Bzz… bzz…
His phone rang.
A message from Anand.
Vyom frowned.
What happened to him at this time?
The message read:
"Bro… everything is over."
----
"What happened?" Vyom asked.
"Bro… what date is tomorrow?" Anand replied.
"8th January," Vyom said casually.
Anand paused.
"Did you complete your assignments?"
"What—!" Vyom froze. "Oh no… tomorrow is the last date! What do I do?"
"Bro, ask Keya for her assignments," Anand said quickly.
"Okay, bro. I'll try." Vyom said
"Thanks, bro." Anand said
Vyom opened his phone and messaged Keya.
Vyom: Hello, Keya.
After some time, she replied.
Keya: Hi. What happened? Aren't you sleeping today?
Vyom: What are you doing?
Keya: Just having dinner.
Vyom: What's was in dinner?
Keya: Eggs and salad. What are you doing?
Vyom: Talking to you.
Keya: Okay… but I'm going to sleep now. We'll talk in the morning.
Vyom: Wait—please send me your assignments.
Keya: Okay, no problem.
Vyom: Thanks.
Keya: But tell me—did you finish your work?
Vyom: I'll complete it tonight.
Keya: Vyom, what?!
Vyom: Keya, I don't have time to argue. Please.
Keya: Okay… but be serious now.
Vyom: Okay. Bye. Good night.
Keya: Good night.
Some time later, Keya sent him nearly fifty photos of assignments.
Keya: Are you sure you can do this?
Vyom: I'll try.
Keya: If you need help, you can tell me.
Vyom: It's okay. Bye.
Keya: Bye. Don't be stressed.
Vyom forwarded the photos to Anand.
Anand: Bro, are you serious? We can complete this.
Vyom: I'll try.
Anand: I've already finished two subjects. Only one left.
"What?!" Vyom typed.
Anand: Bro, I'll complete your physics assignment.
Vyom: No, bro. I'll do it.
Anand: Are you serious?
Vyom: Bye. I've got a lot of work.
Vyom began writing.
But sleep weighed heavily on him.
He forced himself to continue, eyes moving over the photos, hand writing automatically.
His thoughts drifted—toward his dreams… the ring… the other world.
Without realizing it, he whispered aloud.
"I think… my ring and that other world are linked… and our world....."
Suddenly—
Time stopped—
But Vyom didn't notice.
He kept writing, trapped in a strange state between sleep and wakefulness.
He didn't even understand the topic he was writing about—yet the words flowed.
The green line on his ring began to decrease.
Then—unexpectedly—it filled again.
But something was wrong.
Normally, the green line decreased 1% in nearly ten seconds.
Now… 1% took nearly fifteen minutes.
Hours slipped by unnoticed.
Vyom suddenly stopped speaking.
"Why was I talking for so long?" he muttered.
"But… it was worth thinking about. I didn't even feel the time pass."
Now fully awake, a strange energy filled him.
By 1:00 a.m., he completed his first subject.
He moved to the second.
Thoughts flooded his mind—too many, too fast.
Yet he couldn't tell where they were coming from.
The ring… the dreams…
It felt as if someone had placed these thoughts directly into his head.
Again, he slipped into that half-dream state, murmuring softly while writing.
When he finally snapped awake—
"What did I just complete?" Vyom whispered.
"When did this happen…? Whatever. Next subject."
He continued.
But now the green line on his ring was already half gone.
After finishing the second subject, he began the third.
Some time later —
He noticed something and afraid.
Time had stopped again.
Vyom's breath caught.
The clock showed 1:15 a.m.
Almost all assignments were complete.
But that wasn't what terrified him.
Only a little of the green line remained.
"This isn't overthinking," Vyom whispered, panic rising.
"That girl… or... that being… put something in my head—"
Before he could finish—
The green line vanished completely.
And Vyom collapsed into sleep.