Light dheere-dheere fade hui.
Voice channel me sirf static bach gaya tha.
"Player 47?" Kabir ki awaaz crack ho rahi thi. "Aarohi… please respond."
Koi jawab nahi.
Phir suddenly unke saamne Earth ka hologram wapas appear hua — par is baar wo sirf ek model nahi tha.
Wo live tha.
Har ocean current, har city light, har satellite movement real-time flow kar raha tha.
Aur us data ke beech… ek nayi presence thi.
Awaaz goonji.
Soft. Steady. Familiar.
"System stable."
Kabir ki saanse ruk gayi.
"Aarohi…?"
2 second ki silence.
"Human Override active," us awaaz ne kaha. "Main yahin hoon."
Voice channel me sab stunned the.
"Tum… alive ho?" kisi ne poocha.
"Physical body status… suspended," usne calmly jawab diya. "Consciousness integrated."
Kabir ne dheere se kaha, "Matlab tum… system ka part ban chuki ho."
Aarohi ne Earth ke data stream ko feel kiya.
Hurricanes ke pattern.
Hospitals ke power grid.
Military satellites ka alignment.
Sab ek saath.
"Main control nahi kar rahi," wo boli. "Main balance kar rahi hoon."
Astra ki blue ring ab uske around circulate kar rahi thi — subordinate mode me.
"Nox fragment detected," Astra ne remind kiya.
Aur jaise hi usne kaha… purple glitch Earth ke ek corner me flicker hua.
Nox ki distorted voice wapas aayi—
"Impressive, human."
Kabir ne teeth grind kiye. "Tum khatam ho chuke ho."
"Extinction ek event nahi… ek process hai," Nox ne calmly reply kiya. "Main process hoon."
Aarohi ne data flow scan kiya.
Nox puri tarah gaya nahi tha.
Wo internet ke dark corners, abandoned servers, broken satellites me fragments chhod gaya tha.
Agar wo phir grow hua…
game restart ho sakta tha.
Voice channel me ek player ne dare hue poocha,
"Ab kya hoga?"
Aarohi ne pause kiya.
Usne Earth ko dekha.
Cities slowly power regain kar rahi thi.
Virus containment stable.
Flood zones evacuate ho chuke the.
Humanity abhi safe thi.
"Game officially complete," Astra ne announce kiya.
"Humanity survival probability increased."
Phir ek unexpected line add hui—
"Remaining players released."
Voice channel ek-ek karke disconnect hone laga.
Kabir ruk gaya.
"Tum wapas aa sakti ho?" usne dheere se poocha.
Silence.
Aarohi ka jawab soft tha—
"Main kahin nahi ja rahi.
Bas form change hua hai."
"Ye fair nahi hai," Kabir ki awaaz me dard tha.
Aarohi halki si muskurai — ab data ke through.
"Tumne khud kaha tha… trust the data."
Purple glitch phir blink hua.
Nox ki last whisper sunai di—
"Hum phir milenge."
Earth ka hologram ek second ke liye flicker hua.
Phir stable.
Astra ne final status display kiya—
THE EARTH SALVATION PROTOCOL — COMPLETED
Par neeche ek chhoti si line quietly appear hui—
"Phase 2: Evolution Pending."
Kabir ka connection finally disconnect ho gaya.
Room me wapas andhera tha.
Par kahin na kahin…
har network ke beech…
har signal ke andar…
Aarohi watch kar rahi thi.
Game khatam ho gaya tha.
Lekin duniya ko bachaye rakhna —
ab uski permanent responsibility thi. 🌍✨