The wind over Ikara City suddenly stopped.
Floating towers trembled mid-air. Sky rails flickered. Aero turbines slowed like someone pressed pause on the atmosphere itself.
Inside a small apartment on Ring Sector-3
a spoon froze halfway to a mouth.
"Kartik," his mother said calmly, "you're bending the pressure field again."
"I'm not doing anything," Kartik replied, finishing his breakfast.
The spoon dropped. Gravity resumed. Outside, the turbines spun again.
His father looked at his wrist console and sighed.
"City grid logged another anomaly spike near this building."
"Probably faulty sensors," Kartik said.
His parents exchanged a knowing look — the kind parents use when they know more than they say.
Today was Aero Academy Evaluation Day.
"Don't break the test machine," his father added.
"I never break machines," Kartik said gently.
"They break themselves."
Ikara Aero Academy was built above the clouds — a circular campus held by six rotating wind pillars. New students gathered in the Grand Testing Dome.
Excitement. Fear. Pride.
A giant crystal scanner stood at the center.
Students stepped up one by one.
Numbers appeared.
Aero Level 12
Aero Level 18
Aero Level 27
Cheers. Groans. Applause.
"Next — Kartik Arya."
He walked forward like he was entering a library, not an evaluation.
Palm on crystal.
The crystal glowed — then dimmed — then glitched — then stabilized.
Result displayed:
Aero Level: 1
Silence.
Not mockery — confusion.
Level One signals were extremely rare — but perfectly stable ones were even rarer.
The examiner leaned forward.
"Signal is pure. No distortion. Strange… but valid."
Kartik nodded.
"Okay."
No embarrassment. No tension.
He stepped down.
A girl beside the platform studied him carefully. Sharp eyes. Composed stance.
"You didn't even blink," she said.
"Should I?" Kartik asked.
"I trained three months for this test," she replied.
"I'm Zinhaa."
"Kartik."
Before more words —
Warning sirens pulsed.
"Phase Two — Combat Simulation."
The dome floor transformed into a hologram battlefield.
Instructor voice echoed:
"You will fight an Aero-solid construct. Pain is real. Death is disabled."
Gates opened.
A massive Aero beast emerged — horned, armored, glowing blue lines across its body.
Students stepped back.
Auto team assignment flashed:
Team — Kartik / Zinhaa / Lohau / Reyon
"Defense," said Lohau, activating a shield emitter.
"Strike," said Reyon, spinning pulse blades.
"Control," said Zinhaa, forming Aero threads.
They looked at Kartik.
"Support," he said.
The beast attacked.
Shield impact. Pulse cuts. Thread binds.
Clean teamwork.
Then the simulation glitched.
Beast power doubled.
Instructor panels lit up red.
"That upgrade wasn't in the script!"
The creature roared and slammed toward Kartik —
Impact explosion.
Dust cloud.
When it cleared —
Kartik stood untouched.
The beast's claw pressed against him like it hit a mountain.
He tilted his head slightly.
"You're too loud."
He tapped the air.
The monster froze.
System failed to classify the action.
Unknown interference detected
Control room erupted in panic chatter.
Kartik looked mildly bored.
Then — he noticed his teammates staring.
"Oh," he said softly.
"That would be awkward."
He exhaled.
The wind reversed.
Time rewound six seconds.
Positions reset.
Now the beast was trapped fully in Zinhaa's threads again — like nothing had happened.
"NOW!" Reyon shouted.
Shield slam. Pulse strike. Thread compression.
The beast shattered.
System declared:
Target Defeated — Team Aero-Four
Crowd cheered.
Instructor clapped.
"Excellent coordination!"
Scoreboard updated:
Zinhaa — Level 44
Reyon — Level 41
Lohau — Level 39
Kartik — Level 1
Rank Board:
#1 — Aero-Four
Principal's voice boomed overhead:
"This team is promoted to the Elite Class Wing."
Applause thundered.
Zinhaa frowned slightly.
"…Why do I feel like we skipped something?"
"Simulation lag," Kartik replied.
Hidden system log — unseen by all:
Memory mismatch corrected
Cause: Unknown Null Field
A satellite above Ikara City tagged a silent alert:
Entity Detected — Stability Anchor
Name: Kartik Arya
Mortality Status: Not Found
Kartik walked out with his new teammates.
"Elite cafeteria is better," Lohau grinned.
"Worth it," Reyon said.
Zinhaa kept glancing at Kartik — thoughtful.
The wind over Ikara City flowed again.
As if reality itself had decided to behave.