The roar of the ion-bike was the only sound in the vast, empty desert of Rajasthan. Siddharth gripped the handlebars so tight his knuckles turned white. Behind him, Unit-0 sat like a statue of cold steel, his eyes scanning the horizon for heat signatures.
"Administrator, they are gaining on us," Unit-0 said, his voice cutting through the whistling wind.
Siddharth looked at the rearview HUD projected in his vision. Four streaks of red light were tearing through the sand dunes at incredible speeds. They weren't vehicles. They were Mechanical Hounds—quadrupedal death machines designed for one purpose: to hunt down 'System Users.'
[Warning! High-Speed Pursuers Detected.]
[Unit Type: M-HOUND Series 4]
[Estimated Impact: 60 Seconds]
"System, give me options!" Siddharth yelled over the wind.
[Analyzing Terrain...]
[Suggestion: Deploy 'Static Pulse' or Initiate 'Neural Stealth'.]
[Note: Neural Stealth will consume 40% of remaining energy.]
"Do it! Activate Neural Stealth!" Siddharth commanded.
Suddenly, the blue glow of the bike flickered and died. To the naked eye, the bike and its riders seemed to dissolve into a shimmering heat haze, blending perfectly with the desert sand.
The Hounds skidded to a halt where Siddharth had been just seconds ago. Their metallic heads rotated, sensors sniffing the air for electronic traces. For a moment, it was silent. Siddharth held his breath, his heart hammering against his ribs.
But then, the lead Hound let out a piercing, digital howl. It had found a trace.
"They're too smart for stealth!" Siddharth gritted his teeth. "Unit-0, take the wheel. I'm going to give them something to chew on."
As the android took control of the bike, Siddharth stood up on the moving seat. He felt the System's power coursing through him, amplifying his balance. He reached into the 'Void Inventory'—a digital pocket dimension his father had hidden in the chip.
[Inventory Accessed.]
[Item Selected: Gravity Grenade (Prototype)]
Siddharth tossed the small, glowing orb behind them. As it hit the sand, a massive gravitational well opened up. The two leading Hounds were sucked into the center, their titanium frames crushing under the intense pressure like soda cans.
CRUNCH!
[2 Targets Neutralized. 500 XP Gained.]
[Level Up! Current Level: 6]
But the other two Hounds leaped over the gravity well, their jagged metal teeth snapping just inches from the bike's rear tire. One of them lunged, its claws tearing into Siddharth's jacket.
"Get off!" Siddharth roared, his hand glowing with raw blue energy. He punched the Hound square in its sensor-eye, sending a massive surge of 50,000 volts directly into its processor.
The Hound exploded in a shower of sparks and black oil.
[Alert! Neural Load at 85%. Physical Fatigue: Critical.]
Siddharth slumped back onto the seat, his vision swimming. The desert was blurring into a mess of sand and stars.
"We are nearing the border of the Forbidden Zone," Unit-0 reported, his blade extending from his arm to take out the final Hound. "But Siddharth... the energy readings ahead are unlike anything in the database. It's not just tech. It's a 'Digital Graveyard'."
Siddharth looked ahead. In the distance, the skeletal remains of a massive city rose from the ground, surrounded by a shimmering dome of distorted air.
"That's it," Siddharth whispered, wiping blood from his nose. "That's where the truth is buried."The roar of the ion-bike was the only sound in the vast, suffocating silence of the Rajasthan desert. Siddharth gripped the handlebars so tight his knuckles turned white, his breath coming in short, jagged gasps. Behind him, Unit-0 sat like a statue carved from cold titanium, his glowing blue eyes scanning the horizon for heat signatures. The desert moon hung low and bloated, casting long, eerie shadows over the shifting sand dunes.
"Administrator, they are gaining on us. Velocity mismatch: 15%," Unit-0 said, his voice cutting through the whistling wind with robotic precision.
Siddharth looked at the rearview HUD projected directly onto his retina. Four streaks of aggressive red light were tearing through the sand at incredible speeds. They weren't vehicles, and they weren't human. They were Mechanical Hounds (M-HOUND Series 4)—quadrupedal death machines designed by 'The Order' for one specific purpose: to hunt down and terminate 'System Users.'
[Warning! High-Speed Pursuers Detected.]
[Distance: 400 Meters... 350 Meters...]
