Raat unusual quiet thi.
School ke aas-paas wali galiyon me bhi aaj ajeeb sa sannata tha.Jaise hawa bhi sun rahi ho.
Aarav apne laptop ke saamne baitha tha.
Screen par wahi username blink kar raha tha:
K-Shadow47
Cursor slow blink.
Naina uske saamne chair par baithi thi, elbows table par, aankhen screen par fixed.
"Yeh 'K' sirf Kabir ho sakta hai?" usne dheere se pucha.
Aarav ne turant jawab nahi diya.
System background me faint calculation kar raha tha.
Possibility: 52%Coincidence Probability: 18%Intentional Framing: 30%
"Ho bhi sakta hai… aur nahi bhi," Aarav ne finally kaha.
"Clear bolo."
"Yeh ID purposely obvious bhi ho sakti hai."
Naina ka expression change hua.
"Matlab kisi ne Kabir ko frame kiya?"
"Ya phir Kabir chahta hai ki hum soche ki koi use frame kar raha hai."
Silence.
Game layered ho chuka tha.
🕶 Psychological Game Begins
Agli subah.
Kabir unusually calm tha.
Woh corridor me casually Naina se baat kar raha tha.
Aarav distance se observe kar raha tha.
System faint scan attempt:
Surface Emotion: NeutralMicro Expression: 0.4 sec smile spikeStress Pulse: Low
"Yeh banda ya to innocent hai… ya dangerous level ka composed," Aarav ne whisper kiya.
Naina ne irritate hoke kaha:
"Tum logon ko villain bana dete ho jab data clear nahi hota."
"Data clear tab hota hai jab truth clear hota hai."
Kabir ne door se hi unhe dekh liya.
Aur slight smile diya.
Challenge accepted type smile.
📁 Hidden Folder
Us raat Aarav ne deeper server logs hack kiye.
Ek hidden compressed folder mila.
Password protected.
File name:
Rebuild.exe
Aarav ka heart skip.
"Rebuild?"
Naina uske paas aayi.
"Yeh koi prank ho sakta hai?"
Aarav ne head shake kiya.
"Yeh systematic lag raha hai."
Usne brute-force attempt start kiya.
Password hint:
"Origin"
Origin?
System ke andar kuch flash hua.
Origin.
Woh word Aarav ne kahaan suna tha?
Suddenly memory hit.
Tech club orientation day.
Kabir ne ek line boli thi:
"Har system ka origin uski weakness hoti hai."
Aarav freeze.
🌧 Emotional Interference
Naina ne uska face dekha.
"Kya hua?"
"Yeh coincidence nahi lag raha."
Naina ka trust meter internally shake hua.
Kabir uska childhood friend tha.
Usne slowly kaha:
"Tum jo soch rahe ho… agar woh sach hua… to?"
Aarav ne screen se nazar nahi hatayi.
"Phir hum emotional nahi, logical decision lenge."
"Par main emotional hoon."
Silence heavy.
💾 Password Crack
Third attempt.
Password try: Origin_47
Access granted.
Folder open.
Inside multiple sub-files.
FestElectricalMap
CCTV_SpoofScript
EmotionalResponse_Test.docx
Naina ka face pale.
"Emotional… response… test?"
Aarav ne file open ki.
Document ke andar likha tha:
"Subject A – Predictable (Emotion Analyzer)Subject B – Emotional CatalystTrigger Event Required: Fear + RiskObjective: Observe collapse of calculation system."
Aarav ka breathing heavy.
"Subject A… main?"
Naina whisper:
"Subject B… main?"
Unke pairon ke neeche se ground hil gaya.
Yeh accident nahi tha.
Yeh experiment tha.
🧠 Bigger Game
Document ke last page par ek line bold me thi:
"To break a machine, give it something it cannot measure."
Aarav ka system violently flicker hua.
Emotional Overload.Identity Threat.
Naina ne screen band kar diya.
"Bas."
"Yeh kisi ne hume target kiya."
"Par kyun?"
Aarav ne slowly kaha:
"Shayad mujhe test karne ke liye."
