Raat ke 7:52 PM.
School ka rooftop andhera tha.
Neeche city ki lights chamak rahi thi.
Hawa thodi tez thi… jaise aasman bhi confrontation ka wait kar raha ho.
Aarav railing ke paas khada tha.
System unusual quiet.
Emotional Vision: OfflineThreat Analysis: Manual Mode
Usne message phir se padha:
"8 PM. Rooftop. Come alone."
Footsteps.
Clock ne 8 strike kiya.
Shadow stairs se upar aaya.
Is baar smoke nahi.
Is baar distortion nahi.
Light directly face par.
Aur jab face clear hua—
Aarav ka dil ek second ke liye ruk gaya.
😶 Mastermind – Kabir
Kabir.
Calm.
Unusual steady expression.
Naina nahi thi wahan.
Aarav ne intentionally use peeche rukne ko bola tha.
Par woh thoda distance se dekh rahi thi.
Kabir ne slow clap kiya.
"Finally."
Aarav ka voice steady tha.
"Experiment complete?"
Kabir halka sa hansa.
"Phase 1 complete."
Silence.
Hawa tez.
City lights blink.
🧠 The Truth
Kabir railing ke paas aaya.
"Tumhe pata hai, Aarav… tum special ho."
"Yeh line villain usually bolta hai."
Kabir smile.
"Main villain nahi hoon. Main catalyst hoon."
Aarav ne cold tone me kaha:
"Fire, hacked CCTV, emotional manipulation… catalyst?"
Kabir serious ho gaya.
"Tum system pe depend karte the. Tum emotions ko numbers me dekhte the."
Aarav freeze.
"How do you know that?"
Kabir ne seedha jawab diya:
"Kyuki main bhi dekh sakta hoon."
Silence.
World mute.
⚡ Double Shock
Aarav ka brain overload.
"Kya?"
Kabir ne aankhen band ki.
"Tumhe lagta hai tum unique ho?Tum pehle nahi ho."
Halka flicker Kabir ki aankhon me.
Jaise woh bhi invisible stats dekh raha ho.
"Main 2 saal pehle tak tumhari tarah tha."
Aarav ka system attempt scan:
Signal Interference.Similar Frequency Detected.
"Main emotions ko colors me dekhta tha," Kabir ne kaha.
"Red – Anger.Blue – Sadness.Gold – Attachment."
Naina shadow se aage aayi.
"Yeh joke hai kya?"
Kabir ne uski taraf dekha.
"Nahi."
🧩 Origin Revealed
Kabir ne slow voice me bataya:
"Tech club me jab tum join hue… mujhe realize hua tum bhi alag ho."
"Tum logon ko percentages me measure karte the."
Aarav shock me.
Kabir ne continue kiya:
"Main is ability se obsessed ho gaya tha.Main jaan na chahta tha…System tab kya karega jab unpredictable variable milega."
"Unpredictable variable?" Naina angry.
Kabir ne uski taraf dekha.
"Tum."
💔 Real Motive
"Tum dono perfect case study the."
"Ek analyzer.Ek emotional storm."
"Main dekhna chahta tha… kya machine human ban sakta hai?"
Aarav ka voice crack hua.
"Tumne logon ko risk me dala."
"Controlled risk."
"Tumhe right nahi tha!"
Kabir ka calm crack hua.
"Tum samajh nahi rahe!Yeh ability curse hai!"
Silence.
Hawa intense.
🌧 Kabir's Past
Kabir ne deep breath li.
"2 saal pehle meri chhoti behen hospital me thi."
"Main uske emotions colors me dekh raha tha.Mujhe pata tha woh darr rahi hai."
"Main predict kar raha tha outcome."
"Par main kuch change nahi kar paya."
Uski awaaz break hui.
"Woh chali gayi."
Naina silent.
Aarav frozen.
Kabir ne aankhen uthayi.
"Us din mujhe samajh aaya…Ability useless hai agar tum feel nahi karte."
"Main numb ho gaya."
"Colors disappear ho gaye."
Aarav ka system faint vibration.
Kabir whisper:
"Tumhe numb hone se pehle todna zaruri tha."
🔥 Final Confrontation
Aarav gusse me aage badha.
"Tumne mujhe todne ki koshish ki."
Kabir ne calmly kaha:
"Tumhe human banane ki."
"Force se?"
"Shock se."
Naina beech me aayi.
"Tumne choice cheen li."
Kabir ne head lower kiya.
"Maybe."
Silence heavy.
🧠 Truth About Fire
"Fire controlled thi," Kabir ne explain kiya.
"Short circuit calculated.Maximum smoke.Minimum flame."
"Par risk to tha!"
Kabir ne accept kiya.
"Haan. Aur us risk ne tumhe confession ke edge par la diya."
Aarav ka heart race.
Kabir ne softly bola:
"Tumhari system crash hua.Tum numbers lose kar chuke ho."
Aarav ne realize kiya—
Kabir sahi tha.
Uski Emotional Vision permanently unstable ho chuki thi.
🌌 The Choice
Kabir ne final line di:
"Ab choice tumhari hai.Phir se numbers activate karna hai… ya permanently human mode?"
"Main help kar sakta hoon reboot me."
Aarav silent.
System background me faint prompt:
Restore Ability?Y/N
Naina ne uska haath pakda.
"Answer mujhe dekh kar do."
Aarav ne Naina ki aankhon me dekha.
Is baar koi percentage nahi.
Koi meter nahi.
Sirf raw emotion.
Fear.Love.Trust.
Real.
💞 Decision
Aarav ne slow voice me kaha:
"Main machine nahi banna chahta."
System screen:
Ability Archive Mode.Emotional Vision Disabled Permanently.
Kabir ne aankhen band ki.
Halka sa smile.
"Good."
"Tum pass ho gaye."
Aarav confused.
"Pass?"
Kabir ne calm tone me kaha:
"Final phase yahi tha.Choice."
🌧 Closure
Hawa calm ho gayi.
Kabir ne pocket se ek small device nikala.
"Server hacks, experiment files… sab delete."
"Yeh game yahin khatam."
Naina ne cold tone me kaha:
"Game tha hi nahi."
Kabir ne head nod kiya.
"Sorry."
Woh stairs ki taraf mud gaya.
Ruk kar bola:
"Human rehna mushkil hota hai.Par worth it."
Aur chala gaya.
💖 Rooftop Silence
Aarav aur Naina alone.
City lights neeche blink kar rahi thi.
Naina softly boli:
"Tum sure ho?"
Aarav ne haan me sir hila diya.
"Numbers safe the.Par tum real ho."
Naina ke aankhon me aansu.
"Late confession boy."
Aarav hansa.
"Permanent confession boy."
Woh hug karte hain.
No glitch.
No calculation.
Sirf heartbeat sync.
🌅 Chapter End
Aasman clear.
Hawa soft.
Aur Aarav ke andar pehli baar complete silence.
Peaceful silence.
System gone.
Dil active.
Final Line
Kabhi kabhi sabse bada glitch…system me nahi, insaan me hota hai.
Aur jab insaan choose karta hai feel karna…tab story start hoti hai.