[Targeting Sensors Locked on User's Neural Signature.]
"System, give me options! I can't outrun them on this terrain!" Siddharth yelled over the deafening roar of the wind.
[Analyzing Terrain... Sand density too low for maximum traction.]
[Suggestion: Deploy 'Static Pulse' or Initiate 'Neural Stealth'.]
[Warning: Neural Stealth will consume 40% of remaining energy and strain the User's Synapses.]
"Do it! Activate Neural Stealth! Now!" Siddharth commanded, gritting his teeth.
Suddenly, the brilliant blue glow of the bike flickered and died. To the naked eye, the bike and its riders seemed to dissolve into a shimmering heat haze, blending perfectly with the pale desert sand. It was a digital camouflage that fooled both the human eye and basic infrared sensors.
The Hounds skidded to a halt exactly where Siddharth had been just seconds ago. Their metallic heads rotated 360 degrees, thermal sensors sniffing the air for electronic traces. One of the machines let out a piercing, high-frequency digital screech that made Siddharth's ears bleed. For a moment, it was silent. Siddharth held his breath, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
But then, the lead Hound—a massive beast with rusted plates—hit the ground with its front paw. It had found a lingering ionic trace. It wasn't fooled.
"They're too smart for basic stealth!" Siddharth growled, feeling the cold sweat on his forehead. "Unit-0, take the wheel. I'm going to give these dogs something to chew on."
As the android took control of the handlebars with flawless balance, Siddharth stood up on the moving seat. He felt the System's power coursing through his muscle fibers, amplifying his center of gravity. He reached into the 'Void Inventory'—a hidden digital pocket dimension his father had encoded into the very marrow of the chip.
[Inventory Accessed.]
[Item Selected: Gravity Grenade (Experimental Prototype)]
[Count: 01]
Siddharth tossed the small, pulsating black orb behind them. As it hit the sand, it didn't explode with fire. Instead, a massive gravitational well opened up, turning the sand into a swirling vortex of death. The two leading Hounds were sucked into the center, their titanium frames screaming and buckling under the intense pressure until they were crushed into the size of a football.
CRUNCH!
[2 Targets Neutralized. 800 XP Gained.]
[Level Up! Current Level: 6]
[Stat Points Unassigned: 02]
But the remaining two Hounds were faster. They leaped over the gravity vortex, their jagged metal teeth snapping just inches from the bike's rear tire. One of them lunged with a terrifying speed, its hydraulic claws tearing a deep gash into Siddharth's leather jacket.
"Get off my bike!" Siddharth roared. He didn't have a gun, but he had something better. He channeled raw blue energy into his right fist. He punched the Hound square in its primary sensor-eye, sending a massive surge of 50,000 volts directly into its processor.
The machine sparked, its internal battery exploding in a shower of black oil and blue fire. It tumbled across the sand, shattering into a thousand pieces.
[Alert! Neural Load at 85%. Physical Fatigue: Critical.]
[Warning: Internal Temperature Rising.]
Siddharth slumped back onto the seat, his vision swimming and his lungs burning. The desert was blurring into a mess of gold sand and silver stars. He felt a warm trickle of blood from his nose.
"We are nearing the border of the Forbidden Zone," Unit-0 reported, his arm transforming into a blade to decapitate the final Hound that tried to latch onto the bike. "But Siddharth... the energy readings ahead are chaotic. It's not just a city anymore. It's a 'Digital Graveyard' where logic dies."
Siddharth looked ahead. In the far distance, the skeletal, burnt-out remains of Old Delhi rose from the earth like the ribs of a dead giant, surrounded by a shimmering dome of distorted reality.
"That's where the truth is," Siddharth whispered, his voice fading. "And that's where I become the King they fear."The desert night of Rajasthan was no longer silent; it was screaming. The high-pitched whine of the ion-bike's engine sliced through the freezing air as Siddharth gripped the handlebars, his knuckles white with tension. Behind him, Unit-0 sat with the terrifying stillness of a predator, his glowing blue optic sensors cutting through the dust like twin searchlights.
"Administrator, their closing velocity is increasing by 15%. Tactical envelopment is imminent," Unit-0 reported, his voice devoid of human fear, radiating only cold, hard data.