"Tum koi lab project nahi ho!"
"Ho sakta hai kisi ke liye hoon."
🏫 Secret Room Discovery
Agli shaam.
Dono school ke old storage room me gaye.
Server log ke IP trace wahan tak lead kar rahe the.
Room dusty tha.
Andhera.
Ek corner me portable router device mila.
Still warm.
Aarav ne pick kiya.
"Yeh recently use hua hai."
Suddenly clap ki awaaz.
Dono freeze.
Shadow se ek silhouette nikla.
Par clearly visible nahi.
Voice calm.
"Impressive. Expected you'd reach here in 3 days."
Naina ka heart race.
"Kaun ho tum?"
Shadow laugh.
"Machine ko emotions dene ke liye shock therapy zaruri hoti hai."
Aarav ka system glitch.
Voice familiar lag rahi thi.
Par intentionally distorted.
🕳 Mind Games
Shadow ne continue kiya:
"Tum numbers pe depend karte the.Maine tumhe fear diya.Love diya.Uncertainty diya."
Naina furious.
"Tumne fire risk create kiya!"
"Controlled damage."
"Log hurt hue!"
"Minor injuries. Calculated."
Aarav ki aankhon me anger flash.
"Yeh sab sirf experiment ke liye?"
Shadow slow walk forward.
Light thoda face par pada.
Par pura clear nahi.
"Tum system ho.Main architect."
Architect.
Woh word again.
Kabir ne kabhi tech club me use kiya tha.
Par voice exact match nahi lag rahi thi.
Ya shayad intentionally modified.
💔 Emotional Strike
Shadow ne Naina ki taraf dekha.
"Tum unexpected variable thi.Tumne system crash kar diya."
Naina ne Aarav ka haath tightly pakda.
"Hum koi game nahi hain."
Shadow chuckle.
"Sab game hai."
Aarav ne shout kiya:
"Why me?"
Shadow ruk gaya.
"Because tum dekh sakte ho."
Silence.
"Tumhara 'vision' rare hai.Aur rare cheez ko break karke hi strong banaya jata hai."
Aarav ka brain spin.
Kisi ko uske secret ka pata tha.
Kisi ko pata tha ki woh emotions numbers me dekhta hai.
Kaise?
Kab?
⚡ Escape
Suddenly lights blink.
Shadow ne portable router unplug kiya.
Smoke bomb type small device floor par.
Room smoke se bhar gaya.
Naina cough karte hue boli:
"Woh bhag raha hai!"
Aarav ne door ki taraf run kiya.
Par hallway empty.
Shadow gone.
Sirf ek sticky note floor par.
Us par likha tha:
"Phase 1 Complete."
🌌 Realization
Ground par baith kar Aarav ne note dekha.
System silent.
No numbers.
No predictions.
Sirf raw fear.
Naina ne softly kaha:
"Yeh Kabir ho sakta hai?"
Aarav ne head shake kiya.
"Voice altered thi.Aur yeh game deeper hai."
"Matlab?"
"Someone watching since beginning."
"Hum dono ko?"
"Haan."
🔥 Build-Up Twist
Next morning.
School notice board par ek anonymous printout laga tha.
Headline:
"Emotion Analyzer – Truth Coming Soon."
Students confuse.
Aarav freeze.
Naina whisper:
"Yeh public ho gaya to?"
Aarav ka system faint revive.
Reputation Threat: HighSocial Fallout Incoming
Game ab sirf unke beech nahi tha.
Public stage par shift ho raha tha.
Mastermind ab reveal ke kareeb tha.
Par abhi bhi shadow me.
🔥 Final Cliffhanger
Aarav ko us raat ek aur message aaya:
"Tomorrow 8 PM. Rooftop.Come alone if you want answers."
System blink:
Final Confrontation Approaching.Trust Test Maximum Level.
Naina ne message dekha.
"Alone nahi jaoge."
Aarav ne uski taraf dekha.
Is baar bina calculation ke bola:
"Main akela nahi hoon."
Screen fade.