When Arjun looked around, his breath caught in his throat.
There were no houses.
No roads.
No streetlights.
No sound.
As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing—only an endless, suffocating darkness stretching in every direction, swallowing the world whole, as if reality itself had been erased.
The air felt wrong.
Heavy.
Pressing against his skin.
It felt exactly like that place.
The Void.
For a brief, horrifying moment, Arjun's heart stopped.
No… not again.
He had escaped it once. Barely. The emptiness. The silence. The madness that crept into his thoughts when nothing existed except himself.
But this time…
This time, something was different.
Because his mother was standing beside him.
She was trembling violently, eyes wide with disbelief as she stared into the impossible darkness. Her fingers dug into Arjun's arm, clutching him so tightly it almost hurt—as if letting go would cause him to disappear.
"This… this isn't possible," she whispered, her voice barely holding together.
"Arjun… where is everything? Where did the world go?"
Her words shook him more than the darkness ever could.
Only then did Arjun understand.
This wasn't the Void.
This darkness was real—yet manufactured.
A massive, invisible, doom-like barrier had sealed their house away from reality itself.
Before Arjun could say anything, a low, ominous hum vibrated through the air.
The sound wasn't loud—but it sank deep into his bones.
He looked up.
Above the terrace, a diamond-shaped aircraft hovered silently, its metallic surface reflecting faint crimson light. Symbols pulsed across its body, unfamiliar and cold.
From beneath it—
Four figures descended slowly.
They floated downward as if gravity itself had forgotten how to function.
Arjun's heart skipped violently.
Did W.S.O. already come to take me back?
The memory of cold rooms, restraints, and endless experiments flashed through his mind.
But when the figures landed, confusion replaced fear.
They were human.
Clad in U.S. Army combat uniforms, armored and reinforced, their faces hidden behind black tactical masks. Their posture was perfect. Efficient. Lethal.
Trained soldiers.
One of them stepped forward.
Behind Arjun, his mother was breaking.
"Who are they?" she asked again and again, panic rising uncontrollably.
"Arjun, what is this? Tell me—who are these people?"
"Ma… wait," Arjun said, forcing calm into his voice despite the pounding in his chest.
"Let me see."
But she refused to release him.
Fear had completely overtaken her.
"What if they take you again?" she cried, tears streaming down her face.
"Please… don't go near them."
"I'm not going anywhere," Arjun said firmly.
"They look human. Let me talk."
Before he could take another step—
The officer was already standing in front of him.
"You're Arjun," the man said coldly.
It wasn't a question.
"Yes," Arjun replied.
"We've come to take you."
The words hadn't even settled—
When Arjun's mother collapsed to her knees.
She grabbed the officer's boots desperately, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Please," she begged, her voice breaking apart.
"Please don't take my son. He was gone for four months. I thought he was dead. Please… let him stay."
The officer didn't hesitate.
He kicked her aside.
Hard.
Her body slammed into the wall with a sickening sound before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
For a split second—
Everything went silent.
Then something inside Arjun snapped.
The sound of blood rushing filled his ears.
His vision darkened.
"I'm not going anywhere," Arjun said, his voice trembling—not with fear, but with pure, burning rage.
"No matter what you do. And how dare you kick my mother?"
The officer sneered behind his mask.
"Do you even understand who you're talking to?"
He raised his hand slightly.
"We don't need your permission. We can take you whenever we want."
He gestured upward.
The aircraft responded instantly.
A violent force exploded outward.
[Gravity Manipulation]
Tiles tore free from the terrace.
Concrete cracked apart.
Debris, furniture, and shattered stone were ripped upward toward the aircraft like missiles.
Everything—
Except Arjun.
He stood there.
Unmoving.
Not even an inch.
The officer froze.
"What…?"
Arjun felt it too.
The pressure was there. He could feel gravity pulling at his bones.
Yet—
Why… am I not moving?
Before he could process the thought, the officer punched him straight in the face.
Nothing.
No pain.
No impact.
Another punch.
Then another.
Still nothing.
Arjun raised his arms instinctively.
Blocked.
Blocked again.
Only then did he realize—
He was matching the officer's speed perfectly.
The officer hesitated.
Shock flickered through his eyes.
He threw another punch—
And suddenly felt nothing.
CRACK.
His arm shattered mid-motion.
Bone fragments pierced through armor.
The officer screamed.
"How…?"
Arjun stared at his own hands, trembling.
I didn't even hit him.
Outside the barrier, a man walked down the street casually.
He saw nothing unusual.
No darkness.
No aircraft.
No violence.
The barrier was flawless.
The remaining three soldiers attacked together.
Arjun didn't understand what was happening anymore.
His body was moving on its own.
Every strike—blocked.
Every attack—stopped.
Fear mixed with exhilaration.
I don't know what I'm doing… but I'm enjoying it.
One soldier fell.
Then another.
Bones snapped.
Bodies collapsed.
By the time Arjun became aware of himself again, all three lay unconscious, twisted unnaturally across the terrace.
Breathing heavily, Arjun turned back to the officer.
Something had changed.
Fear was fading.
Understanding was taking its place.
He walked forward slowly.
"Please… forgive me," the officer cried, crawling backward.
"Don't do this!"
Arjun looked down at him.
Cold.
"You should've thought about that," Arjun said quietly,
"before you kicked my mother."
His voice hardened.
"The leg that kicked my mother doesn't deserve to walk ever again."
He crushed the officer's leg.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The bone collapsed like soft fruit.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
The officer screamed.
Arjun didn't stop.
Second leg.
Then both arms.
He made sure the man stayed conscious.
So he could feel everything.
Arjun felt only one thing.
Rage.
No mercy.
Only rage.
Then—
A massive shadow swallowed the ground.
For a single, breathless instant, the world went dark.
