For the rest of the day, Aarav couldn't focus. His books blurred, the teacher's voice became background noise, and every step he took seemed too light, like the earth wasn't holding him as tightly anymore. After school, he rushed home alone, his thoughts spinning like a carousel.
Once in his room, he locked the door and opened his school bag. The cube. It sat there like a silent guardian, dull and silent but warm. Aarav picked it up and stared at it.
"Okay," he whispered. "What are you?"
He placed it on his desk and stepped back. Nothing happened.
He closed the curtains. Turned off the lights. Then, with trembling fingers, touched it again.
This time, it responded.
A gentle vibration. Then a thin beam of light shot upward from its surface, forming a hologram—a symbol floating in the air. An infinity symbol, glowing bright blue and pulsing gently.
Aarav's eyes widened.
"No way..."
The cube began projecting moving images. They showed versions of himself—similar but different. One wore a lab coat. Another had robotic arms. One soared through the sky, blazing with fire. All of them were him... but not.
"Parallel... universes?" he breathed.
The cube pulsed again. Words scrolled across the beam: "You have crossed into Axis-7. This is not your origin. Powers unlocking. Be cautious."
"What?" Aarav said aloud. "Not my origin?"
He paced his room, heart racing. The cube was saying he had entered a different universe. But everything looked the same. His parents. His school. Even Meera.
He sat on his bed and tried to remember the moment it happened. The night of his birthday. The dream. The flash. That must have been the moment. And now... here he was. In a reality where he wasn't really supposed to be.
"But why me?"
He stood and walked to his mirror. Stared hard at himself.
Then he raised his hand.
"Do something," he said to the air.
Nothing.
Then, suddenly, the metal legs of his study chair shook. Trembled. Then began sliding toward him.
Aarav jumped back. "Whoa!"
He tried again. Focused his mind, stared at the metal bolts on his bookshelf.
They rattled.
He could feel them. Like his body had become a magnet.
He spent the next hour testing it. When he touched metal, he could feel its pull. If he concentrated, he could move small objects. It drained him quickly, but it was real.
And not just that. When he held a coin in his palm, it sparked. Tiny electric pulses jumped between his fingers.
"I have powers," he whispered. "Real powers."
He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream.
---
At dinner, his parents didn't notice anything unusual. Aarav pretended everything was normal. He ate quietly, nodded when spoken to, and even helped clear the table.
But inside, he was exploding.
That night, as he lay in bed, the cube glowed softly beside him.
"What do I do now?" he asked it.
It glowed once, then dimmed.
He didn't sleep for a long time.
---
The next morning, Aarav woke with a sense of purpose. He had to test his abilities. Learn more. Figure out what was happening. But he had to be careful. If people found out... who knew what would happen?
At school, he watched himself closely. His strength had increased—he could lift his desk with one hand during cleaning period. He avoided showing off, but in private, he kept testing.
During recess, a football flew toward a younger kid. Aarav, standing far away, threw his hand forward. The ball stopped mid-air—just for a second—and dropped.
Nobody noticed. But Aarav saw. And he knew.
He was changing.
---
Back at home, Aarav opened the cube again. This time it showed a map—a strange glowing diagram of his neighborhood with flickering points.
One of them blinked red.
It was close.
He pressed the symbol. Instantly, he saw a hologram—a burning electrical pole near the main road. People gathering. A child stuck underneath.
His pulse quickened. This was real. Not a dream.
"I have to try," he said.
He put on the costume. Slipped out through the back door.
As he neared the road, he saw the commotion. The pole had sparked and broken, leaning dangerously. People screamed. A child was trapped under a fallen signboard.
No time.
Aarav ran forward.
"Stop! Get back!" someone yelled.
But Aarav ignored them. He focused.
He could feel the magnetic field. The pull of metal. The electric buzz in the wires.
He raised his hands and imagined the wires freezing. The sparks stopping.
And they did.
He pulled the metal board up with ease, his muscles stronger than ever. The child crawled out, unharmed.
Cheers erupted. But by the time anyone could ask who he was, Aarav had disappeared into the alley.
Back home, breathless, he stared at himself in the mirror.
This was only the beginning.