Chapter 8
Reality
22 March 20XX
After two days…
Siddharth slowly opened his eyes.
His body felt heavy… unusually heavy.
He stood up, struggling to balance himself, and began walking toward Kriti. Each step felt slow… unnatural… as if something was wrong.
When Kriti saw him, her expression changed instantly.
She understood.
Something wasn't right.
Without wasting a second, she ran toward the subway bridge. But Siddharth kept walking toward her… slowly… almost intentionally.
As if he wasn't in control.
Kriti reached the edge of the bridge and turned back, her voice trembling—
"Don't come any closer…!"
"If you take one more step… I'll jump!"
Suddenly—
A screen appeared in front of her.
"Long time no see."
"I don't know how you survived that day… but you were lucky."
"Today is different."
"Today… you die."
"And with you… Siddharth's will to live will also die."
Before she could react—
Siddharth grabbed her neck and lifted her slightly.
But at that exact moment—
His body froze.
Then—
It moved differently.
His grip loosened.
And in a cold, controlled voice—
"Get out of here… you lowly system."
Kriti's eyes widened.
Siddharth continued—
"Now… I'll show you what you really are."
And suddenly—
He took back control.
A system screen appeared again—
"How… is this possible?"
"This shouldn't be possible—"
Siddharth looked straight ahead. Calm. Cold.
"This is my body."
Then he spoke—
"System Command: Overwrite."
"New User."
"New Manual."
"Remove Past Controller — 009."
Silence.
And then—
Something tore out.
A figure emerged from within the system itself.
A man.
Unreal.
For a moment, both Siddharth and Kriti were stunned.
He looked… perfect. Almost inhumanly beautiful.
The entity stepped forward, confused—
"How… do you know about this phase?"
"What happened? Who told you?"
Siddharth didn't answer.
He just stared at him.
Then said calmly—
"How does it feel… 009?"
The entity froze.
"…So you know my name."
A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"I see… something in that void helped you…"
Before he could finish—
BAM!
Siddharth punched him straight in the face.
009 staggered back, shocked—
"You… idiot—how are you even able to touch me?!"
Before he could recover—
Kriti stepped in.
She kicked him hard, making him lose balance—
And without hesitation—
She took off her sandal and drove it into his eye.
009 screamed in pain.
A raw, distorted scream.
He stumbled back, clutching his face.
Then—
He ran.
"I'll be back…!" he shouted.
"Just wait… six hours… and I'll destroy you both!"
In an instant—
He disappeared.
Siddharth tried to chase him—
But 009 was too fast.
Silence returned.
Siddharth turned to Kriti.
"Are you okay…? Did he do anything to you?"
Kriti tried to respond—
But the fear finally caught up to her.
Her body gave in.
And she fainted… in his arms.
---
Siddharth carried her home.
After some time—
Kriti slowly opened her eyes.
"What… happened…?" she whispered.
Siddharth gave a small, calm reply—
"Nothing. How are you feeling?"
"I'm… better."
She looked at him carefully.
"Tell me something… how did you know all that?"
"About 009… that phase… and your behavior…"
"You changed completely."
Siddharth stayed silent for a moment.
Then replied calmly—
"That night… when 009 attacked you…"
"When you broke my leg… and tried to heal me…"
"Something happened."
He paused.
Then continued—
"I met someone."
"The creator of the system… or maybe… a prisoner of it."
Kriti listened carefully.
"He stopped the system from controlling me for two days."
"And after I went unconscious again…"
"I met him… once more."
---
Inside the void—
A familiar voice echoed.
"Welcome back… my son."
Siddharth looked at him.
"This time… tell me everything."
"What is the system… and who are you?"
The entity smiled faintly.
"As I told you before… I am the creator of the system."
He paused.
Then began—
"About a hundred years ago… I was living a normal life with my family."
"Our conditions weren't good… especially during the time of World War I…"
"But we survived."
His expression darkened.
"Until one day…"
"My entire family died… in an accident."
Siddharth stayed silent.
"I was broken."
"And that's when… I found it."
"A stone… near the Hindon River."
"It was glowing… different from anything I had ever seen."
"When I touched it…"
"I felt power."
"Something beyond human."
"And with that power…"
"I created the system."
He looked away.
"At first… I only wanted to protect people."
"But…"
A pause.
"A single person… shouldn't hold that much power."
"So I divided it."
"Into a hundred systems."
"And gave them to different people."
"They started helping others…"
"But then…"
His voice dropped.
"One day…"
"Everything changed."