There was no time. No space.
Only light. And within it — a voice.
Not loud, not deep — but eternal.
A whisper that echoed across existence, folding in on itself like dimensions collapsing.
"Dr. Aryan Ved... do you know where you are?"
He didn't respond. He couldn't. His mouth wouldn't move — or maybe it didn't need to. The thought alone was enough.
"You stood still while the world vanished. And for that... you have been chosen."
"Chosen?" The word trembled inside his mind. "By whom?"
"By the laws you once thought you understood."
The light pulsed. For a moment, it took shape — a swirling pattern of galaxies, star dust, and something unnameable. It wasn't a being. It wasn't even a god. It was awareness — pure, ancient, watching.
"You sought the question: Are we alone in this universe?"
"But now, the universe is alone — except for you."
Aryan's heart, if it still existed, burned.
"You have been given a chance," the voice continued. "A singularity before creation. A seed before the cosmos."
"With your knowledge — the physics, the theories, the dreams — you may try to rebuild it all."
"Revive existence. Rewrite reality. Restore life."
"But beware, Aryan Ved..."
The light dimmed. The whisper grew sharper.
"This is not a gift. It is a test. You will either bring back everything — or vanish forever."
And just as suddenly, the light fractured — splitting into endless strands, each one a different reality, a different future.
One shimmered with stars. One flickered with ruins. One burned.
Aryan reached out.
But before he could touch a single thread...
"Begin, scientist. Or end, god."