The sky turned red the moment the awakening began.
Aarav stood in line, hands in his pockets, pretending not to care.
But his heart was racing.
"Bas ek accha rank mil jaaye…" he whispered.
Around him, students were excited.
"S-rank aaya toh life set!"
"Main toh hunter banunga!"
Aarav smiled slightly.
"Let's see…"
One by one, students stepped forward.
"Riya Sharma—Rank B!"
"Rohit Mehta—Rank A!"
Cheers filled the ground.
Then—
"Aarav."
Silence.
He stepped forward.
Placed his hand on the crystal.
For a second—
Nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
The crystal flickered violently.
Crack.
A thin line appeared on its surface.
People gasped.
"Yeh kya—?"
The screen above glitched.
Text appeared.
⚠️ SYSTEM ERROR
⚠️ UNABLE TO ASSIGN RANK
The crowd went silent.
Aarav frowned.
"Error…?"
More text appeared.
❌ USER REJECTED
His chest tightened.
"Rejected…?"
The examiner stepped back.
"This has never happened…"
Students started whispering.
"Is he broken?"
"System ne reject kar diya?"
"Worse than F-rank…"
Aarav's fists clenched.
His dream…
Gone in one second.
The screen turned black.
Then one last line appeared—
Only visible to him.
🩸 Hidden Protocol Activated
🧠 You are not part of the system anymore.
Aarav's eyes widened.
"Not part…?"
A faint voice echoed in his mind—
"So you survived."
His heartbeat stopped for a second.
"Who said that…?"
No one else reacted.
The world continued mocking him.
But inside his head—
Something had awakened.