Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Nischal opened his eyes to a space that didn't quite exist. There was no sky, no ground—just a suspended void filled with floating, whispering lights. His body was there, but it wasn't. He could feel, but he couldn't move. As his mind began to panic, a gust of cold air swept through the dimensionless space.
Then came them.
Clad in dark cloaks that shimmered like moving shadows, three Yama Dutas appeared before him— beings tasked by Yama, the god of death, to retrieve and guide souls.
One of them stepped forward, towering and with eyes like burning coal.
> "Mortal. You have crossed the threshold between life and death. Yet, fate stirs restlessly in your name. You are not to pass on just yet."
Nischal blinked. "I... got hit by a truck, right?"
The Yama Duta nodded. "Indeed. You were meant to die. But because of orders from Mother of all creation... your soul was marked with unresolved potential. And now, as the Great Awakening begins, you must be judged... and assigned your path."
Another Yama Duta unfurled a scroll that extended into the void, shimmering with otherworldly runes.
"Every soul chosen to return receives divine abilities, fueled by energy manipulation—the essence of life, spirit, and creation."
Nischal looked confused.
The first Yama Duta continued, raising his hand. A holographic pyramid shimmered into view—each level glowing brighter the higher it went.
---
The Divine Tier System
- "Tier 1: Minor abilities. Affect objects or individuals. Room-scale effect."
"Tier 2: Affect a house."
"Tier 3: Building level destruction or healing."
"Tier 4: Affect a small community or combat a hundred foes at once."
"Tier 5: Influence entire cities—wars could be won alone."
"Tier 6: Affect multiple cities but not an entire nation. Still limited."
"Tier 7: National-scale power. You can alter weather, fate of nations."
"Tier 8: Continental or lunar scale. Natural disasters or revival possible."
"Tier 9: Planetary manipulation. True god-tier. Only few ever reach."
The Yama Duta paused, letting it all sink in.
> "Each level is exponentially stronger than the last. A Tier 4 cannot scratch a Tier 5."
Nischal was in awe. "So what's... my tier?"
There was an awkward silence.
The third Yama Duta spoke. "...Tier 0."
Nischal stared. "Wait... what?! There's a tier zero?! That sounds like nothing!"
The first Yama Duta chuckled. "Indeed. Tier 0 abilities are barely considered powers by most. They're weak, subtle... nearly useless. But—"
He leaned closer.
> "They hold unlimited growth potential. Unlike the rigid tiers, Tier 0 evolves based on will, creativity, and emotional depth.
He extended his hand. A glowing orb appeared, trembling with unstable energy.
> "You have been granted a rare fate, Nischal. The tier system is a prison for many... but for you, it is a ladder. And your fall—your death—was just the first step."
-------
The void was cold, but Nischal's heart burned.
Tier 0?
He wasn't even worthy of being called weak. He was below the system. His soul trembled—not from fear, but shame. It felt like his entire life's misfortune had followed him to death.
He laughed bitterly. "Figures. Even in the afterlife, I'm a loser."
There was silence.
Then, unexpectedly, the third Yama Duta—the one who had barely spoken—stepped forward. His cloak billowed like ink in water, and for a second, Nischal saw his face beneath the hood. Young. Sad. Too human.
"Not all souls are born equal. But sometimes… they're born with too much noise in the world to find silence."
He raised a finger, touched Nischal's forehead.
A searing light bloomed in his mind. Suddenly, everything slowed. The texture of voices, the echo of words, even the rhythm of divine space—he could remember it. Exactly.
"A gift," said the Grim Reaper. "Eidetic Memory. Rare among mortals. You will never forget anything again. Not pain. Not truth. Not potential. Learn… and surpass them all."
---
The Divine Tablet of Tier 0: Choose Your Seed
A stone monolith emerged from the void, rotating with 12 glowing panels. Nischal's newly sharpened mind could already feel the hidden layers within them, each a fragment of something greater.
"Choose one. Below are the Tier 0 Divine Abilities :
Cosmic Learner (Student of the Fallen)
Divine Ability – Tier 0 (Evolves with user's growth)
"Time does not forget the fallen—it teaches the willing."
Ability Overview:
Once per month, the user's consciousness is transported to a fixed timeline in Earth's past.
In each session, the user encounters a fallen mortal—a real person who once lived and died, selected randomly from global human history, and based on the ability Tier (from Tier 1 to Tier 9).
The user does not control or alter the timeline. It plays out exactly as it originally occurred.
The user appears as an invisible observer at first, eventually revealing themselves to the fallen mortal as a student from the future (if permitted by the mortal's will).
If the user successfully persuades the fallen mortal, they are granted teachings, techniques, philosophies, or experiences that mortals knew before their death.
The mortal cannot be saved. The past cannot be changed.
The user must earn the right to learn—by understanding the fallen's values, regrets, goals, and personality.
No battle mimicry unless the mortal teaches it willingly
Ember of Echoes
"A whisper of power never leaves the void. Some echoes return."
The user can recall and recreate a faint echo of any ability used within a 10-meter radius, once per day. The echo lasts for a few seconds, uses user's energy pool, and is only partially as strong as the original.
This is not a full copy—it's a ghost version, like a recording played through weak speakers.
Trigger Condition:
A divine or energy-based ability (e.g., flame spell, wind push, healing burst) is used within 10 meters of the user.
The user's core registers it like an "echo" in the spiritual void.
Usage:
Once per day, the user can "replay" that ability at reduced power (30–40% of original output).
It's limited in duration, lasting up to 5 seconds or one use, depending on the original ability.
Energy Cost varies depending on the copied ability's Tier.
Even a Tier 1 ability can drain most of the user's energy if it was complex (like healing or element shaping).
Trying to echo higher-tier abilities can backfire, cause backlash, or partial activation.
