Pure kamre main complete darkness chaa chuki thi.
Base ke andar ek bhi light on nahi thi.
Sirf heavy breathing ki awaazein thi.
Aur bahar se aati woh slow footsteps.
THAK.
THAK.
THAK.
Har step ke saath metal floor vibrate kar raha tha.
Kabir ki awaaz halki si shake hui. "Bhai… koi please bol de yeh prank hai."
Kisi ne answer nahi diya.
Kyuki sab feel kar rahe the..
jo bhi bahar tha…
woh normal nahi tha.
Meera dheere se Aarav ke paas aa gayi or usne usse pucha..
👉 "Tu kuch sense kar paa raha hai?"
Aarav ne aankhein band ki.
Darkness ke andar usne energy feel karne ki koshish ki.
Fragments jaisi nahi.
First Collapse jaisi bhi nahi.
Yeh…
alag thi.
Silent.
Cold.
Jaise woh presence khud existence ko observe kar rahi ho.
Aarav ka heartbeat slow ho gaya.
👉 "Yeh hume dekh raha hai…"
Silence.
Echo ka expression first time genuinely tense lag raha tha.
👉 "That's impossible…"
Kabir instantly irritate ho gaya. "Bhai tum log har dusri cheez ko impossible kyun bolte ho?!"
THAAK.
Door aur bend hua.
Metal literally andar ki taraf fold hone laga.
Zoya ne quickly emergency tablet activate karne ki koshish ki.
But no response.
👉 "Systems dead hain…" usne slowly kaha.
Meera ne whisper kiya, "Can it enter?"
Echo ne seedha jawab diya..
👉 "If it's really The Watcher…"
Pause.
👉 "…then walls don't matter."
Room silent.
Kabir ne slowly kaha, "Mujhe ghar jaana hai."
Suddenly...
ek faint red emergency light blink hui.
Bas ek second ke liye.
Aur us ek second mein..
sabne usse dekha.
Door ke dusri side.
Ek tall silhouette.
Unnaturally still.
Head slightly tilted.
Aur uski eyes…
completely white.
Light instantly wapas off ho gyi.
Darkness.
Kabir ki breathing fast ho gayi. "NAH BHAI NAH."
Aarav ki body instinctively tense ho gayi.
Andar Collapse uneasy tha.
Origin silent tha.
Par ek cheez clear thi..
dono us presence ko pasand nahi kar rahe the.
THAK.
Footsteps suddenly ruk gaye.
Complete silence.
Too much silence.
Aarav ne dheere se kaha..
👉 "Something's wrong…"
Aur next second..
voice.
Bilkul unke beech se.
👉 "Correct."
Sab freeze.
Meera instantly Aarav ka arm pakad liya.
Kabir literally jump kar gaya. "WHAT THE..?!"
Woh voice room ke andar se aayi thi.
Par koi visible nahi tha.
Echo slowly peeche hata.
👉 "Nahi…"
Voice phir aayi.
Calm.
Emotionless.
👉 "You continue to interfere."
Suddenly..
control room ke center mein darkness gather hone lagi.
Jaise shadows ek jagah pull ho rahi ho.
Aur phir..
woh appear hua.
The Watcher.
Human shape.
Black coat jaisa structure.
Face half distorted.
Aur white glowing eyes.
Par sabse disturbing cheez..
uska face stable nahi tha.
Kabhi unknown.
Kabhi Aarav.
Kabhi Echo.
Kabhi completely blank.
Jaise reality usse properly define hi nahi kar pa rahi.
Room ka temperature instantly drop ho gaya.
Kabir whisper ki tarah bola..
👉 "Bhai yeh toh nightmare fuel hai…"
The Watcher ne slowly room observe kiya.
Phir uski nazar Aarav par ruk gayi.
Aur wahi moment mein..
Aarav ko feel hua jaise koi uske dimaag ke andar directly dekh raha ho.
Usse pain ho rha tha.
Sharp pain.
Usne apna head pakad liya.
👉 "Aaah..!"
Meera panic mein uske paas gayi. "AARAV!"
Watcher calmly bola..
👉 "Interesting."
Echo immediately aage badha. "Usse leave kar."
Watcher ne uski taraf dekha.
Bas dekha.
Aur next second..
Echo wall mein violently smash ho gaya.
BOOOOM.
Kabir shock mein freeze ho gaya. "Usne touch bhi nahi kiya!"
Watcher slowly Aarav ke paas aaya.
Har step impossible feel ho raha tha.
Jaise space uske around bend ho raha ho.
Origin finally bola..
👉 "Don't let him read you."
Aarav ne teeth clench kiye. "Kya read.."
Late.
Watcher ne Aarav ke forehead ko lightly touch kiya.
Aur instantly..
visions explode ho gye.
Fast.
Too fast.
Destroyed timelines.
Burning cities.
Dead versions.
Origin fighting First Collapse.
Echo screaming kar rha tha.
Meera roo rhi thi
Kabir dead tha.
Or zoya.. wo alone thi.
Aur center mein..
Aarav.
Completely corrupted.
Vo black and gold energy ke andar khada hua tha.
Sky broken tha.
Reality collapse ho rhi thi.
Watcher ki awaaz uske dimaag mein gunji..
👉 "You are the end."
Aarav chillaya..
👉 "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Energy burst.
Pure room mein shockwave spread hui.
Watcher ek step peeche hata.
Aur phir..
woh hasa.
Pehli baar.
Par uski smile human nahi thi.
👉 "Now I understand."
Echo immediately uth kar chillaya..
👉 "AARAV DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"
Watcher ne uski taraf dekha.
👉 "Too late."
Suddenly..
room ke saare screens ek saath on ho gaye.
Static.
Phir ek hi image har screen par appear hui.
City.
Par current city nahi.
Destroyed city.
Burning.
Dead.
Aur center mein..
base.
Completely destroyed.
Kabir slowly bola, "Yeh… future hai?"
Watcher ne calmly jawab diya..
👉 "Possible future."
Meera ne Aarav ko dekha.
Kyuki screen ke center mein..
destroyed city ke upar..
ek figure khada tha.
Aarav.
Par uski aankhein completely white thi.
Same as The Watcher.
Silence.
Aarav ka heartbeat rukne jaisa feel hua.
👉 "Kya…"
Watcher ne dheere se kaha..
👉 "He becomes me."
Complete silence.
Aur ussi second..
screen suddenly glitch hui.
Destroyed future disappear ho gya.
Aur fir ek nayi image appear hui.
Ek hidden underground facility.
Massive.
Unknown.
Aur us facility ke center mein..
ek glass chamber.
Us chamber ke andar…
koi so raha tha.
Human shape.
Black hoodie.
Golden eyes slowly open hui.
Aur screen ke neeche ek line blink hui..
SUBJECT 0 HAS AWAKENED
Room silent ho gya.
Echo ka face completely pale ho gaya.
👉 "Nahi…"
Aarav ne dheere se poocha..
👉 "Subject… 0?"
Watcher ne directly uski taraf dekha.
Aur dheere se bola..
👉 "The first successful evolution."
Screen suddenly zoom hui.
Aur us sleeping figure ka face finally clearly visible hua.
Aarav ka saans andar hi ruk gaya.
Kyuki..
woh exactly uske jaisa tha.
To be continued...