Siddharth glanced at the HUD (Heads-Up Display) flickering on his retina. Four crimson streaks were tearing through the sand dunes at impossible speeds. They weren't vehicles. They were M-HOUND Series 4—mechanical monsters built by 'The Order' with hydraulic jaws and processors hardwired for only one command: Terminate.
[Warning! High-Speed Pursuers Detected.]
[Distance: 250 Meters... 200 Meters...]
[Targeting Sensors Locked on User's Neural Signature.]
"System, give me something! The sand is too loose, I can't push the bike any faster!" Siddharth shouted, his breath hitching in the dry air.
[Analyzing Terrain... Traction efficiency at 40%.]
[Suggestion: Deploy 'Static Pulse' or Initiate 'Neural Stealth'.]
[Warning: Neural Stealth will consume 40% of remaining energy and risk synaptic burnout.]
"Do it! Activate Neural Stealth! Now!" Siddharth gritted his teeth, feeling the familiar hum of the chip at the base of his skull.
Suddenly, the brilliant blue glow of the bike flickered and vanished. To any observer, the bike and its riders simply dissolved into a shimmering mirage of heat and sand. This wasn't just invisibility; it was a digital ghosting protocol that scrubbed their existence from the Hounds' infrared and sonar sensors.
The Hounds skidded to a violent halt exactly where Siddharth had been a second ago. Their metallic heads, sleek and eyeless, rotated 360 degrees. They sniffed the air with high-frequency sensors, their processors whirring in confusion. For a heartbeat, there was absolute silence—only the sound of the desert wind. Siddharth held his breath, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped beast.
But then, the lead Hound—a massive unit with scarred titanium plates—slammed its front paw into the sand. It had detected a microscopic ionic trail. It let out a piercing, digital howl that shattered the silence.
"They're too smart for a basic hide-and-seek!" Siddharth snarled. "Unit-0, take the controls. I'm going to show these scrap-heaps why they should fear the Pratap name."
As the android smoothly gripped the handlebars, Siddharth stood up on the moving bike, his balance perfectly maintained by the System's muscle-enhancement subroutines. He reached into the 'Void Inventory'—a pocket of folded space hidden within his father's code.
[Inventory Accessed.]
[Item Selected: Gravity Grenade (Experimental Prototype)]
Siddharth threw a small, pulsating black orb behind them. It didn't explode with fire. Instead, as it hit the ground, it collapsed into a micro-singularity. A massive gravitational well opened, turning the sand into a deadly, crushing vortex. The two leading Hounds were sucked into the center, their heavy metal frames screeching and buckling under the pressure until they were crushed into small, mangled cubes of scrap.
CRUNCH!
[2 Targets Neutralized. 800 XP Gained.]
[Level Up! Current Level: 06]
[Stat Points Unassigned: 02]
However, the remaining two Hounds were relentless. They leaped over the gravity well, their jagged metal fangs snapping just inches from the bike's rear tire. One Hound lunged with terrifying speed, its hydraulic claws tearing a deep gash through Siddharth's leather jacket, drawing blood.
"Get off my bike!" Siddharth roared. He channeled raw, unrefined blue energy into his right fist. He punched the Hound square in its primary optic sensor, unleashing a massive surge of 50,000 volts directly into its motherboard.
The machine sparked violently, its internal capacitors exploding in a shower of black oil and electric fire. It tumbled across the dunes, disintegrating into thousands of pieces.
[Alert! Neural Load at 85%. Physical Fatigue: Critical.]
[Warning: Internal Temperature Rising. User is nearing biological limit.]
Siddharth collapsed back onto the seat, his vision swimming. A warm trickle of blood began to flow from his nose. The desert was blurring into a mess of gold sand and silver stars.
"We are nearing the perimeter of the Forbidden Zone," Unit-0 reported, his arm transforming into a monomolecular blade to decapitate the final Hound that tried to latch onto them. "But Siddharth... the energy readings ahead are chaotic. This is not just a city. It is a 'Digital Graveyard' where the laws of physics are being rewritten."
Siddharth looked ahead. In the far distance, the skeletal, burnt-out remains of Old Delhi rose from the earth like the ribs of a dead titan, surrounded by a shimmering dome of distorted reality.
"That's where the truth is buried," Siddharth whispered, his voice fading as his consciousness wavered. "And that's where I reclaim my legacy."