both became captivated by a documentary showcasing animal behavior. They overlooked the hunting dynamics in a forest, particularly how female lions engage in more hunting than their male counterparts. Karna turned to his elder brother, his eyes shimmering with genuine curiosity, and posed a question that burned within him, "Why is it that female lions engage in hunting more frequently than their male counterparts? Does their prowess in hunting indicate a greater strength?". His brother, smiling slightly at his brother's innocence, replied with the voice of experience, "You're right about the hunting part, Karna, but you seem to underestimate the power of the male ones. Consider this: with one swift stroke of their mighty claws, they can bring down any foe. Despite their being still, they are the true rulers of the wild. Never underestimate the power of serenity; when the time comes, you would understand it yourself."

Listening to his brother's kind and insightful words, Karna put both of his hands on his head and raised his gaze to the sky, observing how beautiful the sky was, almost completely filled with blue where sunlight grasped some attention, with a rainbow adding to its charm. It felt as if it was the most peaceful day of his life, maybe that was the reason he still remembers it. He wished the rest of his life would remain peacefully in a similar way. He even planned his retirement early. He wanted to marry a beautiful woman who would gift him at least 5 children, and he used to babble about how he could be a very good dad. He wanted to buy a house somewhere far away from the town, near a village, where for the rest of his life, he would admire the beauty of his wife and his children's naughtiness. On top of that, he and his brother's family will make trips and relish an exciting and happy life right up until the very end. He looked at his brother, assuring that it would happen, and they smiled at each other.

After fifteen long years, Karna had grown up. He became tall, masculine, and had problems with anger management. Karna's hand had the remnants of burn marks on it, and his face was covered in red stains from fighting. He was chasing someone in the night where the moon was glowing through the streets. 'This life is full of shit,' he said to himself as he chased a criminal. Oh, forgot to mention, Karna became a police officer. He seems not to be happy as he wished to be as a child, but in reverse, he constantly curses his life and the career he chose. He finally caught up to the criminal and beat him to oblivion, making sure that he beat him half to death.

Obviously, the man he was beating was not innocent; he had killed several children in the recent assault that happened on a school bus. He stopped the bus seemingly to ask for a lift in a school bus, and when the driver refused, he stopped the bus with his car and killed the driver instantly with his gun. Yet, after his death, he started beating his unalive body. Looking at them, the children were terrified and shouted, which seemingly annoyed him and led him to kill all of them. However, upon closer examination, it was discovered that he had intended to murder one child whose father was a multimillionaire but ended up killing all of them. He was the dumb mind behind all of that plan.

Karna pulled out his gun and had his finger, which was full of blood, on the trigger and pointed it towards the criminal while he pleading with him not to murder him because he didn't deserve it and would much rather go to jail. Karna was not a dumb man; he knew that if he was put in jail, he may try to break out again and that the jail cells would eventually fill up. So, Karna had his own way of justice, and it was complete prevention of evil. Karna had schizophrenia; it allowed him to hear voices of the criminals he already killed before, suggesting to him to kill more of them and the ways to kill. In that crowded moment, Karna had multiple thoughts going through his brain that he just couldn't take anymore. Then, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes, the air completely filled his lungs, making his vision clear and making all the other voices stop, and only focused on the piece of shit in front of him. 'Please don't kill m...' Karna pulled his trigger and blew the brains out of the criminal, not even listening to his last cry. Karna just couldn't care less as he came across this many times; in his record time of service as a police officer, he encountered 18 criminals legally; the illegal number is still unknown to many. I mean, there is a reason why higher-ups hate him.

After he killed him all the voices in his head started to laugh at him because he did exactly what they wanted. Karna felt that he was not in control and his voices were controlling him. His pride couldn't take it , he was ashamed. And finally, the weight of his actions fell on him; his body faltered, he couldn't breathe much, his eyes were wavering, and his mouth was shivering as he fell down to the ground unconscious.

A police officer reaching the scene shouted, "Oh, for fuck's sake, not again... This bastard just killed another one. He has to be suspended, or else this insane maniac will go out of control." Even though the police officer hated him, he still helped Karna in getting to the hospital safely. When his consciousness returned, he was admitted to a hospital. He tried to move, but he couldn't because of his weakened state. Karna was always furious and hesitant to seek treatment, as it might portray him as a weak person who constantly seeks refuge in hospitals.

Vrindha, a compassionate nurse, stood by his side, tending to his needs with care and empathy. Karna had the impression that he could no longer remain inside the hospital because of the criminals who were loitering outside. So, even though he is feeble, he leaves the hospital the following day. His body got used to enduring pain. He almost always ends up in the hospital whenever he pursues a criminal. However, that didn't stop Karna from pursuing criminals. Up until now, Karna hasn't been involved in any big crisis, and he views everyone he's captured or killed as just another everyday crook. It seemed like Karna was patiently waiting for a huge fish to bite.