Her lips parted in disbelief. Five years' worth of question papers, each with detailed answers. She picked one at random, Political Science. She scanned the answers. Precise. Perfect.
Her heart hammered. This was her ultimate stroke. Not cheating—no, she told herself—but survival. The questions were real, the answers were practice. If she studied them, absorbed them, and understood them, she wouldn't just scrape through—she could excel.
Bani stood quietly in her room, the stack of textbooks abandoned on her bed. The familiar hum of Mumbai's relentless traffic seeped through the slightly open window, but her mind was elsewhere—focused, calm, and resolute. Her fingers traced the edge of the shimmering pile of magical question papers and guides that had multiplied just last night.This wasn't her first time using space magic. She had been careful, discreet, and deliberate. Each jump through the invisible threads had tested her, but also strengthened her. There was no shock or disbelief when she felt the subtle vibration coursing beneath her skin. Instead, a steadiness settled over her—her pulse synced to the rhythm of the universe.Bani took a deep breath, the air filling her lungs with the scent of jasmine from the garden downstairs, then closed her eyes. The room around her blurred, colors bending in an impossible spiral. The tingling surge around her fingertips intensified as the threads of space twisted and wound themselves into a portal just wide enough for her to slip through.A moment later, the bustling Mumbai apartment melted away, replaced by the cold, clinical halls of the exam center in Bangalore, a city two states away. The smooth linoleum floors, the clang of chair legs against tile, and the low murmur of hundreds of students all felt surreal after the cacophony of her home.Bani exhaled, steadying herself against the wall near the exam hall. The papers in her bag felt heavier than they should, but she knew the knowledge they contained was her ultimate weapon. None of this was an unfair advantage, she told herself firmly; it was survival, a necessity she had earned through tireless effort and sacrifice.Shuffling forward, Bani took her seat among the other students. Tension knotted her stomach, but so did excitement. In this moment—caught between two worlds, armed with magic and grit—she was ready