POV: Kiyan
The first thing I learn in this reality?
Gunfire has a rhythm.
Not chaos.
Not noise.
A pattern.
Short burst. Silence. Footstep. Reload. Repeat.
War isn't loud —it's predictable.
Which somehow makes it worse.
This city used to be alive — traffic, chai stalls, neon signboards arguing with the night.
Now?
Everything is ash and shadows.
Buildings split open like rib cages.Streets buried under collapsed metal and memory.Drones hover overhead — silent, scanning like vultures waiting for someone to stop breathing.
The air tastes like burnt wire and fear.
I drag my sleeve across my forehead — sweat and soot smearing like war paint.
Behind me, a group of survivors waits.
Not soldiers.
Not criminals.
Just… people.
Teachers. Teens. Someone still wearing a hospital gown. A kid with an oversized backpack and a stuffed bear.
They look at me like I'm supposed to know what I'm doing.
Spoiler:I absolutely do NOT.
But leadership is 90% pretending you're not terrified and 10% making sure no one sees your hands shake.
So I straighten, adjust the rifle slung across my shoulder — yeah, somehow I know how to use it now — and scan the horizon.
There's movement in the smoke.
Shadows growing larger.
Footsteps — too synchronized to be human panic.
Oh great.
Machines.
I lift a hand — signal to drop low.
Everyone freezes.
Someone whispers, "Are we gonna die?"
I don't sugarcoat.
"We're gonna survive because I said so."
Confidence: fake.Delivery: flawless.
The shapes emerge — tall, skeletal metallic forms with red scanning lenses where eyes should be.
Hunters.
Not here for capture.
Built for erasure.
My jaw tightens.
Not this group.Not tonight.
I turn to the kid — the one clutching the stuffed bear.
"What's your name?"
He swallows. "Neil."
"Neil, you see that door behind you?"
He nods, eyes huge.
"That's a shelter entrance. You're gonna open it and everyone here is going to move — slowly, quietly — no screaming, no running, got it?"
Neil nods harder.
"Good."
Then he asks:
"What about you?"
I force a grin.
"I'll be busy."
He doesn't understand — good. Kids shouldn't.
The Hunters lock onto movement.
Their lenses brighten.
Target acquired.
Time's up.
I step out from cover and raise my weapon — not to shoot.
To draw their attention.
"HEY YOU METAL COCKROACHES!"
Every head turns — human and machine.
I shrug.
"What? Ugly AND slow?"
They charge.
Good.
I sprint — not away, toward the wrecked car near the street.
A flamethrower blast hits where I stood two seconds ago.
Yeah. Definitely not tea party machines.
I slide behind the car, slam a button on my wrist.
A device blink-activates beneath the dust.
EMP Tripwire.
Thank you mystery combat upgrade memory.
The Hunters step across the line—
—and the world erupts in electric backlash.
Sparks. Screams (mechanical). Bodies collapsing like puppets with cut strings.
Silence returns.
Not peaceful.
Just temporary.
I exhale, chest burning.
The survivors emerge slowly.
Neil wipes his eyes, then whispers:
"You're not scared."
I crouch to his level.
"Oh, buddy. I'm TERRIFIED."
"Then why do you fight?"
I look him dead in the eye.
"Because fear means something worth protecting."
For a moment — just one — the world feels almost normal.
Then—the sky cracks with a digital tear.
Like reality itself is glitching.
A symbol burns across the clouds:
THE MIRROR HAS AWAKENED.
The survivors stare.
I feel ice crawl up my spine.
Aarav.
The kid who died.
The kid who returned.
The kid who isn't just a kid anymore.
Neil tugs my sleeve.
"What does that mean?"
I stand.
Weapon loaded.
Voice steady.
"It means we're running out of time."
A distant explosion rattles the ground.
Cities aren't just falling — they're splitting.
And somewhere in this fractured warzone…
I know Nivaan is watching.
Waiting.
Maybe hunting.
I tighten my grip and turn to the group.
"Move. We find shelter, supplies, and a way to reconnect with the others."
Someone asks:
"And if the Hunters come back?"
I smirk — tired, reckless, done with this timeline's nonsense.
"Then we make them regret evolving."
As the group moves, I whisper to myself — quiet enough only the smoke hears:
"Aarav… Meher… Avni…
Hold your worlds together.
I'm finding you."