The city was completely dark.
Streetlights were dead. Buildings were silent. Even traffic signals had stopped working. From the sky, the entire place looked like it had been erased.
But inside Aryan's hostel room, colored lights were still blinking.
Blue and red indicators from his custom machines filled the room with an eerie glow. The low humming sound of servers made the silence heavier.
Aryan's fingers were moving fast across the keyboard.
He had just shut down the city's power grid. Not by accident. Not as a prank.
It was a test.
Sameer stood in the corner, still shaken from everything he had seen earlier.
Aryan spoke without looking at him.
Aryan said, "Power is not electricity, Sameer. Real power is deciding who gets light... and who lives in darkness."
Sameer did not reply.
He simply watched Aryan, unsure whether he was looking at a genius... or a threat.
Suddenly, a sharp alert sound echoed from Aryan's system.
An intrusion warning.
Someone was trying to enter his private network.
Aryan's eyes sharpened instantly.
He opened the defense dashboard and began tracking the attack.
This was not a simple hacking attempt. It was layered. Intelligent. Patient.
The access points kept changing location.
Switzerland. Singapore. Moscow.
Aryan smiled slightly.
Aryan said, "Interesting."
He finally looked at Sameer.
Aryan said, "If you want to stay alive, sit at that workstation and start diverting traffic. If they reach my core system... we won't see the morning."
Sameer hesitated only a second before rushing to the terminal.
His hands trembled, but his skills were sharp. He began rerouting incoming data streams as instructed.
Still, he could not fully understand Aryan's system design.
It was far beyond anything they had studied.
Then suddenly, Aryan's main screen flickered.
A video feed activated on its own.
A masked man appeared on screen. Behind him was a large control room filled with advanced equipment.
The voice that spoke was digitally altered, but calm and authoritative.
Masked Man said, "Aryan Raj. You made a mistake hijacking protected communication protocols."
He leaned forward slightly.
Masked Man continued, "You may be a student... but the systems you touched belong to the Syndicate."
Aryan leaned back in his chair, relaxed.
Aryan replied, "Ownership belongs to those who can defend it. If your security can be broken by a student... maybe you should retire."
The masked man laughed softly.
Masked Man said, "Confidence is admirable. But let's test how strong it really is."
There was a pause.
Masked Man continued, "Your mother is currently in a hospital for a routine checkup. Their life support systems are under our control."
Sameer's hands froze on the keyboard.
Masked Man said, "One command... and the oxygen supply stops."
Sameer looked toward Aryan, expecting fear. Panic. Anything human.
But Aryan's expression did not change.
He looked almost bored.
Aryan spoke calmly.
Aryan said, "Mr Thapar... did you really think you could blackmail me?"
The masked man went silent.
Aryan continued, "Three hours ago, I infected that hospital's administrative servers. Their backup generators and medical devices are now linked to my AI system."
He leaned forward slightly.
Aryan said, "If even one volt fluctuates there... your offshore bank accounts will be emptied within seconds."
He paused.
Aryan finished, "And your own Syndicate will destroy you for the loss."
The room fell silent.
Sameer stared at Aryan in disbelief.
He had just used his own mother's life as leverage in a negotiation.
Cold. Heartless. Effective.
Sameer whispered slowly.
Sameer said, "You're a sociopath."
Aryan turned toward him.
Aryan replied, "No, Sameer. I'm a realist. Emotions are for the weak. Survival belongs to those willing to risk everything."
Before Sameer could speak again, Aryan opened another system window.
A global financial interface appeared.
Sameer frowned.
Sameer asked, "What is that?"
Aryan replied calmly, "The real battlefield."
Months earlier, during an internship, Aryan had planted microscopic hardware inside international exchange servers.
A silent backdoor.
Now he activated it.
Aryan said, "Watch carefully."
He ran a trading script.
Within minutes, high speed financial trades began shifting. Prices fluctuated rapidly.
Then it happened.
One of the world's largest tech companies saw its stock value drop massively.
News alerts exploded across global media.
Economic panic spread instantly.
But Aryan had already placed hidden trades through shell companies.
He had bet on the fall.
Money began flooding into his digital wallets.
Billions.
Sameer stepped back in shock.
Sameer said, "This... this is robbery."
Aryan replied, "No. This is leverage."
He reopened the Syndicate call channel.
Aryan said, "Mr Thapar. Two choices. Work for me... or get buried under the collapse you just witnessed."
He paused deliberately.
Aryan continued, "I want access to your satellite networks. I want every smartphone on Earth to become my listening device."
For the first time, the masked man looked shaken.
The power balance had flipped.
Aryan closed the system.
The room went quiet again.
He turned toward Sameer.
Sameer looked mentally broken.
Aryan spoke in a neutral tone.
Aryan said, "Tomorrow morning, you will receive a job offer. Top cyber security firm."
Sameer looked confused.
Aryan continued, "You'll join them. Work normally. And feed me insider information."
He stepped closer.
Aryan added, "If you try to run... my AI tracks your heartbeat."
Sameer said nothing.
Later, Aryan walked up to the hostel rooftop.
Dawn was rising.
The city lights slowly came back as power systems restarted.
People woke up unaware that the world's power structure had shifted overnight.
Aryan looked at the horizon calmly.
Then his old unused phone vibrated in his pocket.
He frowned.
That phone had never been activated.
A single message flashed.
Coordinates.
And one word.
Welcome to the New World Order. We have been waiting for you, Omega.
Aryan's expression changed for the first time.
The smile faded.
He whispered softly.
Aryan said, "Omega...?"
For the first time, he realized something unsettling.
He might not be the only one building power in the shadows.
And perhaps...
He himself was being watched.