The rain hammered down on the neon-lit Streets of the city, turning every puddle into a shimmering mirror. Vijay crouched behind a dumpster, chest heaving. His fists still stung from the fight, but something in the alley tonight felt... Different.
Three men rounded the corner, leering. Their knives caught the glow of the streetlights.
"Little brat, nowhere to run." One snarled.
Vijay smirked, despite his heart racing.
"Run? Why? | fight."
The first thug lunged. Vijay ducked, striking with perfect timing. Two thugs crashed to the wet ground - but a third grabbed his arm. A surge of warmth ran through him, spreading like wildfire.
From the shadows, a black shard, glowing faintly red, hovered in midair. He blinked. It pulses...almost like it was calling to him.
Instinct took over. He touched it. A shockwave of energy surged through him. His fists glowed with dar, smoky light. The thug holding him flew across the alley. Vijay stumbled back, wide-eyed.
Then he saw her.
A girl stood at the far end of the alley, drenched in rain, hair plastered to her face, eyes sharp and unafraid.
"Vijay?" She whispered.
He froze. His own name on her lips, how did she know?
She stepped closer, her gaze flicking to the floating shard. "That thing... It chose you. I've been looking for it for months."
Vijay's mind spun."Looking... For me?"
"Yes," she said, voice steady, but her eyes betrayed a storm of worry. "And it's
Dangerous. Stay close, or you won't survive the night."
The rain intensified, turning their clothes into drenched fabric. Vijay felt something he hadn't in years, his pulse racing, but not from fear. It was from her presence.
A shadow moved above the alley. A hooded figure watches silently. A voice whispered only for Vijay:
"Shadowbound awakens. The spark... Has begun."
The girl grabbed his hand. "We don't have time. Follow me."
Vijay's gaze flicked between the shard, the hooded figure, and her. Heart pounding, adrenaline screaming, he realized... His life had just changed forever.
As they ran through the rain-slick Streets Vijay couldn't shake the feeling that this girl,
"Lavishka" was not just a stranger, but someone who would upend everything he thought he knew about the city, the shard, and even himself.