Storage:
Only one echo can be stored in memory per day.
If no ability is nearby, the ability is wasted for the day.
Echo fades after 24 hours if unused.
Soulfire.
"A fragile soul lights the way in darkness."
The user emits a subtle, soul-based fire that boosts emotional resilience, stamina recovery, and mental clarity for nearby allies.
It's healing in the physical sense—it's the kind of support that keeps you alive when suffering a fatak wound.
It works passively, tied directly to the user's presence and calmness.
Range:
5-meter radius around the user at Tier 0.
Effects:
Minor stamina recovery (feels like catching a second wind).
boost to pain tolerance and emotional clarity.
Helps reduce panic, confusion, or fear during stressful events.
Boosts regeneration and removes debuffs and curses
Activation:
Passive when the user is calm or focused.
No activation needed for the user, active at all time
Intensity increases slightly if the user meditates or comforts someone directly.
Energy Cost:
Minimal—sustains as long as the user's soul remains stable, if user uses for himself.
If the user is emotionally unstable (afraid, angry, depressed), the aura weakens.
Huge energy cost if used for allies
Antstep Authority
"He who commands the smallest, commands the unstoppable."
The user can sense, communicate with, and subtly command insects and micro-arthropods (ants, beetles, spiders, flies, termites, etc.) within a limited range. At first glance, this seems silly or useless… but used creatively, it has the potential to become a biological control system.
Range:
10-meter radius at Tier 0.
Communication is non-verbal—more like instinct, scent, emotional impulse.
Works best on social insects like ants, bees, and termites.
Limited to simple orders: move, gather, bite, follow, carry, warn.
Can see through a single insect's eyes for a few seconds per day (fuzzy vision).
Cannot give complex instructions like "trap" or "ambush" yet.
Energy Cost:
Very low. Passive sensing. Commands use small energy unless large swarms are involved.
Direct control over many creatures may cause headaches, sensory overload, or nausea.
----
The divine monolith hovered before Nischal, each section glowing like a whisper waiting to be accepted. The Yama Dutas stood in silence as he stared at the twelve Tier 0 abilities. Each name carried weight. Each felt incomplete—like a candle yet to be lit.
Then his eyes paused on it.
> "Cosmic Learner (Student of the Fallen)"
The glyph pulsed. The moment he focused on it, he felt something reach back—not just a skill, but a story. Hundreds of them. Thousands. Screams, war chants, prayers. Hands covered in blood… and others clutching books, journals, children.
"This one…" he whispered.
The Yama Duta to his right raised a brow.
"You choose to walk among the dead, not above them?"
Nischal nodded.
> "I've never been strong. Not in body. Not in fortune. But if I could… understand what made others fall—maybe I can stand longer."
The Grim Reaper closed his eyes—perhaps in approval, perhaps in pity.
> "So be it."
The Glyph Burns Into His Soul
The moment he accepted, the glyph lit into a spiral-shaped sigil that branded itself onto Nischal's soul—not his skin. He felt it. A third eye opening not on his head, but deep in his chest.
The monolith shattered. The void changed.
---
The Cosmic Gate Opens
The Yama Duta raised one arm.
> "You are now a student of time. You cannot return to your timeline… until you complete your first journey. This is the cost of knowledge."
A thousand threads of golden memory unraveled in the sky. Each thread shimmered with fragments of lives that had once burned brightly—and faded in silence.
> "Choose your first fallen," the Duta said. "Let your feet touch where death stood still."
Nischal's hand trembled as he reached toward one glowing thread. He didn't know the name. Only this:
Tier of Fallen: Tier 1
Name: @-,#_£&/$׶
Time : 1899
Location: Colorado Springs
Last Echo: "I pity the world which the gods abandoned ."
"I'll learn from you," Nischal whispered."
The thread snapped around him like a cocoon—and his world inverted.
Nischal's vision blurred, his soul spinning through layers of time.
He slammed into a memory—too vivid to be an illusion, too quiet to be at war.
He stood in a tall room filled with ticking, buzzing, and crackling energy.
Year: 1899
Location: Colorado Springs
Nikola Tesla's Laboratory
The air was alive with static. Lightning danced along the copper coils. Sparks leapt from metal to ceiling and back again. Pages fluttered by themselves. And in the center of it all…
A man stood. Thin. Haunted eyes. Long coat. Wild black hair. His hands hummed with pale-blue electricity as he turned dials, adjusted a glowing orb hovering above a crystal plate.
He didn't turn around, but he spoke.
"So. Another echo in the lab. The dead don't rest, it seems…"
Nischal gasped.
This was him.
The Fallen.
"Y-You're Nikola Tesla…"
Tesla finally turned. His eyes shimmered—not with madness, but with sadness sharpened into genius.
"Not anymore. The world forgot that name before I even died."
In this world, Tesla wasn't just a scientist—he was an Unknowing Vessel of the Divine Spark, favoured child of the king of gods- INDRA.
Electricity didn't just answer him—it obeyed him. The things he claimed to see and do, dismissed as madness in real history, were the echoes of a power just below divine Tier 3.
He could:
Summon electromagnetic storms with his coils
Hear celestial frequencies from planets and stars
Feel the thoughts of machines before they were even invented
Sketch entire blueprints in seconds with no corrections needed
Absorb knowledge from thunder, literally walking into lightning and surviving it
Build towers that could awaken the Earth's energy streams.
But he didn't ascend—because he never fought. He only sought to understand.
He died in a hotel room, abandoned by society, but his mind burned until the end.
"I came to learn," Nischal said. "To understand… whatever you knew."
Tesla stared at him, then smiled faintly—like a man who hadn't been seen in decades.
"Then tell me—how much silence can you bear for the sake of knowledge?"