The room was silent.
Only the sound of the rain falling outside and Aarav's labored breathing.
Ishani was kneeling beside him. Her hands were trembling slightly, but there was no fear in her eyes—only years of fatigue and waiting.
Aarav's eyes were closed, but his mind was burning.
Broken Walls
Suddenly—
He was there again.
The same village field.
The unpaved road.
Dust flying in the sunlight.
"Aarav!"
Ishani's small voice.
He turned.
He had a wooden sword in his hand.
He was laughing.
"I'll go to the city," he had said proudly.
"I'll become a great man."
Ishani had grabbed his wrist.
"And you'll forget me?"
Aarav had laughed.
"You? Never."
The scene broke.
Returning to the Present
Aarav sat up with a start.
His eyes widened. Sweat was pouring down his forehead.
"Is this... true?" His voice choked.
Ishani nodded slowly.
"We've been together since childhood. When riots broke out in the city, your family was relocated here. Then one day... you disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"People from Memoria came. They said you've received a scholarship. A better future."
Something inside Aarav snapped.
Scholarship... or admission?
White room
Another shock ripped through his mind.
White walls.
Operation table.
Wires attached to his head.
A man—in a suit, with a cold smile.
"Subject Aarav Verma. High neural compatibility. Perfect candidate."
"Memory wipe level?" someone asked.
"Complete reset. Emotional attachments removed."
"Sir, residual memories?"
"Delete them. Especially the girl."
Aarav screamed.
The room turned into an apartment again.
The Truth
"They created you," Ishani said.
"A recovery agent. People like you run the system. The ones who don't ask questions."
"How do you know all this?"
Ishani took a small data chip from her pocket.
"Because I used to work in their memory bank."
Aarav's breath caught.
"You… were inside?"
"Yes. I never registered my chip. I was outside the system. That's why I got suspicious. When I saw your file…" her voice trembled, "then I realized they had erased you."
Aarav's fists tightened.
His whole life…
was a lie.
Warning
Just then—
The implant behind his neck began to glow.
The blue light turned red.
Agent Aarav. Stand down. Return immediately.
Ishani said nervously, "They've detected an anomaly. They're tracking you."
"Track?"
"With your implant."
Aarav, without thinking, took a small blade from his jacket.
He stood in front of the mirror.
"If this is their control..."
He clenched his teeth.
And he stabbed the blade into the back of his neck.
A thin stream of blood flowed out.
Ishani screamed, "Aarav, stop!"
But he wouldn't stop.
The pain was unbearable, but for the first time, there was life on his face.
A jolt.
A spark.
And a small metal chip was in his hand.
The implant shut off.
The room fell silent.
Freedom... or the beginning?
Aarav sat down on the floor.
He breathed heavily.
Hands were red with blood.
"Now?" he asked.
Ishani looked at him.
"You're no longer their agent. You're now their enemy."
The sound of drones echoed in the distant sky.
Black vans were stopping below the Sector 17 building.
Memoria Corp. logos flashed.
Control Room
At that very moment—
In New Tokyo's tallest tower—
Aarav's file was open on a giant screen.
A man—white hair, cold eyes—was watching him.
"Subject regained partial memory," a technician said.
"Expected," the man said calmly.
"Sir, should we eliminate him?"
He smiled slightly.
"No.
Let him escape."
"Sir?"
"Because if he accesses the memory bank...
he will lead us to where the real danger lies."
He turned off the screen.
Name flashed—
Director K. Rao
Preparing to escape
Looking down from the apartment window—
Armed agents had spread out on the streets.
Ishani took Aarav's hand.
"We have five minutes."
"Where will we go?"
Ishani's eyes lit up.
"Low-level. The part of the city where cameras don't work. Where the system's reach is weak."
Aarav picked up his memory gun.
Now he wouldn't fight for anyone else—
he would fight for himself.
Footsteps echoed outside the door.
Ishani whispered—
"Are you ready?"
Aarav looked into her eyes for the first time, without fear.
"If my memories are true...
I won't lose you again."
The door slammed shut.
And the sound of gunfire shattered the silence of the night.