Then—
BOOM.
The sky itself seemed to split apart.
A fifteen-foot-tall red humanoid creature slammed down from above like a living meteor, the impact obliterating the terrace beneath Arjun's feet. The earth caved in, concrete exploding outward as Arjun was driven straight into the ground.
Pain detonated through his body.
It wasn't dull.
It wasn't sharp.
It was total—as if every bone, every nerve, every cell had screamed at once.
Before he could even gasp, the monster grabbed his legs.
Its grip was inhuman.
With brutal force, it lifted him and smashed him into the ground again and again, the impact sending shockwaves through the house. Walls cracked open. Support beams shattered. The entire structure groaned like it was dying.
Arjun's vision blurred.
Blood filled his mouth.
With one final swing, the creature flung him across the compound.
Arjun crashed into the garden, skidding across torn soil and broken stone, his face drenched in blood.
For the first time since the soldiers arrived—
Fear returned.
This thing… is different.
The creature crouched low.
Then it leapt.
The ground detonated where it launched from.
Arjun rolled away just in time.
The monster crashed down behind him, the earth collapsing inward like paper crushed by a fist.
The creature roared—a sound so deep it vibrated through Arjun's chest—and charged.
Fast.
Too fast.
Arjun didn't attack.
He couldn't.
He dodged.
Barely.
Blocked.
Stopped.
Every collision rattled his bones.
Each blocked strike sent pain screaming up his arms, numbing his fingers, threatening to shatter his stance.
If this keeps going… I'll break.
The monster suddenly pulled its arm back.
Muscles twisted.
Veins bulged.
Arjun felt it.
A full-powered punch.
There was no time to dodge.
No space to run.
Arjun clenched his fist.
This time—
He didn't hold back.
Their fists collided.
BOOOOOOM.
The impact erased sound.
A massive shockwave exploded outward, tearing through the garden like a bomb. The ground split open. Trees snapped. Dust and debris were hurled skyward.
For a horrifying moment, Arjun felt nothing below his shoulder.
Did I lose my arm…?
Then pain roared back.
When the dust finally settled—
Both Arjun and the monster were thrown backward, skidding across the broken ground.
Fire burned across Arjun's chest, his heart hammering violently.
The monster didn't stop.
It charged again.
More aggressive.
More furious.
It raised both arms and smashed them down like hammers.
Arjun twisted aside, leapt upward, and gathered everything he had left.
He drove a crushing punch straight into the creature's head.
The sound was like metal hitting stone.
The monster staggered.
Then dropped to one knee.
But before Arjun could land—
The creature's hand shot out.
It grabbed his leg.
With a violent roar, it hurled him straight into the house wall.
CRASH.
The wall caved in.
Before Arjun could breathe, the monster was on him.
Punch after punch.
Relentless.
Savage.
His ribs screamed.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
I'm going to die.
Then—
Something snapped back into place.
Arjun's consciousness locked in.
He blocked the next strike.
Drove his foot into the wall.
Used the recoil—
And unleashed a devastating kick straight into the monster's head.
The creature flew backward.
Slammed into the ground.
The entire area vanished beneath a rolling cloud of smoke.
Silence.
Then—
The monster's body began to melt.
Red flesh dissolved.
Bones liquefied.
It collapsed into a thick, black liquid that spread across the ground like oil.
Arjun stepped back—
And his legs sank into it.
The substance clung to him.
Dragged him down.
He couldn't move.
From the black liquid—
Four humanoid figures rose.
Tall.
Featureless.
Pitch-black.
Each held a sharp black sword that seemed to swallow light itself.
Between them, one final sword was embedded in the ground.
They attacked.
One by one.
Arjun dodged desperately, his movements slowed by the liquid gripping his legs. Every time he reached toward the sword, they intercepted him.
Blades flashed inches from his face.
Death brushed past him again and again.
Move… MOVE—
Then he saw it.
An opening.
Arjun stepped forward.
Punched straight through one creature's face.
His fist burst through its head and torso as if it were smoke.
Without hesitation, he tore free—
And grabbed the sword.
The moment his fingers closed around the hilt—
Everything changed.
The black liquid released him.
His body felt lighter.
Sharper.
Clear.
The next strike came.
He blocked it effortlessly.
Then slashed.
A head fell.
The remaining three attacked nonstop, blades striking from every angle.
Arjun's body moved on its own.
I've never fought before. I've never held a sword. Then how…?
A blade flashed toward his chest.
He dodged—
But not completely.
The edge carved into his right shoulder.
Deep.
Blood poured down his arm.
Arjun stopped thinking.
Stopped questioning.
Only one thing mattered now.
Ending this.
He gathered every ounce of strength left in his body.
And cut them down.
One by one.
The final creature dissolved into smoke.
Silence fell.
Arjun collapsed to his knees, then onto his back, gasping for air.
When he looked up toward the terrace—
The four injured soldiers were floating upward, unconscious, drawn back toward the sky.
The black liquid evaporated.
The aircraft vanished in seconds.
The barrier dissolved.
Sound returned.
Light returned.
Bangalore returned.
Reality resumed as if nothing had happened.
Arjun staggered back into his shattered house.
On the terrace, his mother lay unconscious beside the wall.
He lifted her carefully, cradling her as if she were made of glass, and carried her to her room.
Then, with trembling hands, he called the family doctor.
And as he sat there, covered in blood and rubble—
Arjun realized something terrifying.
This wasn't the end.
This was the beginning.
Somewhere far away—
Deep beneath layers of reinforced steel and glass—
Alarms screamed to life.
A massive screen flickered on.
A single red marker pulsed.
Location: Bangalore, India
A man stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the data scrolling endlessly.
He didn't look surprised.
He only smiled faintly.
"The anomaly is that strong…"
He paused.
"…impressive."