The school bell rang.
Lunch break.
Students flooded the corridors, their conversations echoing off whitewashed walls. Some compared dungeon footage on their phones. Others boasted about clearing their first solo quests.
Ayush sat alone on the school rooftop, his back against the boundary wall, watching clouds pass.
Far in the distance, the faint shimmer of a Gate hung above the horizon, like a tear in the sky.
"They don't understand it yet," he thought. "Not the true danger. Not what's waiting beyond those cracks."
Behind him, the door to the rooftop creaked open.
Footsteps. Laughter.
"Ayush!" came a mocking tone. "You're always hiding here. What's up? Meditating for a miracle?"
Ayush turned his head slightly. Tanmay, a self-declared rising hunter, walked over with three classmates. All Awakened. All loud.
They weren't dangerous.
Just annoying.
"Still non-awakened?" Tanmay grinned. "You do know the world's not gonna wait for you, right?"
He waved his fingers theatrically — a faint skill menu blinked in and out. Show-off.
Ayush didn't respond.
He simply watched the clouds.
The silence unsettled them more than anger would've.
"You talk big for someone who doesn't even have a class," another boy added. "Bet you can't even open your status screen."
Ayush finally stood up.
His expression calm.
But something in his posture made them pause. It was subtle — a weight in the air, like gravity shifting slightly.
"You're right," he said softly. "I don't have a system."
Tanmay smirked. "Exactly. So sit down and—"
"But that doesn't make me weaker than you."
The words weren't loud.
But they hit like stone.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Tanmay stepped forward, annoyed. "Tch. You really think you scare me—?"
Ayush moved.
Just one step.
A light breeze stirred — but it wasn't wind.
Tanmay's body tensed on instinct. His legs locked.
The pressure was unnatural. Heavy. It made his bones ring.
It vanished in an instant.
Ayush turned away again.
"Go," he said. "Before I accidentally show you what power without permission looks like."
They left.
They didn't speak another word.
---
That Night – Local Market
Ayush walked through the narrow lanes of a residential neighborhood. Fruit stalls. Scooters. Old men arguing about politics.
He passed unnoticed — just another boy in a school uniform.
A TV shop nearby flashed a live broadcast:
> "This footage was taken earlier today from Gate-21 near Pune. An awakened C-Rank hunter lost control mid-raid, triggering an unexpected collapse. Guilds are warning solo Awakeners to wait for team support—"
He kept walking.
But stopped near a closed pharmacy.
Something didn't feel right.
The air was cold.
Wrong.
He turned.
A figure stood at the end of the lane.
Tall. Thin. Limbs too long. No face.
It wasn't human.
And it wasn't from a Gate.
This was something different.
> "It's not reacting to the system…"
It rushed forward in a blink.
Ayush didn't hesitate.
He reached inside himself — into the Nexus Core.
A sharp pulse answered.
Green light flashed beneath his skin.
The creature's claws came down.
He caught them.
Bare hands.
The concrete cracked under his shoes. Sparks danced between them.
The thing screeched in confusion — as if it sensed something it couldn't process.
Ayush raised his hand — and released a controlled burst.
BOOM.
The air exploded inward — a silent pressure wave.
The creature shattered into fragments of corrupted data, fading into nothing.
Gone.
Ayush staggered back, panting.
"That wasn't a dungeon beast…"
His eyes narrowed.
"It didn't come from a Gate."
He looked up toward the stars.
"Something... sent it."
---
Unknown Location – ???
A man in black robes sat before a mirror that reflected no light.
His face was blurred. His eyes glowed faint gold.
A ripple passed across the glass.
He felt it.
Power.
Not from the system.
Something older.
Deeper.
He smiled.
> "So... the anomaly finally moved."
---
Back in Mumbai – Rooftop
Ayush stood once more, staring at the sky. The Nexus Core in his chest pulsed — still cracked, but healing.
He had made his first move.
And somewhere, something was watching.
Waiting.
> "Let them come."
> "I won't hide forever."
> "The throne... always returns."
---
To be continued…